Don’t Provoke Angels!

The Scriptures offer evidence that angels are assigned to each person (Psalm 91:11 & Matthew 18:10) for the purpose of serving us in the sense of waiting on tables (Hebrews 1:14). How exactly does this work or not work? It must be understood that Angels respond to the voice of God’s Word:

Bless the LORD, O you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his word,

obeying the voice of his word!

Psalm 103:20 (ESV)

God’s written Word has no voice unless we speak it. When the Holy Spirit conveys a word to you in your spirit — whether you discern it as an impression, desire or inner voice — it also has no voice unless you speak it. Even if a New Testament prophet speaks a divine word over you and it’s confirmed in your spirit, that word has no ongoing voice in your life unless you agree with it and declare it. Whatever the case, when we speak the promises of God in faith we give voice to God’s Word and this releases the angels to assist in carrying out whatever miracle for which we’re believing. This is their very purpose — “to serve those who will inherit salvation,” i.e. people (Hebrews 1:14).

However, if you don’t speak according to God’s Word then your angels cannot obey the voice of the Word because you’re not giving voice to it. They are thus hindered—prevented—from fulfilling their purpose and you won’t partake of their benefit.

Failing to voice God’s Word in faith will tie-up your angels, so to speak, and prevent them from fulfilling their God-given mandate to serve you. In the vacuum, wicked spirits naturally have more liberty of movement to harass and oppress.

This is bad enough, but it would be worse to vex the angels assigned to you—that is, annoy and provoke them. How do you provoke angels? Through a stubborn spirit of unbelief and the corresponding words & actions. A good example of this can be observed when the archangel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah to inform him of his wife’s pregnancy and their forthcoming Nazarite son, John the Baptist:

Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹²When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. ¹³But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. ¹⁴He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

¹⁹The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

Luke 1:11-20

It’s understandable that the sudden appearance of a supernatural being “startled” Zechariah and so he was “gripped with fear.” However, after Gabriel conveyed his wonderful message Zechariah responded in unbelief, doubting that he & Elizabeth could have a baby due to their age. This offended Gabriel and so he strikes Zechariah dumb for nine months until the baby was ready to be birthed (verses 57-64). Why was Gabriel so irked? Because he was astounded by Zechariah’s unbelief in response to the supernatural appearance of a ruling angel who regularly stood in the very presence of the Almighty.

This is evidence that our negative actions—persistent unbelief or sin—can provoke angels, resulting in some type of penalty or discipline. It goes without saying that we should respond in faith to God’s Word, wherever it comes from, and not react with doubt and unbelief!

Why do you think Gabriel struck Zechariah dumb? Because “the tongue has the power of life and death” (Proverbs 18:21). If Zechariah continued to speak his unbelief it would’ve prevented the miracle of John’s birth from taking place! Thus Gabriel silenced his tongue until John was born.

Mary, by contrast, did not respond in unbelief to Gabriel’s message regarding her miraculous pregnancy and the coming Messiah:

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

³⁴“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

³⁵The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷For no word from God will ever fail.”

³⁸“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Luke 1:28-38

Mary’s question was a legitimate one and not unbelief in light of the fact that she was a virgin. After Gabriel explained how the miracle would take place she humbly responds in faith: “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.”

She wasted no time in visiting Elizabeth where she ecstatically proclaimed: “the Mighty One has done great things for me” (verse 49). Mary spoke of her miracle in the past tense even though there was zero physical evidence of her supernatural pregnancy at this point, which shows faith.

So Zachariah vexed an angel through stubborn unbelief and thus suffered humiliating dumbness for nine months whereas Mary responded in faith and was blessed. Take heed.

**Don’t Provoke The Angel of the LORD**

We are responsible for the words we speak and what we believe in our hearts—our thought life—including the words we speak & believe over other people. Combined with the force of belief, our words have power, both positive and negative. Why do you think Christ said: “For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:37)?

Speaking of Jesus Christ, we must be careful to not provoke The Angel of the LORD through unrepentant rebellion. Consider the following example where the LORD addresses the Israelites after their deliverance from bondage in Egypt on their way to the Promised Land of Canaan:

“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. ²¹Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. ²²If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. ²³My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.”

Exodus 23:20-23

As you can see, a mighty “angel” was assigned to the Israelites to:

Guard the Israelites along their way (verse 20).
Give instructions from the LORD (verses 21-22).
Go ahead of them (verse 23).
Lead them into the Promised Land (verses 20 & 23).

Who is this angel? The Hebrew word for “angel” is malak (mal-AWK), which simply means “a messenger, supernatural or human.” The word appears over two hundred times in the Old Testament and most often refers to supernatural messengers (Genesis 19:1) while sometimes referring to human ones (Genesis 32:3,6 & Isaiah 30:4).

Malak is used several times in reference to “The Angel of the LORD,” the pre-incarnate Christ. A good example is when The Angel of the LORD appeared to meek Gideon (Judges 6:11,14). That linking article shows that this was no ordinary angel, but rather God, the Son, and how a whole chapter of the Bible is devoted to proving that Christ is vastly superior to angels (Hebrews 1).

So what about this “angel” that went ahead of the Israelites and led them into the Promised Land? Was it a conventional angel or The Angel of the LORD, the pre-incarnate Christ? The latter. Here’s the evidence:

The LORD said that His name—YHWH—was “in him” (verse 21). “In him” is one word in the Hebrew, qereb (KEH-reb), meaning in the “midst” or “within.” In other words, God’s name is intrinsically linked to this specific messenger and there’s only one “angel” (malak) in the Bible with this particular honor, The Angel of the LORD.
The statement that this “angel” would “not forgive” their rebellion (verse 21) obviously meant not forgiving those who were incorrigibly rebellious. How do we know this? Because the LORD always forgives the humbly repentant (1 John 1:9, Psalm 32:5 & Proverbs 28:13). So this Angel had the capacity to forgive or not forgive sin, which is a divine quality. Conventional angels, by contrast, are mandated to serve people in the sense of waiting on their tables, so to speak; they don’t have the authority to forgive or not forgive sin.
This “angel” is mandated to lead the Israelites into their Promised Land (verses 20 & 23) and, in the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit is the one who leads believers, not angels. Angels serve The Holy Spirit is, of course, the “Spirit of Christ” (Romans 8:9). Just as The Angel of the LORD led the Israelites into their earthly Promised Land so the Spirit of Christ leads New Covenant believers into their earthly “promised land” (I say earthly “promised land” to distinguish it from our eternal Promised Land, which is the “new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” – 2 Peter 3:13). We’ll look at this further at the end of this article, but more so in this article (the last two sections).
The key to victory in the forthcoming takeover of Canaan would not be the Hebrews’ military might, but rather the presence of The Angel of the LORD, who is Christ, along with the Israelites’ obedience. Just the same, believers in the New Testament do not conquer their “promised land” by their own might, but rather through the power of Christ and our compliance (Philippians 4:13). I add “and our compliance” because a covenant is an agreement or contract between two parties where each party has terms to fulfill. In our case, believers are obligated to believe (that is, walk in faith) and endure on the foundation of love—love for God and love for people as we love ourselves. This is “Faith working through love.” We’ll go over these things in this article (in the section The New Covenant is Superior to the Old Covenant).

“Do Not Rebel Against Him”

With the understanding that this “angel” is The Angel of the LORD—the pre-incarnate Christ—God instructed the Israelites to listen to what he said and not rebel against him (verse 21). The King James Version phrases this as “provoke him not” whereas the New King James Version says “do not provoke him.” The Hebrew word for “provoke” is marar (maw-RAR), which is used 13 times in the Old Testament and means to make bitter, grieve, provoke, enrage or vex.

What can we get from this? Rebellion against the Angel’s divine messages would provoke him—grieve him, vex him, enrage him. He would not forgive obstinate rebellion and hence the guilty Hebrews would have to suffer the corresponding punishment. And what is the wages of unrepentant sin? Death (Romans 6:23 & James 1:14-15).

Unfortunately, the Israelites foolishly provoked The Angel through their incorrigible rebellion and suffered accordingly.

Bear in mind that it was God’s express will for them to escape slavery in Egypt and inherit the Promised Land (Exodus 3:8,17 & 13:5). In fact, The Angel of the LORD was commissioned to fulfill this, but success hinged on the Israelites’ faithfulness (Exodus 23:20-23). Sadly, the Hebrews kept rebelling with their persistent spirit of unbelief.

A good example is when twelve spies explored the Promised Land in preparation to conquer it and ten of them came back with a negative report that contradicted God’s will. Joshua and Caleb were the only two who were faithful to the LORD’s Word (Numbers 13-14). The negative report spread and thus the Israelites said in unison: “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” (Numbers 14:2-3).

Notice God’s response:

“As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: ²⁹In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. ³⁰Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.”

Numbers 14:28-30

The disobedient Israelites were punished according to their own unbelieving words. They said they would die in the desert and thus it would be so over the course of the next forty years, starting with the immediate deaths of the ten unfaithful spies via plague (verses 36-37). Thankfully, the LORD did not hold those under 20 years of age accountable. The only two older than 19 (at the time) to enter the Promised Land four decades later were Joshua and Caleb because they walked in obedience to God’s Word and did not provoke The Angel of the LORD who was leading them to Canaan.

I want to stress: It was God’s will for all of them to live and inherit the Promised Land. But they stubbornly and stupidly opposed God’s will by believing a negative report and used the power of their tongues to voice words of unbelief. So the LORD gave to them accordingly. They said “We’re going to die in the desert” and that’s exactly what happened. What you say and believe is what you get.

