Son of Man, Angel of the Lord, and Messiah

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Micah predicts that a future ruler of Israel (Messiah), would be from everlasting.

Is there anyone predicted by the prophets from visions that matches this description?

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Mic 5:2

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But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, [though] thou be little among the thousands of Judah, [yet] out of thee shall he come forth unto me [that is] to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth [have been] from of old, from everlasting.

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This means that the ruler would have pre-existed as a heavenly person in some way (from everlasting) before his appearance on earth.

And it would makes sense, and be consistent with divine prophecy, to provide some detail ,or clues,  as to who this ruler could be, so that Israel would be properly prepared.

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There is a “Man” and “Son of Man” that appears in the Old Testament visions, and other times, an Angel of the Lord, that seems to be a special character.

Are they the same person, or either one of them, the same as the predicted ruler Messiah?

If not, who is the ruler from “everlasting?”

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Sometimes “angels of the Lord” do appear as well, and they are just messengers. And sometimes “THE angel of the Lord appears.”

If the angel is given a name, then we have identification.

But there are times when no name is given, and the angel does not act like an angel, but like someone with greater authority.

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There is also a man in heaven described at times in visions.

However, he is not called the Messiah, since this role is an earthly one.

But is the man in heaven the same one to come to earth, before he is to be declared Messiah?

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This is important to understand, since Israel cannot accept a Messiah until it understands who and what the Messiah is, so they can recognize Him.

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Scriptures to consider:

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The angel of the Lord appears to Hagar

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Gen 16:10

And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

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*** Notice that the angel says he will multiply her seed. God does not speak here, but the angel is making this promise.

Why does this angel have such special power?

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God will multiply Abraham

Gen 17:2		And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.
Gen 17:7		And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.

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*** Here , it is the Lord who promises to multiply the seed of Abram, not an “angel.”

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3 men appear to Abraham

Gen 18:1

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And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;

Gen 18:2

And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw [them], he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

Gen 18:22

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And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

Gen 18:22

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And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.

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*** The Lord appears to Abram as a man, with 2 other men, who are revealed later to be 2 angels.

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Burning Bush

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Angel of the Lord appears in flames in middle of bush

Exd 3:2

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush [was] not consumed.

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God called Moses from middle of bush

Exd 3:4

And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here [am] I.

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Here, both the Angel of the Lord and God are described as being in the middle of the bush.

So are they the same “person,” or are there 2 “persons” in the bush?

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Joshua

At Jericho – a man appears to Joshua, who is the captain of the Lord’s army, so he is over the other angels. He has no name.

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Jos 5:13

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And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, [Art] thou for us, or for our adversaries?

Jos 5:14

And he said, Nay; but [as] captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?

Jos 5:15

And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest [is] holy. And Joshua did so.

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Jacob

A Man wrestles with him, and does not tell name – notice that Jacob realizes that he has “seen God” face to face.

This is impossible with God the Father, according to scripture, so whoever face he was seeing, it made him think it was God.

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Gen 32:24

And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.

Gen 32:29

And Jacob asked [him], and said, Tell [me], I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore [is] it [that] thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.

Gen 32:30

And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.

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Isaac sacrifice

Angel of the Lord cancels God’s orders, and adds a personal comment

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Gen 22:9

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And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

Gen 22:10

And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

Gen 22:11

And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here [am] I.

Gen 22:12

And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son] from me.

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Notes:

V 12 The angel says Abraham has not withheld his son from HIM, not God.

V 15 By Myself I have sworn, I will bless you

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Gen 22:15

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And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

Gen 22:16

And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son]:

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Now the angel is quoting the Lord? Also that the Lord will bless him v17

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Gen 22:17

That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which [is] upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

Gen 22:18

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

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Judges

Angel Of the Lord led Israel out of Egypt and forms a covenant with Israel.

Normally, we would expect God, not an angel, to form covenants with Israel. Why was this angel special?

Usually angelic messengers quote God as the source, as “in God says to do this or that”….but here, the angel is discussing a covenant between him and Joshua and the children of Israel

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Was this the same angel that was in the burning bush?

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Jdg 2:1

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And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.

Jdg 2:2

And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?

Jdg 2:3

Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be [as thorns] in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

Jdg 2:4

And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.

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Angel of the Lord brings them to Israel.

God’s name is in him.

What known angel has God’s name “YHVH” in his name?

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Exd 23:20

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Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

Exd 23:21

Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name [is] in him.

Exd 23:22

But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.

