_2_The Name “Angel”

“Angel” () is an official title (nomen officii); it does not describe the essence of the angels. That is described by the term “spirit” (); see next chapter. That the term “angel” is an official title, designating an ambassador or messenger, is clear from the fact that Scripture also calls men, in particular the preachers of God’s Word, angels. Mal. 2:7: “The priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the Law at his mouth; for he is the messenger () of the Lord of Hosts.” Likewise John the Baptist is called an “angel.” Mal. 3:1; Matt. 11:10: “Behold, I send My messenger () before Thy face.” Christ Himself bears the name “the Messenger of the Covenant” or the Messenger of God . Mal. 3:1: “And the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant” (John 3:17, 34; 6:40; Gal. 4:4-6). The question when the term “angel of the Lord,” used in the Old Testament, denotes the Angelus increatus has already been answered. (See “The Doctrine of God,” chapter 5.) 5