THE TALE OF THE TWO YAHWEHS

 

No, this isn’t Marcionism—the idea that the God of the NT and the God of the OT are two different beings. Nor is it polytheism, which claims that there is more than one God. Today, let’s explore a less popular view that appears to be biblically supported (and interesting!). So before you judge this article just by its title, grab a cup of coffee and let’s begin, because this is going to be a long one.

THE ANGEL OF THE LORD

In many OT stories, we encounter a very special figure who acts and speaks as if He is the Lord/Yahweh Himself. This being is known as “The Angel of the Lord” or malak YHWH. The word malak, usually translated “angel,” literally means “messenger.” But when we examine the texts, we can see that He is not just another spiritual being on the same level as angels. In other words, He is not just an angel, but the Angel. He is the Messenger of Yahweh, appearing as a man (note: not a winged being), regarded as God Himself yet also distinct from God. In other words, “regarded as deity, yet distinguished from God.” (Tenney, 1967). Let’s look at some passages:

CROSS-CHECKING THE PASSAGES

Testing of Abraham. The Angel of the Lord stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac (Gen 22:11-12). The Angel also claimed that He was the one who commanded it (v. 18), even though it was directly stated earlier that it was the Lord who commanded (vv. 1-2). The Angel also promised to bless Abraham (vv. 15-18) with the same promise that the Lord had originally given (12:2-3).

Hagar in the Desert. The Angel of the Lord found Hagar in the desert (Gen 16:7-12). Hagar said that it was God who saw her, and she declared that she had seen God Himself (v. 13).

Jacob Wrestled with God. Jacob wrestled with a “mysterious man” (Gen 32:24). The “man” revealed that Jacob had wrestled with God (v. 28). Jacob said that he had seen God’s face and yet lived (v. 30). Hosea 12:3-4 clarifies that when he wrestled with the Angel, he was really wrestling with God.

Moses and the Burning Bush. The Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush (Ex 3:2). Moses was afraid to see God’s face (v. 6). The Angel also identified Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (v. 6) and as Yahweh (v. 14).

God’s Angel Prepares the Way. God said He would send His Angel to protect Israel, and the people must obey Him (Ex 23:20-23). This Angel had the authority to forgive sins (v. 21 cf. Lk 5:20-21). God also said His Name was in the Angel (v. 21). The “Name” (Hebrew: ha-shem) is another way of referring to God Himself. In Scripture, God and the “Name” are often interchanged (Isa 30:27-28; Ps 20:1; Deut 12:4-5,11; etc.). Saying that God’s Name is in the Angel is another way of saying, “He is Me.”

Jacob’s Ladder. Jacob first encountered God at Bethel through a vision of the ladder to heaven (Gen 28:14-15). Later, Jacob said that the one who appeared and spoke to him was the Angel of God (31:11-13).

Jacob Blessing Joseph’s Sons. Jacob identified the God of his fathers Abraham and Isaac, and his own personal shepherd (Gen 48:15), as the Angel who delivered him from all harm (v. 16).

The Calling of Gideon. In Gideon’s call (Judg 6:11-23), the Angel is presented in the narrative as being the same as God. That’s why Gideon was terrified when he realized he had seen the Angel of the Lord face to face (vv. 22-23).

Joshua and the Commander of the Heavenly Army. Joshua encountered the Commander of the Lord’s army (Josh 5:13-15). When Joshua realized who He was, he fell to the ground in worship (v. 14). The Commander’s instruction to Joshua was the same as what the Angel of the Lord told Moses (v. 15; cf. Ex 3:5), further confirming their identity. The ground was holy because the Angel was there.

The Angel at Bokim. In Judg 2:1-5, the Angel rebuked the Israelites for their disobedience. The Angel said that He was the one who brought them out of Egypt and gave promises to their forefathers—things clearly attributed to Yahweh alone (Ex 3:15; 20:2).

