Psalm 110:1 defended

The New Testament quotes from Psalm 110 more than from any other Old Testament passage. This apostolic emphasis deserves more
attention than it has so far received. In the New Testament references to this passage we find the determinant keys to Eschatology, or the
doctrine of the future. The resulting ideas we glean from how Peter, Paul, and others apply Psalm 110 overturn much of the popular
understanding of prophecy and end times teaching. A more consistent understanding will help modern Christians see through popular
doom and gloom, through maniacal apocalyptic hysteria, and instead apprehend an optimism and goal-oriented Christian life many have
not even yet considered. This is also a verse that affirms the deity of the Messiah and our article is to see why this is true. This verses is
directly quoted in the following places in the NT.
Matthew 22:43-45: What do you think about the Messiah, whose son is he?" They said to him, "The son of David." "Then how is it," he
asked them, "that David in the Spirit calls him 'Lord, when he says, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit here at my right hand, until I put your
enemies under your feet"?' "If David then calls him 'Lord, how is he his son?" [= Mark 12:35-37; Luke 20:41-44].
Acts 2:33-36:Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit,
he has poured forth this which you both see and hear. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says, "The Lord said
to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain
that God has made him both Lord and Messiahthis Jesus, whom you executed on a tree!
Hebrews 1:13: To which of the angels has he ever said, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"?
According to the Lord Jesus and the other NT writers this is a Psalm of David which he uttered in relation to Christs ascension into
heavenly glory: And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, in
the Holy Spirit, declared, "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet." David himself calls
him Lord. So how is he his son? And the great throng heard him gladly." Mark 12:35-36[Jesus affirms about his deity in shema after
citing Deu 6:4 in see Luke 20: 1-42]. On the basis of the above texts, Christians believe that Jesus is Davids Lord since he is the Christ.
And since Yahweh is Davids Lord, Jesus must therefore be Yahweh God. Many anti-Trinitarians claim that this is an erroneous
conclusion or assumption since a careful reading of the Hebrew text disproves such a notion. The Hebrew uses two different words which
English translations render as Lord: The LORD says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool. The
words in Hebrew which the above version translates LORD and Lord are actually Yahweh and Adoni, two different words with two
obviously different meanings (or so the argument goes). The text more literally reads in the following manner: "The affirmation of
Jehovah to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, Till I make thine enemies thy footstool." Youngs Literal Translation (YLT). The assertion is
that the use of two different words automatically proves that the Psalmist had two completely different beings in view, and that the second
Lord refers to someone who isnt God. The main problem with this claim is that just because the Psalmist used two different terms it
doesnt necessarily follow that he had two beings in mind who were of completely different essences, i.e. one is Divine while the other is
human or angelic. We do agree that the Psalmist had two distinct and different Persons in view, but that doesnt necessarily mean that they
are of different essences or share different beings. After all, isnt it true that Davids Lord is Yahweh God? I say to the LORD, You are
my Lord (adonay); I have no good apart from you.", Psalm 16:2 Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication, for my cause, my God and
my Lord (Adonay)!" Psalm 35:23 [Note Adoni and Adonay is same except when Mesoretic text put different vowels]. And wouldnt this
open up the possibility that the use of Adoni for the second occurrence of Lord is a reference to Yahweh God as Davids Sovereign,
Davids Lord? It is quite possible, and yet the anti-Trinitarian says it isnt very probable. The reason given for why it is highly improbable
that David was addressing Yahweh is because of the fact that anti-Trinitarians claim that the word Adoni is never once used for God in the
Hebrew Bible. It is always used for human beings or angels. Moreover, they also claim that David could have used the word Adonai
(literally, "Lords" or "my Lords") if he had intended for his audience to understand that he was addressing Yahweh as his sovereign since
this word is normally used of God. These claims are erroneous for several reasons. First, in ancient, biblical Hebrew there were no vowel
markings to distinguish between the different forms of the word Adon, the word from where we get Adoni and Adonai, which means that
the verses would have read the same way since they have the same consonants, making this a moot point. Second, just because Adoni is
used elsewhere for human beings or angels doesnt mean that David didnt use it in reference to God. Psalm 110:1 may actually be a case
where the word is being used for Yahweh God, making it the exception to the norm. One cannot simply dismiss this as a possibility on a

priori grounds, but must be decided by first looking and exegeting the text itself before looking elsewhere. Third, the word Adoni is used
for the Angel of Yahweh in Judges 6:13 who clearly isnt a mere creature. This particular Angel is actually a manifestation of God himself,
just as the immediate context shows: Now the angel of the LORD came and SAT under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to
Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the
LORD appeared to him and said to him, The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor. And Gideon said to him, Please, my Lord
(Adoni), if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to
us, saying, "Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?" But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian. AND
THE LORD TURNED TO HIM AND SAID, Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you? And he
said to him, Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
AND THE LORD SAID TO HIM, But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man. And he said to him, AND THE
ANGEL OF GOD SAID TO HIM, Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them. And
he did so. Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was IN HIS HAND and touched the meat and the unleavened
cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his
sight. Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of
the LORD face to face. BUT THE LORD SAID TO HIM, Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die." Judges 6:11-23. People
normally become afraid of dying after seeing God face to face, and yet here Gideon is afraid because he saw the Angel face to face (cf.
Genesis 32:30; Exodus 33:20; Judges 13:22). What this basically means is that the Angel was Yahweh himself who both appeared and
spoke directly to Gideon, which means that Gideon was addressing Yahweh as his Lord or Adoni. In another place, Joshua sees a man
wielding a sword and addressed him as Adoni after he realized who this man actually was: "When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his
eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him,
Are you for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come. And
Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord (adoni) say to his servant? And the commander of
the LORD's army said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy. And Joshua did so."
Joshua 5:13-15. Compare Exodus 3:1-6 (God told Moses to remove his shoes as it was Holy ground). Behold, I send an angel before you
to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel
against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then
I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites
and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, Exodus 23:20-23. The man
wielding the sword, the man who leads the armies of the Lord is actually the Angel of Yahweh sent ahead of Israel to fight their enemies,
the One whom God says has his very own name within him and who can forgive sins, a divine prerogative. Putting it simply, the Adoni
who Joshua saw was the Angel of God who happens to also be God Almighty himself! It is little wonder that Joshua fell down and
worshiped him. Here is one final example where Adoni is used for a Divine Being: On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month,
which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah,
son of Iddo, saying, I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and
behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. Then I said, What are these, my lord? (adoni) The angel who talked with me said to me, I
will show you what they are. So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, These are they whom the LORD has sent
to patrol the earth. And they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, We have patrolled the
earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest. Zechariah 1:7-11. Zechariah provides enough clues that identify this specific Angel as
being the very same Angel of Yahweh mentioned in the above texts: Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel
of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the LORD said to Satan, The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The
LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire? Now Joshua was standing before the angel,
clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, Remove the filthy garments from him. And to him
he said, Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments." Zechariah 3:1-4. The inspired
prophet identifies this Angel as Yahweh God who has the power to forgive or remove sins! The above texts refute the assertion that Adoni
is never used of Yahweh, since in at least three places Adoni is used for a man, for an Angel, whom the texts explicitly identify as

Yahweh. Noted Messianic and Hebrew scholar Dr. Michael L. Brown beautifully summarizes the above points in his response to some
similar arguments raised by an anti-missionary named Rabbi Tovia Singer: There are at least three problems with his argument: First, he
is incorrect in stating that my lord is reserved for the profane, never the sacred. Just look in Joshua 5:14, where Joshua addresses the
angel of the Lord as my lord (adoni). Yet this divine messenger is so holy that Joshua is commanded to remove the shoes from his feet
because he is standing on holy ground, just as Moses was commanded when the angel of the Lord representing Yahweh himself
appeared to him (Exod. 3:1-6). This is hardly a profane rather than sacred usage! Similar examples can be found in Judges 6:13 and
Zechariah 1:9, among other places. In each of these, angels are addressed as my lord, and in some of these cases, the angels bear the
divine presence. Second, Singers whole argument hinges on the Masoretic vocalization, which did not reach its final form until the Middle
Ages. As every student of Hebrew knows, biblical Hebrew was written with consonants and vowel letters only; the vowel signs were
added hundreds of years later. Yet both adonai (used only for Yahweh) and adoni (used for men and angels, as we just noted) are spelled
identically in Hebrew, consisting of the four consonants -d-n-y. How then can Rabbi Singer make such a dogmatic statement about the
differences between these two forms in the Bible? His argument stands only if we accept the absolute authority of the Masoretic
vocalization, which in some cases follows the original writing by almost two thousand years. Third, it is not really important whether we
translate with my Lord or my lord, since Yeshuas whole argument was simply that David called the Messiah lord meaning that the
Messiah had to more than Davids son. While many Christian translations do render adoni as my Lord in Psalm 110:1, they are careful
to distinguish between the first Lord (i.e., LORD) and the second." (Brown, Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: Messianic Prophecy
Objections [Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI 2003], Volume Three, pp. 137-138).
More importantly, the Psalmist does refer to his Lord as Adonay right in verse 5: "The Lord (Adonai) is AT YOUR RIGHT HAND; he will
shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the
wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head." Psalm 110:5-7. Here, Adonay is the One who will
bring judgment against the nations and their kings, and will even drink from a brook! This clearly refers to David's Lord in verse 1, not just
because he drinks from a brook of water, a human function, but also because he is said to be at "your right hand." In verse 1, this refers to
the right hand of Yahweh: "The LORD says to my Lord: Sit at MY right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." Now compare
this again to verse 5: "The Lord is at YOUR right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath." "Your right hand" obviously refers to
Yahweh's right hand. This means that the Lord or Adonay of verse 5 is actually David's Lord, the Messiah, since he is the one who is at
Yahweh's right hand! Moreover, the passage plainly states it is the Lord (Adonay) who executes judgment upon the nations and who will
shatter kings in the day of his wrath which, according to the NT, is what Jesus will do when he returns to the earth: Matthew 25:31-33:
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered
all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the
sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. John 5:22-23, 27: The Father JUDGES NO ONE, but has given ALL JUDGMENT TO THE
SON, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.
And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 1 Corinthians 15:24-28: Then comes the end, when
he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put
all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For 'God has put all things in subjection under his feet.' But when it
says, 'all things are put in subjection,' it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are
subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.":
Revelation 6:12-17: When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as
sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a
gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of
the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and
among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the
throne, and from THE WRATH OF THE LAMB, for the great day of their (auton-in Majority but in KJV it is Auto (not omega) wrath has
come, and who can stand?. Revelation 17:14: They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords
and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.". Revelation 19:11-21: Then I saw heaven opened, and behold,
a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of

fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood,
and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following
him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.
He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings
and Lord of lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead,
'Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and
their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.' And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their
armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the
false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who
worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that
came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. These texts provide further
affirmation that the Adonai of 110:5 is indeed the Messiah, David's Lord. With the foregoing behind us, we can resume our discussion of
Psalm 110:1. In order to exhaust all points of views and arguments, so as to not leave anything out, there are really only three possibilities
for us to consider. David could have been addressing one of the following three persons or beings as his Lord: Yahweh God, An angel and
A human being. The problem with claiming that David was addressing another human being as his Lord is that, according to the Hebrew
Bible, David was the highest ranking human ruler in all the earth: Psalm 89:19-20, 26-27: Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one,
and said: I have granted help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found David, my servant; with my
holy oil I have anointed him, He shall cry to me, You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation. And I will make him the
firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. Thus, there was no human ruler that was greater in prestige, power, authority, and rank than
David. This means that the One he addressed as his Lord could not simply be a human figure, and we are therefore left with the other two
options. Either Davids Lord was a Divine Being or an angelic creature; he couldnt merely be a human sovereign. Although there is a text
which implies that man is made a little lower than angels positionally: Psalm 8:4-6: what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son
of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings (elohim) and crowned him with glory and
honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, This is due primarily to the fall
of man, that since the fall man became lower than the angels in glory and rank. But according to the same Scriptures all those who are
reconciled to God, all those whom God has elected for salvation, are restored to the glory which God created them with, whereby they
once again become more exalted than the angels: Hebrews 2:5-9: "Now it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which
we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere, What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him? You
made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, putting everything in subjection under his
feet. Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in
subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor
because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In fact, angels are created to serve Gods
elect: Hebrews 1:13-14: "And to which of the angels has he ever said, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your
feet? Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" Notice that the text denies
that angels sit on Gods throne whereas earlier in the same text the author says that Jesus rules forever and is thereby superior to all the
angels: Hebrews 1:4-12: "having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to
which of the angels did God ever say, You are my Son, today I have begotten you? Or again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to
me a son? And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, Let all God's angels worship him. Of the angels he says, He
makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire. BUT OF THE SON he says, Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the
scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has
anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions. And, You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the
heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them
up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.". In order to show how and in what way
Jesus is superior to the angels the inspired writer cites several texts which refer to the enthronement of the Israelite kings, namely Psalm
2:7, 45:6-7 and 2 Samuel 7:14 (10-15), and applies them to Christ. These texts initially had David and his sons such as Solomon in mind.

What this shows is that the Israelite kings were greater than any of the angels since no angel ever sat on Gods throne to rule. In other
words, since all the anointed kings sat on Gods throne: "Then David said to all the assembly, Bless the LORD your God. And all the
assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads and paid homage to the LORD and to the king. And they
offered sacrifices to the LORD, and on the next day offered burnt offerings to the LORD, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, with
their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. And they ate and drank before the LORD on that day with great gladness.
And they made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and they anointed him as prince for the LORD, and Zadok as priest. Then
Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king in place of David his father. And he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. All the leaders
and the mighty men, and also all the sons of King David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. And the LORD made Solomon very
great in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel." 1 Chronicles
29:20-25. They were therefore greater than angels in rank, authority and honor, which means that David could not have been addressing an
angelic being as his Lord. Angels serve Gods elect and his anointed king, making Gods people superior to and sovereign over even the
angels. We are left with only one choice, namely, that Davids Lord is none other than Yahweh God himself. And since Jesus is identified
as that Lord whom David was addressing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, this therefore proves that the Christian interpretation is the
correct one. Psalm 110:1 is a very strong text supporting the Christian understanding that, a) God is multi-Personal, and b) the Messiah is
actually God! But there is still one final possibility that we must consider if we are going to be fair. David may have actually been
addressing a specific Angel, namely the Angel of Yahweh whom we had mentioned earlier, the very One that happens to be God in
essence and who often appeared in the OT as a man. If this were so, then this would mean that the Angel of Yahweh became an actual
human being from Davids line which then made him both Davids Lord and Davids Son. This is actually the position we hold to, that
Davids Son (whom the NT identifies as Jesus) in his prehuman existence appeared throughout the OT as the Angel of Yahweh, the very
God who often spoke with the OT saints in the guise of a man. The difference with this specific Angel is that, unlike all the other angels,
he isnt a creature but the Creator God who took on the function of an Angel or Messenger. Hence, this view would still mean that it
wasnt a mere angel or human whom David acknowledged as his Sovereign, but he was addressing his God who assumed the role of an
Angel and appeared in the form of a man. Thus, Davids Son is all three things simultaneously, i.e. he is God who functioned as an Angel
or Messenger, who then became man by virtue of his being born from a virgin maiden by the power of the Holy Spirit! Now someone may
say that Jesus is merely a human being who was granted a higher rank than David, and therefore doesnt prove that he is God. There are
several problems with this explanation. First, Jesus question regarding this Psalm presupposes that the Christ is more than just a man:
"Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is
he? They said to him, The son of David. He said to them, How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, "The Lord said
to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet"? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son? And no one
was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions." Matthew 22:41-46. If the Christ were
merely a man then he couldnt be Davids Lord since the latter was his ancestor. In other words, Jesus is saying that Davids son couldnt
be his ancestors Lord since fathers are normally greater than their sons in position and authority. Second, it will not do to say that because
the Messiah would be greater in glory he would therefore be superior to David, since this assumes that Davids son is his Lord by virtue of
his rank. Jesus point is basically that the Messiahs rank or prestige still wouldnt make him Davids Lord if he were merely a human son.
After all, Solomon was granted greater riches, glory and wisdom than his father without this ever making him Lord over his father. In a
similar manner, the Messiahs prestige and glory wouldnt be grounds for his becoming Davids sovereign. Third, the NT documents teach
that Jesus is God in essence, the very unique Son of God. Basically, this explains why Davids Son could be his Lord and supports our
position that only One who is God could ever be sovereign over David.
To summarize the data, we discovered that:
1.

According to the Lord Jesus and the NT writers David composed Psalm 110.

2.

David, in Psalm 110, addressed some unnamed entity as his Lord, as his Sovereign.

3.

Both the Lord Jesus and the NT documents also claim that David composed this Psalm about the Messiah. Hence, this
is a Messianic Psalm composed about the greater David, the greater Solomon who was to come.

4.

According to the Hebrew Bible, there was no human ruler higher in rank and authority than David who could therefore
be his sovereign.

5.

The Holy Bible also teaches that all of the kings sit/sat on Gods throne whereas angels do not, indicating that the
former are/were greater than the latter.

6.

This would therefore imply that David could not have been addressing any angel as his Lord, forcing us to conclude
that he was actually addressing Yahweh.

7.

Yet, since the Lord Jesus and his Apostles claimed that David was referring to the Christ, this means that the Christ
(who is Jesus) is none other than Yahweh God himself.

8.

But the same Psalm says that Yahweh was addressing Davids Lord, which implies that there are actually two distinct
individuals that exist as God.

At the right hand of God

Another way in which anti-Trinitarians try to undermine the fact that Psalm 110:5 refers to the Christ being at Gods right hand is to cite
passages where it says Yahweh is at a persons right hand. By Yahweh they mean the God and Father of the Messiah, not the Messiah
himself, i.e. that the Father is at a persons right hand. What they hope to prove by this method of exegesis is to refute the idea that
Psalm 110:5 identifies the Messiah as God. They seek to show, instead, that the passage is actually referring to the Father himself, that
the Father is at the Messiahs right hand to assist him in all his endeavors. Some of the passages that are often used are the following:
"You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great." Psalm 18:35. "With my mouth
I will greatly extol the LORD; in the great throng I will praise him. For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save his life from
those who condemn him." Psalm 109:30-31.There are a few problems with appealing to these texts to undermine Psalm 110:5 being a
reference to the Messiah. First, a sound principle of hermeneutics is to first exegete a passage within its own immediate context before
venturing into other texts. After all, a specific word or expression can have a completely different meaning or application due to the
varying contexts in which it appears. This leads us to our second point. None of these texts are remotely similar since they deal with
different contexts and different situations. The above references either refer to God assisting David in his endeavors, or God coming to
the aid of the weak and the poor. Psalm 110, however, is dealing with the enthronement of Gods Anointed One who rules forever over
his subjects and who officiates as a high priest. Third, in neither of the above texts do we find an explicit reference to any of the subjects
sitting at Gods right hand, yet we do find an explicit mention in Psalm 110:1 of Davids Lord sitting enthroned at Gods right hand.
Hence, since the starting passage of Psalm 110 has already stated that the One seated at Gods right is the Messiah, or Davids Lord, we
therefore have strong contextual reasons to assume that Psalm 110:5 also refers to him. Another passage which anti-Trinitarians pull out
in order to show that Psalm 110:5 is not identifying Davids Lord, the Messiah, as Yahweh is Psalm 16:8. Here is the passage with its
immediate context so as to illustrate the point the Psalmist was making, and what the anti-Trinitarians are trying to show: "I have set the
LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my
body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made
known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16:8-11. Peter
even quotes this Psalm in reference to God being at Christs right hand (cf. Acts 2:25-28). In light of this NT application to Jesus, the
skeptics think that this somehow proves that Psalm 110:5 is not speaking of the Messiah, but of the Messiahs God being at his right
hand to assist him. This objection is based on a less than careful reading of Psalm 16 since even the Psalmist realized that the
resurrection would result in a change of this situation: because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One
see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures AT YOUR
RIGHT HAND." Psalm 16:10-11. The Psalmist speaks of enjoying eternal pleasures at Gods right hand, implying that after the
resurrection the situation changed from God being at the Psalmists right hand to the latter being at Gods right hand! In confirmation of
this analysis, Peter himself went on to preach that even though God was at Christs right hand before the resurrection Christ afterwards
went to be at Gods right hand. Putting it another way, Peter by inspiration understood this text to mean that God was at Christs right
hand while Jesus was on earth accomplishing the Fathers will. Yet after his death and resurrection Christ ascended to his Fathers right
hand: "For David says concerning him, I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore
my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will dwell in hope. For thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let
thy Holy One see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou wilt make me full of gladness with thy presence.
Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being

therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne, he
foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus
God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father
the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens; but he himself
says, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet. Let all the house of Israel therefore
know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Acts 2:25-36. Peter cites Psalm 110:1 to
prove that David predicted Jesus ascension to the Fathers right hand! Thus, Psalm 16:8 does nothing to refute the fact that Psalm 110:5
is identifying the Messiah as Yahweh who is at Gods right hand since this particular verse is referring to a time before Christs
ascension.
Is this interpretation dependent on the New Testament?
A keen reader may say that my exegesis is based primarily on the NT interpretation of this particular Psalm and its view regarding the
subordination of angels to Gods people. Thus, I may be accused of begging the question since the validity of our exegesis is dependent
upon and presupposes the historical veracity and inspiration of the Christian Scriptures. Even though Christians are on very solid
grounds for affirming the historical validity and inspiration of the NT canonical books, our exegesis doesnt depend necessarily on the
writings of the NT. The Hebrew Bible itself supports our position that David could not have been addressing a human being or an angel
as his master or sovereign. In the following, we will provide several lines of evidence to support this premise. All scriptural quotations
used in this section are taken from the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) version of the Hebrew Bible, 1917 edition, unless noted
otherwise. First, the Hebrew text ascribes this Psalm to David: "A Psalm of David (leDavid mizmor). HaShem [lit., "the Name" which
Orthodox Jews use in the place of Yahweh] saith unto my lord: Sit thou at My right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool."
Thus, it is David himself who composed this particular Psalm. Some try to argue that the Hebrew preposition le has various meanings
such as to, for, by, in, or into. On this basis some would wish to translate the ascription as for or to David, not by or of David. The only
problem with this position is that there is nothing contextually which leads one to take the preposition to mean other than that it was a
Psalm composed personally by David. Some try to appeal to the Psalm 72:1, 20 to justify that Psalm 110 is about David: "A Psalm for
Solomon (lishlomoh). O G-d, give your judgments to a king; and your righteousness to a kings son The prayers of David the son of
Jesse are completed." Here the preposition is used in reference to a Psalm composed by David for Solomon, providing a basis for taking
the preposition of Psalm 110:1 in a similar sense. The only problem with this argument is that Psalm 72 actually provides an argument
against this view; it doesnt support the claim being made. For instance, the only reason why the preposition is translated as for Solomon
is because of what is stated at the conclusion of this Psalm, namely that this particular Psalm ends the prayers of David. In other words, it
is because verse 20 seems to identify David as the composer of this particular Psalm that the preposition doesnt mean that Solomon
authored it. Had it not been for verse 20 we would have to assume that the preposition is identifying Solomon as its composer. Yet no
such qualification or statement appears for Psalm 110. But besides all this, verse 20 still doesnt necessarily justify taking the preposition
of verse 1 as indicating that this Psalm was written for or about Solomon. It may in fact be a Psalm written by Solomon which was then
included as part of the collection of prayers composed by his father. That is why some translations render 72:1 as being composed by
Solomon: A Psalm of Solomon. Give the king Thy judgments, O G-d, and Thy righteousness unto the king's son; A Psalm of Solomon.
Give the king Your judgments, O God, And Your righteousness to the king's son (NASB). No matter what a persons view maybe
regarding Psalm 72, the point still remains that this Psalm doesnt support rendering the ascription found in Psalm 110:1 as implying that
it is about David, not by David. Second, the Hebrew Bible itself says that David and the other Israelite kings sat on God's throne, a point
which we already saw above but which bears repeating: 1 Chronicles 29:20-25: And David said to all the congregation: Now bless
HaShem your G-d. And all the congregation blessed HaShem, the G-d of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and prostrated
themselves before HaShem, and before the king. And they sacrificed sacrifices unto HaShem, and offered burnt-offerings unto HaShem,
on the morrow after that day, even a thousand bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand lambs, with their drink-offerings, and
sacrifices in abundance for all Israel; and did eat and drink before HaShem on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon
the son of David king the second time, and anointed him unto HaShem to be prince, and Zadok to be priest. Then Solomon sat on the
throne of HaShem as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel hearkened to him. And all the princes, and the
mighty men, and all the sons likewise of king David, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king. And HaShem magnified Solomon

exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.".
Psalm 45:1-12, 16-17: My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready
scribe. You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. Gird your
sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty! In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and
meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds! Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; the
peoples fall under you. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; you have
loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your
companions; your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia. From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir. Hear, O daughter, and
consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father's house, and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord,
bow to him. The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you
will make them princes in all the earth. I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you
forever and ever. This Psalm is especially interesting because of what it says about the king. The king not only sits on Gods throne
forever but he is also identified as God! What this basically implies is that the kings enthronement makes him Gods visible
representative on earth whereby he acts in the place of God and therefore becomes God in a functional (not ontological) sense. Third, we
know from Psalms 2 and 89 (which we already looked at above) that David was preeminent over all human rulers who were supposed to
submit to him. Notice what the second Psalm says: "Why are the nations in an uproar? And why do the peoples mutter in vain? The
kings of the earth stand up, and the rulers take counsel together, against HaShem, and against His anointed (Messiah): Let us break
their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in heaven laugheth, the L-rd hath them in derision. Then will He
speak unto them in His wrath, and affright them in His sore displeasure: Truly it is I that have established My king upon Zion, My holy
mountain. I will tell of the decree: HaShem said unto me: Thou art My son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of Me, and I will give the
nations for thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them
in pieces like a potter's vessel. Now therefore, O ye kings, be wise; be admonished, ye judges of the earth. Serve HaShem with fear, and
rejoice with trembling. Do homage in purity, lest He be angry, and ye perish in the way, when suddenly His wrath is kindled. Happy are
all they that take refuge in Him." Psalm 2:1-12. Now Psalm 2 isnt necessarily limited to David, but also applies by extension to all of
Israels righteous kings as the following passages show: Psalm 72:1, 8-11: A Psalm of Solomon. Give the king Thy judgments, O G-d,
and Thy righteousness unto the king's son; May he have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the River unto the ends of the earth.
Let them that dwell in the wilderness bow before him; and his enemies lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall render
tribute; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall prostrate themselves before him; all nations shall serve him."
Zechariah 9:9-10: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy king cometh unto thee, he is
triumphant, and victorious, lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from
Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace unto the nations; and his dominion
shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth." Thus, all peoples and their rulers are made subject to the Israelite
kings, showing that no other human ruler could ever be sovereign over David or any of his sons, provided that they lived in covenant
faithfulness. The only time a Gentile ruler would ever rule over one of Israels kings is during a time of punishment, i.e. that if the kings
of Israel fail to honor and obey God then the Lord would hand them over to the Gentile rulers as punishment and judgment. Furthermore,
we are never told anywhere in the Hebrew Bible that angels sit on Gods throne. A person may object and claim that the archangel
Michael is said to be Israels prince: Howbeit I will declare unto thee that which is inscribed in the writing of truth; and there is none
that holdeth with me against these, except Michael your prince." Daniel 10:21. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince
who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that
same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep
in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches and everlasting abhorrence. And they that are wise
shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn the many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever." Daniel 12:1-3.
In actuality, these texts do not identify Michael as Israels king in the sense that he sits on Gods throne ruling over them. Rather,
Michael is prince in the sense of being Israels defender, the one whom God assigned to fight for his covenant people. In other words,

Michael is actually a servant sent to serve and defend Gods elect people, which is consistent with what Hebrews 1:14 says about the
function of angels. More importantly, Daniel himself identifies the Messiah as the Ruler: "Know therefore and discern, that from the
going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem unto one anointed (Messiah), a prince, shall be seven weeks; and for
threescore and two weeks, it shall be built again, with broad place and moat, but in troublous times. And after the threescore and two
weeks shall an anointed one (Messiah) be cut off, and be no more; and the people of a prince that shall come shall destroy the city and
the sanctuary; but his end shall be with a flood; and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall make a firm
covenant with many for one week; and for half of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease; and upon the wing of
detestable things shall be that which causeth appalment; and that until the extermination wholly determined be poured out upon that
which causeth appalment. Daniel 9:25-27. Hence, by necessary inference and deduction we can easily conclude that even the Hebrew
Bible agrees that no angel or man could be David's Lord with the exception of Yahweh. Fourth, given the numerous prophecies of the
Messiah coming through David's line (Isa. 11:1 etc.), wouldn't that fact also make it inherently more probable that Psalm 110:1 is
speaking of this predicted Messiah rather than (what would be) some obscure angel, the latter for which there is no known correlate?
Interestingly, other Messianic references explicitly identify the Son of David as the human manifestation of God, that the Messiah bears
the very Divine presence: Isaiah 9:5-6 [6-7]: For a child is born unto us, a son is given unto us; and the government is upon his
shoulder; and his name is called Pele [Wonderful]-joez [Counselor]-el [God]-gibbor [Mighty]-Abi [Father of]-ad [eternity]-sar
[Prince]-shalom [Peace]; That the government may be increased, and of peace there be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his
kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it through justice and through righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of HaShem
of hosts doth perform this." Jeremiah 23:5-6: Behold, the days come, saith HaShem, that I will raise unto David a righteous shoot, and
he shall reign as king and prosper, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel
shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, HaShem [lit., Yahweh] is our righteousness. In these passages, the
Son of David is called the Mighty God (el gibbor) and Yahweh is our righteousness! Hence, is it any wonder that David could refer to
his own Son as his very sovereign seeing that the latter is the human appearance of God on earth? Again, this presupposes that this is a
Messianic Psalm, which all the evidence strongly points in that direction.
Greek Septuagint refutes Adoni-concept
While Jesus taught in the temple, He said, How can the scribes say that Christ is the Son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy
Spirit, declared: The Lord (Kyrios) said to my Lord (to Kyrio mou-dative case), Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies under
Your feet. David himself calls Him Lord (Kyrion). How then is He his Son? And the large crowd heard him gladly. Mark 12:3537. Suffice it to say, there are several glaring problems with the anti-Trinitarian concept of adoni as creature. In the first place, there are
places in the Septuagint where Adonay is translated in the same way that Adoni is rendered, namely, [ho] kyrios mou. Note the following
examples where we quote from the English translations of both the Hebrew and Greek versions: He said, If now I have found favor in
Your sight, O Lord (Adonay), let my Lord (Adonay), I pray, go among us, for we are a stiff-necked people. Pardon our iniquity and our
sin, and take us for your inheritance. Exodus 34:9: and said, If I have found grace before you, let my Lord (ho Kyrios mou) go with
us; for the people is stiff-necked: and you shall take away our sins and our iniquities, and we will be yours. LXX.
This next one is rather interesting since the Greek renders both Hebrew words in the same exact way: Then Gideon said to him, O my
lord (Adoni), if the Lord is with us, then why has all this happened to us? Where are all His miracles that our fathers told us about?
They said, Did not the Lord bring us out of Egypt? Yet now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the
Midianites. And he said to Him, O my Lord (Adonay), how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am
the youngest in my fathers house.
Judges 6:13, 15: And Gedeon said to him, [Be gracious] with me, my Lord (Kyrie mou): but if the Lord is with us, why have these evils
found us? and where are all his miracles, which our fathers have related to us, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt? and
now he has cast us out, and given us into the hand of Madiam And Gedeon said to him, [Be gracious] with me, my Lord (Kyrie mou):
whereby shall I save Israel? behold, my thousand is weakened in Manasse, and I am the least in my fathers house. LXX.
Another interesting point about the above example is that the One being addressed as Adonay is the Angel of Yahweh who had appeared
to Gideon in the guise of a man. And here are two additional cases from the Psalter: I have said to the Lord, You are my Lord
(Adonay); my welfare has no existence outside of You. Psalm 16:2. I said to the Lord, You are my Lord (Kyrios mou); for you has no