It’s important to drive this home: Our words have the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21). (See this article for further insights). Make sure you speak life and not death. Make sure you speak according to God’s will and not against it because otherwise you risk hindering heavenly angels from servicing you and consequently opening the door for fallen angels to attack. Even worse, those who walk in exceptional unbelief and incorrigible rebellion risk vexing their angels and even provoking the Mighty Christ.

For anyone who finds this incredulous, please consider that…

What Happened to the Israelites Are Examples for Us

Are these Old Testament events applicable to us today? And, if so, how? Assuming you’re a New Covenant believer, notice what the New Testament says in this regard:

Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. ⁷Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” ⁸We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. ⁹We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. ¹⁰And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

¹¹These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.

1 Corinthians 10:6-11

As you can see, what happened to the Israelites in the Old Testament was chronicled as sobering “examples” and “warnings” for us—New Covenant believers—so that we would not foolishly walk in the same transgressions and suffer accordingly. Four sins and the corresponding occasions are named:

Idolatry: This means worshiping something above the LORD, which doesn’t have to be a literal idol; it could be something like mammon (money). Paul got this example from Exodus 32 where the Israelites—barely out of Egypt—fell into gross idol worship.
Sexual immorality: This includes all forms of sexual sin—fornication, adultery, homosexuality and so forth. This also refers to what took place in Exodus 32. The figure of 23,000 deaths is a combination of the 3000 killed by the Levites at Sinai for instigating the mass orgy (verse 28) and the participators who died from the subsequent plague (verse 35).
Testing Christ: This refers to questioning the goodness and plan of the Almighty, who created us, leads us, protects us and provides for us. This example comes from Numbers 21:4-9 where the Israelites became impatient and frustrated due to Moses’ circuitous route to the Promised Land where they proceeded to speak “against God and against Moses” (verses 5 & 7). Thus the LORD sent venomous snakes against the rebels and killed them (verse 6). The only way those bitten could live was to look at a snake on a pole made by Moses at the LORD’s instructions, which foreshadowed Jesus’ death on the cross.*

* Why would Christ be pictured as a snake on the cross? Because, although Jesus didn’t sin, he was made “sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB).

Two significant things bear noting from this account: First, the attacking snakes were types of the devil & filthy spirits. How’s this apply to us? Simple: Unbelief and the corresponding disobedience hinders protective angels and looses evil spirits (“snakes”). Secondly, Paul by the Spirit says that the Israelites tested “Christ” whereas the Old Testament account in Numbers specifically says they spoke against “God” and the “LORD” (verses 4 & 7). You see, Christ is the LORD, albeit the Son, not the Father. The Israelites were speaking against The Angel of the LORD whose job was to lead them through the wilderness and into the Promised Land. Thus the Israelites “spoke against the LORD,” which “tested Christ.” Chew on that.

Grumbling: This means complaining — murmuring and muttering in smoldering discontent — which includes complaining against God’s will, his Word and his leading, not to mention his God-anointed servant-leaders, like Moses & Aaron were to the Israelites. Paul says that those who obstinately grumbled were “killed by the destroying angel.” This refers to Numbers 16 where Korah, Dathan & Abiram and their 250 followers grumbled against the LORD and his chosen leaders (verse 11). It also includes the thousands of Israelites who grumbled the day after these rebels were slain by the LORD, which brought about the death of 14,700 more Israelites. These complaining rebels “were killed by the destroying angel”!!

Do you want to be slain by the destroying angel? Of course you don’t. So don’t grumble against the LORD, his Word, his will or his anointed servant-leaders. For anyone who would argue that this doesn’t apply to New Testament believers and our assemblies, the above passage plainly says otherwise.

This doesn’t mean, of course, that you should tolerate abuse from ministers (abuse is the misuse of power). In the case of Numbers 16 Moses & Aaron were not guilty of abuse. As a matter of fact, Moses was the humblest, godliest man on the face of the Earth at the time (see Numbers 12:3-8), which is in contrast to some modern arrogant “ministers” (‘minister,’ by the way, means “servant”). If you have legitimate evidence of abuse by spiritual leaders, pray about it and confront the person as led of the Spirit, as humbly as possible. If the person is unrepentant then get one or two witnesses for support in a follow-up confrontation. Christ Himself instructed us to do this (Matthew 18:15-17). If the “minister” remains obstinate about his/her abuse then do what the Messiah adamantly instructed: “Leave them; they are blind guides” (Matthew 15:14).

More on the Application of 1 Corinthians 10:6-11

Needless to say, 1 Corinthians 10:6-11 is a sobering passage and we need to regularly examine ourselves to see if we’re honestly in the faith and repent as necessary (2 Corinthians 13:5).

The four transgressions listed—idolatry, sexual immorality, testing God and grumbling—are common sins (1 Corinthians 10:13). All believers miss it now & then and anyone who says they don’t is a liar (1 John 1:8). But servant-leaders are supposed to be spiritually mature and therefore freed-up from the bigger sins (1 Timothy 3:1-7). After all, if they aren’t free from sin how can they help others walk free?

Regardless, all believers must learn to daily “put off the old self”—the flesh—and “put on the new self” (Ephesians 4:22-24). This is a process that requires “keeping with repentance,” meaning humbly ’fessing up when you miss it, which keeps God’s grace and forgiveness flowing in your life (1 John 1:9). Theologians refer to this process as sanctification, which means purification. It’s a purification of the mind that naturally occurs as believers grow spiritually.

The last two sins listed—testing Christ and grumbling—are applicable to the topic of angels, which is why we’re addressing this passage:

Testing Christ. Believers commit this sin when they speak against the LORD, his Word or his genuine servant-leaders. This automatically ties-up angels because angels only obey the voice of God’s Word. If believers are speaking against God’s Word, angels have nothing upon which to act. Instead, evil spirits—“snakes”—will be released to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). If you don’t want this happening in your life then don’t speak against God’s Word, his will or his genuine servant-leaders.

Grumbling. Amazingly, Korah and his fellow rebels grumbled against the LORD and Moses for delivering them from the bondage of Egypt (!), which they outrageously referred to as “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Numbers 16:12-13). I say “outrageously” because this was how God described the Promised Land he wanted to give the Israelites (Exodus 3:8). They also complained about being taken from Egypt to be killed in the desert. After Korah & his rebels were judged and wiped off the face of the Earth, thousands of Israelites complained about it and thus 14,700 were killed by “the destroying angel” via a plague that came out from the LORD (Numbers 16:46). The Bible applies this Old Testament account to New Testament believers. Needless to say, if you don’t want to be “killed by the destroying angel” then don’t be a grumbler.

But this leaves us with a question…

Who Is “the Destroying Angel”?

Believe it or not, the “destroying angel” refers to the LORD, the Son—The Angel of the LORD. If you find this incredulous, allow the Scriptures to prove it to you beyond any shadow of doubt.

Let’s start by revisiting the verse in question:

And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

1 Corinthians 10:10

As detailed above, Paul is referring to the events of Numbers 16. On this occasion three sets of rebels were killed:

Korah, Dathan & Abiram, their families and Korah’s men: They were killed when the Earth opened up beneath them and swallowed them alive (Numbers 16:25-34). Moses specified that it was “the LORD” who did this (verse 30).
The 250 community leaders who supported Korah’s rebellion and offered incense: They were killed when “fire came out from the LORD and consumed them” (Numbers 16:35).
The 14,700 Israelites who complained against Moses and Aaron because the LORD slew the rebels en masse. They were killed when wrath came out from “the LORD” in the form of a plague (Numbers 16:41-50). Many more would’ve died if atonement hadn’t been made through Moses and Aaron.

According to the account itself, who killed the grumbling rebels? The LORD Himself through 1. the Earth opening up, 2. fire and 3. plague. There is no mention of a conventional angel in Numbers 16 carrying out these just executions. Thus when Paul says they were “killed by the destroying angel” in 1 Corinthians 10:10 he was referring to the LORD.

I should point out that the Greek word for ‘angel’ does not actually appear in 1 Corinthians 10:10, which is why some versions read like so:

Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.

1 Corinthians 10:10 (NASB)

The King James Version also translates it this way.

“The destroying angel” (in the NIV) or “the destroyer” (in the NASB and KJV) is just one word in the Greek, olothreutés (ol-oth-ryoo-TACE), which only appears this single time in Scripture. The word stems from the noun olethros (OL-eth-ros), which means “ruin, doom, destruction, death.” Olethros can refer to physical death, but Paul also used it in reference to human damnation:

…This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. ⁸He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹They will be punished with everlasting destruction (olethros) and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

This refers to the fate of unredeemed people who refuse Christ as LORD. Since they reject the Redeemer and His gracious gift of eternal life they must justly suffer the wages of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23). This passage describes their fate as “everlasting destruction,” meaning destruction that lasts forever with no hope of resurrection. John described it as “the second death,” the result of being discarded in the lake of fire, which is God’s garbage dump (Revelation 20:11-15).

Notice that the above passage—2 Thessalonians 1:7-9—clearly shows “the Lord Jesus” as the one who issues out this destruction. Father God doesn’t do it because he “lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6:16). The heavenly Father speaks to people through the Son. He creates through the Son. In fact everything seen and unseen has been made by the Son (Hebrews 1:2 & Colossians 1:16). This explains why Christ has the authority to destroy, if necessary. Why? Because He’s the One who created in the first place. If you legally build a structure on your property the only one who has the authority to destroy it is you. It’s the same principle here. We’ll talk about this more in a moment.

