Last update 28 July, 2019.
The angel of God
It’s no secret there are angels in the Bible. But there is also a special type of angel “Angel of God” or “Angel of the Lord”. That angel is called angel and a few verses later it’s called God. The angel also says/claims things only God can do. For example the angel said that he would give Abraham and Sarah a child at very old age. In Exodus 33:20 we read that nobody sees the face of God and lives.
Exod 33:1 And the LORD said to Moses, Depart, and go up hence, you and the people which you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, To your seed will I give it:
Exod 33:2 And I will send an angel before you; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite:
Exod 33:3 To a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the middle of you; for you are a stiff necked people: lest I consume you in the way.
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Exod 33:7 And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.
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Exod 33:9 And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.
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Exod 33:11 And the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his ser
vant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
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Exod 33:20 And he said, You can not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
John 1:18 No man has seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.
John 6:46 Not that any man has seen the Father, save he which is of God, he has seen the Father.
1John 4:12 No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and his love is perfected in us.
So what is it?
- Did theFather (v7) or the angel (v2) talk face to face with Moses?
- Did theFather (v7) stand in the middle of the people or not (v3)?
- Was Moses dead (v20) when he spoke with the theFather?“
→ as a man speaks to his friend” → When friends talk they look each other in the eyes; they don’t hide behind a cloud, curtain , mask or something else covering their face. So it wasn’t theFather who Moses was talking to because that would have killed him.
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The representative
John 8:29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father has not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
John 14:31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
Above we read Jesus didn’t act on His own behalf, but He did things exactly as theFather instructed Him to do. Angel simply means ‘messenger’; Jesus for sure was an angel because He brought God’s message to mankind. But messengers come in several levels of authority.
All OT prophets were messengers. They always spoke on behalf of God, never as God. Likewise did many angels from heaven. They always spoke in the following format: “God said….”, “God commanded….”, “ God will do….”
The angel of the Lord speaks differently: “I command….”, “I will do….”
Was that angel really God? Was that angel committing blasphemy by falsely claiming to be God? Something else?
The answer is “something else”. Something very simple that’s still in use today. A representative. When you have trouble with your PC you call Microsoft. “Good morning, this is Microsoft here. How can I assist you?” are the words from the helpdesk person. Is that person Bill Gates? Can a company even speak? No, the helpdesk person speaks on behalf of Microsoft. Strictly speaking that person says he/she actually is Microsoft; but we all know that person isn’t. A large percentage of Microsoft helpdesk employees don’t even work for Microsoft. Microsoft outsourced a large part of its support. But even the employee of that other company ‘claims’ to be Microsoft.
Another example is a lawyer speaking for his client. The ruling of the judge is largely based on what the lawyer says, because the lawyer speaks with full authority of his client. The client sometimes isn’t even present.
Power of attorney.
In the RCC such a person is called a legate.
In (ancient) Jewish understanding an person’s agent, is the person himself.
Judg 13:21 But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.
Judg 13:22 And Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
The above two verses show that a representative is seen as an equal to the one who sent that representative.
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In the name of
“In the name of” is a Hebrew idiom meaning “on behalf of” or “for the sake of”. Please look up idiom #80 and 81 (38 is partly related) in the Idioms section of this site. (See menu on the left).
John 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive.
Exod 23:20 Behold, I send an Angel before you, to keep you in the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
Exod 23:21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
Come in someone's name means represent that person. God gave them the authority to represent Him and to act on His behalf. In the previous section that name would be Microsoft.
John 10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do you stone me?
John 10:33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone you not; but for blasphemy; and because that you, being a man, make yourself God.
John 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, You are gods?
John 10:35 If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
John 10:36 Say you of him, whom the Father has sanctified, and sent into the world, You blaspheme; because I said, I am the Son of God?
The Jews wanted to stone Jesus because they assumed He claimed He was God Himself. Jesus explained them they were wrong because He didn’t claim to be God Himself. Verse 34 is the key of His explanation. Jesus refers to Psalm 82. This Psalm is about the judges of Israel. In verse 6 they are called gods and sons of God. Those judges were supposed to judge according to the law of God. They acted/judged on His behalf. They were supposed to judge as God would judge. As the Psalms show they did a lousy job but still they were called gods. But none of them were real gods. They were just flesh and blood mortal men.