need of my goodness. Psalm 15:2 (LXX). Rouse Yourself and awake for my judgment, for my cause, my God and my Lord (elohay
wadonay). Psalm 35:23. Awake, O Lord, and attend to my judgment, [even] to my cause, my God and my Lord (ho Theos mou kai ho
Kyrios mou). Psalm 34:23(LXX). Astonishingly, Davids worship of Yahweh here is virtually identical to the way Thomas
acknowledged and honored the risen Lord when the latter appeared to his unbelieving disciple a week after Christs physical, bodily
resurrection: And Thomas answered and said UNTO HIM, My Lord and my God (ho Kyrios mou kai ho Theos mou). Jesus saith unto
him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. John 20:24-29.
Thomas worship of Jesus as his Lord and his God, with the risen Christs acceptance of such worship, clearly exposes how desperate
the Unitarian assertion is. The only way for Jesus to be the Lord and God of anyone is if he is Yahweh God Incarnate, which therefore
refutes the claim that Christ being called Adoni proves that he is nothing more than a man. More importantly, even if we were to assume
that the Unitarian argument that Adoni is used of human beings is correct then this would only prove that Jesus Christ is an actual flesh
and blood human being, a fact that no Trinitarian denies. It would not disprove, however, or overturn the overwhelming and explicit
Biblical witness to Jesus absolute and essential Deity. The second problem that the Unitarian faces is that Adoni is also translated as
Kyrios in Greek, much in the same way that both Yahweh and Adonay are rendered. Here, once again, is the text of Psalm 110:1 as cited
by the Lord Jesus himself: Not only does this inspired Greek NT text translate Yahweh as Kyrios, it also treats to Kyrio mou, the Greek
rendering of Adoni, as being equivalent to Kyrios. The LXX render Psalm 110:1 as

(EIPEN O KURIOS TO KURIO MOU-Dative form). The Unitarians are faced with a major dilemma, one that actually ends up refuting
their claim of Jesus being nothing more than a man. Seeing that they candidly acknowledge that the Septuagint (as well as the Greek NT)
render(s) the Hebrew words Yahweh and Adonay as Kyrios, they must now contend with the fact of Jesus being referred to as Kyrios.
Muslim refuted
Davids theology proves that Muhammad was a false prophet. Quran denies that Allah would ever permit anyone to worship prophets as
their lords: He would never order you to take the angels and the Prophets as Lords; what, would He order you to disbelieve, after you
have surrendered? S. 3:80 Arberry. And yet according to the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit moved David to worship and honor Christ as
his exalted Lord! And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
David himself said in the Holy Spirit, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.
David himself calls Him Lord; so in what sense is He his son? And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him. Mark 12:35-37. This
means that the Quran is wrong, which makes Muhammad a false prophet, since God has commanded his followers to worship one
specific prophet, namely the Christ, as their sovereign Lord. The reason God would do so is because Christ is more than a mere prophet,
since he is the unique Son of God whom the Father loves and delights in, Mark 1:9-11: In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in
Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit
like a dove descending upon Him; and a voice came out of the heavens: You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.
Philippians 2:9-11: For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at
the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. This, too, is a fact which Muhammad denied! The Jews say, 'Ezra is the Son of
God'; the Christians say, 'The Messiah is the Son of God.' That is the utterance of their mouths, conforming with the unbelievers before
them. God assail them! How they are perverted! S. 9:30 Arberry).
Is Adoni never used of Yahweh?
In the Hebrew Bible there are certain theophoric names which identify Yahweh as Adoni, i.e. names which single out the God whom the
person bearing that specific name confesses and worships (or is supposed to confess and worship) as his/her Lord. These include the
following: Adonijah (adoniyah) = My Lord (Adoni) is Yahweh (2 Samuel 3:2-5).
. Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, Nehemiah 10:16.
Tobadonijah (tob adoniyah) = My Lord (Adoni) Yahweh is good (2 Chronicles 17:8).
Adoniram = My Lord (Adoni) is exalted (1 Kings 4:1-6).
Adonikam = My Lord (Adoni) arose ( Ezra 8:1, 13 cf. 2:13; Nehemiah 7:18).
Endnotes. It is interesting to note that according to the late great Bible expositor, Adam Clarke, a Hebrew manuscript actually exists
where Psalm 110:1 has Yahweh speaking to Yahweh! Psa 110:1 Said unto my Lord. Instead of ladoni, "my Lord," one MS. seems

to have read

layhovah, "Jehovah said unto Jehovah, 'Sit thou on my right hand,'" etc. See De Rossi. If Clarke wasnt mistaken then

this indicates that there was at least one scribe or group of scribes who realized that David must have been speaking of Yahweh as his
Lord since there was no one greater than him in rank and honor besides Yahweh. This in turn suggests that the scribe or scribes
responsible for this reading were aware that God is a multi-Personal Being. To make matters worse for Muslim the Hebrew Scriptures
also proclaim that a day is coming when Yahweh will require everyone to serve the Messiah in the same way that they serve their God!
It shall come about on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds;
and strangers will no longer make them their slaves. But they shall SERVE the Lord their God AND DAVID THEIR KING (wa'abadu 'et
YHWH elohim wa'et Dawid malkam), whom I will raise up for them Their leader shall be one of them, And their ruler shall come forth
from their midst; And I will bring him near and he shall approach Me; For who would dare to risk his life to approach Me? declares
the Lord. Jeremiah 30:8-9, 21. As the context itself shows, David here doesnt refer to the historical king who had long been dead but to
one of his descendants whom the prophet prefigured. In other words, the term David is a reference to the Messiah whom the deceased
king foreshadowed. This is brought out more clearly by what Jeremiah states elsewhere: Behold, the days are coming, declares the
Lord, When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in
the land. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, The Lord
our righteousness (YHWH tsidqenu). Jeremiah 23:5-6 cf. 33:15-16. According to this passage, it is not David whom God will raise
up for Israel, but a branch or descendant from Davids line who shall reign wisely and bring salvation to the people of God. What makes
this a rather remarkable prophecy is that the name of this Davidic King is said to be Yahweh our righteousness, a name which implies
that this Ruler shall be more than a mere human descendant of David. This One who shall come from the household of David is actually
Yahweh God Almighty coming to fulfill the Davidic promises! Lest we be accused of reading too much into the text, or of wrongly
applying it to the Messiah,
note how the following rabbinic sources interpreted this specific passage:
Midrash Tehilim 21:12: God will call the King Messiah after His own name, for it is said of the King Messiah This is his name whereby
he shall be called: the Lord our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6). Jerusalem also shall be called after the Lords name, for it is said of
Jerusalem The name of the city from that day shall be the Lord (Douglas Pyle, What The Rabbonim Say About Moshiach [N. P.,
Third edition, paperback, published in 2010], p. 23).
Rabbi Joseph Albo: In the same way the Bible calls the name of the Messiah, The Lord our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:5, 6), because
he is the medium through whom we obtain justice from God. For this reason he is called by the name of God. Similarly Jerusalem is
called, The Lord is there. Because it is a place where the glory of the Lord was revealed more constantly than anywhere else. (Ibid.)
Rav Saadia Gaon: And behold with the clouds of heaven, one like a man was coming. This is Messiah our righteousness. (Ibid., p.
24)
Yemenite Midrash: In the future, the Holy one, blessed be He, will seat Messiah in the supernal Yeshiva [House of Study], and they
will call him Lord, just as they call the Creator [Jeremiah 23:6] And the Messiah will sit in the Yeshivah, and all those who walk
on the earth will come and sit before him to hear a new Tora and new commandments and the deep wisdom which he teaches Israel
(Ibid., pp. 32-33). The foregoing helps us understand why God would permit in fact, command his people to serve the Messiah in the
same way that they serve Yahweh their God, even though the Law expressly forbids serving and worshiping anyone other than the true
God: Exodus 20:1-5: Then God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out
of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in
heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them (ta'abadem); for I, the
Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those
who hate Me,. Deuteronomy 6:13: You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him (ta'abod), and shall take oaths in His name. The
Messiah is not simply a man from the line of David, but is actually God Almighty who will (and has) become a flesh and blood human
being in order to perfectly realize and fulfill all of Gods promises to his servant David. All of this causes additional problems for
Muslim since the Quran denies that the Messiah is divine or shares in the worship and service due to God alone. In fact, the Quran
expressly says that Allah will never permit anyone from serving someone besides him: It was not to a human that God gives him The
Book and the judgment/rule and the prophethood then he says to the people: "Be/become worshippers/slaves ('ibadan) to me, from other