With all this in mind, let’s return to 1 Corinthians 10:10. Paul said that the grumbling rebels put to death in Numbers 16 were killed by “the destroying angel” or “the destroyer.” Who is this destroyer? It’s the LORD Himself, the Son. We know this because, as noted above, the account three times attributes the just executions of the rebels to the LORD. No other being is mentioned as their destroyer, except the LORD, who performed the executions through 1. the Earth opening up, 2. fire and 3. plague.

Believers Are “Saved” From the LORD’s Wrath

Christians are said to be “saved,” but saved from what? Many believers don’t realize this but we are actually saved from God’s wrath. In other words, we are saved from God Himself. This is plainly observed in John’s solemn declaration: “Whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them” (John 3:36). Here’s further evidence:

But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.

Romans 2:5

Since we have now been justified by his [Jesus’] blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him?

Romans 5:9

Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

1 Thessalonians 1:10

For God did not appoint us to suffer [his] wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:9

As you can see, Christians are saved from God’s wrath which, according to Romans 2:5 above, will be executed on the Day of Judgment, referred to as “the day of God’s wrath.” *

* Many people will experience God’s wrath poured out on this Earth during the coming Tribulation, but the vast majority of unsaved humanity will not experience his wrath until their Judgment Day (Revelation 20:11-15).

Yet, what exactly is God’s wrath? In the Old Testament anyone who incurred God’s wrath was to suffer destruction at his hands (see, for example, Psalm 106:23 and Ezekiel 20:13). In the same way, when God’s wrath is poured out on Judgment Day, whoever’s name is not found written in the book of life will suffer destruction at his hands.

This explains why Hebrews 10:31 says “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” The context of this text is human damnation, as verified by verses 26-27:

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.

Hebrews 10:26-27

This is reminiscent of the way the 250 followers of Korah were justly executed by the LORD, i.e. the Son:

And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.

Numbers 16:35

So, when Hebrews 10:31 says “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” who’s “hands” is it talking about? Not the Father, but the Son.

Now let’s revisit three of the verses cited above:

Since we have now been justified by his [Jesus’] blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him?

Romans 5:9

Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

1 Thessalonians 1:10

For God did not appoint us to suffer [his] wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:9

Observe how these verses specify that it’s the Lord Jesus Christ who saves us from Father God’s wrath. With this in mind, consider this passage:

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy.

James 4:12

You see, the LORD is either going to save people or destroy them based on how they respond to his gracious offer of forgiveness and eternal life (Acts 20:21). In light of this, ponder something Jesus said:

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Matthew 10:28

The Greek word for ‘hell’ here is Gehenna (GHEH-en-nah), which literally referred to the Valley of Hinnom (HIN-om), a constantly smoking trash dump outside the SW walls of Jerusalem where garbage was eradicated. Jesus was simply using Gehenna as a figure for the lake of fire. Note what he says will happen to unrepentant rebels cast into the lake of fire: “the One” will destroy both soul and body. Who is “the One” who will destroy them? The LORD, of course, but more specifically the Son. In other words, Jesus was warning his listeners of what he himself would do to the willingly irredeemable on Judgment Day.

“Kiss the Son, Lest… You Perish in the Way”

What we’re talking about is clearly observed in this Old Testament passage:

¹⁰Therefore, you kings, be wise;

        be warned, you rulers of the earth.

¹¹Serve the LORD with fear,

        And rejoice with trembling.

¹² Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,

        And you perish in the way,

    When His wrath is kindled but a little.

        Blessed are all those

        who put their trust in Him.

Psalm 2:10-12 (NIV/NASB*)

* Verse 10 is from the NIV whereas verses 11-12 are from the NASB.

The passage is speaking to “kings” or “rulers of the earth”—encouraging them to “serve the LORD with fear.” This is referring to Yahweh but, more specifically, the Son.

World leaders—and all people by extension—are instructed to “kiss the Son,” which simply means to honor him, i.e. worship him. This includes putting your trust in Him. The first part of verse 12 says that those who refuse to do so risk angering the Son and thus they will “perish in the way.”

You see, Christ is our Creator—the “Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy” (James 4:12)—and he will save or destroy based on our response to His graciousness. In our case, this means his gracious offer of eternal life that is received through repentance and faith (Acts 20:21). Only the stupidest of fools would reject such an awesome free gift and continue on the path of certain death.

There’s nothing morally or judicially wrong with the fact that the Lord is going to irreversibly destroy sinful people who reject his gift of eternal life. How so? Because the Bible repeatedly makes it clear that the wages of sin is death and, furthermore, our Creator—Christ—has made sure that every human heart instinctively realizes this (Romans 1:32). Thus, people who reject redemption through Christ in favor of living a sinful lifestyle are indeed choosing the wages of their actions, death (whether choosing it consciously or subconsciously). And Yeshua will unenthusiastically accommodate them because he respects their freewill. The LORD alone is the ultimate authority and giver of life and therefore he has the authority and right to take life away—if he must.

Justice, after all, demands the execution of the penalty of the law. In this case the penalty of the law is death—eternal death—death with no hope of resurrection. As noted earlier, Paul referred to this sentence as “everlasting destruction” in 2 Thessalonians 1:9. Its execution is necessary in order that God may be just. A government that never calls offenders of the law to account is contemptible and wicked. The biblical doctrine of eternal punishment is our assurance that God is essentially and unchangingly holy and just. (Please note that I said “eternal punishment” and not “eternal punishing”).

See this article for scriptural details on human damnation.

Examples of The Angel of the LORD Destroying

With the understanding that 1. Christ is The Angel of the LORD and 2. that he has the authority to justly destroy anything he creates, if necessary, let’s examine a couple examples of this from the Old Testament.

This first example concerns the LORD destroying the firstborn males of Egypt in order to provoke Pharaoh to let the Israelites go free; Moses is speaking to the elders of Israel:

“When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.”

²⁴“Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. ²⁵When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. ²⁶And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ ²⁷then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’ ”

Exodus 12:23-27

Observe that it’s the LORD Himself who was going to pass through Egypt; and the final verse specifies that it is the LORD who would strike down the Egyptians, i.e. slay all the firstborn males. But verse 23 specifies further that it is “the destroyer” who would actually smite them. While I suppose this “destroyer” could be an archangel, like Michael (the chief angel who enforces law and judgment, as covered in this article), it’s more likely the pre-incarnate Christ—The Angel of the LORD—in light of the specificity of verse 27.

A passage in the Psalms sheds additional light:

⁴²They [the Israelites] did not remember his

[God’s] power—

       the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,

⁴³the day he displayed his signs in Egypt,

       his wonders in the region of Zoan.

⁴⁴He turned their river into blood;

       they could not drink from their streams.

⁴⁵He sent swarms of flies that devoured them,

       and frogs that devastated them.

⁴⁶He gave their crops to the grasshopper,

       their produce to the locust.

⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with hail

       and their sycamore-figs with sleet.

⁴⁸He gave over their cattle to the hail,

       their livestock to bolts of lightning.

⁴⁹He unleashed against them his hot anger,

       his wrath, indignation and hostility—

       a band of destroying angels.

⁵⁰He prepared a path for his anger;

       he did not spare them from death

       but gave them over to the plague.

⁵¹He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,

       the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.

⁵²But he brought his people out like a flock;

       he led them like sheep through the wilderness.

Psalm 78:42-52

This is a brief, poetic account of the ten plagues of Egypt, which occurred after the pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go. As you can see, it was the LORD Himself—the pre-incarnate Christ—who executed the ten plagues, but verse 49 shows that he had the assistance of “a band of destroying angels” to carry out at least some of these judgments; the text doesn’t specify which ones.

As far as the execution of the firstborn is concerned, however, Exodus 12:23 above doesn’t say that the LORD used angels (plural) to accomplish this, just that he would release “the destroyer” (singular) to do so. Since Exodus 12:27 cites the LORD as the One who struck down the firstborn we may conclude that the pre-incarnate Christ—The Angel of the LORD—is this “destroyer.”

Offering support is this passage, which concerns God’s judgment on Israel after David arrogantly took a census of his fighting men:

Before David got up the next morning, the word of the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer: ¹²“Go and tell David, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’ ”

¹³So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come on you three years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”

¹⁴David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

¹⁵So the LORD sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. ¹⁶When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

2 Samuel 24:11-16

God offered King David three options as punishment for his sin: 1. three years of famine in Israel, 2. three months of Israel being defeated by their enemies or 3. three days of plague. David chose the last one, likely because it involved the shortest length of judgment, but also because suffering plague would be a case of falling “into the hands of the LORD” and David was familiar with God’s great mercy, which was preferable to falling “into human hands” (verse 14). Note that David attributes the ensuing plague to the LORD Himself.

The next verse specifies that it is “the LORD”—Yahweh—who sends the plague on Israel, which kills 70,000 Hebrews. Verse 16 then shows the LORD preventing The Angel of the LORD from destroying Jerusalem by commanding him: “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” As noted earlier, the Angel of the LORD is the pre-incarnate Christ.

If this is so, how do we explain that the LORD talks to The Angel of the LORD as a separate person? Simple, it’s evidence of what theologians call “the Trinity”: Father God instructed the Son to withhold his hand from destroying the capital city and the Son complied. This is in harmony with what Jesus testified—He only does what the Father commands (John 8:29 & 15:10).

