Post 2 of 3
Most, if not all, of your last post had nothing to do with the OP, but I will address it.
Just zero in on the scriptures, not me.
An interesting thing for someone in your position to say.
second, if what I posted was not constructive, WHY RESPOND?
You were the one you initially claimed that I was the one not being constructive, so shouldn’t you be asking yourself this question?
scripture, Genesis 22:11 "And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I."
Genesis 22:12 "And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me."
Now, who did Abraham withheld his "son" from? GOD right, but who was speaking from heaven? that's right the angel for God. my. my, my. ... oh well.... so now are you confused as to who was speaking from heaven in Genessis 22? I hope not.
Well, then how would you explain the beginning of Genesis 22, when it reads,
“And it came to pass after these things, that
God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
And he
(God) said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” (Genesis 22:1-2) (Bold, italics and
(God) added)
Did these verses describe an angel relaying a message or did it not clearly state that it was God who tempted Abraham?
Why then would an angel later claim that Abraham was willing to offer up his only son to him, the angel?
Didn’t the first verses explain that it was God Himself who commanded Abraham to offer up Isaac?
Now, I am not at all confused by these things because I understand the concept of the Divine Investiture of Authority.
There are many times recorded in the scriptures when servants or messengers of God speak as if they themselves were God.
They do this because when God sends them He gives them power and authority not only to act and speak in His name, but to operate as if they themselves were God Himself.
This creates a seamless connection between the one receiving the blessing or message and God. The servant or messenger who is giving the blessing or message is merely an instrument, or conduit, between God and Man.
God does this with those servants who have perfectly aligned their minds and hearts with His will. They have become “one” with Him and He therefore trusts them explicitly to yield His power and authority as if they were themselves God.
Let’s talk about a few other examples of the Divine Investiture of Authority.
Genesis 16 records that after Hagar fled from Sarah how an angel of the Lord found her and convinced her to return.
Even though the account clearly states that it was an angel that spoke with her, the angel speaks as if He were God Himself when he promised her, “I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.” (Genesis 16:10)
And Hagar is recorded to have believed that she had personally spoken with God, “And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?” (Genesis 16:13)
This angel acted as a conduit and formed a direct link between God and Hagar through the Divine Investiture of Authority.
Genesis 18 also records how Abraham entertained three holy men, yet the account continually refers to these men as if they themselves were the Lord.
The chapter begins by claiming that the Lord appeared to Abraham, but the next verse claims that when Abraham looked up he saw three men, to whom he immediately bowed and called them “Lord”.
Then, as Abraham fed these men, they said to him,
“Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.
And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son.” (Genesis 18:9-10)
We all remember that Sarah laughed at this, but the three holy men responded as if they were themselves the Lord,
“And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laug
h, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” (Genesis 18:13-14)
Then the record claims that Abraham took the three men toward Sodom, where a strange conversation occurs supposedly between the Lord and these three men, where the Lord keeps referring to Himself in the third person.
Then when the three men turn to Sodom to go there the record claims that Abraham “stood yet before the Lord” (Genesis 18:22) and spoke with Him, begging that He spare the righteous of the city.
This chapter may seem confusing, but when we take into account the concept of the Divine Investiture of Authority we see that the Lord Himself was never there in person, or physically. God Himself did not eat Abraham’s food nor did Abraham bar God’s way to Sodom.
These three holy men, however, had been given the authority to speak and act as if they themselves were God. They were a direct link between Abraham and God. Abraham knew this and acted accordingly, treating them with the same reverence he would have to God Himself.
Another classic example of the Divine Investiture of Authority is at the scene of the burning bush.
The Exodus account clearly states that “the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush” (Exodus 3:2) yet it immediately declares that “God called unto him out of the midst of the bush” (Exodus 3:4).
Then this angel, who appeared as a flame of fire in the bush and who was an instrument for God to speak to Moses claimed, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (Exodus 3:6)
We all know that an angel is not God, but through the Divine Investiture of Authority, this angel spoke as if he were God and the record makes no distinction between this angel and God because, as far as God Himself was concerned, there was no difference.
Exodus also records that God claimed that Moses would take God’s place for Aaron (Exodus 4:16) and also that he would be made “a god to Pharaoh” (Exodus 7:1) because God knew that Moses would not say or do anything contrary to His will.
It was also by the Divine Investiture of Authority that Moses was given authority over the waters. That they would obey his voice as if it were God’s own voice.
The last example I will mention is near the conclusion of the Book of Revelation when one of the seven angels spoke to John, bidding him to follow and then proceeded to show him the celestialization of the Earth.
Upon seeing these things John fell down and began to worship the angel, but the angel rebuked John saying,
“See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.” (Revelation 22:9)
Immediately after this the angel proceeds to speak as if he himself were the Lord Jesus Christ:
“Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
And, behold,
I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” (Revelation 22:10-13) (Bold and italics added)
Then again, the angel switches to speaking as if he were just a mere angel again when he said,
“Blessed are they that do
his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” (Revelation 22:14-15) (Bold and italics added)
Then, he again switches to speaking as if he was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself:
“
I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” (Revelation 22:16) (Bold and italics added)
Then in the concluding verse the angel speaks as both the Lord Jesus Christ and then again as a mere angel,
“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely
I come quickly. Amen. Even so,
come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20) (Bold and italics added)
So we see that, through the Divine Investiture of Authority, that when this angel was relaying the Lord’s words he spoke as if he were the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, then he would switch to speaking as a mere angel when he was adding his own testimony to the message that the Lord had commanded him to speak.
Now I end with just a touch of latter-day scripture,
“What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled,
whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:38) (Bold and italics added)