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Sheep and goats
The parable of the sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31-
Verse 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
That verse means if you do (not) good for the sick you are doing (not) good for Jesus. In a way not so easy to grasp the sick are equaled with Jesus. But obviously they aren't Jesus because there is only one Jesus and millions of sick. Jesus, being in heaven, is extremely healthy, not sick. But still they are equaled.
And that's what also is done with the Angel of God.
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Name in the angel
Exod 23:21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
In ancient times a name stood for authority. So the above verse states that the Angel has God’s authority. For a little more detail read Idiom #80 and 81 (38 is partly related)
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The
When ‘ha’ is used a prefix to a word it gives that word a special meaning. The English equivalent is ‘the’.
- House just means house, but theHouse means Temple.
- Satan means accuser and there are many of them, but theSatan is that special one.
- There are many Names, but just one theName. (HaShem)
- Many angels and one theAngel.
- Many fathers and one theFather.
The ‘ha’ prefix makes the word it’s attached to unique, one of kind, and high ranking.
The Angel of the Lord always has that ‘ha’ prefix.
Obviously not conclusive proof but a nice thought; an angel is a messenger of God. Without any doubt Jesus was the ultimate messenger of God. TheMessenger? In fact angel means messenger. Jesus is theAngel?
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Manoah and the levels of authority
As Judges 13 shows, angels can look exactly like humans. When the angel appeared Manoah and his wife assumed he was a man of God. (V 3, 6, 21).
The moment he figured out it was the “angel of the LORD” (v 21-
But we do know it wasn’t God Himself. It was His representative. But the ancients regarded that representative to be the same as the one who sent that representative. Needless to say nobody died because they saw a representative. Not in this chapter, not in any other chapter.
There is an extra thing to learn from Judges 13; while Manoah did believe and respect the angel he didn’t fear him. He assumed he was a “man of God”, a prophet, a messenger. Manoah surely knew the man was sent by God because that man had knowledge no mortal can figure out on his own. (V3-
Only when he learned it was “the angel of the LORD” he got very scared. That shows messengers came in various levels of authority. And only the highest of them was considered God Himself.
Judg 13:3 And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman, and said to her, Behold now, you are barren, and bore not: but you shall conceive, and bear a son.
Judg 13:4 Now therefore beware, I pray you, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:
Judg 13:5 For, see, you shall conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.
Judg 13:6 Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came to me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not from where he was, neither told he me his name:
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Judg 13:11 And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, Are you the man that spoke to the woman? And he said, I am.
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Judg 13:20 For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.
Judg 13:21 But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.
Judg 13:22 And Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
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The new name of Jesus
John 5:43 I am come in my Father's name, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him you will receive.
→ Jesus comes in theFather’s name.
Phil 2:9 Why God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
→ Obviously God’s very own name is the highest name off all.
Rev 3:12 Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God: and I will write on him my new name.
→ Jesus will give the overcomers the name of God. Which is the new name of Jesus Himself.
→ If Jesus was ‘God in the flesh’ as Trinitarians claim then He would always had God’s name. But in Phil 2:9 and Rev 3:12 we read that wasn’t so.
→ On itself carrying God’s name isn’t a sign of divinity because all those human overcomers with God’s name aren’t God Himself.
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God in the flesh
Matt 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
When taken out of context that sounds like the perfect verse to support the Trinity. But when using the whole Bible as context it becomes clear it means that Jesus was, and still is, God’s representative.
Isa 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
The above verse is quite similar to the Matt 1:23 verse.
The most notable titles are “mighty God” and “everlasting Father”. At the same time He is the Son of God. Many want to see this as proof for Trinity but again ‘his name’ is very different from ‘he is’.
“In the name of” is a classic Hebrew idiom meaning “on behalf of” or “for the sake of”. Please look up idiom #80 in the Idioms section of this site. (See menu on the left.
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Jesus the angel?
Mal. 3:1-
Messenger in the above verses is translated from the Hebrew word mal’ak which is often translated as angel. So, messengers come in two main types; human messengers and heavenly messengers.
John the Baptist was the ‘blue messenger’ and Jesus the ‘red messenger’.
Mat. 11:10-
Luke 7:24 He began to speak unto the people concerning John…
Luke 7:27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Zech 3:3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel.
Zech 3:4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from off him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with rich apparel.
The angel/messenger takes away sins and give a new/clean robe. As we see in the next verse that’s the job of Jesus Himself.