Ex 24: 9-11 they SAW the God of Israel on Mt Sinai (v13) (before Joshua dies)

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Exd 24:6		And Moses took half of the blood, and put [it] in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
Exd 24:7		And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient

Exd 24:8

And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled [it] on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

Exd 24:9

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Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:

Exd 24:10

And they saw the God of Israel: and [there was] under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in [his] clearness.

Exd 24:11

And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

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This passage is in contradiction to Exodus 33:20

Exd 33:20

And he (the Lord) said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

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So…… “who” were the people really looking at in Exodus 24?

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Samson’s parents meet an “angel”

Name is “wonderful,” doesn’t tell name

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Jdg 13:6

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Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance [was] like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he [was], neither told he me his name:

Jdg 13:7

But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean [thing]: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.

Jdg 13:8

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Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.

Jdg 13:9

And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband [was] not with her.

Jdg 13:10

And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me the [other] day.

Jdg 13:11

And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto him, [Art] thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he said, I [am].

Jdg 13:13

And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman let her beware.

Jdg 13:16

And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he [was] an angel of the LORD.

Jdg 13:17

And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What [is] thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour?

Jdg 13:18

And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it [is] secret?

Jdg 13:19

So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered [it] upon a rock unto the LORD: and [the angel] did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.

Jdg 13:20

For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on [it], and fell on their faces to the ground.

Jdg 13:21

But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he [was] an angel of the LORD.

Jdg 13:22

And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.

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When Manoah and his wife see the man as an angel, they feel they have seen the face of God, not just an angel.

How did this angel look, that he seemed to be an image of the God they are not allowed to see face to face?

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Does this angel have the “face of God?”

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Gideon – Judges 6: 10-20

Angel of the Lord

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Jdg 6:11

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And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which [was] in Ophrah, that [pertained] unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide [it] from the Midianites.

Jdg 6:12

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD [is] with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

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*** note: here the angel is quoting the Lord, bringing a message, unless he is referring to himself.

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Jdg 6:13

And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where [be] all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

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*** note: here the angel is called Lord also.

Jdg 6:14

And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?

Jdg 6:15

And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family [is] poor in Manasseh, and I [am] the least in my father’s house.

Jdg 6:16

And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man. *** note: now the Lord and the angel seem to be the same

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Man on throne

Eze 1:26	¶	And above the firmament that [was] over their heads [was] the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne [was] the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
Eze 1:28		As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so [was] the appearance of the brightness round about. This [was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw [it], I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

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Man with the appearance of fire

Eze 8:2

Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.

Eze 8:3

And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where [was] the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.

Eze 8:17

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Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen [this], O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.

Eze 8:18

Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, [yet] will I not hear them.

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Son of Man (Messiah) in Heaven receives the kingdom from the Ancient of Days

So he is already in heaven during time of Daniel, or this is a vision of a future time.

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Dan 7:9

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I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment [was] white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne [was like] the fiery flame, [and] his wheels [as] burning fire.

Dan 7:10		A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
Dan 7:13	¶	I saw in the night visions, and, behold, [one] like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
Dan 7:14		And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion [is] an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom [that] which shall not be destroyed.

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Man in linen, with likeness to sons of men, with gold and bronze, responds to Daniel’s prayer, but held up by the prince of Persia, and helped by Michael.

Daniel calls him Lord

Dan 10:5		Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins [were] girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
Dan 10:6		His body also [was] like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. *** note: the man has the voice of a multitude, just as God does Jer 51:16 When he [the Lord] uttereth [his] voice, [there is] a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
Dan 10:12		Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
Dan 10:13		But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
Dan 10:16		And, behold, [one] like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. **note: he was like a human ( son of man)
Dan 10:19		And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace [be] unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.

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Final note:

http://www.heavenlyascents.com/2008/10/01/the-human-form-on-gods-throne/

The idea that there is a divine, human-like figure seated on the throne of God comes up repeatedly in the Hebrew Bible.

The following are just a few of the main passages that illustrate this widespread early belief (most of these translations are from the RSV–which is the standard Bible translation used in most of my classes):

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Ezekiel 1:26 And above the firmament over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness as it were of a human form.

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Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim;

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1 Kings 22:19 And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left;

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Daniel 7:9–10, 13 9 As I looked, thrones were placed and one that was ancient of days took his seat; his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire. 10 A stream of fire issued and came forth from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. 13 I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.

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1 Samuel 4:4 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

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Exodus 24:10–11 10 and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11 And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.

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Psalm 29:10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king for ever.

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Conclusion

There is adequate scripture to back up the predicted Messianic ruler of Israel as a pre-existing heavenly figure, who appears later on earth in human form.