Even more on the Deity of Christ and the Angel of the LORD

The next objection I shall tackle is the subject of Hebrews 1:5-8 with respect to the angel of the LORD.

Rabbinic Jews have often tried to refute the idea of Jesus being the angel of the LORD by trying to appeal to the New Testament in Hebrews 1:5-8 to refute our position. This is the text.

"5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son;

    today I have become your Father”[a]?

Or again,

“I will be his Father,

    and he will be my Son”[b]?

6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God’s angels worship him.”[c]

7 In speaking of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels spirits,

    and his servants flames of fire.”[d]

8 But about the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;

    a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;

    therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions

    by anointing you with the oil of joy."

However, I believe I have found the answer to this problem. Considering I am not limited to one Testament or Another. I see them as one consistent unit. Here is the point.

Jesus being the angel of the LORD is not a contradiction with Hebrews 1. The chapter says to which of the angels was called son and let all the angels worship him. Jesus as God and the angel of the LORD took on human form, hence why the angel of the LORD doesn't appear in the NT. The angel of the LORD though not called son on the OT is still called Son by the Father the NT. Hence, if we take the OT and the NT as a whole. But in what way is Jesus called Son in Hebrews 1 anyway?

Well I had the Assyrian Encyclopedia point this out to me a while back regarding this issue. He pointed me back to the OT and NT texts that speak on this.

Firstly, Hebrews is talking about spirit beings who were created to be angels or messengers, whereas the OT Angel of YHWH is actually a divine Person assuming the role of an angel. See Hebrews 1:7 and 14. Therefore, the difference between the two is that one happens to be an angel ontologically, whereas the other is an angel functionally, but not ontologically. In other words, the difference is one angel is one in action and the other is as to his nature  an angel. What we have from the Rabbinic Jews is indeed a conflating to terms.

Look at the following passages on screen:

"6 “I have installed my king

    on Zion, my holy mountain.”

7 I will proclaim the Lord’s decree:

He said to me, “You are my son;

    today I have become your father."

"10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders[a] over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.

“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me[b]; your throne will be established forever.’”"

Within these texts, they refer to the coronation of the Kings Solomon and David. This is royal sonship. Although Jesus was the Son from eternity, the sonship that is spoken of in Hebrews 1:5-8 is sonship in terms of his coronation, which occurred after his resurrection and sat at the Father's righthand. All three events that I have mentioned are to do with the coronation of the Messianic King. David,  Solomon, then the Messiah himself. God never calls the angels sons in this sense however he does call Jesus this. Also in Luke 1: note the following

""30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

This type of sonship requires one to be a descendant of David which Jesus affirms in the book of Revelation. A distinction between the two sonships is obviously there, when you cross referrence the statements given in Psalm 2 and 2 Samuel 7. How does Jesus inherit the name Son if he is already the Son? Because Hebrews is talking about 2 sonships, one royal and the other divine. 

I hope these articles have answered your questions.

Also feel free to check out the article Triad of Texts.

Answering Judaism.