The Angel of the Lord

“And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice” Genesis 22:15-18).

“Angel of the Lord” is used 17 times throughout the five books of Moses and used multiple times thereafter. Many call, “the angel of the Lord” a Theophanic angel, which is God manifested in a tangible, perceptible form. Some interpret the “angel of the Lord” as Christophany, which is the pre-incarnation of Christ, or more to the point, a non-physical manifestation of our Savior.

The primary reason for these beliefs is when the angel of the Lord says, “By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord”. It is understood by some that when the angel, says “I” when speaking of the Lord that in fact the angel is speaking of himself.

But the angel of the Lord is neither Theophanic or Christophanic, but rather it means and says exactly as it was written.

Angel or the Hebrew, “malak” means messenger or representative. The Lord is “Jehovah”, with the literal translation being, "the existing One". Jehovah is the name for the one true God.

The phrase, “The angel of the Lord” then, literally translates to “The messenger of God”. It is a representative of our Lord, not Jesus nor God Himself that is in the presence of, and speaking to, Abraham.

So, what is the message of the messenger being delivered to Abraham?

First, the angel of the Lord tells Abraham that God will bless him.

Second, God will, “multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore”.

Third, “thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies”. The word “enemies” is defined as “being an adversary”. The word adversary comes from the Arabic word, “satan”. The messenger of God is telling Abraham that the children of God will “posses the gates” currently ruled by Satan.

“…possess the gate….” The English translation of the Torah by the Jewish Publication Society of America uses the word “capture” instead of “possess”. The Septuagint, according to Adam Clarke uses the word, “cities” instead of “gates”.

“By the gates may be meant all the strength, whether troops, counsels, or fortified cities of their enemies. So Matthew 16:18; : On this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it - the counsels, stratagems, and powers of darkness shall not be able to prevail against or overthrow the true Church of Christ; and possibly our Lord had this promise to Abraham and his spiritual posterity in view, when he spoke these words” (Adam Clarke).

“Gates” can be a reference to many things including an entrance to a city, the city itself, powers (armies) and any general location.

Without getting lost in the weeds, the message is pretty straightforward. The children of God are to be priests, governors, masters, magistrates, rulers of the lands, including the demonic occupied territories. (Remember Chapters 18 and 19 of Genesis dealt with the demonic controlled Sodom and Gomorrah).

Fourth, “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed”. There’s the promise of God. His children, God’s children, will be present and blessed in all the nations of the world. There will be no nation, no corner, no group or tribe of people where the blessing of the Lord will not be found.

“Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people” (Psalm 96:3)

“Sing unto the Lord, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations” (1 Chronicles 16:23-24)

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14).

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” (Revelations 14:6-7).

The great command of Jesus Christ: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28: 18-20).

The promise God made with Abraham is our mission as put forth by Jesus Christ.

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations”. 

It’s our history. It’s our present. It is our future. It is the promise, will, and command of God.

“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb” (Revelations 7:9-10).

Bill Hitchcock