This isn’t something peculiar to 2 Samuel 24:16 as we observe the same thing in other passages, like this one:

That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!

2 Kings 19:35

And this one:

Then the angel of the LORD said, “LORD Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?” ¹³So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.

Zechariah 1:12-13

This passage shows that both “the angel of the LORD” and Father God were present at the same time. Since we know Christ is The Angel of the LORD this text is simply depicting two persons of the Trinity talking to each other. This explains, by the way, why God refers to Himself in the plural in the creation account:

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…”

Genesis 1:26

And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

Genesis 3:22

This plurality doesn’t indicate the false notion of polytheism, however, because the Bible emphasizes that God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4 & Isaiah 45:5,6,18). Rather, it’s an indication of one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19 & 2 Corinthians 13:14).

In any case, The Angel of the LORD who was about to “destroy Jerusalem,” as detailed in 2 Samuel 24:16, is the same Angel the Israelites were warned not to provoke in Exodus 23:21—the mighty pre-incarnate Christ.

Is it possible, or even likely, that Christ utilized the services of “destroying angels” to carry out the just destruction in question? Yes. But this does not make him any less “the destroyer” as the angels who assisted him wouldn’t destroy anything without his authorization. Speaking of which…

The LORD Utilized the Help of Destroying Angels

Let’s go back to Psalm 78:

He [God] unleashed against them his hot anger,

his wrath, indignation and hostility—

a band of destroying angels.

Psalm 78:49

What we see here is the LORD utilizing the services of angels to carry out his wrath on those judged; in this case, the destruction of Egypt through the various plagues. Examples of this can be observed in both the Old and New Testaments. Let’s look at an example from each…

Just before the obliteration of Sodom & Gomorrah three “men” appeared to Abraham with one turning out to be the LORD, the pre-incarnate Christ (Genesis 18:1-3,10). The LORD informed Abraham of his intentions of destroying these wicked cities because “the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous” (verse 20).

The two “men” who accompanied the LORD then left for Sodom while Abraham spoke to the LORD on behalf of the two cities (verses 22-33). Christ agreed to not destroy Sodom & Gomorrah if ten righteous people could be found there; unfortunately, this wasn’t the case and the cities were doomed.

The two men who went to Sodom were angels masquerading as men (Hebrews 13:2). They went to the city to get Lot and his family out of the city before its destruction. We observe the wickedness of Sodom when men from every part of the city surrounded Lot’s house in order to have perverted “sex” with Lot’s two guests (Genesis 19:4-5). These angelic visitors were likely exceptional looking and word spread around town, stirring up degenerate lust in the male populace.

This was certain proof for God’s angelic spies that the cities were wicked enough to incur judgment so they instructed Lot to get his family members and flee the city. They said:

“…we are going to destroy this place. The outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.”

Genesis 19:13

While verse 29 says that “God destroyed the cities on the plain” he obviously enlisted two destroying angels to carry out the judgment.

Interestingly, when Lot hesitated escaping the area, the angels “grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them” (verse 16). I point this out to show that these angels carried out their God-given mandate—to serve those who are to inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14).

In the New Testament there’s the example of Herod Agrippa, who unjustly arrested many Christians and even had James the son of Zebedee executed (Acts 12:1-5). God is merciful and therefore showed Herod much patience even though he was severely persecuting His church. But when Herod imprisoned Peter and put James to death his days were numbered and he was dangerously nearing the limit of God’s tolerance (1 Thessalonians 2:15-16).

Unfortunately, Herod chose to repeatedly spurn God’s awesome grace and so the Lord withdrew his mercy and decisively executed stern judgment at a political speech where Herod accepted praise due only to the Almighty and thus “an angel of the Lord struck him down” (Acts 12:21-23). What happened? Herod’s pomp and unjust acts reached the limit of God’s tolerance and thus judgment fell. The LORD utilized the services of an angel to carry out his judgment, which was death, the wages of sin.

This occurred in the New Testament era and this is our LORD whom Jesus and Paul said we should emulate (Matthew 5:48 & Ephesians 5:1). Chew on that.

Christ the Destroyer?

I realize that some reading this might be having a hard time wrapping their heads around the idea that Christ is both savior and destroyer. This is the result of years of religious indoctrination where Jesus has been made out to be little more than a harmless smiley guy who walks around in a white dress. It’s the “Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild” syndrome,* which is a thoroughly unbalanced perception. Sure, Jesus has a gentle, merciful and loving side and we’re astronomically blessed because of it. But God’s Word offers us a three-dimensional perspective.

* Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild was a sacred poem/hymn written by Charles Wesley and published in 1742.

Here are examples of the heavier side of Christ: He was brilliant in argumentation during his earthly ministry (Matthew 22:15-22) and astonished his enemies (Luke 20:26) to the point that “no one dared ask him anymore questions” (Mark 12:34). He was utterly dynamic, exuding life to the full (John 14:6 & 10:10). He was authoritative (not authoritarian), bold, outspoken and had no qualms about offending pompous people who were deserving of correction (Matthew 7:28-29, Luke 11:37-54 & Matthew 15:1-20 & 18:7). He radically cleansed the Temple of carnal fools twice—yelling, throwing over tables, scattering money and whirling a whip—which amazed the onlookers and struck fear in the hearts of religionists (Mark 11:15-18 & John 2:13-17). Christ was courageous, astonishing, amazing, authoritative and even frightening (Matthew 7:28-29 & 14:26; Mark 1:27, 2:10-12, 4:37-41 & 7:37; Luke 5:8-11, 7:14-16, 20:20-26 & 20:40).

And, yes, Christ is also the destroyer for those who reject him as savior:

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy;

James 4:12 (NASB)

Now someone might object on the grounds that Christ’s purpose in the New Covenant is to give life to the full, not kill and destroy, which is the Enemy’s modus operandi (John 10:10). While this is true, it doesn’t negate the above passage, which shows that the Mighty Christ is both Savior of the humbly repentant and Destroyer of the incorrigibly rebellious. We must be balanced in our studies. “Scripture interprets Scripture” is a hermeneutical rule for a reason. People who disregard it become unbalanced and thus fall into error or, at least, limit their perception of reality.

Besides, there’s a vast difference between the Mighty LORD justly destroying the worthless wicked (who will simply reap the wages of their unrepentant sin) and the devil & filthy spirits who destroy people indiscriminately, including unjustly attacking the righteous, like Satan did with Job (Job 1-2).

**Angels Are Assigned to You to Help You Enter Your “Promised Land”**

I’ve heard Christians speak of the Promised Land as a type of eternal life in the new Heavens and new Earth (typically referred to as “Heaven”). This is true, as far as our eternal “Promised Land” is concerned. Even the Old Covenant saints had an eternal Promised Land for which they longed (Hebrews 11:10,16). Yet, just as the Hebrews had an earthly Promised Land, so believers have an earthly “Promised Land,” but it’s not some literal piece of real estate, as the land of Canaan was for the Hebrews. For the believer, the Israelite’s Promised Land is a type of walking in our promised blessings in general and, more specifically, fulfilling whatever mission or dream the Lord gives you. In short, the Promised Land is a type of your inheritance during your temporal life on this Earth. Let’s consider a few examples of 1. promised blessings in general and 2. fulfilling the mission God gives you.

The New Testament promises healing for believers (1 Peter 2:24 & James 5:14-15). In 2013 my left knee swelled up and became stiff. It was difficult to merely get up and walk across the room. The problem required surgery, but I decided to stand on the healing promises of my covenant. It took faith & persistence but, after a few months, the healing fully manifested and I’ve been lovin’ it ever since—jogging five times a week, enjoying long daily walks and even skiing in the winter.

That same year, our semi-flat roof over our upstairs bedroom was heavily leaking and needed serious repairs. Standing on the promise of God’s provision (Philippians 4:19), Carol & I spoke in faith over the roof on a daily basis. After several weeks of faith & persistence (Hebrews 6:12) the means came to not only fix the roof, but replace it entirely, plus receive a new ceiling for the entire upstairs! God does “immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20)!

As far as the Promised Land of fulfilling one’s God-given dream is concerned, I had taught at numerous local churches for several years and eventually graduated Bible college. Carol & I sought the Lord and were led to start a non-sectarian ministry that focused on teaching God’s Word through books, websites, videos, social media, newsletters, sermons and other mediums. We knew it was the Lord’s will so we stuck to our guns in faith & perseverance—despite gossipy opposition from so-called “Christians.” And here we are with a dozen books out and two websites, reaching the world with the life-changing truths of God’s awesome Word.

These are real-life examples of New Covenant believers walking in their earthly Promised Land. Every believer is called to do this, but you must put off the flesh, seek the LORD and learn to walk in faith & patience, not to mention DON’T provoke angels or The Angel of the LORD through a grumbling spirit that opposes God and his will (not to mention the other sins listed earlier). Rather loose angels to assist you in your service by giving voice to God’s Word.

For details on the blessings of our covenant and how to walk in them see this article.

This article was edited from chapter 8 of…

You can purchase ANGELS for a special low price here (345 pages).
Or pick up the eBook version for just $2.99!

Evil Spirits (Demons) — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?

Satan (the Devil) — Liar, Slanderer, Thief, Murderer

Demonic Spirits — How to Deflect Them

How to Enlist the Help of Angels

Why do Unclean Spirits seek out Dry Places?

Why is this World so Messed Up?

REDEMPTION — God’s Plan of Liberation for Humanity & Creation

The Basics of Christianity

Why Are Both Lucifer and Christ Called the “MORNING STAR”?

