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The Angel of the Covenant This is the first section of a paper given to the Youth Conference in 2000. Christ in the Old Testament is a fascinating subject, but the subject is far too vast for a paper of this nature. I have chosen to speak on the theophanies, the appearances of God - or, to be more exact, the appearances of Christ - in the Old Testament, as the Angel of the Covenant. The Angel of the Covenant at times appeared as man, and at other times as the Shekinah - the pillar of fire and cloud - in which the Angel dwelt. Who, or what, do we mean by the Angel of the Covenant? He is the Messenger of the Lord, or of the Covenant. The Lord used created angels (or messengers) to do His will in ministering to the Church on earth; but this is the uncreated Angel, the Second Person of the Trinity. He came to make God's covenant of grace with Abram and with His people. Much later on in history, as Messiah, He would say, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father". In these days also He would declare Himself to be the One sent to the world by the Father. In John's Gospel alone we read of Him about 30 times as the one who was sent. In the New Testament He did not merely come with a message; He Himself was also the message - of salvation.At times He appeared in the form of a man, as indeed did other angels. On God's part, this was condescension to sinful men whom He was to save, for it would be easier for weak sinful men to be dealt with by the Lord when He was veiled in humanity. In passing, we notice that, in the symbols of Scripture, created angels are seen at times with wings with which they move to do God's will; yet in real-life appearances that is never so, but they appear as men. They are holy spirits who are flames of fire in their zeal and love for God - ministering spirits to such as shall be heirs of salvation. The humanity adopted by the Angel of the Lord and the other angels was one which was used as the Lord sovereignly wills, for His own covenant purposes, and could then be laid aside. It was distinct from the humanity which Christ took when He was born into the world and was a portion of the humanity which already existed and came from Adam. When Christ took a true human nature to Himself, it consisted of body and soul, and it is His human nature for ever. In the form of humanity which the Angel took in Old Testament times He, and created angels, could eat and drink in the same way as He did in His body as the Messiah, before and after the resurrection, although neither the resurrection body nor the angelic human form needed food or drink. It was just to make it easier for sinful men to treat with the Lord, and even with angels. The first time we seem to see Angel of the Lord is immediately after man fell, when He was heard in the Garden of Eden calling, "Where art thou?" to Adam, and in a sense to all lost sinners, especially to the elect. The Angel of Jehovah is a personal name. We use the term theophany (appearance of God) when there are appearances in which it can be seen that He is God. Sometimes He is identified as God (Genesis 16:7,13), or recognised as God (Genesis 16:9-11). He is described in terms which are only suitable for God (Exodus 3:5,14). He calls Himself God (Genesis 31:11,13). He receives and accepts worship (Joshua 5:14). These theophanies anticipate the New Testament doctrine of Christ's becoming man (John 1:14), and typify God's dwelling among the redeemed (Exodus 25:8, Revelation 21:3). But, by confusing this Angel with created angels, the Roman Catholic Church has set afoot the worship of angels. To understand the phenomenon of the theophanies we must look first of all at the history of Abraham, or Abram, as he was then named. God called Him out of Ur of the Chaldees at a time when there were few pockets of the true faith. God would make a new beginning with Abram, for all gospel blessings which we know today were, in a sense, to flow to the world at large through him. These blessings include the coming of Messiah in the flesh, the writing of Scripture, and also all the other spiritual blessings which were to spread throughout the world. God spoke many times to Abraham and others, but the Angel of the Lord did not usually appear then. He would seem to have appeared at special times. He spoke as if He was the Creator and Director of all things and was the covenant God of Israel. He decided the destiny of nations and individuals, and claimed divine honour and glory. The first definite mention of a theophany is in Genesis 12, and to understand what happened there helps us follow the pattern of later appearances. At the beginning of the chapter we read how God commanded Abram to leave his father's house, country and people, and to go to a land that He would show him. Stephen (in Acts 7) explains that the God of glory - that is, the Angel - appeared to Abram when he was called out of Ur of the Chaldees. God promised to bless him and to make him into a great nation. He also said that He would bless all who blessed Abram and curse all who cursed him, and that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed. Abram then left Ur, and we are afterwards told that the Lord for the first time revealed Himself to him in Canaan itself, at Sichem in the plain of Moreh, telling him that He would give this land to him. Abram's response to the manifestation of God, and to the covenant promises he was given, was to build an altar to worship the Lord - or to call upon His name. This was a witness in a heathen land that Abram worshipped the true and living God, and relied totally on Him. This pattern of the Angel revealing Himself, the repetition of the covenant promises, and the building of altars would continue - especially in the promised land, where the Church of God would be planted as God's vineyard.
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