than God". And but: "Be knowledgeable Lord worshippers with what you were teaching The Book and with what you were studying ". S.
3:79 (Muhammad Ahmed Samira).
OT God is multi-personal being (the Angel of the LORD)
Exodus 3:1-17: Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of
the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There THE ANGEL OF THE LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from
within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, I will go over and see this strange
sightwhy the bush does not burn up. When THE LORD saw that he had gone over to look, GOD CALLED TO HIM FROM
WITHIN THE BUSH, Moses! Moses! And Moses said, Here I am. Do not come any closer, GOD SAID. Take off your sandals,
for the place where you are standing is holy ground. Then HE SAID, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac and the God of Jacob. At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid TO LOOK AT GOD. The LORD SAID, I have
indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about
their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good
and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honeythe home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and
Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I
am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt. But Moses said TO GOD, Who am I, that I should go to
Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? And GOD SAID, I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who
have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain. Moses said TO GOD,
Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you," and they ask me, "What is his name?"
Then what shall I tell them? GOD SAID to Moses, I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: "I AM has sent
me to you." GOD ALSO SAID to Moses, Say to the Israelites, "The Lord, the God of your fathersthe God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac and the God of Jacobhas sent me to you." This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation
to generation. Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, "The LORD, the God of your fathersthe God of Abraham, Isaac
and JacobAPPEARED TO ME and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have
promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and
Jebusites-a land flowing with milk and honey. Once the context is examined we discover that the speaker is not God the Father, but
rather his Angel. It is true that the OT often employs the name Yahweh to the Father (cf. Isaiah 63:16, 64:8). Yet in Exodus it is the
Angel who is identified as Yahweh, God Almighty, the God of the patriarchs, as well as the great "I AM". The identity of the Angel in
the bush as Yahweh God is made explicit elsewhere:
Blessing invoked using his Name: Deuteronomy 33:13-16a: About Joseph he said: May the LORD bless his land with the precious
dew from heaven above and with the deep waters that lie below; with the best the sun brings forth and the finest the moon can yield;
with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills; with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness
and the favor of him WHO DWELT IN THE BURNING BUSH .... This leads us to the following questions: Who exactly is this
Angel and what significance does this have on NT Christology and biblical monotheism? It is to these questions that we proceed to
answer. The most important figure mentioned in the OT passages is Malakh Yahweh or Malakh Jehovah which is translated as the Angel
of the LORD in English bible. KJV capitalized this particular Messenger to distinguish from other messengers who are created beings
acting as some sort of messenger. The Angel of the LORD (Malakh Yahweh) identified himself as LORD God and at the same time
acted as an Ambassador or Messenger. The authors of the OT called Him to be God yet distinct Him from other divine person. But who
was this divine figure who was called as the Angel of the LORD by the writers of the OT? Firstly, we must understand the term Malakh
(Angel in Greek) in Hebrew thought. Now it wont surprise you that in the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated as angel
malakh simply means messenger or ambassador; indeed, it is translated that way almost half the time it appears. (Malakh even finds
its way into the name of the last known prophet of the Old Testament, Malachi.) This word is used of human messengers in such
passages as Gen 32:3 (Jacob sent messenger to his brother Esau), Joshua 6:25, (Rahab hid the messeger [spy] of Israel), 1 Samuel
6:21(Israelite sent messenger to Kirjat), and 1 Kings 19:2 (Jezebel sent messenger to Elijah). The other half of the time, the Old
Testament word malakh is translated as angel, by which is meant a heavenly messenger. While it usually means a created order of
heavenly being (as in Genesis 19:12-17 and Psalm 91:11, for example), it is also used of that uncreated Being known as the Angel (i.e.,

Messenger/Ambassador/Envoy) of the LORDMalakh- Yahweh (Divine being). Things can be confusing in todays English, when
we talk of angel in modern world we tend to think of wing creature this is because our NT translated the Greek terms angelos. But the
Hebrew thought is very different. In OT when messenger is described, the writers of the OT did not have any idea of wing creatures.
Once we understand the idea behind the term Messenger (Malakh or Angel) we would easily avoid confussion when we described the
most prominent figure of the OT which is the Angel of the LORD or Angel of God (simply in Hebrew thought Malakh Yahweh). He is
distinct from God, yet spoke himself as God and convey his nature that God only possess. The Angel of the LORD is referred to with
masculine pronouns (Genesis 16:13; Judges 6:21). It will be a lie to say that the Angel of the LORD is just a mere created angel who
spoke on behalf of God. For God of the Bible is a jealous God and He would in no way allowed his created angels (messengers) to be
worshiped by others. In many cases angels were reported to act as messenger but the contexts of the verses clearly distinguish the angels
as a created being example in Daniel Chapter 10, Rev 22: 9, 19:10, John was rebuked by the angel himself when he bowed toward him.
The angel instead said to him I am your servant. But the Messenger Yahweh (Angel of the LORD) mentioned in the OT was not a
created being who acted as messenger. He happened to be Messenger and at the same time He happened to be God as exercised
authority that true God alone can. The first point to affirms that Messeger can also be applied for divine is seen in Mal 3:1 Behold, I
am going to send My messenger (malak) and he (John the Baptist) will clear the way before Me (the LORD of hosts) and the Lord
Whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple and the MESSENGER (Malakh) OF THE COVENANT) in Whom you delight,
behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts. Here we have the messeger (malakh in Hebrew and angel in Greek) who is John and
also the Messenger (Malakh) who happened to be divine being (the Messiah). Jesus affirmed that the first messenger is John the Baptist
in Luke 7:27 Jesus word this is He of whom it is written behold I will send my messenger before you....prepare your way before you. So
when we talk about the term Messenger (Malakh), or simply Angel in English, we must not be quick to draw our conclusion with our
modern day definition of angel. Prophets are also called Angelos (Malakh) in 2 Chrncle 36:15-16, Jer 25:3-7, 26: 20-23, Haggai is
spoken as Malakh (angelos) in Haggai 1:13, Mal 2:7(preists as angelos) etc. NT also contain angelos as human being Luke 7:24, James
2:25 (Rahab received the angelso-messenger. In Matt 11:10, Mark 1:2 has Angelos but the OT refrence has Malakh both being human
messengers.
Note; the Angel of the LORD and Angel of God are used interchangbly in judge 16:10, 21, 13, 9 13.
First appearance to Hagar Genesis 16:7-14: The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that
is beside the road to Shur. And he said, Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going? I'm running
away from my mistress Sarai, she answered. Then the angel of the LORD told her, Go back to your mistress and submit to her. The
angel added, I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count. The angel of the LORD also said to her:
You are now with child and you will have a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. He will be a wild
donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his
brothers. 13. She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: You are the God who sees me, for she said, I have now seen the
One who sees me. That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.". We can see here that
Hagar recognized Him as God; the writer also has in his mind that the Angel of the LORD is LORD notice vs 13. Moreover, the Angel
of the LORD spoke as God and used first person singular pronoun I and promise her to multiply that only God can do. To Hagar He
appeared again in Gen 21:18 and promise her to fulfill His previous promise which God only can do. Vs 13: you are the God who
sees..This divine person is God himself. We can see the Angel of the LORD is God who blessed Ishmael Gen 17; 20: as for Ishmael I
have blessed Him and will make him fruitful..The Angel of the LORD spoke as if he already blessed Ishamel which echoes what he had
already done in Gen 16:7, 10 and 13.
Psalm 34:6-7: This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them. For the Angel to encamp all believers and protect them implies that he is both
omnipresent and omnipotent!
Second Appearance to Abraham: Gen 22:15-16: the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham second time...16. and said, by myself i
have sworn says the LORD because you have done this things and not withhold your son your only son, in blessing i will bless you and
in multiplying I will multiply your descendent as the stars... The Angel of the LORD distinguished himself from another person who is
still God in vs 12 where He said i know you fear God (not me) since you have not withhold your son from me. We have two divine

persons. It is clear that it was the Angel of the LORD who commanded Abraham for his son sacrifice and the author identifies him as
God in Gen 22:1(Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I
am." 2He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt
offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you). In addition Hebrew 6:13 say: When God made his promise to Abraham, since
there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself. The Angel of the LORD (Malakh Yahweh) in Gen 22:16 is also
God as the book of Hebrew substantiates.
Third appearance to Jacob: Genesis 28:10-22: Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he reached a certain place, he
stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. He had a
dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and
descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: 'I am the LORD, the God (elohe) of your father Abraham and the God of
Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you
will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your
offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have
done what I have promised you. When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, 'Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of
it.' He was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.' Early the
next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place
Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, 'If God will be with me and will watch over me on this
journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be
my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.'".
According to this passage Jacob saw Yahweh and anointed a pillar to him. Yet elsewhere the One who appeared to Jacob as Yahweh
God is said to be the Angel of Yahweh: Genesis 31:10-13: In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that
the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. The Angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I answered,
'Here I am.' And he said, 'Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen
all that Laban has been doing to you. I am the God (ha-El) of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me.
Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.".
Fourth Appearance to Jacob at Peniel: Genesis 32:24-30: So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When
the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the
man. Then the man said, 'Let me go, for it is daybreak.' But Jacob replied, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me.' The man asked him,
'What is your name?' 'Jacob,' he answered. Then the man said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have
struggled with God and with men and have overcome.' Jacob said, 'Please tell me your name.' But he replied, 'Why do you ask my
name?' Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, 'It is because I saw God (elohim) face to face, and yet my
life was spared." Hosea states that the man with whom Jacob wrestled was the Angel of Yahweh: Hosea 12:2-5: The LORD has a
charge to bring against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds. In the womb he
grasped his brother's heel; as a man he struggled with God. He struggled with the ANGEL and overcame him; he wept and begged for
his favor. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; He wept and sought His favor. He found Him at Bethel And there He spoke with
us, the LORD God Almighty, the LORD is his name!
Interestingly, the Holy Bible shows Jacob calling upon both God and his Angel to bless Josephs sons: Genesis 48:15-16: May the God
before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, THE ANGEL WHO HAS
redeemed ME FROM ALL HARMmay HE bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and
Isaac, and may they increase greatly upon the earth." The word redeemed in Hebrew = ga'al which is a verb meaning to redeem, the
first use in the OT. Ga'al {Goel} means to act as one's kinsman-redeemer, to be a savior. The LXX translates ga'al with the Greek verb
rhuomai - see also use of rhuomai to describe deliverance by Jesus in study on 1Theso 1:10-note). Jacob would never mention this Angel
(Malakh=messenger) if He was just a created being of some short, he would have surely knew it was idolatry to have a created being
involked as God in blessing.