Before his fall from Heaven (Luke 10:18), Satan is referred to in the Bible as “Lucifer, son of the morning” (Isaiah 14:12 KJV), a ruling spiritual being (paralleled in this context with the king of Babylon, Sennacherib). The word translated as “Lucifer” (in the King James Version) is helel (hay-LAYL); other English translations say “morning star,” “shining star, “day star” and the like, which you can compare here. The word literally means “shining one” and is only used this sole time in Scripture.

What we get from this is that Satan was “Lucifer” — aka “shining one” — before his angelic rebellion and fall from Heaven. In other words, he’s no longer God’s “shining one”; rather he’s a dark archangel (a ruling angel) who functions outside of God’s grace and, in fact, foolishly opposes the LORD’s kingdom, which you can read details about here.

The fact that Satan used to be Lucifer, the “shining one,” explains how he can effectively disguise himself as an “angel of light” to deceive ignorant people (2 Corinthians 11:14 & Revelation 12:9).

As for Jesus Christ, he described himself as the “bright morning star” in Revelation 22:16. “Morning star” here is two words in the Greek: próinos (pro-ee-NOHS) means “early morning” and astér (aws-TAIR) means “star.” Not only is the Mighty Christ like a morning star, he’s a bright morning star, meaning “shining, magnificent, splendid.” I was just outside under the starry panorama and to the southeast there was one star that was far brighter than any other — none other was comparable. Yeshua is similarly the bright morning star.

As you can see, the descriptions of Lucifer and Christ as “shining one” and “bright morning star” respectively are different Hebrew and Greek words. While the descriptions may be similar they are not references to the same person.

How about another comparison between the two? Elsewhere in the Scriptures the Messiah is called the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5). Jacob — renamed “Israel” (Genesis 32:28) — described his son Judah as a “lion’s cub” (Genesis 49:9) and thus the lion became the symbol and standard of that tribe. The lion is of course the “king of beasts” and hence represents strength, boldness and sovereignty. Spiritually speaking, the true Lion of Judah is Christ Himself. Interestingly, Judah means “praise” and thus Judah was the tribe that led Israel into battle (Judges 20:18).

The devil is also likened to a lion, but only in the sense of a ferocious predator scaring its potential prey immobile with its intimidating roar (1 Peter 5:8). New Covenant believers, however, don’t have to fear Satan or his filthy minions because they’re defeated; and disciples of Christ have authority over them (Colossians 2:15 & Luke 10:19), which you can learn more about here. In other words, although Satan is a lion in the above sense, to believers he’s a toothless, sinew-less cat on his last leg (yet still very formidable if one isn’t applying spiritual warfare truths).

Although both are referred to as lions in the Scriptures, they couldn’t be more different:

Christ is the Word of God (John 1:1-5), one with the Father and Holy Spirit (John 10:30, John 14:9, Matthew 28:19 & 2 Corinthians 13:14), who created all things, including Lucifer who rebelled and became the devil (Colossians 1:16).
Satan is a created spiritual being, an ex-employee of Heaven and Ultimate Loser who was kicked out due to his gross folly, which you can read more about here.

While Satan is an archangel — a ruling angel — he’s a morally filthy slanderer, liar and murderer (Revelation 12:10 & John 8:44).

Christ, by contrast, is The Angel of the LORD. The term ‘angel’ means “messenger” and thus the Messiah is God’s ultimate message to humanity. He’s the living Word of God (John 1:1-5).

As you can see, comparing the Lord with evil spirits is an amusing parallel at best, whether the wicked spirit is Satan or any of his sheeple underlings. Want to know what happens when Yeshua and demonic spirits come face to face in a confrontation? The demons shriek in horror at the mere sight of the Mighty Christ and literally beg the Lord not to torture them and throw their filthy hind ends into the Abyss! See for yourself:

²⁶They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. ²⁷When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. ²⁸When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” ²⁹For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

³⁰Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. ³¹And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.

Luke 8:26-31

So when misguided souls try to parallel satan with the Lord Jesus Christ — or even equate them — it’s pretty laughable.

Related Topics:

Demons Vs. Jesus Christ — No Contest!

ANGELS — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?

Jesus Christ — Milksop or Mighty Lord?

Comparing Jesus Christ with… Superman

Evil Spirits (Demons) — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?

THE Angel of the LORD — Mighty Angel or Pre-Incarnate Christ?

The Bible refers to “The Angel of the LORD” several times, but it’s clear that this is no ordinary angel and he should be differentiated from references to an angel of the LORD (e.g. Luke 1:11). In fact, it’s obvious that The Angel of the LORD is deity—the Mighty pre-incarnate Christ. Let’s look at the scriptural evidence for this powerful revelation.

The First Appearance of The Angel of the LORD

“The Angel of the LORD” first appears in Genesis 16 when the slave Hagar ran away from her home with Abram and Sarai (who are renamed Abraham and Sarah in the following chapter). The Angel of the LORD appears to Hagar at a spring and instructs her to go back home and submit to her mistress; he then encourages her about her soon-to-be-birthed son, Ishmael, and their countless descendants (verses 7-12).

But how do we know the Angel of the LORD is deity in this passage? Verse 13 makes it clear:

She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”

Genesis 16:13

We are told point blank that this “angel” is the LORD. Secondly, Hagar dubs him “the-God-Who-Sees-Me” and, furthermore, testifies that she had now seen the-God-who-sees-her.

Someone might argue that no one has ever seen God based on a few clear passages, such as when Moses requested to see God’s Glory and the LORD responded: “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). Another example is 1 Timothy 6:16 where Paul describes God as “whom no one has seen or can see.”

Here’s another passage:

No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

John 1:18

If no one has ever seen God then how do we explain Hagar seeing the LORD in Genesis 16 above? The answer lies within the second part of this verse: No one has ever seen God, the Father, but the Son—who also is God—has made Him known. How did the Son make God known? Two ways:

Christ made the Father known through His incarnation, which is confirmed by Jesus’ statements: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9), “whoever sees me sees him who sent me” (John 12:45 ESV) and “If you knew me, you would know my Father also” (John 8:19).
Christ also made the Father known in Old Testament times before his incarnation, as illustrated above when Hagar saw God via The Angel of the LORD.

There are several other appearances of the pre-incarnate Christ—aka “the Angel of the LORD”—in the Old Testament…

The Angel of the LORD Appears to Moses in the Burning Bush

Notice what the Bible says about The Angel of the LORD in the account of the burning bush:

Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. ²There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

⁴When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

⁵“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

⁷The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. ⁸So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey”

Exodus 3:1-8

As you can see, The Angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in fiery flames from within the bush. When The Angel of the LORD speaks, he testifies to being God and Moses was understandably “afraid to look at God.” Then this celestial being is referred to as the “LORD” in verse 7, which is the Tetragrammaton—YHWH—the name for God, which we’ll look at shortly.

Clearly The Angel of the LORD is God, albeit not the Father, but rather the Son, who is the One who reveals the Father.

The Angel of the LORD Appears to Gideon

Here’s another occasion where the Angel of the LORD appears:

The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. ¹²When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

¹³“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

¹⁴The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

¹⁵“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

¹⁶The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

Judges 6:11-16

“The Angel of the LORD” appears to Gideon in verses 11-12 and the following verses confirm him to be the LORD, aka Yahweh (verses 14 & 16).

The Angel of the LORD Appears to the Parents of Samson

In Judges 13 The Angel of the LORD appears to the parents of Samson to announce the prophet’s birth wherein ‘The Angel’ gives them instructions on how the child is to be raised consecrated to the LORD. He is referred to as “the Angel of the LORD” several times in this chapter and “the Angel of God” as well (verse 9).

He’s also referred to as a “man” a few times (verses 6, 10 & 11), which simply shows that The Angel of the LORD appeared as a man to Manoah and his wife. Of course, they could tell that he was no ordinary person because Manoah’s wife described him as a “man of God” who “looked like an angel of God, very awesome” (verse 6).

When Manoah asked The Angel’s name he responded: “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond understanding” (verse 18) or, as the New Living Translation puts it, “It is too wonderful for you to understand.” Clearly, this was a messenger of God far greater than mighty archangels like Michael and Gabriel, who had understandable names.

Who exactly “the Angel of the LORD” is in Judges 13 is cleared up at the close when he ascends to Heaven in the flames of Manoah’s offering (verse 20). To which Manoah cries: “We are all doomed to die! We have seen God!” (verse 22).

Yes, they saw God, but not God, the Father, since He “lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6:16). Rather they saw God, the Son; the One who reveals the Father.

Jacob Wrestles with God

With everything we now know about The Angel of the LORD—that he is God, the Son, who reveals Father God—let’s look at the incredible account of Jacob who wrestled with a “man” all night that turned out to be God:

That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

²⁷The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

²⁸Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

²⁹Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

³⁰So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

³¹The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

Genesis 32:22-31

While there are a lot of potent truths you can pull from this amazing account we want to focus on the simple fact that Jacob wrestled with someone all night that appeared to be a “man” and this man turned out to be God. As Jacob exclaims at the end: “I saw God face to face.”

We know from the rest of Scripture that Jacob didn’t see Father God because no one can see the Father and live. He saw the pre-incarnate Son whose job is to reveal Father God. While this passage doesn’t refer to the Son as The Angel of the LORD, that’s who it is. Notice that Jacob asks for his name and he responds similarly to the way The Angel of the LORD did to Manoah, as shown in the previous section (Judges 13:18). Moreover, notice what the prophet Hosea says when he references the account of Jacob wrestling with this “man”:

³In the womb he [Jacob] grasped his brother’s heel;

as a man he struggled with God.

