Another deep and sceptical question we meet in the Bible is this:
“How can we be sure we are not confusing an angel with God’s presence itself — like the Angel of the Lord in Exodus 3:2–6?”
When Moses stood before the burning bush, Scripture first tells us: “The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush.” Yet only a verse later it says, “God called to him from the midst of the bush.” Was it an angel, or was it God Himself?
Here lies the mystery. The Bible sometimes describes appearances of the Angel of the Lord where the line between angel and God’s very presence seems to blur. For example, when Hagar fled into the wilderness, the Angel of the Lord spoke to her, and yet she later declared, “I have seen the God who sees me” (Genesis 16:13). When Gideon encountered the Angel of the Lord, he cried out, “Alas, O Lord God! For I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face!” (Judges 6:22). The Angel spoke with divine authority, received worship, and even forgave sin — things no ordinary angel was ever permitted to do.
So how can we understand this?
The answer lies in the way God chooses to reveal Himself. Ordinary angels are messengers, servants, and guides. They never accept worship (Revelation 22:8–9). But the Angel of the Lord in these special moments is different. Many Bible teachers and scholars see these appearances as Christ before His incarnation — the eternal Word of God taking a visible form before He was born in Bethlehem. Not simply an angel, but the Lord Himself, wrapped in a messenger’s form, to prepare His people for the day when He would truly come in flesh.
Think about it: Abraham entertained three visitors, and one of them spoke as the LORD. Jacob wrestled with a “man” all night, yet afterward said, “I have seen God face to face” (Genesis 32:30). Joshua encountered a heavenly commander with a drawn sword, who commanded him to remove his sandals, for he stood on holy ground (Joshua 5:13–15) — the same command Moses received at the bush. These are not contradictions but revelations. They are glimpses of Christ stepping into time before time’s fullness.
The greatest confirmation came when Jesus Himself walked among us. No longer veiled as an angel or appearing in temporary form, He was born of a woman, lived as a man, and revealed God perfectly. Hebrews 1:1–3 tells us that in the past God spoke through angels and prophets, but now He has spoken through His Son, who is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.” In Christ, the confusion is gone. We no longer have to ask, “Is this God or His messenger?” for Jesus declared plainly: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
This truth is deeply practical. When God sends an angel, it is to guide, protect, or strengthen. But when He reveals Himself in Christ, it is to save. Angels may bring bread for the journey, as they did for Elijah, but only Jesus can say, “I am the Bread of Life.” Angels may guard us, but only Jesus can say, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Angels reflect His glory, but Jesus is the Glory of God in human flesh.
So, how do we avoid confusion? By remembering that angels point us to God, but Jesus reveals God. Angels serve, but Jesus saves. Angels visit, but Jesus abides. Whenever we encounter the divine, whether in Scripture, in prayer, or even in life’s mysterious moments, we measure it against Christ. If it points us to Him, it carries heaven’s truth. If it distracts us from Him, it is not the voice of God.
And so, the sceptical question becomes an invitation. The mystery of the Angel of the Lord was never meant to leave us uncertain but to prepare us for certainty. Those glimpses in the Old Testament pointed to the greater reality: Emmanuel — God with us. Not in the shadow of an angel, not in the flame of a bush, but in the living Son who walked, ate, wept, and died for us.
✨ Reflection:
In the Old Testament, the Angel of the Lord hinted at God’s presence. In the New Testament, Jesus is God’s presence. Angels may bring us to holy ground, but Jesus Himself is our Holy Ground. In Him, the line between heaven and earth disappears, because heaven has come down to dwell among men.