Page:The Last Judgement and Second Coming of the Lord Illustrated.djvu/32

 Deity, we frequently read of "the Angel of the Lord;" or, more properly, "the Angel of Jehovah." This, at first sight, would seem to mean nothing more than some spiritual envoy, whom Jehovah had employed as a being apart from Himself. But a careful examination of some of the narratives will show that the "Angel of the Lord" means the Divine Himself, manifested through the medium of an angel. For instance, it is written, "The Angel of Jehovah appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a bush, . . . and Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when Jehovah saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, . . . I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God." Here, although the narrative opens with the declaration that the Angel of Jehovah appeared, yet the context shows that it was an angelic medium which Jehovah had assumed and filled with His presence for the purpose. And this medium is also called God. They are called gods, to whom the word of God came.

"The Angel of Jehovah called unto Abraham out of heaven, and said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God; seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me:" and again, "The Angel of Jehovah called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah." The Angel of Jehovah appeared unto Gideon. . . "and Jehovah looked upon him and said, Go in this thy might, and thou