Hi Jonathan, good questions? Just so you know the second I saw you reference Acts 7 I knew this was about Stephen and him mentioning the angel of the Lord. Regarding your point #1 I would say that your making an "argument from silence". I cannot demonstrate what God has not done or said. No one can. Only things that actually occur can be expected to leave any evidence of themselves. For example, the book of Ester does not mention God by name, should we conclude that God does not exist?
Getting back to Stephen, specifically Acts 7:30, "And after forty years had passed "AN" angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush." Over the years I have had many people say Jesus Christ is an actual angel based on the little word "a or an". Stephen uses the word "an" at vs30. If you continue reading Stephen quotes from vs30 much of Exodus 3 to vs 38 describing what the angel of the Lord stated.
At vs38, "This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with "THE" angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai etc. Here is the "kicker" in all of this? Many people are unaware of the difference between the little words, "a/an and the word "the." The chief grammatical function of "a or an" is to connote a thing NOT previously noted or recognized, while "the" connotes a thing PREVIOUSLY noted or recognized. So this would mean that there is no "breakdown" between "a/an" and "the."
Now, it should be noted that "the" angel of the Lord/Jesus Christ never appears as the angel of the Lord in the New Testament, although He is mentioned by Stephen. You brought up Matther 1:24, "And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as "the" angel of the Lord commanded him etc. Yes, "the" is used and like you said it makes sense "grammatically" based on Matthew 1:20 and the word "an".
You then made this statement: "2) Doesn't the activity of "the angel of the Lord" at the same time Jesus is incarnated suggest they are different beings? To illustrate the concern underlying this question I'll turn from Luke's writings to Matthew's:"
No! Your "assuming" the angel of the Lord is active in the New Testament as the angel of the Lord and there is no way one can prove that assumption. And speaking of two different beings you might find the following interesting in the Old Testament.
The angel of the Lord first appears as the angel of the Lord at Genesis 16:7. "Now the angel of the Lord found her/Hagar by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. Vs8 (I'm going to highlight the main points instead of typing all the verses out). He wants Hagar to return to Sarai,. Verses 8,9. Vs10, "Moreover, the angel of the Lord said to her, "I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they shall be too many to count."
Vs11, The angel of the Lord said to her further, "Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has given heed to your affliction. Skipping to vs13, "The she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, "Thou art a God who sees"; for she said, Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?" Now for Genesis 17:1-3. "Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord APPEARED to Abram and said to him, (This was a physical appearance). I am God Almighty; Walk before Me and be blameless. Vs2, And I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly. Vs3, "And Abram fell on his face and God talked with him, saying."
So here is my question? Is the same being who multiplied Hagar's descendants the same being who multiplied Abram's descendants? And the reason I know this was a physical appearance if from Genesis 17:22. "And when He/God finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham." It is also noteworthy that at verse 1 of Genesis 18, "Now the Lord APPEARED to him/Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day."
If one reads the whole chapter the Lord appears to Abraham along with to actual angels. And at vs33, "And as soon as He/the Lord had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord departed; and Abraham returned to his place. What about the two angels? Genesis 19:1, "Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom."
Here are some of the questions that people have asked me, especially from Genesis 22.12, It says, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him, for now I know you fear God etc. In this case it is not unusual for God to speak in the third person. A good example is at Job 1:8. Another question that is raised, why does God have the angel of the Lord speaking from heaven when there are verses where God Himself speaks out of heaven? Exodus 20:22, "Then the Lord said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, "You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven." And there is in the New Testament Matthew 3:17, "and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Lastly, and in summary we have Judges 2:1, "Now the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, I will never break My covenant with you." Please read verses 2-5. And speaking of swearing an oath! One person may not take an oath or affirmation for another, this act is a highly personal commitment of conscience.
IN GOD THE SON,
james
Getting back to Stephen, specifically Acts 7:30, "And after forty years had passed "AN" angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush." Over the years I have had many people say Jesus Christ is an actual angel based on the little word "a or an". Stephen uses the word "an" at vs30. If you continue reading Stephen quotes from vs30 much of Exodus 3 to vs 38 describing what the angel of the Lord stated.
At vs38, "This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with "THE" angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai etc. Here is the "kicker" in all of this? Many people are unaware of the difference between the little words, "a/an and the word "the." The chief grammatical function of "a or an" is to connote a thing NOT previously noted or recognized, while "the" connotes a thing PREVIOUSLY noted or recognized. So this would mean that there is no "breakdown" between "a/an" and "the."
Now, it should be noted that "the" angel of the Lord/Jesus Christ never appears as the angel of the Lord in the New Testament, although He is mentioned by Stephen. You brought up Matther 1:24, "And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as "the" angel of the Lord commanded him etc. Yes, "the" is used and like you said it makes sense "grammatically" based on Matthew 1:20 and the word "an".
You then made this statement: "2) Doesn't the activity of "the angel of the Lord" at the same time Jesus is incarnated suggest they are different beings? To illustrate the concern underlying this question I'll turn from Luke's writings to Matthew's:"
No! Your "assuming" the angel of the Lord is active in the New Testament as the angel of the Lord and there is no way one can prove that assumption. And speaking of two different beings you might find the following interesting in the Old Testament.
The angel of the Lord first appears as the angel of the Lord at Genesis 16:7. "Now the angel of the Lord found her/Hagar by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. Vs8 (I'm going to highlight the main points instead of typing all the verses out). He wants Hagar to return to Sarai,. Verses 8,9. Vs10, "Moreover, the angel of the Lord said to her, "I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they shall be too many to count."
Vs11, The angel of the Lord said to her further, "Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son; And you shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has given heed to your affliction. Skipping to vs13, "The she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, "Thou art a God who sees"; for she said, Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?" Now for Genesis 17:1-3. "Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord APPEARED to Abram and said to him, (This was a physical appearance). I am God Almighty; Walk before Me and be blameless. Vs2, And I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly. Vs3, "And Abram fell on his face and God talked with him, saying."
So here is my question? Is the same being who multiplied Hagar's descendants the same being who multiplied Abram's descendants? And the reason I know this was a physical appearance if from Genesis 17:22. "And when He/God finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham." It is also noteworthy that at verse 1 of Genesis 18, "Now the Lord APPEARED to him/Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day."
If one reads the whole chapter the Lord appears to Abraham along with to actual angels. And at vs33, "And as soon as He/the Lord had finished speaking to Abraham the Lord departed; and Abraham returned to his place. What about the two angels? Genesis 19:1, "Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom."
Here are some of the questions that people have asked me, especially from Genesis 22.12, It says, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him, for now I know you fear God etc. In this case it is not unusual for God to speak in the third person. A good example is at Job 1:8. Another question that is raised, why does God have the angel of the Lord speaking from heaven when there are verses where God Himself speaks out of heaven? Exodus 20:22, "Then the Lord said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, "You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven." And there is in the New Testament Matthew 3:17, "and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Lastly, and in summary we have Judges 2:1, "Now the angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, I will never break My covenant with you." Please read verses 2-5. And speaking of swearing an oath! One person may not take an oath or affirmation for another, this act is a highly personal commitment of conscience.
IN GOD THE SON,
james