The Angel of the Lord

In the Old Testament there are many references to “the angel of the Lord” (here are some of them: Genesis 16:7; 22:11; Exodus 3:2; Judges 13:3), who is called also “the angel of his presence” (Isaiah 63:9). Who was that angel? He was a special heavenly being, for God said to the Israelites: “My name is in Him” (Exodus 23:21), and when one day that angel was asked by Manoah, the father of Samson, what was his name, he answered: “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?” (Judges 13:18 - NKJV). That angel, therefore, was God, or rather the Son of God (who was God) in His pre-existent state. So, that angel was not a creature, but the Second Person of the Trinity, who manifested Himself in angelic form.

Please note this: the expression “the angel of the Lord” in Matthew 1:20; 28:2; Luke 2:9; Acts 5:19; 8:26; and 12:7,23 in the KJV is a mistranslation, for the correct translation is “an angel of the Lord” (NKJV).

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