Rev 3:18 I counsel you to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich; and white raiment, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness do not appear; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
Acts 7:37 This is that Moses, which said to the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up to you of your brothers, like to me; him shall you hear.
Acts 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spoke to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give to us:
The sermon was clearly about Jesus. Jesus was the angel that spoke to Moses. In Exodus that angel is called God. So, Moses spoke with Jesus.
Exod 19:3 And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
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Jesus, the Morning Star
God is called Father of lights. Stars are lights. Stars is also the name used for angels. Jesus is called 'Morning Star'. That implies Jesus is a created being like all angels. Not very compatible with Trinity theology.
Jesus is just one of the Morning Stars. Job 38 mentions many.
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Jesus, the high priest angel
Lev 16:11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:
Lev 16:12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil:
Aaron was the high priest and one of his jobs was to use the censer of incense. In Revelation an angel is doing the same thing. That angel must be Jesus He is our high priest (Heb 9:11).
Rev 8:3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints on the golden altar which was before the throne.
Rev 8:4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
Rev 8:5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunder, and lightning, and an earthquake.
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Jesus, the mighty angel
Rev. 10:1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire.
Rev. 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
Mat. 17:2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
Rev. 1:13-
The above set of verses requires a lot of ‘connecting the dots’. I tried to do that by color coding the most relevant words.
We know that Mat 17:2 is about Jesus, so the blue words link the pink words. And that shows us mighty angel=Jesus=Son of Man
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Jesus, the guiding angel
Exod 23:20 Behold, I send an Angel before you, to keep you in the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
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Exod 33:15 And he said to him, If your presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
Exod 33:16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and your people have found grace in your sight? is it not in that you go with us? so shall we be separated, I and your people, from all the people that are on the face of the earth.
Exod 33:17 And the LORD said to Moses, I will do this thing also that you have spoken: for you have found grace in my sight, and I know you by name.
An angel guided the people during Exodus.
1Cor 10:1 Moreover, brothers, I would not that you should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
1Cor 10:2 And were all baptized to Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
1Cor 10:3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
1Cor 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
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Wonderful angel Jesus
Judg 13:18 The angel of the LORD answered him, "Why are you asking about my name? It is wonderful."
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Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
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Commander angel Jesus
Josh 5:13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went to him, and said to him, Are you for us, or for our adversaries?
Josh 5:14 And he said, No; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said to him, What said my Lord to his servant?
Josh 5:15 And the captain of the LORD's host said to Joshua, Loose your shoe from off your foot; for the place where on you stand is holy. And Joshua did so.
V13 a sword
Num 22:23 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
1Chr 21:16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
And perhaps this verse.
Rev 2:12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things said he which has the sharp sword with two edges;
V15 holy ground
Exod 3:5 And he said, Draw not near here: put off your shoes from off your feet, for the place where on you stand is holy ground.
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Who was in the pillar of fire?
Exod 23:20 Behold, I send an Angel before you, to keep you in the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
Exod 23:21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
Exod 13:21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
Is the LORD just a messenger? No, the person in the cloud was an angel carrying the name of God (v23:20). In verse 13:21 that messenger actually is called God/Yahweh.
The above is the KJV translation but as the the Hebrew and many other translations show LORD should have been translated as Yahweh or Jehovah. I’m mentioning this in case someone assumed LORD was just used an honorary title because that angel was higher than the people of Israel. The verse just below should remove all such doubts.
Deut. 1:32-
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Summary of the above sections.
- Angel means messenger.
- An angel represents/acts on behalf of the one who sent him.
- Angels come in two main types; humans and heavenly beings.
- Jesus and John the Baptist were angels.
- “In the name of” means “on behalf of” or “for the sake of”.
- Jesus received God’s name after resurrection. Before resurrection He ‘only’ carried God’s name.
- Overcomes will get God’s name.
- Humans representing God can be called gods. → Judges of Psalm 82
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Sodom and Gomorrah
Gen 19:1 And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
Gen 19:2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and you shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, No; but we will abide in the street all night.
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12 And the men said to Lot, Have you here any besides? son in law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whatever you have in the city, bring them out of this place:
13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.
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24 Then the LORD rained on Sodom and on Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
Two angels visited Lot (v1) and Lot called them Lords (plural, v2)
The angels are called “the men” in v12. In the next verse (v13) the angels clearly state that they personally will destroy the city.
