Angel's Yaweh's messenger's

For Jehovah is a lover of justice!

Yahweh (ya´we). Hebrew tetragrammaton (YHWH) traditionally pronounced Jehovah is known to be correctly vocalized yahwe. New inscriptional evidence from the 2nd and 1st millennia B.C. point toward this fact. The Name par excellence for the Creator of Israel is Yahweh, found 6,823 times in the OT. Through Israyl's deliverance from bondage in Egypt, adoption as a nation, and guidance to the Promised Land, the Redeemer-Creator is especially known by this Name.

YHWH -The vocalization of the four consonants of the Israelite name for the Creator, which scholars believe to approximate the original pronunciation. The Name Suppressed: The English versions of the Bible renders The Name as LORD, and occasionally GOD; these terms also having their own rightful office to fill representing the Hebrew titles Adonay and Elohim and El, so that the Tetragrammaton is nearly hidden in our public English versions.

'Confusion', then, is a term not a whit too strong to apply to these varying devices. No wonder it is said Satan also comes as an angel of light looking to confuse and blind the many to the truth of the Holy Scriptures since Satan is a liar covering the masses. Joh 8:44, 2 Co 11:14, 2 Th 2:9, 1 Jo 3:4-9. To not confuse what is the truth and what are lies. The Holy Scriptures are clear and consistent in showing that at times an angel, or angels, represented and spoke for Yaweh, and often in the "first person". The following are several examples. When an angel speaks for Yaweh in the first person (as if the angel were actually God Himself), the angel was neither presumptuous nor blasphemous since God Himself dispatched the angel as an agent to act in His name. As Yaweh’s agents, any angel sent by God was obeying Him in accomplishing what Yaweh sent the angel to do. As Yaweh’s representative, the sent one was authorized to speak for God, which explains why in so many of the following accounts, an angel is speaking, but the angel speaks in the first person as though it were Yaweh Himself.

Since Yeshua Jesus Christ is referred to as the Logos (the Word or "spokesman"), no doubt the angel Yaweh sent as his "messenger" (for that is what angel means), was, in many cases, none other than Jesus himself. This is not a popular notion among Trinitarians because, if Yeshua is a sent-one/messenger/angel, this would indicate that Jesus, as the "Logos" in heaven, was a created being, which the Bible clearly teaches he is. Re 3:14; Col 1:15; Pr 8:22-30 as "Wisdom" personified).

I will also discuss that, not only has Yaweh used Yeshua as a messenger angel, but in heaven Jesus is none other than Michael the Archangel! Gen 16:7,9-11: And the angel of Jehovah found her [Hagar] by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, I will greatly multiply thy seed, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of Jehovah said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son; and thou shalt call his name Ishmael, because Jehovah hath heard thy affliction. ASV

Four times in the above verses we see "Yaweh’s Jehovah God's angel" speaking for God. Please note that the angel spoke in the first person saying "I shall greatly multiply your seed." Now, please note chapter 17, verse 20, As to Ishmael, I have heard thee; lo, I have blessed him, and made him fruitful, and multiplied him, very exceedingly; twelve princes doth he beget, and I have made him become a great nation; YLT. Was it the angel who was speaking for God in the first person, or was it God himself? I think the answer to that question is obvious. To show that the angel speaking for Yaweh as if he were God Himself was neither presumptuous nor blasphemous, Yaweh acted in harmony with what the angel said and actually did multiply Ishmael’s offspring. Gen 19:1,13: And the two angels came to Sodom at even. And Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. And Lot saw them, and rose up to meet them; and he bowed down, the face toward the ground, For we are going to destroy this place, because the cry of them is great before Jehovah, and Jehovah has sent us to destroy it. Darby Translation " Now, looking at V 14 we read: " and he [Lot] kept on saying: ‘Get up! Get out of this place because Yaweh is bringing the city to ruin!" And V 24,25 states: "Then Yaweh made it rain sulphur and fire from God, from the heavens, upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah. So he [Yaweh] went ahead overthrowing these cities".

Was it God or the two angels who actually brought the city to ruin? It could have been the angels through Yaweh’s authority and power that did it, or perhaps the angels were only speaking in God’s name for him, and God Himself actually took the action. In either case, the point is clear that these two angels were speaking in Yaweh’s name, and in the first person (plural), regarding the destruction of these wicked cities. They weren’t being either presumptuous or blasphemous, but were speaking in God’s name as Yaweh’s representatives. See Gen 21:17,18-TNIV "Again, we see the angel speaking for Yaweh in the first person as the angel says: "I will make him into a great nation" when it was actually God Almighty that fulfilled that promise. Gen 22:1,2 says that Now the LORD GOD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Yet, V 11 states "But, Yaweh’s angel began calling out to him: for now I know you are God-fearing in that you have not withheld your son, your only one, from me’ "