⁴He struggled with the angel and overcame him;

he wept and begged for his favor.

Hosea 12:3-4

Hosea refers to the “man” Jacob wrestled all night as God and “the angel,” meaning The Angel of the LORD, i.e. the pre-incarnate Christ. Scripture interprets Scripture.

The Commander of the Army of the LORD

The Son makes another pre-incarnate appearance before the sack of Jericho where he’s not identified as The Angel of the LORD, but rather as the Commander of the Army of the LORD:

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

¹⁴“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”

¹⁵The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

¹Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.

²Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.”

Joshua 5:13-6:2

It doesn’t take long for Joshua to realize that this mysterious man with a drawn sword isn’t merely a “man” because Joshua falls facedown to the ground in worship. Keep in mind that both the Hebrew and Greek words for ‘worship’ literally mean to prostrate oneself in adoration or reverence. This was Abraham’s response to the LORD, as observed in Genesis 17:3 and 18:1-2, which document two other appearances of the pre-incarnate Christ.

Joshua then proceeds to call this curious man “Lord” and refers to himself as his “servant” (verse 14).

Further evidence that this Commander of the Army of the LORD is deity can be observed in that he immediately commands Joshua to remove his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. This recalls what The Angel of the LORD instructed Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5).

Lastly, the Commander of the LORD’s Army is identified at the end of the passage simply as “the LORD” (verse 2) wherein He supplies Joshua with the strategy he needed to conquer the pagan city. Keep in mind that there were no chapter divisions in the original manuscripts; these were added 2600 years after the book of Joshua was written.

So the Commander of the Army of the LORD is the pre-incarnate Christ.

Now, let me ask you: Does this Commander come across as a milksop or does he strike you as a mighty warrior that commands respect and awe? Notice what he says when Joshua asks him if he’s on Israel’s side or Jericho’s side: “Neither, but as commander of the army of the LORD I have come.” This response is simple and succinct, but it’s potent and speaks volumes: Jesus Christ is so magnificent, so great—so incredibly awesome—he’s above the mundane conflicts of this world and the politics thereof. Bringing this home for us today: The Mighty Christ is above the perpetual squabbling of the left-wing and right-wing factions of our governments. Enough said.

Understanding God’s Name—YHWH

All these passages reveal that The Angel of the LORD is God, with several identifying him as the “LORD,” which is YHWH in the Hebrew. This is the Tetragrammaton (teh-truh-GRAM-uh-tawn), which is the actual name of God in the Bible. YHWH is typically rendered “LORD” in English versions of Holy Scripture (all capitals).

From the 2^nd or 3^rd century BC The Name was considered too holy to speak in Jewish culture and therefore substitute words for YHWH were used, like Adonai (ah-doh-NAHY) and Elohim (eh-LOH-him or EL-oh-HEEM). Adonai is a title of reverence for God and Elohim simply means “God.”

Since YHWH became ineffable, the actual pronunciation was lost over time, although YAH-way is the likely pronunciation (or YAH-hoo-way for devout Hebrews). “Jehovah” is merely the English form of the Tetragrammaton (JHVH) with the vowels of Adonai inserted.

Basically, when God told Moses “I AM WHO I AM,” he was giving the translation of what Yahweh means (Exodus 3:13-14). “I AM WHO I AM” is Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh in Hebrew. He was saying in effect, “My name is the fact that I exist.”

Now, isn’t that a perfectly fitting name for the Almighty?

In response to this fascinating information someone wrote me quoting Romans 10:13, which says “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” She understandably asked:

So what name exactly? Since the one mentioned is too holy and we don’t really know the correct pronunciation (and probably for the best in light of the third commandment).

To answer, let’s read Romans 10:13 with the surrounding verses:

Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” ⁶But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷“or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” ¹²For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Romans 10:5-15

Paul was quoting the prophet Joel in verse 13 and the Hebrew word translated as “LORD” in that Old Testament passage is YHWH. Hence, we are to call upon the name of YHWH. But the very next verse—Romans 10:14—implies that Paul was talking about calling upon the name of the Lord Jesus and believing in Him. “Jesus” is the Greek rendition of the Hebrew Yeshua (or Joshua), which means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation.”

Jesus Christ is the topic of this section of Scripture, as verified by verses 6, 7 and 9; and Jesus is even referred to as “Lord” in verse 9. This is the Greek word kurios (KOO-ree-os), which is the very same word used to translate the Hebrew YHWH from Joel 2:32 in verse 13! In other words, the same Greek word for “Lord”—kurios—is used to translate the Hebrew YHWH and is also used as a reference to Jesus Christ in the same context. So, whether Yahweh or Yeshua it’s all good. Keep in mind what Jesus said: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” and “I and the Father are ONE” (John 14:9 & John 10:30).

I suggest keeping this data in mind for the next time a Jehovah’s False Witness tries to scam you about the Father and the Son who, as you can plainly see, are both YHWH. Romans 10:5-15 above is strategic in proving this.

Speaking of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, they make this big deal about referring to God by his proper name YaHWeH, which they pronounce as “Jehovah.” The problem with this is threefold:

YHWH is actually pronounced Yahweh (YAH-way), not Jehovah, as explained above.
The Tetragrammaton—YHWH—actually does not appear in the New Testament, at least not in any extant text. As noted above, the Greek word kurios is used to translation it (Joel 2:32 & Romans 10:13). Kurios, by the way, means “Lord, master, sir.”
When Jesus Christ instructed us how to pray he said we are to address Yahweh as our “heavenly Father” or our “Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-13). This corresponds to familial relation where we’re Yahweh’s children through spiritual rebirth (1 John 3:9, 1 Peter 1:23 & Titus 3:5). As such, we are to naturally refer to Yahweh as “abba Father” (Romans 8:15 ). The Aramaic abba is a term of tender endearment by a beloved child for his/her father; it’s an affectionate, dependent word akin to “Daddy” or “Papa.” Think about your relationship with your earthly father. Do you call him by his proper name or do you use a term of endearment, like “Daddy,” “Dad,” “Pa,” “Pops” or “Father”? This is why Christ said we are to address YHWH as “Father” when we commune, which isn’t to say we can’t refer to him as Yahweh (more on this in a moment).

As to the pronunciation of YHWH, as noted above YAH–way (or YAH-hoo-way to devout Jews) is the accepted pronunciation, but proper pronunciation has nothing to do with the third Old Testament commandment—“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God” (Exodus 20:7)—especially in light of varying dialects. For instance, people of northern and southern Israel pronounced Adonai and Elohim differently, with the accent on different syllables. The idea that the LORD would reject someone merely because he or she put the accent on a different syllable than someone else is silly. God looks to the heart not to whether or not they pronounce a word perfectly (1 Samuel 16:7).

As far as YHWH becoming ineffable, that didn’t happen until the Hellenistic period which coincided with the inter-testamental period (i.e. “between testaments”—approximately 400 BC to the time of Christ). And it’s actually unbiblical in light of David—“a man after God’s own heart”—utilizing YHWH frequently in his prayer time, as seen throughout the Psalms, which shows that God approves of people using YHWH in our communion with Him. To exclusively use substitute names and titles on the grounds that we might severely offend God by mispronouncing YHWH is unbiblical.

Taking the LORD’s name in vain refers to the wrongful use of The Name, not mispronunciation based on one’s dialect or whatever; unless, of course, someone were to intentionally mispronounce it in a mocking sense.

If Christ is “The Angel of the LORD” Is He an Angel?

The answer to this question is an emphatic “No” for several reasons:

- The Angel of the LORD is constantly identified as the LORD—Yahweh—albeit the Son, not the Father. We’ve seen several examples of this (e.g. Exodus 3:1-12 & Judges 6:11-22).
- “The Angel of the LORD” is a title of the Son, Yeshua, not a name. The Hebrew word for “angel” is malak (mal-AWK), which simply means “a messenger, supernatural or human.” The word appears 213 times in the Old Testament and typically refers to supernatural messengers (Genesis 19:1) but often refers to human messengers as well (Genesis 32:3,6). Just as the “envoys” to Egypt in Isaiah 30:4 aren’t conventional angels, neither is The Angel of the LORD a conventional angel.

Why did the Father give the Son this title? Two reasons: Yeshua is called The Angel of the LORD—The Messenger of the LORD—because that’s what he does: He reveals God to people because the Father dwells in unapproachable light and no one can see Him (1 Timothy 6:16). Since no one can see Him we can’t receive from Him directly. Thus the Son is The Messenger of the LORD. The second reason is…

- “The Angel of the LORD” is likely the Father’s term of endearment for the Son, such as a man calling his wife or daughter his “angel.” This is akin to “abba Father,” which is how believers refer to Father God by the Spirit (Romans 8:15). As noted in the previous section, the Aramaic abba is a term of tender endearment of a child for his/her beloved father; it’s an affectionate word denoting dependence, similar to “daddy.”
- God has provided for us an entire chapter of the Bible—Hebrews 1—to prove that Jesus is not a conventional angel in the manner of Michael, Gabriel or lesser angels. If you’re not familiar with it, I encourage you to read this chapter; let’s look at some of its key statements…

Father God Speaks to People through the Son, who Created all Things!

Observe the opening two verses of the first chapter of Hebrews:

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ²but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.