So we have 2 men/angels clearly stating they, plural, will destroy the city; but in verse 24 which is about the actual destruction is done by the LORD singular.
The above will instantly become more clear if we replace the KJV translation with a more literal translation.
Lords = Hebrew adon = lord, master
LORD = Hebrew Yahweh, Jehovah. = theFather Himself.
The two men/angels/lords did the actual destruction as they claimed in verse 13. That doesn’t contradict verse 24 which states God Himself destroyed the city, because as stated earlier in the Hebrew mind a representative is seen as the person who has sent him.
God was the initiator/planner of the destruction.
God instructed the angels.
God sent the angels.
God gave the angels the power and authority to destroy.
But the angels personally did the destroying.
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Jacob
Gen 16:10 And the angel of the LORD said to her, I will multiply your seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.
Gen 21:17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, What ails you, Hagar? fear not; for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.
Gen 21:Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in your hand; for I will make him a great nation.
Things only God can do. Angels don’t manage creation.
Gen 31:11 And the angel of God spoke to me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I.
Gen 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar, and where you vowed a vow to me: now arise, get you out from this land, and return to the land of your kindred.
God is the supreme being that sends out messengers. He doesn’t work on behalf of anyone. God sending Himself as a messenger for Himself makes no sense at all. So the above 2 verses clearly speak of an angel speaking on behalf and as God.
Did Jacob wrestle with an angel or God?
Gen 32:27 And he said to him, What is your name? And he said, Jacob.
Gen 32:28 And he said, Your name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince have you power with God and with men, and have prevailed.
Gen 32:29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray you, your name. And he said, Why is it that you do ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
Gen 32:30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
Hos 12:2 The LORD has also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him.
Hos 12:3 He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:
Gen 25:26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob…
Hos 12:4 Yes, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication to him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spoke with us;
In Genesis Jacob said he wrestled with God and saw God face to face. Hosea states it was an angel. The Bible contradicts or God’s representative is called God. Take your pick :-
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Confusion
Exod 21:6 then his master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door, or to the door-
Exod 21:6 then his lord shall make an offering for him to the heavens, and it shall be applied to the door and the posts, and he will pierce his ear with an awl. And he shall be his servant in perpetuity.
Exod 21:6 Then his master is to take him to the gods of the house, and at the door, or at its framework, he is to make a hole in his ear with a sharp-
Exod 21:6 Then his master shall bring him to the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or to the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.
Exod 21: 6 his master shall bring him to the judgment seat of God, and then shall he bring him to the door, to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him forever.
Five different translations from the same Hebrew word ‘elohim’.
Apparently there was a lot of confusion among the translators but the solution is simple.
Just like the with the word sheep, only context determines if elohim is plural or singular. It’s also the context that determines it’s the supreme God or another god or gods.
A little cultural background is needed to understand the judges translation. When a slave served his time he could choose to stay a slave for the rest of his life. His master would then take him to court before the judges. Human judges. The slave then would declare before court he wanted to stay with his master the rest of his life.
As we saw in Psalm 82 the judges represent God Himself because they judge according to His law. Because representatives are conserved to be the one who sent them the human judges are called gods.
The first translation is totally wrong. God should be gods
The second translation is beyond totally wrong.
The third translation is the most literal translation. Good.
The fourth translation is based on representation. Good.
The fifth translation tries to combine the two concepts but makes a big mistake by using the word ‘God’. It should be plural and without a capital G because it’s not theFather judging. Besides that issue the translation has its merit.
Which one is right/the best? I think it’s a matter of taste.
I go for the third translation. It’s the most literal and culturally correct.
The fourth translator is a close second.
The above shows that without understanding the culture a good translation is impossible. Neither will the Bible be (fully) understood without understanding the culture it was written in.
Understanding idioms is a good and simple starting point. If you cherish your doctrine then avoid cultural studies at all cost….. :-
Isn’t it weird that Scripture wants firmly about following other gods, states the slave must be brought before gods? Not just one other god, but a whole group?
Judges were called gods because the enforced God’s laws. They are representing God just like the angels that are called angel in one verse and God in another verse. That’s anonther bit of proof for the point I’m trying to make in this article.
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One or three?
Gen 18:1 And Jehovah appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre. And he was sitting at the door of the tent in the heat of the day.
Gen 18:2 And he lifted up his eyes and looked; and, behold, three men were standing by him. And he saw, and he ran to meet them from the entrance of the tent. And he bowed to the ground.
