Douglas Van Dorn - The Angel of the LORD: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Study

The Angel of the Lord is a masterful work of not only biblical and pastoral theology, it is also a much-needed apologetic. The question, Who is the Angel of the Lord plagues believers and unbelievers alike, and the answer to that question is much more than a healing balm for the doubting. To understand the nature and identity of the Angel of the Lord is to understand God, himself. This book will bolster your understanding of trinitarian theology, your understanding and interpretation of Old Testament narrative, and help you bridge the gap between deep, heady theology and practical life application. Rare is the book that would fit well on the shelf of both the professional scholar and the armchair theologian. Angel of the Lord is precisely that kind of book.

~ Voddie Baucham ( D.Min., D.D.), Dean of the Seminary at African Christian University

Most works on Christ in the Old Testament focus on prophecy and typology but overlook the obvious: The Angel of Yahweh. Foreman and Van Dorn aim to correct this oversight. They insightfully expound the many texts that feature the Angel, and they convincingly argue that these visitations are nothing less than close encounters of the messianic kind. If you want to see Christ in all of Scripture, I enthusiastically recommend this stimulating study!

~ Dr. Robert R. Gonzales Jr., Dean Reformed Baptist Seminary

Thought-provoking, thorough, biblical exploration of the most amazing and mysterious figure in the Old Testament. I used to think you had to find Jesus hidden in Old Testament symbols, allusions and messianic prophecy. This book has helped me to see Him more out in the open as the Angel of the Lord of the Old Testament, and it's transformed my reading of Scripture. Foreman and Van Dorn take some real hardcore biblical theology and explain it in language that can be understood by laity, without losing its depth. This isnt about mere doctrine, this book helps you understand the person of Jesus Christ, with real spiritual impact.

~ Brian Godawa , American screenwriter and author of the best-selling Chronicles of the Nephilim

The identification of the Angel of the LORD as Jesus pre-incarnate has a long pedigree. Despite its rejection by much of modern scholarship, a renewed appreciation is emergingnot as a simple return to a pre-modern idea bypassing the insights of modern scholarship, but as a full-orbed biblical-theological rediscovery of the exegetical, historical, and theological underpinnings of a broader concept known as the Divine Council. This book by Foreman and Van Dorn fits within this framework, serving as a helpful introduction to both historical and contemporary discussions. That is, through patient exegesis text after text, informed by early Jewish and Christian reflection, the authors highlight the ubiquitous presence of an embodied YHWH variously identified as the Angel, the Word, the Presence, the Glory, and the Name. As an OT theologian already familiar and on board with the thesis, I still learned a lot and was reaffirmed in my understanding. I hope this book gains a large readership. Not every point or argument is convincing, but one would be hard-pressed to dismiss the books overall thrust and impulse. Detractors must at least engage the arguments and be willing to respond with same seriousness and depth.

~ Dr. Kenneth J. Turner, Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages, Toccoa Falls College

Matt Foreman and Doug Van Dorn have written a fascinating book on a topic that gets far too little attention in the Church today. The Angel of the Lord will be an entirely new framework for many readers and will answer questions they never knew they had. Christians will often read their Bible and make quick assumptions about what the text might be referring to when it references the Angel of the Lord or the Word of God without understanding the massive significance of these names. But when Christians are equipped with the tools and knowledge to spot the second person of the Trinity at work throughout the entire Old Testament, a new and exciting journey will begin, and the text will make more sense than it ever did before. The authors of this book did their homework and make a strong case for their claims, rooted in a rich theological history. Read The Angel of the Lord and change the way you read your Bible forever.

~ Nicholas Kennicott , Ph.D. student, Faulkner University, pastor of Redeemer Baptist Church, President of the Institute of Pastoral and Theological Training (IPTT ) in Egbe, Nigeria

If reformation is retrieval, this is one of the most Reformed books of recent years. With sweeping grandeur, Foreman and Van Dorn take readers on a spiritual journey to the only place worth really going: to see Jesus. Christless preaching plagues our otherwise orthodox churches, and the saints suffer. Where did the wonder go? Its still here, in the living pages of the Old Testament, where the Son of God walks. The Israelites knew it. The Apostles knew it. The Fathers and the Reformers knew it. Are we the only generation of believers from the foundation of the world that knows it not? Read this book, and we wont be for long.

~ Luke Walker , pastor of Redeeming Cross Community Church; author, He Gave Them Judges: Jesus in the Book of Judges

Doug Van Dorn and Matt Foreman have published a truly unique book. Their focus is Jesus in the Old Testament, not typologically, but physically. The angel who visits Abraham and pulls Lot out of Sodom, the Word who visits the prophets, the Man of war who appears to Joshua, these are all none other than the pre-incarnate Christ. While some may not agree with every conclusion, this book persuasively demonstrates that Jesus was there in the Old Testament. This is a must read for anyone interested in the Angel of the Lord or beholding Christ in an even more glorious way.

Soli Deo Gloria,

~ Michael Emadi , Lecturer of Biblical Languages, Reformed Baptist Seminary and Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary

It is always a challenge to ensconce theological questions in the proper historical and cultural contexts. In the case of the Angel of the Lord, this is abundantly clear, but this book accomplishes that aim. Matt Foreman and Doug Van Dorn have produced an engaging look at the identity of this Angel, demonstrating with sound reasoning and scholarship that it is the Christ. Read and you will think, you will be edified, and you will be amazed. I can recommend this book without reservation. It is a necessary addition to the library of any serious student of the Bible.

~ Dr. Judd H. Burton, Director and Senior Fellow of the Institute of Biblical Anthropology

Back in the 1940s, Geerhardus Vos, in his epic work Biblical Theology, called the Angel of the Lord, The most important characteristic form of revelation in the patriarchal period. And now in 2020, Matt Foreman and Doug Van Dorn masterfully unfold the truth that Vos barely began to scratch the surface. They give amplified meaning to David Murrays profound slogan: Jesus on Every Page. The book is a cannonball blast through the walls of your long settled and comfortable theological castle, exposing passageways and footprints of the Friend of Sinners who strangely first appeared not in Bethlehem, but in Eden, and beyond. The authors painstakingly show how theyre saying nothing new, and just riding in the wake of titans like Athanasius, Luther, Calvin, John Owen, Thomas Watson, Matthew Henry, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, Charles Hodge, J.I. Packer, Joel Beeke, Philip Ryken, and many more. For me, my Old Testament will never again be the same. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

~ Mark Chanski, Pastor, Harvard Reformed Baptist Church, Coordinator elect of the Reformed Baptist Network

Foreman and Van Dorn have provided a long overdue study of the Angel of the LORD. As they note, once one notices the central place this person plays in the Old Testament story, you get a much more integrated view of the Old and New Testaments and the Mediator they reveal. Though this is a theological study, it exhibits a warm devotional style as well. The book is clear and accessible. It will help readers better understand and trust the promise of Psalm 34:7, The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.