Other related passages are Gen 24:7, 40; Num 22:22-35; Judg 13:3-23; 2 Sam 24:16-17; Ps 34:6-7; etc. If we listed them all, we would never finish! These passages clearly show that the Angel was viewed as Yahweh Himself while also being distinct from Yahweh. Scholars note that ancient Jews held to the idea of “two powers in heaven,” while still affirming one God. Regarding this, Heiser (2018) comments: “This figure is actually Yahweh himself in the visible form of man. Consequently, the angel of Yahweh is central to the concept of Godhead (God being more than one person, each person being the same and not ontologically greater or lesser). This concept is at the heart of ancient Jewish teaching that the Hebrew Bible bore witness to two Yahweh figures—’two powers’ in heaven, one invisible and the visible.” Sommer (2009) also observed that in the ancient Near East, it was not unusual to believe that a deity could be present in heaven and on earth at the same time, both transcendent and localized in visible form.

CHRIST AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD

How does this relate to Christian beliefs? It seems that Christ draws a comparison between Himself and the Angel of the Lord. In the prophecy of the coming Messiah, we read:
“‘I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (Mal 3:1) Here, the “Lord you are seeking” is identified with the “Messenger of the Covenant.” This figure is both the Lord and yet distinct from Him.
Jesus consistently revealed Himself as God (Jn 8:24; 10:30–33, etc.) and yet also as one sent by God the Father (Jn 3:16–17; 5:36; 6:38, etc.). He also claimed to bear the “Name” of God (Jn 17:11–12 cf. Ex 23:21). In this way, Jesus reveals Himself as the awaited Messenger—the Angel of the Lord—familiar to Israel’s history.

CHRISTIAN BELIEFS AND THE "TWO POWERS"

If indeed the Angel was Christ in His pre-incarnate form (before becoming truly human), then the NT descriptions of Christ make more sense. Paul describes Christ as the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15), which echoes the Angel of the Lord being Yahweh’s visible form. John describes Jesus as Logos (Jn 1:1)—both God and with God. The writer of Hebrews calls Him “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being” (Heb 1:3), language that could also describe the Angel of the Lord. 

Early church fathers like Justin Martyr, Theophilus, Irenaeus, and Origen connected the “two powers” teaching to the person of Christ, showing that this theology did not originate in the NT but was already present in Jewish thought. As Heiser (2015) notes: “There are two Yahweh figures in Old Testament thinking—one invisible, the other visible and human in form. Judaism before the first century, the time of Jesus, knew this teaching. That’s why ancient Jewish theology once embraced two Yahweh figures (the ‘two powers’). But once this teaching came to involve the risen Jesus of Nazareth, Judaism could no longer tolerate it.”

CHALLENGING THE OTHER VIEW

Some scholars argue that the Angel was simply an angelic representative, not Yahweh Himself. Walton (2016) suggests that in the ancient world, messengers carried the authority of kings and rulers, so the Angel of the Lord functioned similarly.
However, this view has weaknesses:

• God is not bound to ancient cultural protocols.
• It contradicts the plain reading of the texts.
• Prophets/angels usually say “This is what the Lord says,” but the Angel of the Lord speaks in the first person as God.
• Those who encountered Him knew they had seen God, not just a messenger.
• The Angel accepted worship and honor due only to Yahweh, which would not be fitting if He were merely a creature (Isa 42:8; Ex 34:14 cf. Rev 22:19).

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There is so much more to learn about this view, and this article barely scratches the surface. I hope and pray that this sparks your interest to study, test, and discern these truths. Stay Curious.

Sources and Studies:

Heiser, M. (2018). “Important Angels”. 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘵. (pp.57-73). Lexham Press
Walton, J. and, Keener C. (2016). “See footnotes for Ex 3:2”. 𝘕𝘐𝘝 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. (p. 110). Zondervan
Heiser, M. (2015). “What’s in a Name?”. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘮: 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. (pp. 127-134). Lexham Press
Heiser, M. (2015). “Who will go for us?”. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘮: 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. (pp. 236-238). Lexham Press
Segal, A. (2012). “The Church Fathers”. 𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯: 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘙𝘢𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘮. (pp. 220-233). Brill Academic Publishers, Inc. (Originally published 1977)
Sommer, B. (2009). “The Fluidity Model in Ancient Israel.” (pp. 31-57). 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘐𝘴𝘳𝘢𝘦𝘭. Cambridge University Press.
Tenney, M. (Gen Ed.). (1986). “Angel of the Lord”. 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺. (p. 47). Zondervan
McKenzie, J.L (1965). “Angel”. 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. (pp. 30-32). McMillian Publishing.