Gen 22:15-18 says: "And Jehovah’s angel proceeded to call to Abraham the second time out of the heavens and to say: ‘By myself I do swear’ is the utterance of Jehovah God..due to the fact that you have listened to my voice." NWT. See Gen 26:3-5 where this time it says that Jehovah [or, possibly the same angel] says the same thing to Abraham: "and I will carry out the sworn statement that I swore to Abraham your father, ‘And I will give to your seed all these lands; and by means of your seed all nations of the earth will bless themselves,’ due to the fact that Abraham listened to my voice and continued to keep his obligations to me, my commands, my statutes, and my laws." Who is it that Yaweh’s angel swears by? Himself, or due to the fact that he speaks in God’s name, is it then, Yaweh that he swears by, or—does God simply speak through the angel, as His messenger, or spokesman? Gen 31:11-13: And the Angel of God said to me in a dream, Jacob! And I said, Here am I. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see: all the rams that leap upon the flock are ringstraked, speckled, and spotted; for I have seen all that Laban does to thee. I am the àGod of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, where thou vowedst a vow to me. Now arise, depart out of this land, and return to the land of thy kindred. " Did Jacob vow a vow to the angel, or to God? Here we have another occasion of the angel speaking in the first person, as if he were Yaweh. And Jacob remained alone; and a man wrestled with him until the rising of the dawn. Then a V 28,30 says: And he said, Thy name shall not henceforth be called Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast wrestled with God, and with men, and hast prevailed. Gen 32:24. Darby Translation. Now can we say someone really wrestled with God? Think about the flesh?

Then V 32:30 says: "I have seen God face to face and yet my soul was delivered." How do we harmonize this with scriptures such as Joh 1:18 which says that "No man has seen GOD at any time."? Clearly, the angel served as the representative of Yaweh, and God allowed this angel to be seen, so that Jacob could say, "I have seen God face to face and yet my soul was delivered." Obviously, had Jacob actually seen the very Almighty God Himself, his soul [life] would not have been delivered, since Ex 33:20 says very clearly: "You are not able to see my face, because no man can see me and yet live." These words are specific and clear.

Ex 3:2,4: "Then Yaweh’s angel appeared to him [Moses] in a flame of fire in the midst of a thornbush.." God at once called to him [Moses] out of the midst of the thornbush.." Here we have another case of Yaweh’s angel speaking in the first person for God. And the Scripture says "God at once called to him.." This is neither presumptuous, sacrilegious, nor was it blasphemous because "Yaweh’s angel" was sent by God Himself to do his will in the matter, and as Yaweh’s representative, the angel was authorized to "speak in Yaweh’s name".

"And when forty years were fulfilled, there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai an angel in the fiery flame of a thornbush. Now when Moses saw it he marveled at the sight. But as he was approaching to investigate, Yaweh’s voice came, ‘I am the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob." Ac 7:30-32. The Scriptures. Both the Hebrew (OT) and the Greek (NT) Scriptures agree that the angel represented Yaweh and spoke for God in the first person!

The following account expresses very well the relationship the angel(s) has as "representative(s) of God, and the "authority" Yaweh gives them to speak for him in the "first person" **because "my name is within him." "Here I [Jehovah] am sending an angel ahead of you to keep you on the road and to bring you into the place that I have prepared. Watch yourself because of him [the angel] and obey his voice. Do not behave rebelliously against him for he [the angel] will not pardon your transgression; because my name is within him. However, if you strictly obey his voice and really do all that I shall speak then I shall certainly be hostile to your enemies and harass those who harass you. For my angel will go ahead of you." Ex 23:20-23. NWT

I like the way The Living Bible expresses this same account: "See, I am sending an Angel before you to lead you safely to the land I have prepared for you. Listen to him and obey all of his instructions; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression; he is my representative, he bears my name. But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies. For my Angel shall go before you." The CEV and TEV also express these verses very well and very clearly, showing that the angel was Yaweh’s representative, and as such, had the authority to speak in the first person for God. "he bears my name". Judg 2:1-4: And a messenger of Jehovah goeth up from Gilgal unto Bochim, and saith, `I cause you to come up out of Egypt, and bring you in unto the land which I have sworn to your fathers, and say, I do not break My covenant with you to the age; and ye ye make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land their altars ye break down; and ye have not hearkened to My voice what [is] this ye have done? And I also have said, I do not cast them out from your presence, and they have been to you for adversaries, and their gods are to you for a snare.' And it cometh to pass, when the messenger of Jehovah speaketh these words unto all the sons of Israel, that the people lift up their voice and weep, YLT