Gen 18:3 And he said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in Your sight, I beg You, do not leave from near Your servant.
How many did appear?
- One? If so why plural in verse 2
- Three? If so why singular in verse 1?
- Some sort of trinity manifestation? If so why address them as singular and plural?
Trinity isn’t possible because the trinity doctrine claims the three are one entity that’s not split up. Abraham 3 three men. Not one.
Also note “Lord” is translated from the Hebrew word ‘adonay’; while one doesn’t exclude the other it must be noted that in “angel of the LORD” verses ‘LORD’ is always translated from ‘Yahweh’.
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Cyrus, satan, Gabriel and Jesus
Dan 10:7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell on them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
Dan 10:8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.
Dan 10:9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.
Dan 10:10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me on my knees and on the palms of my hands.
Dan 10:11 And he said to me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright: for to you am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood trembling.
Dan 10:12 Then said he to me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that you did set your heart to understand, and to chasten yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I am come for your words.
Dan 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, see, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
The person speaking to Daniel was very powerful because it took only one touch to force Daniel on hands and knees. (v9-
Could the prince of Persia be a fallen angel or even satan himself?
In v12-
If we read closely Michael is never called an angel in any verse. That doesn’t exclude the possibility he isn’t but but it doesn't prove it either.
Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke you.
Jude 1:9 At one time Michael the chief angel had a quarrel with the devil about who should have the body of Moses. But he did not dare to judge the devil and say wrong things about him. He said, May the Lord tell you to stop!
Jude 1:9 Now when Michael, one of the chief angels, was fighting against the Evil One for the body of Moses, fearing to make use of violent words against him, he only said, May the Lord be your judge.
I think the above verses is the most direct verse in the entire Bible that states Michael is an angel. But is that verse really claiming that? The verse literally reads “ Michael archaggelos”.
Arch = chief, ruler, leader.
aggelos = angel, messenger, agent.
Simply put archaggelos means boss of the angels; but that doesn’t prove anything. I’ll explain with an example: “Freddy is the chief of the dogs.”
Freddy can be the alpha male dog that leads the pack.
Freddy can also be the name of the human owner of the dogs.
Same with Michael. He could an angel (Freddy the dog) but also something superior to a dog (Freddy the human).
To make it even worse, strictly speaking ‘angel’ can be about anyone or anything that brings a message. Just a few examples:
- Jesus spreading the message of life.
- His Apostles that continued spreading His message of hope.
- The angel that gave Daniel a vision.
- My talking parrot telling you, I challenge you for a bowling match.
- Freddy the dog delivering a letter from his boss.
- Freddy the human delivering a letter from his boss.
Dan 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, see, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
Prince = prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain.
Chief = first, primary, foremost, head.
The above makes it very clear Michael had/has a leadership position. Just like the word Archangel it doesn’t prove or disprove Michael was of ‘the same type’ as what he ruled over.
The word ‘one’ doesn’t take away that confusion because of it’s wide range of meanings. (One and first)
- “One of the head princes” can mean:
- Highest rank. A 5-
star general leading 4- star generals. - Equal in rank to the other chief angels.
- “First of the head princes” can mean:
- Highest rank. A 5-
star general leading 4- star generals. - Created before (oldest) of all other head princes.
Dan 10:21 But I will show you that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holds with me in these things, but Michael your prince.
The Hebrew word for ‘your’ is plural so Michael isn’t only Daniel’s prince but of all Daniel’s people. That’s Israel, not any other nation. But as the following verse shows that’s taken away from Israel and given to another nation.
Matt 21:43 Therefore say I to you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
That other nation is known as Christianity, spiritual Israel, etc.
Jesus is the leader of that nation. Strictly speaking that’s not proof Jesus is the same as Michael; but let’s say it’s a small hint they are one and the same.
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Gideon
Judg 6:11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained to Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites.
Judg 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him, and said to him, The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor.
Judg 6:13 And Gideon said to him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD has forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
Judg 6:14 And the LORD looked on him, and said, Go in this your might, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent you?
Judg 6:15 And he said to him, Oh my Lord, with which shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
Judg 6:16 And the LORD said to him, Surely I will be with you, and you shall smite the Midianites as one man.
Judg 6:17 And he said to him, If now I have found grace in your sight, then show me a sign that you talk with me.