Blessing involving the Angel of the LORD: Zechariah 12:8: In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one
who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God (elohim), like the Angel ['malak'] of
the LORD before them. The goodness of the Angel is often mentioned in praise and blessing. The Angel of the LORD is equated as
God.
God in human figure in Ezekiel: Since we are on the subject of God appearing as a man in the Old Testament, here is another place
where a prophet sees God revealing himself in the likeness or form of a man: Ezekiel 1:26-28, 2:1-10: 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. And upward from what had the appearance OF HIS LOINS I saw as it were gleaming bronze, like
the appearance of fire enclosed round about; and downward from what had the appearance OF HIS LOINS I saw as it were the
appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so
was the appearance of the brightness round about. Such 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 the voice of one speaking. AND HE SAID TO ME, Son of man, stand upon your feet, and I will speak
with you. And when he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me upon my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. AND HE SAID
TO ME, Son of man, I SEND YOU TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, to a nation of rebels, WHO HAVE REBELLED AGAINST ME; they
and their fathers HAVE TRANSGRESSED AGAINST ME to this very day. The people also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to
them; and you shall say to them, "THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD." And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious
house) they will know that there has been a prophet among them. And you, son of man, be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their
words, though briers and thorns are with you and you sit upon scorpions; be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks,
for they are a rebellious house. And you shall speak MY WORDS TO THEM, whether they hear or refuse to hear; for they are a
rebellious house. But you, son of man, hear what I say to you; be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth, and eat
what I give you. And when I looked, behold, A HAND WAS STRETCHED OUT TO ME, and, lo, a written scroll was in it; AND HE
SPREAD IT BEFORE ME; and it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and
mourning and woe." Ezekiel clearly sees a human figure whom he identifies as the glory of the Lord coming to speak to him. The man
proceeds to speak to Ezekiel and identifies himself as the sovereign Yahweh or Lord. Thus, we have another instance where an OT
prophet sees God appearing as a man.
Fifth Appearance for Gods own name: The Angels Deity is also clearly seen in Exodus 23:20-23: See, I am sending an angel ahead
of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not
rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I
say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the
land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.".[see Name means essence to
another paper]
Isaiah makes the connection explicit: I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all
the Lord has done for usyes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many
kindnesses. He said, Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me; and so he became their Savior. In all their distress he
too was distressed, AND THE ANGEL OF HIS PRESENCE SAVED THEM. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up
and carried them all the days of old." Isaiah 63:7-9. In other word the Angel was Gods own presence but different person of Godhead.
He also warned them that they should obey Him for the Angel will not pardon their sins if they rebelled against Him. An ordinary Angel
cannot forgive sins but God alone. So we have seen that the Angel is Divine but distinct from God the Father. God specifically told them
that His name was in the Angel, He is the Second person of Godhead (the eternal Word who is the Son of God). Two things are said
about the Angel in this passage. 1) The Angel contains the name/essence/nature/character of God within himself. 2) the Angel can
choose to forgive or not to forgive sins, a point reiterated elsewhere:
Sixth appearance to Zechariah: Zechariah 3:1-4: Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD
and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan, The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen
Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire? Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood
before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, Take off his filthy clothes. Then he said to Joshua, See, I

HAVE TAKEN AWAY YOUR SIN, and I will put rich garments on you. Forgiving sins is exclusively a divine prerogative and provides
further evidence that the Angel is Yahweh God Almighty: Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves,
Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone? Mark 2:6-7. Hence, the Angel has the
power to forgive sins, to destroy Israel's enemies, and also embodies within his very own being the Divine nature and character of
Yahweh! The interesting thing about this is that angels never allow anyone to worship them, nor are they ever addressed as Yahweh
God. In fact, unlike the Angel of Yahweh angels will often give their names: Daniel 8:15-16: While I, Daniel, was watching the vision
and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man. And I heard a man's voice from the Ulai calling, "Gabriel,
tell this man the meaning of the vision. Daniel 9:20-21: While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people
Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill- while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the
earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice."
Daniel 10:10-14, 21: A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said, 'Daniel, you who are highly esteemed,
consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.' And when he said this to me, I
stood up trembling. Then he continued, 'Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to
humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom
resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of
Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come'
but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince."
Luke 1:19: The angel answered, 'I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this
good news." Luke 1:26-27: In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be
married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. Colossians 2:18: Do not let anyone who
delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has
seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. Revelation 19:9-10: Then the angel said to me, 'Write: "Blessed are
those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!"' And he added, 'These are the true words of God.' At this I fell at his feet to
worship him. But he said to me, 'Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus.
Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 22:8-9: I, John, am the one who heard and saw these
things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he
said to me, 'Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book.
Worship God!. So close is the connection between Yahweh and His Angel that Moses could say that the entity leading Israel in the pillar
of cloud was Yahweh in one place, while saying that it was the Angel in another:
Seventh Appearance as Pillar of Fire: "By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by
night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire
by night left its place in front of the people." Exodus 13:21-22
Compare: "Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud
also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud
brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long." Exodus 14:19-20.
And: "During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into
confusion. He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, Let's get away from
the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt. Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the
waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." Exodus 14:24-26.
Finally, according to the OT the entity that came down in a cloud on the mountain to give Israel the commands was Yahweh God:
Exodus 19:9, 16-20:3: The Lord said to Moses, I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking
with you and will always put their trust in you. Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said. ... On the morning of the third day
there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.
Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was covered with
smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled

violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. The Lord
descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up and the Lord said to him, Go down
and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish. Even the priests, who approach the
Lord, must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them. Moses said to the Lord, The people cannot come up Mount
Sinai, because you yourself warned us, "Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy." The Lord replied, Go down and bring
Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out against
them. So Moses went down to the people and told them. And God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out
of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me."
Exodus 24:1-2, 8-12, 15-18: Then he said to Moses, Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders
of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may
not come up with him. ... Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord
has made with you in accordance with all these words. Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up
AND SAW THE GOD OF ISRAEL. UNDER HIS FEET was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God
did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; THEY SAW GOD, and they ate and drank. The Lord said to Moses, Come
up TO ME on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their
instruction. ... When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six
days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory
of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he
stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights."
Deuteronomy 5:1-7: Moses summoned all Israel and said: Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn
them and be sure to follow them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. It was not with our fathers that the Lord made
this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. The Lord spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. (At
that time I stood between the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up
the mountain.) And he said: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other
gods before me.".
Nehemiah 9:7-13: You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham. You
found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites,
Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites. You have kept your promise because you are righteous. You saw the suffering of our
forefathers in Egypt; you heard their cry at the Red Sea. You sent miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his
officials and all the people of his land, for you knew how arrogantly the Egyptians treated them. You made a name for yourself, which
remains to this day. You divided the sea before them, so that they passed through it on dry ground, but you hurled their pursuers into the
depths, like a stone into mighty waters. By day you led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on
the way they were to take. You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are
just and right, and decrees and commands that are good."
Yet according to the NT this entity was none other than the Angel himself, the very same One who spoke to Moses from the burning
bush Acts 7:30-38:After forty years had passed, AN ANGEL appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near
Mount Sinai. When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to look more closely, he heard the Lords voice: I am the
God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to
him, Take off your sandals; the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I
have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt. This is the same Moses
whom they had rejected with the words, Who made you ruler and judge? He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself,
through THE ANGEL who appeared to him in the bush. He led them out of Egypt and did wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the
Red Sea and for forty years in the desert. This is that Moses who told the Israelites, God will send you a prophet like me from your own
people. He was in the assembly in the desert, WITH THE ANGEL WHO SPOKE TO HIM ON MOUNT SINAI, AND WITH OUR

FATHERS; and he received living words to pass on to us.". This demonstrates the consistency between both the Old and New
Testaments, since both books clearly portray the Angel as Yahweh God.
Eighth, Encountered with Balaam: Number 22:22-35. The Angel of the LORD stood on the way to Balaam. He recognised the
Angel of the LORD was God and bow toward the ground. In vs 35 the Angel of the LORD told to Balaam Go with the men but only
the word that I speak to you that you should speak. In the following verse in 38 So Balaam said to Balak, "Behold, I have come now to
you! Am I able to speak anything at all? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I shall speak. The author tells us that Balaam spoke
only what God has told him to speak. Chapter 23 goes on to use God and LORD interchangeably for the Angel of the LORD. The author
and Balaam equated the Angel of the LORD as God himself.
Ninth Appearance to Joshua: Joshua 5:13-15: When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was
standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, Are you for us, or for our adversaries?
And he said, No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and
worshiped and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant? And the commander of the LORD's army said to Joshua, "Take off
your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so." (Same as Exo 3:1-16).
Tenth Appearance as Covenant Keeper: Judges 2:1-5: The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, 'I brought you
up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, "I will never break MY COVENANT with you,
and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars." Yet you have disobeyed me. Why
have you done this? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be [thorns] in your sides and their gods
will be a snare to you.' When the angel of the LORD had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, and they called
that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the LORD." According to Exodus 20:1, it was the LORD God who brought out the
Israelites from the land of Egypt yet in Judge 2:1, 2 it says it was the Angel of the LORD. Logical conclusion, the Angel of the LORD is
the LORD God.
Eleventh Appearance to Gideon: Judges 6:11-23: Now the angel of the LORD came and SAT under the terebinth at Ophrah, which
belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the
angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor. And Gideon said to him, Please,
my Lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted
to us, saying, "Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?" But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.
AND THE LORD TURNED TO HIM AND SAID, Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send
you? And he said to him, Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my
father's house. AND THE LORD SAID TO HIM, But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man. And he said to
him, If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speaks with me. Please do not depart from here until
I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you. And he said, I will stay till you return. So Gideon went into his house
and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and
brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. AND THE ANGEL OF GOD SAID TO HIM, Take the meat and the
unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them. And he did so. Then the angel of the LORD reached out the
tip of the staff that was IN HIS HAND and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed
the flesh and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of
the LORD. And Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face. BUT THE LORD SAID TO
HIM, Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die." People normally become afraid of dying after seeing God face to face, and yet
here Gideon is afraid because he saw the Angel face to face (cf. Genesis 32:30; Exodus 33:20 (where God said you cannot see my face
for no man shall see my face and live); Judges 13:22).
Twelfth Appearance to Manaoh and his wife: Judges 13:3-23: "And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her,
'Behold, you are barren and have no children; but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore beware, and drink no wine or strong
drink, and eat nothing unclean, for lo, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a
Nazirite to God from birth; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.' Then the woman came and told her
husband, 'A man of God came to me, and his countenance was like the countenance of the angel of God, very terrible; I did not ask him