Hebrews 1:1-2

In Old Testament times God spoke to people through prophets, like Moses and Isaiah, but in these “last days”—which means the time spanning from the Messiah’s arrival to His return*—the heavenly Father speaks through His Son, Jesus Christ. This doesn’t just include the actual words of Christ, as chronicled in the four Gospels, but also to those who “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” since the Holy Spirit is the “Spirit of Christ” (2 Peter 1:21 & Romans 8:9).

* See Acts 2:17, James 5:3, 1 Peter 1:20, 2 Peter 3:3-4.

The fact that Father God speaks to people through the incarnated Son is a general truth and does not mean that Father God didn’t occasionally speak to people via the pre-incarnate Christ, as shown earlier. Remember the hermeneutical rule: Scripture interprets Scripture.

In any case, verse 2 verifies the main point of this chapter—that Jesus Christ is The Messenger of the LORD who speaks for the Father because the Father cannot have direct contact with people, lest they perish. This is why Yeshua has the title The Angel of the LORD—The Messenger of the LORD.

Notice in the second part of verse 2 that Jesus is designated as “the heir of all things… through whom he [Father God] made the universe.” All things in Heaven and Earth where made through Christ (John 1:3); this includes all angels:

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

Colossians 1:16

“Powers,” “rulers” and “authorities” comprise supernatural hierarchies, including the devil and his ranks of fallen angels (Ephesians 6:12). This isn’t to say, of course, that Christ created these disgraced spirits in their fallen state—He created them in a perfect condition and they later foolishly rebelled, which we’ll look at further in Chapter 9 and 11.

So Christ is superior to angels because he created them!

All I can say about this is: Wow! Jesus ain’t no conventional angel!

**Jesus Christ: Superior to Angels**

Let’s look at the next two verses of Hebrews 1:

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. ⁴So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Hebrews 1:3-4

The fact that Christ sat down at the right hand of Father God in Heaven distinguishes Him from angels, like Michael and Gabriel who, at most, merely stand in the presence of God (Luke 1:19). This is further emphasized several verses later:

To which of the angels did God ever say,

“Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies

a footstool for your feet”?

Hebrews 1:13

The quote is from the opening verse of this Psalm:

The LORD says to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies

a footstool for your feet.”

Psalm 110:1

Father God is speaking to the Son here. The former is referred to by the Hebrew Tetragrammaton—YHWH—which is rendered “LORD” (all capitals) whereas the latter is a different Hebrew word for “Lord.” When Christ quotes this verse in the New Testament both words are the same Greek word, kurios (KOO-ree-os), which is the Greek word for YHWH, noted earlier (Matthew 22:44). My Point? Jesus is YHWH, albeit the Son, not the Father.

Now let’s revisit verse 4:

So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

Hebrews 1:4

Here it is emphasized in plain language that Yeshua is superior to angels. The Greek verb translated as “became” refers to a change of state and not a change of existence because we know that the Son has existed from eternity, just as the Father:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning. ³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made…

¹⁴The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:1-3,14

This explains why both Father and Son refer to themselves as “I Am” (Exodus 3:14, John 8:58 & 18:6) and as “the first and the last” (Isaiah 44:6 & Revelation 22:13).

The reason Hebrews 1:4 says that Jesus “became” superior to angels is simply because he “was made lower than the angels for a little while” when he was incarnated (Hebrews 2:9). Notice what the Bible says about this:

…Christ Jesus:

⁶Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God

         something to be used to his own advantage;

⁷rather, he made himself nothing

by taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

⁸And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹¹and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:6-11

As you can see, before Christ’s incarnation he was “in very nature God” but “made himself nothing” by “being made in human likeness.” This is when he became lower than the angels for a little while (Hebrews 2:9) and it explains why Hebrews 1:4 says that he “became” superior to the angels when he ascended to the Father and “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:3).

What Does it Mean that Jesus is God’s “Firstborn”

Let’s consider another verse from Hebrews 1:

And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”

Hebrews 1:6

As you can see, the Son is referred to as God’s “firstborn.” This is observed in other passages as well:

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

Colossians 1:15

Cults like the Jehovah’s False Witnesses use these texts to support their belief that Jesus was the first created being of the LORD; and then God used Jesus to create everything else. However, Scripture interprets Scripture and we know from other passages examined in this chapter that Jesus is Yahweh (YHWH), albeit the Son, not the Father.

So what do these verses mean by describing Yeshua as the “firstborn.” The apostles, like Paul, borrowed this term from their Hebraic upbringing where “firstborn” meant especially honored. For instance, the nation of Israel was referred to as God’s “firstborn,” but this obviously didn’t mean Israel was the first nation that ever existed (Exodus 4:22). Similarly, God referred to David as His “firstborn” when he was hardly the first male God created, not to mention David was the youngest of Jesse’s eight sons (Psalm 89:20,27). Furthermore, David was the second king of Israel. In light of all this, when Christ is referred to as the “firstborn” it simply means that the Son has a place of honor before the Father, shared by no one else; as well as a place of honor over all creation.

There are several other reasons for rejecting the idea that Christ was God’s first created being. Here are two obvious ones:

1. Jesus cannot be both “first created” and “one and only Son” (John 1:14 &18, 3:16 & 18, 1 John 4:9). Think about it.
2. John 1:3 (above) says that “Through him [Christ] all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” If Yeshua is the Creator of all things he cannot also be the first created. It’s simple logic.

Angels Worship Jesus

Now let’s consider the second part of verse 6:

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”

Hebrews 1:6

This is further evidence of Christ’s superiority to angels—angels worship Him. As such, if Jesus was an angel he’d have to worship himself!

Why do angels worship Yeshua? Because he’s their Creator, as shown earlier in Colossians 1:16. Furthermore, all authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to Him (Matthew 28:18) and notice who’s submitted to Him:

Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand — with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

1 Peter 3:22

Also, the Word of God forbids the worship of angels and advocates the worship of God alone (Revelation 19:10 & 22:9); and the Messiah is clearly worshipped by people and angels alike (Matthew 2:11, 14:33, 21:9 & 28:9).

You can study the rest of Hebrews 1 for yourself. I just wanted to show that there’s an entire chapter in God’s Word that proves Jesus Christ is superior to angels.

‘Wouldn’t Calling Jesus “The Angel of the LORD” Mislead Some People?’

Some folks have been misled into concluding that Christ was merely a mighty angel in the manner of Michael, with some even believing he is Michael. All I can say is: They must not know how to read in light of the clear scriptural data that shows Yeshua is the LORD—Yahweh—albeit the Son and not the Father. Seriously, how much clearer could God be in his Word that Christ is superior to angels?

The fact that some people fall into error because Jesus is “The Angel of the LORD” (etcetera) reveals why it’s important to “rightly divide” the Scriptures, as encouraged in the Bible:

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

Who is God’s “worker who does not need to be ashamed”? Answer: The one who correctly handles the written Word. It’s only the person who incorrectly handles God’s Word that should be ashamed because he or she wrongly interpreted it. This, of course, spreads error, which naturally puts people into bondage since only the truth can set them free, not error (John 8:31-32).

In order to “rightly divide” the Scriptures we must make sure that we’re adhering to the four common-sense rules of hermeneutics, that is, Bible interpretation:

Context is king: Meaning the surrounding text reveals the obvious meaning of each passage.
Scripture interprets Scripture: Meaning every passage must be interpreted in light of the larger context of the entire Bible and thus the Bible itself is the best interpreter of a passage. In other words, one’s interpretation of a passage must gel with what the rest of Scripture teaches on the topic in question; the more overt and detailed passages obviously expand our understanding of the more sketchy and ambiguous ones.
Take the Bible literally unless it’s clear that figurative language is being used: In which case you look for the literal truth that the symbolism intends to convey.
If the plain sense makes sense—and is in harmony with the rest of Scripture—don’t look for any other sense lest you end up with nonsense: This includes the “plain sense” of the whole of Scripture on any given topic. In other words, if an individual or group comes up with an interpretation that is opposed to the plain-sense meaning that all the passages in the Bible obviously point to on a subject then it must be rejected. This fourth rule is essentially the other three combined.

These “rules” are really just common-sense guidelines for discovering truth and being set free from error, whether secular or religious. Although the Bible is simple enough that the simplest of persons can receive from it and be blessed, it’s also deep and complex, which means that as believers grow in the Lord they naturally grow in knowledge, understanding and wisdom.

Anyone who unbiasedly adheres to these four hermeneutical rules will be able to discern the truth on any given topic. The ‘truth’ is simply “the way it really is.” But we have to be honest with the Scriptures and free from the bias of sectarianism* in order to discern it.

* Sectarianism is faction-ism, which is actually cited as a work of the flesh in the Bible (Galatians 5:19-21). In the Greek it’s hairesis (HAH-ee-res-is), meaning “a religious or philosophical sect” and the resulting division it causes. As such, some translations render the word as “divisions.” It’s a “self-chosen opinion” rooted in sectarian loyalty—i.e. based on the beliefs of one’s favored sect—rather than a viewpoint rooted in the rightly-divided Word of God. The Pharisees and Sadducees were strict sectarians and their faction-ism prevented them from seeing obvious truths in Scripture, even though they diligently studied them (John 5:39-40). Sectarian ministers are essentially “yes men” to their sect (party) whereas more independent ministers who focus on God’s Word are naturally more reliable. This does not mean, by the way, that if you belong to a sect—like Baptists—you’re automatically guilty of sectarianism. You can read more on this topic here.

