Forgotten Word Ministries Blog

So if a minister says he saw an angel or mentions angels that makes him a false prophet?  What about Jesus then when the bible clearly says angels ministered to him after he was tempted in the wilderness? First, let me say loud and clear,
I do NOT advocate worshipping angels. I don't even preoccupy myself with them. The only reason I am even making these posts is because you have accused William Branham of being a false prophet because he spoke of the Angel of the Lord in his ministry. Let me tell you, the bible has a WHOLE BUNCH TO SAY about ANGELS! Read it for yourself. Don't take this website's opinion of ministers who claim to see and hear from angels and discount them as false prophets.  Great people of the bible saw angels!  Daniel in the firey furnace had an angel with Him, angels appeared to many--to Mary to announce that she had found favor with God and would become the mother of Jesus, an angel appeared to Joseph, Mary's husband in a dream, angels ministered to Christ even after he was tempted in the wilderness. 
 The Angel of the Lord had Divine attributes:

a. He made great promises that only God could make and keep.

Gen 16:8 He told Hagar of great things from her child to come.

b. He foretold the future. Gen 16:12 He told Hagar that Ishmael would be, "a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren."

c. He was compassionate. Gen 18:23-32 In the haggling with Abraham over Sodom and Gomorrah, he seemed to show compassion for those that would be destroyed, or at least a compassion for Abraham and his concern for his relatives and the cities.

d. He could deal in judgement. Gen 18:1-33 There was a decision to totally destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, but he made a deal with Abraham to spare if Abraham's deal came to pass.

e. He had access to heaven. Gen 22:11 In the account of Isaac, as Abraham was about to offer his son, the Angel of the Lord spoke. "And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said...." We see the ability to communicate again.

f. He could prosper individuals. Gen 24:7,40 When Abraham sent his servant to seek a bride for Isaac it mentions that the Angel of the Lord would prosper the undertaking.

g. He could appear in dreams. In Gen 31:11 when He appeared to Jacob it was in a dream.

h. He seems to have been omnipresent. Gen 31:12 Unknown to Jacom and Laban He had observed what Laban had done to Jacob.

I. He kept men from evil. Gen 48:16, "An angel who redeemed me from all evil...."

j. He could do the supernatural. Ex 3:1-4 It was the Angel of the Lord that appeared to Moses in the burning bush.

k. He wasn't confined to the human form. We saw this in the previous example and it is also seen in Ex 13 and 14 referring to the pillar of fire and smoke that lead the Israelites through the wilderness. (Ex 13.21 and 14.19) This also was the Angel of the Lord.

l. He could keep believers. Ex 23:20 records that He was to keep the people of Israel as they moved toward the promised land.

m. He could draw or lead people to places. Ex 23:20 He was to bring them into the land.

n. He could kill enemies. II Kings 19:35 This passage mentions that He killed "an hundred fourscore and five thousand...." Assyrians.

o. He could kill Israelites in Judgment. I Chron 21:15-18 Mentions choices of penalty for David's sin. A plague of killing was one of the choices.

p. He was sent by God. I Chron 21:15,26 During the destruction that resulted from David's sin the Angel of the Lord is sent by God and is shown to be distinct from God the Father.

"And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the Lord beheld, and he repented of the evil, and said to the angel who destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. and the angel of the lord stood by the threshing floor of Ornan, the Jebusite."

q. He could be concerned in the delay of judgment. Zech 1:12-14

r. He was worshiped. Ex 3:1-5. This is in the account of Moses and the burning bush which was the angel of the Lord.

Angels of the normal kind do not allow worship according to Rev. 19:10; 22:8,9.

There are other references that we did not cover.

3. The Angel of the Lord had eyewitness accounts: We have seen most of these in our study already so we won't cover them except to mention them.

Abraham saw Him, ate with Him, and haggled with Him. Gen 18:1-33; Gen 22:11-18

Hagar saw and talked with Him Gen 16:13, "she called the name of the Lord who spoke unto her"

Jacob wrestled with Him Gen 31:11-13; 48:16

Moses worshiped Him Ex 3:1-5; 13:21 cf. 14:19

All of the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness were led by Him. Ex 13-14.

Joshua confronted Him Joshua 5:13-6:2

The Assyrians were killed by Him II Ki. 19:35

David was punished by Him I Chron 21:14-18

The Israelites were killed by Him I Chron 21.14-18

And others - Dan 3:15-28; Zech 1:12-14

4. The Angel of the Lord gave personal testimony of His being God:

"And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are striped, speckled, and spotted; for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred." Gen. 31:11-13 cf.

"And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If Go will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on." Gen. 28:19,20

5. The Angel of the Lord had to have been Christ preincarnate.

SOME CONCLUSIONS:

a. The Angel of the Lord must be God if he has the attributes of God.

b. The Father is not the Angel of the Lord. (The Angel of the Lord was sent by the Father.)

c. The Holy Spirit is never mentioned as appearing except at the coming of Christ and we have no indication that he has ever appeared. Nor do we have any indication He was the Angel of the Lord.

d. The Son has appeared and this is consistent with the thought that no man has ever seen God, as in all His glory - man has seen God in human form in the Old Testament and as full humanity in the New Testament Jo. 1:18

In speaking of Christ Col 1:15 mentions, "Who is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation;"

Christ is the visible part of the trinity due to His becoming man. God in all of his glory has not been seen. Christ mentioned that anyone that had seen Him had seen the Father. (Jn 14:8-9)

e. The Angel of the Lord is not in the Gospels thus it can be assumed that it was Christ for he was incarnate during that time.

If you look in a concordance you may find references to the Angel of the Lord in the Gospels, but these state an angel not the angel.

f. The Father sent both the Angel of the Lord, (I Chron. 21:15); and Christ, (Jn 4:34).

g. Paul mentions in I Cor. 10:1-12 that the Lord Jesus was in the wilderness with the Israelites. This was the Lord preincarnate. He was there (Ex. 13:21 cf 14:19) thus there is no reason to think that the Angel of the Lord was not Christ preincarnate.

(Misc. texts of interest: Jud. 13:15-18 cf. Isa 9:6; 28:29 Mal. 3:1)

You might find a study of the term "LORD" in the Old Testament interesting. It is the word for Jehovah and is related to the Angel of the Lord. Jehovah is the Angel of the Lord, is LORD, is Christ, is Messiah. Bancroft in ELEMENTAL THEOLOGY has a section on the Jehovah of the Old Testament revealed in the New Testament. (P 145ff 1)

Might we draw some application from our study thus far?

1. Everything we know of the Angel of the Lord is directly transferrable to God. His power, His compassion, His leading, His care, His keeping of the believer, and all those things we know, but all these texts further prove all these things about Him

http://www.open.org/mrdsnts/topic/m01950.htm