So in the Bible, reality is made up of two overlapping realms: the heavens and the earth; our space and God's space. And while life, here on earth, may seem ordinary, sometimes we can encounter heaven right here in our own realm. Yes, this happens a number of times in the Bible. When it does we often encounter a fascinating character: the Angel of Yahweh. Or, in most translations of the Bible, the Angel of the Lord. Now, we've talked about angels. They are spiritual messengers who perform missions for God. But the Angel of the Lord is no mere angel. How so? Well, every time he appears he is described in a way that is purposefully puzzling. It leaves you wondering, was that an angel sent by Yahweh or was that Yahweh himself? What do you mean? Here is one of many examples: In the book of Genesis, there is a story about Hagar, Abraham and Sarah's runaway Egyptian slave. We read this: "The angel of Yahweh called to Hagar." But then this angel speaks as if he is Yahweh saying, "I will give you many descendants." And then Hagar responds and says, "You are God who sees me." So the angel of Yahweh is Yahweh. But that can't be. In the Bible, you cannot see Yahweh or you will die. Yeah, so this story and others like it are inviting us into a paradox. That Yahweh is above all inaccessible to us. But sometimes he reveals himself to us in ways that we can see and understand. That is where this character shows up. He is Yahweh made visible to us. Yes. Distinct from Yahweh and also Yahweh. This is very similar to other biblical stories about prophets who get a glimpse into God's space like Isaiah, Ezekiel or Daniel. What they see is a glorious human figure on a throne who is called Yahweh. So the one on the throne and the angel of Yahweh are the same person? Exactly! Watch all this come together in the famous story of Moses and the burning bush. Where we read, "The angel of Yahweh appeared to Moses in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush. When Yahweh saw that Moses stopped to look, God called to him from the midst of a bush." So this person in the bush is called the Angel of Yahweh, then Yahweh and then God. Then later in the story Moses learns that the figure in the burning bush is the one leading Israel out of Egypt in the pillar of fire and cloud. That is the one who later takes up residence in the tabernacle. The tabernacle. This is the throne room of God himself. You got it! The Angel of the Lord is the royal glory of Yahweh appearing as a human. Keep all this in mind as we start talking about Jesus. In the opening of the Gospel of John, we are told that from all eternity Jesus was with God and was God. Distinct from God and also God. That is the same paradox we saw with the Angel of Yahweh. Right! Then John says that God's Word became human and set up a tabernacle among us. The temple presence of the invisible God. Exactly. Now, check this out. There is a story about when Jesus took three of his followers up to a mountain and his true identity was revealed. He was transformed into a glorious human figure. Okay, I see what is going on here. The Angel of the Lord was God appearing like a human. And Jesus is God now become a human. Yes. And notice this. In the New Testament, no one ever uses the phrase "Angel of the Lord" to describe Jesus. Why not? Well, they wanted to avoid the idea that Jesus was merely an angel. For them, Jesus was Yahweh God become human. In order to fulfill his ultimate mission, to fully reunite heaven and earth once and for all. You just watched a video on the Angel of the Lord. Next up, we are going to look at the Satan and demons, the spiritual beings who resist God's plan to reunite heaven and earth.