Something else to consider is the fact that—believe it or not—the LORD and godly characters in the Bible have been known to set out “stumbling blocks” to intentionally discombobulate proud fools, whether legalists or libertines. See, for example, Ezekiel 3:20, Romans 11:9 and Psalm 69:22.

Frankly, people who teach that Yeshua isn’t the LORD, but rather a created angel are fools who have fallen prey to this stumbling block due to their sectarianism and superficial “studies.” They should be ashamed for spreading such blatant error; and they’ll be held accountable for it when they stand before the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:10-11, Romans 14:10,12 & James 3:1).

The Angel of the LORD in the New Testament

The book of Revelation contains over 300 references to Old Testament passages, far more than any other New Testament book. Is it any wonder that The Angel of the LORD appears in it:

Then I [John] saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. ²He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, ³and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke.

Revelation 10:1-3

Several things point to this being The Angel of the LORD—i.e. the Mighty Christ—and not just another angel:

The Greek word for ‘another’ in “I saw another mighty angel” is allos (AL-os), which can mean “different” as well as another of the same kind (Strong 10). And it’s clear that this angel—i.e. messenger of the LORD—is vastly different than the angels that appeared up to this point in John’s vision.
This angel’s shout is likened to a roar of a lion and Jesus Christ is the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5).
Speaking of whom, the “scroll” that this angel holds presumably refers to the scroll of Revelation 5, which only the Lion of Judah—that is, Jesus Christ, the “Lamb, who was slain”—could take from Father God and open! After all, what other scroll would it refer to? Scripture interprets Scripture.
The context of both Revelation 5 (where only the Son could take the scroll from the Father and open it) and Revelation 10 (where the Angel holds the scroll as he descends from Heaven, planting one foot on land, one foot in the ocean and shouting a victory cry) shows that the scroll must be the title deed to the Earth. Only Christ can hold it because A. He’s the Creator of Heaven and Earth (Colossians 1:16), B. He’s “the King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 17:14 & 19:16) who C. possesses “all authority in heaven and earth” (Matthew 28:18).
The description John gives of the Angel is akin to other stunning descriptions of Deity in the Bible (Ezekiel 1:26-28 & Revelation 1:13-18):

“a rainbow above his head” (Ezekiel 1:28).
“his face was like the sun” (Revelation 1:16 & Ezekiel 1:27).
“his legs were like fiery pillars” (Revelation 1:15 & Ezekiel 1:27).
His legs being like fiery pillars, by the way, is symbolic of judgment and only the Son has authority to judge the Earth (John 5: 22).
“When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke” (Revelation 1:15).

The evidence leads me to believe that this angel is The Angel of the LORD—i.e. Jesus Christ—and not any ol’ strong angel. For anyone who disagrees, that’s fine; it’s not something worth arguing over.

We’ll look at another interesting reference to The Angel of the LORD in the New Testament next chapter.

The Angel of the LORD distinguished from an Angel of the LORD

The Angel of the LORD understandably does not appear during Christ’s incarnation on Earth because this “Angel” is Christ. Keep in mind that the Son is the living “Word of God” because He’s everything the Father wants to say to humanity (John 1:1-3 & Hebrews 1:1-2). The Hebrew & Greek words for ‘angel’ mean “messenger.” Thus Christ—the Word of God—is The Angel of the LORD, The Messenger of the LORD. The Father conveys the “message of reconciliation” through the Son and all those born of his seed (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

Obviously it’s imperative to distinguish The Angel of the LORD from an angel of the LORD in the Scriptures. The former is Deity whereas the latter is not. For instance, Luke 1:11 shows “an angel of the Lord” appearing to Zechariah, the husband of Elizabeth and father of John the Baptist. Several verses later this angel is identified as Gabriel (19 & 26) and is undoubtedly the same angel who appeared to the shepherds immediately following Christ’s birth, as chronicled in the following chapter (Luke 2:7-15). Scripture interprets Scripture.

It should be noted that in the original Hebrew and Greek text there’s no article in front of the words for “angel” (malak and angelos respectively) and so English translators must determine if a text refers to The Angel of the LORD or an angel of the LORD and render it accordingly. In the passages from Luke 1-2 above translators rightly rendered it “an angel of the Lord” because the context reveals the angel to be Gabriel.

Unfortunately, in the King James Version of Matthew 28:2 the translators wrongly rendered the text as “the angel of the LORD” in reference to an angel who appears to some women at Christ’s tomb. However, we know this angel is not The Angel of the LORD—God, the Son—because he informs the women that Jesus wasn’t there, but that He had risen and, in fact, had gone ahead of them to Galilee where they would find Him (verses 5-7). As they say, “Context is King.”

Incidentally, the Luke account of these events reveals that there were actually two angels at Christ’s tomb whereas the Matthew and Mark accounts only mention one. Why? Obviously because the latter two accounts focus on the angel that spoke to the women. This is further evidence that the angel was not The Angel of the LORD.

Jesus Christ—Mighty LORD, Not Milksop

No doubt this article has given you a more balanced view of Jesus Christ. The image that the world and religion offers of Jesus is that of a wimpy milksop, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Sterile religion and worldly culture has fostered this false image to the point that it’s the general perception of most people, spoken or unspoken. As such, when the average person thinks of Jesus Christ they think of “gentle Jesus meek and mild” rather than the awesome Lion of Judah or the stunning Angel of the LORD. I’m not saying that Jesus doesn’t have a gentle side—He does for those humble folks who warrant it (Matthew 11:28-30)—but how about some balance?!

Even when Jesus was on Earth and ministered for 3½ years he was anything but some effeminate weakling. Consider the proof: He was brilliant in argumentation (Matthew 22:15-22); He astonished and silenced his enemies (Luke 20:26) to the point that “no one dared ask him anymore questions” (Mark 12:34). Does this sound like an impotent milksop?

Furthermore, Christ was dynamic during his earthly ministry—full of energy, power, passion and life. He had an aura of pizzazz, not stultifying dullness. Want evidence?

Jesus said he was life and could therefore offer abundant life to any humble soul who chose to follow him (John 14:6 & 10:10).
Because Christ possessed abundant life he had a vibrant spirit of joy; he was not always ultra-solemn and sorrowful; and he certainly wasn’t boring.
Yeshua had wholehearted conviction about what he knew—he truly believed what he preached and his air of authority was palpable (Matthew 7:28-29).

Jesus was incredibly bold, outspoken and had no qualms about offending pompous fools deserving of correction:

He was invited to a dinner party with some Pharisees and immediately began insulting the host and honored guests, not because he was abusive but because they needed rebuked (Luke 11:37-54). This is tough love.
Christ was forthright and honest—he got straight to the point when necessary and didn’t beat around the bush with overly diplomatic discourse (Matthew 15:1-20 & 18:7).

One of the most amazing examples of Jesus’ incredible boldness & power can be observed when he cleared the Temple of ungodly fools:

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, ¹⁶ and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. ¹⁷ And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a den of robbers.’ ”

¹⁸ The Chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

Mark 11:15-18

Notice that Christ radically threw over tables and benches and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the Temple courts. Does this sound like “gentle Jesus meek and mild” or the bold Lion of Judah? Can you imagine Jesus not allowing anyone to carry goods into the Temple? And no one dared defy him! A soft pushover wouldn’t be able to do this. Of course, it wasn’t a case of Christ intimidating people with fleshly brawn & bluster, but rather his potent spiritual passion, anointing and boldness.

Believe it or not, Jesus cleared the Temple in this manner twice during his earthly ministry. This account took place near the end of his public service, but he also cleared the Temple near the beginning—three years earlier—as detailed in John 2:13-17. On this earlier occasion he made a whip and utilized it in driving out the animals, yelling and scattering coins! Why did the Messiah have to clear the Temple a second time? Obviously because the ‘snakes’ withered back in over the course of the next three years.

Now notice the response of the sterile legalists in Mark 11:18: They feared Christ! They feared him so much that they decided to kill him and remove him from the scene altogether. Let me tell you something, impotent milksops don’t inspire fear and they certainly don’t provoke VIPs to plot murder. Also, note how the people who witnessed his clearing of the Temple responded: They were amazed! Dull sissies don’t inspire amazement, but people who are dynamic, courageous and authoritative do! (And by “authoritative” I don’t mean authoritarian, which is abusive. ‘Abuse’ is the misuse of power).

All over the gospel accounts we see evidence of Christ being courageous, astonishing, amazing, authoritative and even frightening! For verification, just look up these passages: Matthew 7:28-29, 14:26, Mark 1:27, 2:10-12, 4:37-41, 7:37, Luke 5:8-11, 7:14-16, 20:20-26, 20:40 and the aforementioned John 2:13-17. Needless to say, people who insinuate that Jesus was some effeminate weakling obviously don’t know how to read!

Is it any wonder that the Bible encourages us to not provoke the Son?

This article was edited from Chapter 7 of ANGELS, available here for a special low-price (345 pages). Or pick up the eBook version for only $2.99!

Seven Proofs that JESUS CHRIST IS GOD

Demons Vs. Jesus Christ — No Contest!

ANGELS — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?

Evil Spirits (Demons) — What Are They? What’s Their Purpose?

Satan (the Devil) — Liar, Slanderer, Thief, Murderer

Trinity — Father/Son/Holy Spirit — Yes or No?

What is Oneness theology—aka “Jesus Only”—and is it Biblical?

Is the Holy Spirit God or a Divine Force?

Does God have a Feminine side?