I've been involved in a blog discussion about the Angel of the LORD. 94 comments and still going strong.
I'd like to clarify a couple of things about the Angel of the LORD:
The Angel of the LORD is not by any means the only title under which Christ appears in the OT. He also appears simply as 'the LORD' or as 'the Word of the LORD' or 'the Commander of the LORD's host'. Christ has many names.
I don't believe that actual appearances are the only meaningful ways of talking about Christ in the OT (there's also the promises and types).
When you hear "Angel" don't automatically think 'creature'. Literally the name means 'Sent One' and it has come to mean 'Messenger' (good titles for Christ!)
There are lots of other angels in Scripture. But just as there are many 'sent ones' from God - THE ONE Sent from God is a divine title.
Now. Why bother talking about Him?
Let me just give one reason for now (I speak at great length here on the subject):
When you realize that both OT authors and OT saints appreciated the divine identity of the Angel it forces you to rethink a kind of default unitarianism innate to much of our OT understanding. Once you know that the Angel is both of the LORD and is the LORD, He is from God and is God, distinct and divine, you see that OT saints did have a conceptual framework which allowed for conscious faith in the distinct Person of the Sent Mediator.
If that all sounds like jargon, later on I'll post something much simpler.
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Don't make it simpler! This is exactly what needs to be said! (imo, obv)
(Just clicked through from your comments on the Coffee Bible Blog)
Hi Cath, good to find another sister on the front lines of this one! Just enjoyed a couple of your own posts on this.
There are so many broader, and vital, issues which this touches on - the unity of the Church both before and after the coming of Christ, the necessity for faith in a personal Christ for salvation at every point in time, the unity of the OT and NT scriptures. We really need to recover (or carefully refuse to abandon) an understanding that sees Christ as the focal point of the entire scriptures, and give more, more worshipful attention to the person of Christ as revealed there, as well as his work. Paul, so insistent on faith in Christ for salvation, presents Abraham as the best example of someone who had that very same faith - it must be a mistake on our part today, if we fail to aspire to have the kind of faith that Abraham (never mind Moses, David, Isaiah) had. Imo, again!
Hi Cath - I know!!
Further rant here.