whence he was, and he did not tell me his name; but he said to me, "Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son; so then drink no wine or
strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death."' Then Mano'ah
entreated the LORD, and said, 'O, LORD, I pray thee, let the man of God whom thou didst send come again to us, and teach us what we
are to do with the boy that will be born.' And God listened to the voice of Mano'ah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as
she sat in the field; but Mano'ah her husband was not with her. And the woman ran in haste and told her husband, 'Behold, the man who
came to me the other day has appeared to me.' And Mano'ah arose and went after his wife, and came to the man and said to him, 'Are
you the man who spoke to this woman?' And he said, 'I am.' And Mano'ah said, 'Now when your words come true, what is to be the boy's
manner of life, and what is he to do?' And the angel of the LORD said to Mano'ah, 'Of all that I said to the woman let her beware. She
may not eat of anything that comes from the vine, neither let her drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing; all that I
commanded her let her observe.' Mano'ah said to the angel of the LORD, 'Pray, let us detain you, and prepare a kid for you.' And the
angel of the LORD said to Manoah, If you detain me, I will not eat of your food; but if you make ready a burnt offering, then offer it to
the LORD. (For Mano'ah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.) And Mano'ah said to the angel of the LORD, What is your
name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?' And the angel of the LORD said to him, 'Why do you ask my name,
seeing it is WONDERFUL? So Manoah took the kid with the cereal offering, and offered it upon the rock to the LORD, to him who
works wonders. And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar
while Mano'ah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. The angel of the LORD appeared no more to Mano'ah
and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. And Mano'ah said to his wife, We shall surely die, for we have
seen God.' But his wife said to him, 'If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a cereal offering
at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these." The writer of the Judge has in mind that the
Angel of the LORD is the LORD as he adds (for Monoah did not know He was the Angel of the LORD) though He told them to sacrifice
their offering to the LORD. Manaoh and His wife knew well that the Angel of the LORD was also God and with seeing Him they
thought they would die as God had said no one should be alive after seeing Him (Exo 33:20). In Vs 23 his wife clarified to us that the
Angel of the LORD was not just a mere created being but God himself as she said 'If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have
accepted a burnt offering and a cereal offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these)
and they did worship him in vs 20.
Thirteenth, encountered with King David: 1 Chronicles 21:15: And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about
to destroy it, the LORD saw and was sorry over the calamity, and said to the destroying angel, "It is enough; now relax your hand." And
the angel of the LORD was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of
the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the
elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. 17. David said to God, "Is it not I who commanded to count the
people? Indeed, I am the one who has sinned and done very wickedly, but these sheep, what have they done? O LORD my God, please
let Your hand be against me and my father's household, but not against Your people that they should be plagued. 18. Then the angel of
the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan
the Jebusite. David addressed the Angel of the LORD as God in vs 17 David said to the God... In vs 18 the Angel of the LORD
commanded Gad what he should said to David. Interestingly the author then states that the Angel of the LORD was the God himself in
vs 19 (so David went up at the word of Gad which he had spoken in the name of the LORD. In I chrncle 21:14-20 says the Angel of the
LORD appeared to David but 2 Chrncle 3:1: Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah,
where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

CHRIST AS THE ANGEL OF YAHWEH

The OT also indicates that this Angel is actually the Messiah that was predicted to come. In other words, the Angel of Yahweh is
actually the Lord Jesus Christ prior to his becoming a man. The following OT passages help solidify this point: See, I will send my
messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord (Ha Adon) you are seeking will come TO HIS TEMPLE; the
messenger (malach, angel) of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty." Malachi 3:1.
Here is how the Septuagint renders this verse: Behold I send forth my angel (ton angelon mou) and he shall survey the way before me:
and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come into his temple, even THE ANGEL OF THE COVENANT (ho angelos tes
diatheekes), whom you take pleasure in: behold he is coming saith the Lord Almighty. Please do note that the Greek word here is
angelos. According to this messianic passage the One who was to come to his temple is none other than the Angel of the Covenant, the
very same Angel who is identified as Yahweh God throughout the OT: "The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said,
'I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, "I will never break MY
COVENANT with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars." Yet you
have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be [thorns] in
your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.' When the angel of the LORD had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people
wept aloud, and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the LORD." Judges 2:1-5. Interestingly, the OT
emphatically states that the temple in Jerusalem was built for Yahweh: 1 Kings 8:6-21: The priests then brought the ark of the Lord s
covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy PlaceThere was nothing in the ark except the two stone
tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt. When the
priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD. And the priests could not perform their service
because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled HIS TEMPLE. Then Solomon said, The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark
cloud; I have indeed built a magnificent temple FOR YOU, a place FOR YOU to dwell forever. While the whole assembly of Israel was
standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. Then he said: Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who with his own hand
has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, "Since the day I brought my people Israel out of
Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have A TEMPLE BUILT FOR MY NAME to be there, but I have chosen David to
rule my people Israel." My father David had it in his heart TO BUILD A TEMPLE FOR THE NAME OF THE LORD, THE GOD OF
ISRAEL. But the Lord said to my father David, "Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well to have this in
your heart. Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh and blood-he is the one who will
build the temple FOR MY NAME." The Lord has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the
throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and I have built the temple FOR THE NAME OF THE LORD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL. I have
provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord that he made with our fathers when he brought them out of
Egypt." Yet Malachi 3:1 states that the temple belongs to the Angel of the covenant, i.e. "the Lord who you are seeking will come to his
temple." This again proves that the Angel is Yahweh God Almighty. Malachi also calls this Angel "the Lord" which in Hebrew is Ha
Adon. This title is never used for anyone other than Yahweh God. The fact that Malachi had no problem applying this title to the Angel
demonstrates that Malachi clearly believed that this Angel was no mere creature. There are even some Jewish sources that linked
Malachi 3:1 to Exodus 23:20-23, as well as to a host of other texts:
"BEHOLD, I SEND AN ANGEL. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: 'He who guarded the patriarchs will also guard the
children'; for so you find in the case of Abraham that when he blessed his son Isaac, he said: The L-rd, the G-d of heaven ... He will send
His angel before thee (Gen. xxiv, 7). And what did Jacob say to his children? 'The angel who hath redeemed me from all evil, etc. (ibid.
xlviii, 16). He hath redeemed me from the hand of Esau, from Laban, and he it was who fed and sustained me during the years of famine'
(referring all this to an angel - one sent by G-d for that particular purpose). G-d said to Moses: 'Now also, He who guarded the fathers
will protect the children,' as it says, BEHOLD, I SEND AN ANGEL. Wherever the angel appeared, the Shechinah appeared, as it says,
And the angel of the L-rd appeared unto him in a flame of fire. (Ex. iii, 2), and immediately after, it says, G-d called unto him (ibid., 4).
Moreover, salvation cometh to Israel wherever they cry unto Him (whenever Israel cries unto G-d and the angel appears, he is a herald
of salvation); at the thorn-bush - Behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto Me (ibid. 9); in the case of Gideon - And the angel

of the L-rd came ... and the angel of the L-rd appeared ... and the L-rd ... said: Go in this thy might, and save Israel (Judg. vi, 11-14). In
the millennium, likewise, when he (the angel; he will be the herald announcing the coming of the L-rd and of true salvation) will reveal
himself, salvation will come to Israel, as it says,Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall clear the way before Me (Mal. iii, i)." (Rabbi
Dr. S.M. Lehrman, Midrash Rabbah: Volume III: Exodus [London: The Soncino Press, 1983], pp. 412-13; underline emphasis ours).
Both Jewish Tradition and the Lord Jesus viewed Malachi 3:1 as a prophecy of the Messiah:
The Lord is the King Messiah; He is also the Angel of the Covenant. Rabbi David Kimchi
The Lord is both the Divine Majesty, and the Angel of the Covenant, for the sentence is doubled. Aben Ezra
The Lord may be explained of the King Messiah. Mashmiah Jeshua, fol.76. For those who cannot look upon the Son Himself, behold
Him in His reflected light, even thus do they regard THE IMAGE OF GOD, WHO IS HIS ANGEL, THE WORD [Logos], as God
Himself. (De Plant Noe) Philo Judaeus.
And: Matthew 11:7-10: As Johns disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: What did you go out into the
desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine
clothes are in kings' palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about
whom it is written: "I will send my messenger ahead of you,who will prepare your way before you. The Lord Jesus claims that John is
the messenger that would be sent by God to prepare the way for the Angel of the covenant. Seeing that John was sent to prepare the way
for the Lord Jesus means that Jesus is the Angel of Yahweh. This would also mean that Jesus is the very Lord that was to come into his
temple. This proves that Christ is Yahweh God Almighty.
[NOTE- Interestingly Jesus says that John is more than a prophet, and yet John was not as great as Jesus. If Jesus is greater than John,
and yet John is more than a prophet this means that Jesus is much greater than a prophet also. In light of Malachi 3:1, we see how great
Jesus really is since he is clearly said to be Yahweh God Almighty]. The other proof that the Angel is actually Christ comes from Judges
13:3-23: " And Mano'ah said to the angel of the LORD, What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?'
And the angel of the LORD said to him, 'Why do you ask my name, seeing it is WONDERFUL? The Angel once again appears as a man
and is identified as God. According to the Angel his name is Wonderful, which is one of the names given to the Messiah in prophecy!:
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called WONDERFUL
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6. Again, note the way the Septuagint translates this specific
verse: For a child is born to us and a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder: and his name is called the Angel of the
great counsel (Megales Boules angelos): for I will bring peace upon the princes, and health to him. Lest the authors claim that this is
not a messianic prophecy notice what the rabbis had to say:
And there was called His name from of old, Wonderful, counselor, Mighty God, He who lives for ever, the Messiah in whose days peace
shall increase. Targum of Isaiah.
There are some interpreters who say that Wonderful, Everlasting Father are Names of God and only Prince of Peace is the Name of
the Child. But according to my view the interpretation is right (which says): all are the Names of the Child. Aben Ezra.
Targum Jonathan: For to us a Son is born, to us a Son is given:andHeshall receive the Law upon Him to keep it; and His Name is
called from of old, Wonderful, Counselor, ELOHA, The Mighty, Abiding to Eternity, The Messiah, because peace shall be multiplied on
us in His days..
Early church Fathers writings on the Angel of the LORD as second person of Godhead
The Letter of Barnabas (74 AD): The Letter of Barnabas And further, my brethren, if the Lord [Jesus] endured to suffer for our soul,
he being the Lord of all the world, to whom God said at the foundation of the world, 'Let us make man after our image, and after our
likeness,' understand how it was that he endured to suffer at the hand of men (Letter of Barnabas 5).
Hermas (120 AD): In his Shepherd, Hermas believes that the Son of God is older than all His creation, so that he became the Fathers
adviser in his creation. Therefore, also he is ancient (III Sim. IX:12, in Holmes, 1999: 491). Hermas in one of the early disciples of Paul
mentioned in the book of Roman 16:14.
Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (70-150 AD): To Him did Moses bear witness, and said: The Lord received fire from the Lord,
and rained it down. Him did Jacob see as a man, and said: I have seen God face to face, and my soul is preserved." Him did Abraham
entertain, and acknowledge to be the Judge, and his Lord. (Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, Book V. XX).