Who was it that brought the Israelites "up out of Egypt" and brought them "into the land about which I swore to your fathers."? Who was actually the partner in the covenant with the Israelites, the angel, or God Himself? Yet the angel speaks for Yaweh in the first person again. God’s angel had the authority from Yaweh to speak for him and the angel speaks in the first person as if he were Yaweh Himself! See also Ju 6:11-24 & 13:3-22. Obviously, it wasn’t the same as "Seeing" Yaweh Himself, as they did not die! Ex 33:20; Joh 1:18. That Yaweh Himself is not the angel is clear by noting Zec 1:12,13 "So the angel of Jehovah answered and said: ‘O Yaweh of armies, how long will you yourself not show mercy to Jerusalem." YLT. "After they had withdrawn, look! Yaweh’s angel appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying: ‘Get up, take the young child and its mother and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I give you word; and he stayed there until the decease of Herod, for that to be fulfilled which was spoken by Yaweh through his prophet, saying: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son’. " Mt 2:13, Lu 2:9-11. Here we have Yaweh’s angel "saying: ‘Get up,..stay there until I [the angel] give you word.’ And then we read: "for that to be fulfilled which was spoken by God saying: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’ " Here we have Yaweh’s angel, his representative, speaking to Joseph in the first person, as if God Himself were speaking. And the account shows clearly that it was Yaweh who spoke through his prophet, at Ho 11:1 saying "Out of Egypt I called my son."

There are times when God’s angel is none other than Jesus Christ prior to his coming to earth. But then there are times when it is obvious, such as the above verses that this angel was not Jesus, as Jesus had already been born there in Bethlehem. Neither was the angel "God Almighty" Himself, but another representative of His. Isa 42:8 says of God: "and to no one else shall I give my own glory." Yet, "Yaweh’s glory gleamed around them". This is another indicator that this angel represented God and as such, Yaweh’s glory was there, much like angels in the past spoke for God Almighty in first person, as if they were actually God. Because this angel represented Yaweh, He allowed his own "glory" to gleam around them.

This was not presumptuous or blasphemous on the part of the angel, as the angel himself could not, in his own power, usurp Yaweh’s "glory", but God Himself sent, allowed "His glory" to be present. These Bible writers often translated the names of persons, titles, places, and expressions for the benefit of their readers. They gave the meaning of such names as Cephas, Barnabas, Tabitha, Bar-Jesus, and Melchizedek. Joh 1:42; Ac 4:36; 9:36; 13:6, 8; Heb 7:1, 2; also the meaning of the titles Immanuel as God's presence was with Jesus and the belivers of Yaweh and Yeshua. Also, Rabbi, and Messiah. Mt 1:23; Joh 1:38, 41; the meaning of places like Golgotha, Siloam, and Salem in Mr 15:22; Joh 9:7; Heb 7:2; and translations of the terms "Tal´i·tha cu´mi" and "E´li, E´li, la´ma sa·bach·tha´ni?" Mr 5:41; 15:34.

Another verse that shows that Jesus was not always God’s angel, is Lu 22:43, And an angel appeared to him [Jesus] from heaven, and comforted him [comforting him]. WNT. The Bible shows that at times even humans, as representatives of God, are credited with actions that Yaweh actually performed. For example, at Jer 1:9,10: "At that Yaweh thrust his hand out and caused it to touch my [Jeremiah’s] mouth. Then Yaweh said to me: ‘Here I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have commissioned you this day to be over the nations and over the kingdoms in order to uproot and to pull down and to destroy and to tear down, to build and to plant." Who was it that actually was responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem and other cities of Judah? Lamentations, written also by Jeremiah 2:2 is one of several places in the Bible that shows the destruction took place at Yaweh’s hand, not Jeremiah’s: "Yaweh has swallowed up, he has shown no compassion upon any abiding places of Jacob. In his fury he has torn down the fortified places of the daughter of Judah. We have another example of an act credited to Ezekiel, as Yaweh’s representative, but actually performed by God Himself. At Eze 43:3: "And it was like the appearance of the vision that I had seen, like the vision that I saw when I came to bring the city to ruin." Who actually brought the city [Jerusalem] to ruin? Ezekiel or Yaweh? Yet the action was credited to Ezekiel. Ezekiel spoke of himself in the first person as a representative of God Almighty in foretelling Jerusalem’s destruction.

This is like the angels spoke in the first person, exp. at Gen 19:13, which reads: "For we are bringing this place to ruin, because the outcry against them has grown loud before Yaweh, so that Yaweh sent us to bring the city to ruin." Yet verse 24 shows clearly that it was actually God who accomplished this: "Then Yaweh made it rain sulphur and fire from God, from the heavens, upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah." This is, too, very much like what Yeshua said at Joh 2:19. Here Yeshua, as Yaweh’s representative, credits himself for an action that Yaweh actually did. "In answer Jesus said to them: ‘Break down this temple, and in three days I will raise it up’" No less than 20 different verses show clearly that in reality, God Almighty raised Jesus from the dead. Obviously, if Jesus was truly "dead" he couldn’t raise himself up, but he, like angelic and human representatives before him, could speak for Yaweh in the first person!

YEHOVAH God, in His good time, will reveal ALL TRUTH to those who serve and obey Him.