The Old Testament Jesus

You have to be kidding me!  I have read the Old Testament, and I have never seen the name of Jesus there.  What are you talking about?  Well, the Bible teaches that there are three parts to the Godhead—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  Each has lived forever in both the past and the future, with no end in either direction.  Jesus was not a “created” being, but was eternal with God.  Therefore, he must have existed in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.  However, He did not have the same role in the Old Testament.  He was the coming Messiah, but not yet made manifest to man.  Therefore, He is never mentioned as “Jesus Christ” in the Old Testament.  So, how do I know He is present in the Old Testament?  Bear with me, and I will try to substantiate that for you.

Perhaps the most interesting angel of all, one mentioned exclusively in the Old Testament, is “the Angel of the Lord,”  or “the Angel of Jehovah.”  He is special and distinct, for, whereas MALACH ELOHIM or “angel of Jehovah,” by itself, with no article, designates simply any angel of God, this special angel, MALACH HA ELOHIM, with the article, designates “the” angel of the Lord, a specific, special angel who has characteristics which set Him apart from the other angels.

First, we need to examine the instances in which this ”Angel of the Lord” appears:

There are two Bible principles which should always predate any study of difficult subjects.  They are Romans 15:4 and II Timothy 3:16.  These teach us that whatever is in the Scripture is there for our learning, and is inspired by God.  Therefore, there are no errors in the Scripture.  While Scripture may record lies or errors said or thougth or done by a character, these and all other instances are infallibly correctly recorded by the inspiration of God, and are usually label as error by the writer.

In several instances of the appearance of the Angel of the Lord, there is apparent confusion as to whether He is the Angel of the Lord or the Lord Himself.  For example, in the story of Hagar (Genesis 16:7-13), the Angel  says HE will make of Ishmael a great nation.  In Genesis 22:11-12, the Angel again delivers apparently contradictory statements to Abraham, appearing to identify Himself as God, or, at the very least, to usurp the  rights of God, such as blessing Ishmael.  However, since God sent the Angel, they cannot be exactly identical.  Too, in II Samuel 24:17, David spoke to the Lord when he saw the Angel striking the people, and in I Chronicles 21:27, we read where God commanded the Angel.  In Exodus 3:2, the Angel of the Lord appears to Moses in the burning bush; yet, in the next verse (Genesis 3:3),  God calls to Moses from the bush.  Likewise, in Genesis 31:11, Jacob says the Angel of the Lord spoke to him, but the same Angel, in Genesis 31:13, says, “I am the God of Bethel.”

There is more.  In Judges 13:17-18, the Angel of the Lord identifies Himself to Manoah by some of the same descriptors later given to Jesus.  In John 8:56-48, Jesus identifies Himself as predating Abraham.  In Corinthians 10:1-4, Paul identifies the active agent in the wilderness, Who is called the Angel of the Lord in Exodus 14:19 and Numbers 20:16, as the Christ.

When all of this is put together, we see the following:

  1. The Angel of the Lord and the Lord are used interchangeably.
  2. The Angel of the Lord had power to bless, to curse, and to forgive.
  3. The Angel of the Lord accepted worship.
  4. The only personal name the Angel of the Lord gives is “Wonderful,” one of the names Isaiah prophesied for Jesus.
  5. Jesus acknowledges that He predated Abraham.
  6. Paul identifies the Angel of the Lord , the active agent in the wilderness, as the Christ.

Thus, carefully studying the Scriptures, themselves, and considering these arguments, it seems appropriate to assume that the Angel of the Lord was the preincarnation appearance of Jesus Christ.

What think ye?

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Posted on July 17th, 2009 by doc
Filed under: Bible study, Jesus, names of God

One Response to “The Old Testament Jesus”

  1. Names of God -- El Roi | Be Diligent..., on August 9th, 2009 at 6:19 am Said:

    [...] to her but Jesus Himself? (For more on The angel of the LORD, see our other 2 posts on the subject: The Old Testament Jesus, and The Angel of the [...]

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