Theophilus (115-181): Bishop of Antioch (To Autolycus 2:22,160 A.D.) For the divine writing itself teaches us that Adam said that
he had heard the voice but what else is this voice but the word of God, who is also his Son.
Justin Martyr (150 AD): declared: 1) Our Christ conversed with Moses out of the bush, in the appearance of fire. And Moses
received great strength from Christ, who spake to him in the appearance of fire. In His debate with Jews Heretic Trypho, Justin wrote in
Chapter LVI.God Who Appeared to Moses is distinguished from God the Father regarding the Son.
2) Now that Christ is Lord, and substantially God the Son of God, and in times past appeared potentially as a man and an angel, and in
fiery glory as He appeared in the bush and at the judgment of Sodom has been demonstrated fully by what has been said.
3) The Jews, who think that it was always God the Father who spoke to Moses, (whereas He who spoke to him was the Son of God,
who is also called an Angel, and an Apostle) are justly convicted both by the prophetical spirit, and by Christ himself, for knowing
neither the Father nor the Son. For they, who say that the Son is the Father, are convicted of neither knowing the Father, nor of
understanding that the God of the universe has a Son: who, being the first-born Word of God, is also God.
Irenaeus wrote (180 AD): The Scripture is full of the Son of Gods appearing: sometimes to talk and eat with Abraham, at other times
to instruct Noah about the measures of the ark; at another time to seek Adam; at another time to bring down judgment upon Sodom; then
again, to direct Jacob in the way; and again, to converse with Moses out of the bush. (As cited in Richard Watson, Evidences, Doctrines,
Morals and Institutions of Christianity (New York: T. Mason and G. Lane, 1836), 1:501).

And again, when the Son speaks to Moses, He says, I have come down to deliver this people. Against Heresies III, 6.
Wherefore, as I have already stated, no other is named as God, or is called Lord, except Him who is God and Lord of all, who also said
to Moses, I am that I am. And thus shall you say to the children of Israel: He who is, has sent me unto you; Exodus 3:14 and His Son
Jesus Christ our Lord, who makes those that believe in His name the sons of God. And again, when the Son speaks to Moses, He says, I
have come down to deliver this people. Exodus 3:8 For it is He who descended and ascended for the salvation of men. Therefore God
has been declared through the Son, who is in the Father, and has the Father in Himself He who is, the Father bearing witness to the
Son, and the Son announcing the Father. As also Esaias says, I too am witness, he declares, says the Lord God, and the Son whom I
have chosen, that you may know, and believe, and understand that I am. Isaiah 43:10 [Against Heresies, 3.6.1-5]
Clement of Alexandria (190 AD) The Word, then, the Christ, is the cause both of our ancient beginning, for he was in God, and of
our well-being. And now this same Word has appeared as man. He alone is both God and man, and the source of all our good things
(Exhortation to the Greeks 1:7:1).
Hippolytus (190 A.D): This is the order of the rule of our faith...God the Father, not made, not material, invisible; One God, the creator
of all things; this is the first point of our faith. the second point is this; the word of God, Son of God, Christ Jesus our Lord who was
manifested to the prophets according to the form of their prophesying and according to the method of the fathers dispensation, through
whom all things were made.
Tertullian (200 AD): It was the Son who judged men from the beginning, destroying that lofty tower, and confounding their
languages, punishing the whole world with a flood of waters, and raining fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord
pouring it down from the Lord: for he always descended to hold converse with men, from Adam even to the patriarchs and prophets, in
visions, in dreams, in mirrors, in dark sentences, always preparing his way from the beginning: neither was it possible, that God who
conversed with men upon earth, could be any other than that Word which was to be made flesh.
Novatian (235 AD): And this Lord was the God seen by Abraham; and this God was the guest of Abraham, certainly seen because He
was also touched. But this is the Son of God, "The Lord rained from the Lord upon Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire." And this
is the Word of God. And the Word of God was made flesh, and dwelt among us; and this is Christ. It was not the Father, then, who was a
guest with Abraham, but Christ. Nor was it the Father who was seen then, but the Son; and Christ was seen. Rightly, therefore, Christ is
both Lord and God, who was not otherwise seen by Abraham, except that as God the Word He was begotten of God the Father before
Abraham himself. These people were the immediate successors of the apostles and must have understood many oral teachings passed
down to them directly from the apostles.
Eusebius of Caesarea (300AD): Moses most clearly proclaims him second Lord after the Father, when he says, The Lord rained upon
Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire from the Lord (Genesis 19:24). The divine Scripture also calls him God, when he appeared
again to Jacob in the form of a man, and said to Jacob, Your name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel shall be your name, because

you have prevailed with God (Genesis 32:38). Wherefore also Jacob called the name of that place Vision of God, saying, For I have seen
God face to face, and my life is preserved (Genesis 32:30) [Church History, 1.2.9]
Theodoret of Cyrus writes (300-400 AD): The whole passage (Exodus 3) shows that it was God who appeared to Moses. But Moses
called Him an angel in order to let us know that it was not God the Father whom he saw for whose angel could the Father be?
but the Only-begotten Son, the Angel of Great Counsel.
Saint Hilary of Poitiers write (300-368 AD): To discriminate clearly between the Persons, He is called the Angel of God; He Who is
God from God is also the Angel of God, but, that He may have the honour which is His due, He is entitled also Lord and God. (On the
Trinity IV). For more references to the Angel/Messenger of the Lord as the Pre-Incarnate Christ some references are given: Justin
Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, 58, 59, 60, 61, 76, 86, 116, 126, 127, 128; Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3.6.1-5, Fragments, 53;
Tertullian, Against Praxeas, 16, De Carne, 14, Against Marcion 2.27, 3.9; Novatian, On the Trinity, 18, 19, 31; Apostolic
Constitutions, 5.3.20; Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, 1.7; Eusebius, The Proof of the Gospel, 1.5, 4.10, 5.10, Church History,
1.2.7-8, Preparation for the Gospel, VII. 5, 14-15; Origen, Contra Celsus, 5.53, 8.27; Methodious, Symposium, 3.4; Melito, New
Fragments, 15; Ambrose, Exposition of the Christian Faith, 1.13.83; Athanasius, Against the Arians, 3.25.12-14; Gregory of Nyssa,
Against Eunomius, 11.3.

Some Jewish writings abot the promised Messiah

Tal. Bab (Tract Aboth, p. 114): And the Lord came down in a cloud and His feet will stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives.
This is an obvious reference to Zech. 14:3-4; Rev. 19:11-21.
Zohar (c. 2:44): In the times of Messiah, Israel shall be one people to the Lord, and He shall make them one nation in the earth, and
they shall rule above and below; as it is written, Behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven. This is the King
Messiah, of whom it is written, And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom. This is a clear reference to
Dan. 7:13-14 that is the heavenly coronation of the King Messiah.
Abarbanel: Then expositors explain these words, Like a Son of Man, as referring to King Messiah (reference to Dan. 7:13-14).
R. Simon ben Jochai : When the King Messiah shall be revealed all the nations of the world shall be gathered to Him. Another
reference to Dan. 7:13-14.
The Midrash on Lam 1:16 : What is the name of the Messiah? Rav Ava ben Kahanna said Jehovah is his name and this is proved by,
this is his name [quoting Jer 23:6].
Even the pagan Sibylline Oracles when questioned about the messianic prophecies in the Tanakh spoke the truth concerning the King
Messiah. The Sibylline Oracles are sometimes called the pseudo-Sibylline Oracles because the original Roman books were destroyed,
partially in a fire in 83 BC and finally burned by order of the Roman General Flavius Stilicho, 365-408 AD. The remaining Sibylline
Oracles range from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD and were spoken by Sibyls (priestesses) who uttered their allegedly divine
revelations in a frenzied state. The Jewish Oracles have these startling comments recorded with regard to the following Messianic
prophecy of the Messiahs sufferings as foretold by the prophet Isaiah as well as this obvious reference to the Great White Throne
Judgment, Rev. 20:11-15.
Sibylline Oracles (Erythrae): Behold the King shall come through the ages, sent to be here in the flesh, and judge at the end of the
worldSeated before Him are souls in the flesh for His judgment.
Sibylline Oracles (BCE 117-184): And they shall inflict on GOD blows with impure hands, and with polluted mouths they shall send
forth polluted spittle, and He shall then absolutely give His holy back to stripes.
A clear reference to Isaiah 50:6 and 53:5. And with regard to the Messiahs silence and his scourging, Isaiah 53:6-8 and his being struck
down, Zech. 13:7.
Sibylline Oracles (BCE 117-184): And being beaten He shall be silent lest anyone should know what the Word is, or whence it came,
that it may speak with mortals; and He shall wear the crown of thorns.
Sibylline Oracles (See Jewish Encyclopedia): And after sleeping three days, He shall put an end to the fate of death; and then
releasing Himself from the dead, He shall come to light, first showing the called ones the beginning of the Resurrection. In reference
to Ps. 16:10 and 53:11-12.