Judg 6:18 Depart not hence, I pray you, until I come to you, and bring forth my present, and set it before you. And he said, I will tarry until you come again.
Judg 6:19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it.
Judg 6:20 And the angel of God said to him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
Judg 6:21 Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.
Judg 6:22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O LORD God! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.
In Judges 6:11-
The verses show that the appearance of the angels had nothing special that made it clear to Gideon the angels weren’t just mortal men; that’s why he asked for verification.
In verse 22, Gideon talks to God about the angel, which means he knew the angel wasn’t really God, even if the preceding verses called Him God.
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More verses
Exod 3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the middle of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
…
Exod 3:4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the middle of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
Verse 2 states it was an angel, but verse 4 clearly states it was God Himself. Again an example showing the representative speaking not only on behalf of God, but also as God Himself. That means the words of the angel in the bush carry as much weight as the words of theFather Himself.
Judg 2:1 And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.
A simple messenger didn’t make that covenant. It wasn’t a simple messenger that guided Israel out of Egypt.
Judg 13:21 But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.
Judg 13:22 And Manoah said to his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
→ This verse shows a representative is seen as an equal to the one who sent that representative.
Dan 3:25 He answered and said, See, I see four men loose, walking in the middle of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
….
Dan 3:28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spoke, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
God sent and angel named “Son of God”. Is this a general term (gen 6:2) is is it Jesus?
Zech 3:1 Then He is showing me Joshua, the great priest, standing before the messenger of Yahweh, and Satan, standing at his right, for his adversary."
Zech 3:2 And Yahweh is saying to Satan, Yahweh is rebuking you, Satan. And Yahweh Who is choosing Jerusalem is rebuking you. Is not this wooden poker being rescued from the fire?
→ The “messenger of Yahweh” (v1) is called “Yahweh” (v2)
→ Yahweh rebukes on behalf of Yahweh. That sounds odd, because the terms are use interchangeable we can read this as: The angel of Yahweh rebukes on behalf of Yahweh.
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God sends God?
Zech 2:8 For thus says Yahweh of hosts:After the glory He sends me to the nations, your looters; for he who is touching you is touching the apple of My eye."
Zech 2:9 For behold Me waving My hand over them, and they will become loot for their servants. Then you shall know that Yahweh of hosts sent me."
Zech 2:10 Be jubilant and rejoice, daughter of Zion! For behold Me coming! And I tabernacle in your midst, (averring is Yahweh)."
Zech 2:11 And many nations shall be obligated to Yahweh in that day, and they become His people. When I tabernacle in your midst, then shall you know that Yahweh of hosts sent me to you."
Verse 8 clearly states that Yahweh makes a statement; but in v9 and v11 we read that the person speaking was sent by Yahweh. Many translators try to hide that weird ‘contradiction’ by translating Yahweh as LORD. Check out Strong and you will see the Hebrew word is Yahweh of Jehovah. But once again the ‘contradiction’ is no contradiction at all if we understand that the person speaking speaks as if he is Yahweh/Father-
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Is Michael Jesus?
John 14:7 If you had known me, you should have known my Father also: and from now on you know him, and have seen him.
…
John 14:9 Jesus said to him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet have you not known me, Philip? he that has seen me has seen the Father; and how say you then, Show us the Father?
Michael means “who is like God?”*. The above two verses don’t prove Jesus is Michael but certainly don’t refute the thought and likely at least hint toward it, because the blue part indicates Jesus is “like God”.
*=Michael is 3 Hebrew words merged into one word. The name begins with an interrogative pronoun meaning it’s a question not a statement.
Jude 1:9 But Michael, the archangel, when contending with the devil and arguing about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him an abusive condemnation, but said, “May the Lord rebuke you!”
That verse simply states Michael is an archangel.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first.
How should be understand that verse?
- The voice is from an archangel that assists Jesus.
- Jesus has a voice like an archangel but isn’t an archangel.
- Jesus is an archangel.
For me the above 3 possibilities are ordered in ascending order of likeliness, because the third option is the most straightforward reading and raising the dead seems the ultimate task for Jesus. As a Shepherd calling His sheep.
Daniel 7:13 I saw in the night-
Daniel 7:14 There was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
Daniel 12:1 “At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who shall be found written in the book.
Fjohn
The above 4 verses seem to hint or indirectly state Michael is Jesus; the next verses makes an even stronger connection.
