Conclusion
After looking at many of the options and views that have been given over the last two thousand years, what is the answer to this hard question? Should one of the three options listed at the beginning of this discussion be considered, and if so, which one? In some ways, all of the options seem to offer some truth. For instance, option one suggests that the angel is simply an angel sent for a specific purpose. In many ways this is true, for many have concluded that the angel can be viewed much like the prophets of the Old Testament who delivered God’s messages to His people.
Yet there also seems to be an indication that the angel is in some way connected to the Lord. So is it like option two where God directly speaks to his children, such as Abraham, Moses, or Joshua? Again, this option seems possible as well. There are many instances where Scripture is quite ambiguous as to who is speaking, stating that the angel appears and yet the Lord speaks. But there are also instances where Scripture does not call the men angels or God, such as Genesis 18. In this instance, Scripture states that three men appeared to Abraham. So could these instances be God revealing Himself to man? Although this option does seem possible, Scripture also speaks on how God does not allow man to see His face. He tells Moses that he cannot see His face and live and allows Moses to only see His back. If this instance with Abraham truly is God in human form, then it would have to be an instance such as Christ appearing to people during His time on the earth, which leads to option three.
Maybe these instances are actually a pre-incarnation of Christ, or at least a foreshadowing of what Christ will be like. Enns and Howard made a good argument for the latter. Now that the New Testament has been revealed, the Old Testament can be read in light of the New Testament. So whereas these passages would have not made sense to Old Testament and early New Testament believers, people today can read these stories in light of the revelation of Christ. Maybe these almost pre-incarnate instances were God’s way of preparing the world for the coming of His Son.
Ultimately, it does not appear as if any of these three options are adequate in and of themselves. Therefore, here is a fourth option and hopefully an answer to this discussion from Millard Erickson: “We are drawn to the conclusion that in some way, not really explicated in Scripture, the angel of the Lord is both the Lord and not the Lord.” It does not appear as if any one thinker developed an adequate explanation as to the identification of the angel of the Lord. Instead, they all did their part to further the discussion, investigate the options, and try to make sense of all of these passages. The problem, as previously noted, is that many of these passages are drastically different. Some tend to be more ambiguous while others are clearer. Some begin with the appearance of the angel of the Lord while others, such as Genesis 18, do not even mention the presence of angels. And finally, there are even distinctions between the angel of the Lord passages and passages in which a normal angel appears.
Therefore, it seems as if Enns, Howard, and Erickson may have developed the best answer. At times, Scripture intends for readers to see the angel as the Lord, especially in the passages when it seems to foreshadow Christ. But this reading is only possible in light of the New Testament. Therefore, in some real sense, these passages are supposed to be read verbatim. Yet God also spoke through His angels to deliver specific messages to His children, and at these times it was not God physically present on earth. So who is the angel of the Lord? It appears as if that answer is still up for debate. There is not one solitary answer that scholars agree on. Yet Erickson’s quote seems to sum it up best. The angel of the Lord can most definitely be viewed as the Lord, but only in certain passages. At other times, the passage must be read as is, without any other presuppositions or ideas being added to it. Consider this final point. All of these passages are different, and they cannot all be lumped into one main group. Instead, they must each be considered separately. There are times when the angel of the Lord appears to be only a messenger. But there are other times when Scripture intends to somehow connect the angel of the Lord with God or Christ. If all of these passages are placed into one large group, then there will be confusion, but when these distinctions are made, it becomes clear that each passage is different, and that the identity of the angel of the Lord depends on the passage.
Matt
No comments:
Post a Comment