Jude 1:4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though you once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
Jesus is given credit for saving the Israelites from Egypt.
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Debunked?
Gen 22:15 And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham out of heaven the second time,
Gen 22:16 And said, By myself have I sworn, said the LORD, for because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son:
This is the only set of verses I’ve found that challenges all the above.
In all the previous examples the angel speaks as if He’s God Himself, but in this case ‘said the LORD’ is inserted.
While it certainly is different, at the same time it proves, once again, the angel is not the LORD Himself.
While the majority of translations read very similar to the above there is also this translation:
Gen 22:15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven
Gen 22:16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn,” this is the LORD’s declaration: “Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son,
In this translation ‘said the LORD’ is absent, and returns in a other form as part of the quote. In other words, God said “said the LORD’.
While this sounds a bit odd, it’s actually in line with the source text which reads ‘averment-
Of who? Of the LORD.
So the last translation (HCSB) seems the most accurate and uses the same pattern as all the above examples. The majority of the translations break that pattern, but don’t break the concept of representation of the previous examples.
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Moses an Aaron
Exod 4:10 And Moses said to the Lord, O Lord, I am not a man of words; I have never been so, and am not now, even after what you have said to your servant: for talking is hard for me, and I am slow of tongue.
Exod 4:11 And the Lord said to him, Who has made man's mouth? who takes away a man's voice or hearing, or makes him seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?
Exod 4:12 So go now, and I will be with your mouth, teaching you what to say.
Exod 4:13 And he said, O Lord, send, if you will, by the hand of anyone whom it seems good to you to send.
Exod 4:14 And the Lord was angry with Moses, and said, Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? To my knowledge he is good at talking. And now he is coming out to you: and when he sees you he will be glad in his heart.
Exod 4:15 Let him give ear to your voice, and you will put my words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his, teaching you what you have to do.
Moses doesn't want to talk to the people, so God gives that task to Aaron.
God talks to Moses, Moses talks to Aaron, Aaron talks to the people.
Exod 4:16 And he will do the talking for you to the people: he will be to you as a mouth and you (Moses) will be to him (Aaron) as God.
...
Exod 4:30 And Aaron said to them all the words the Lord had said to Moses, and did the signs before all the people.
Especially verse 16 drives my point home.
Moses will be a God to Aaron. That doesn’t mean Aaron believed his brother Moses was God; no it means that Aaron believed Moses words were 100% true because Moses received then from God. Aaron never questioned anything.
God is God to Moses → Moses is as God to Aaron → Aaron is as God to the people.
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Conclusion
Some of the above verses are more straightforward than other verses. Some things can’t be really captured in a few verses. They are more like a ‘feeling’ you have, when the Bible is seen in the bigger picture.
Jesus has an extremely important place in God’s plan of salvation.
Yet He seems only to be (actively) involved during His rather short ministry. That’s a tiny percentage of the time the whole Bible spans.
Was the greatest messenger of all time only active during His ministry?
If we drop all the linguistic fights we all know Jesus was/is a messenger. His whole ministry was dedicated to spread the message/Gospel of God.
Considering that, isn’t it weird Jesus seems to have such a small place in the Bible?
When we ignore all the angel and messenger things mentioned on this page we must conclude:
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If we widen our a view a bit and link Jesus to the angel, He suddenly is the lead actor that is in every scene of importance; right on top of things. He is the one that actively takes control of human history.
To me it’s far more logical Jesus actively represented theFather throughout the whole history of mankind. Not just during His ministry.
But… I admit that’s just a feeling because nowhere in Scripture it states there is just one “Angel of Yahweh”
In Christian tradition, if one can speak of that because there are so many views, ‘the angel of the LORD is Jesus.
In Rabbinic Judaism the angel is named Metatron. That word likely comes from the two Greek words meta=in the midst, and thronos=throne.
It means something like: ‘the one next to the throne’.
I’m not saying it’s so because I have my doubts, but high ranking angels stand next to the throne. Jesus sits on the throne right now. But did He before His resurrection? Perhaps the translation is more correct as ‘in the midst’.
That may need some explanation. There is a throne, the actual throne a king sits on. That throne/chair is usually placed on a platform that’s also called the throne. So perhaps it means something like “The one in the midst of the throne platform” and that’s the throne/chair itself.
In any case it’s a very high ranking individual. Second in command. That’s not unlike Jesus, that’s not unlike the commander of all angels.
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