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'Idolatry!, that's what it is!' he shouted. I had come into his home to share the Messiah of Israel with him. 'I know how you feel concerning the Messiah Yeshua,' I said. 'He does claim equality with God.'

'A man cannot be God! That's blasphemy!' he thundered. 'I agree with you,' I said, which momentarily caused him to wonder what I meant. I took the opportunity to ask, 'Do you believe the Hebrew Scriptures?' 'Of course I do,' he told me.

'Do we agree that only the God of Israel is to receive our worship?' 'Yes!' he emphatically affirmed. 'I believe that too. But how do you explain the Angel of the Lord not only receiving worship, but speaking in the first person, as God?' He didn't know what to say. I don't think he had ever come across this before. I took out the Hebrew Bible and began to show him Malh-ach Yahveh, commonly translated as...

'Then an angel of the LORD called to him from heaven: "Avraham! Avraham!" And he answered, "Here I am." And he said, "Do not raise your hand against the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that your fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your favored one, from Me."'

'And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Go back to your mistress, and submit to her harsh treatment." And the angel of the LORD said to her, "I will greatly increase your offspring, and they shall be too many to count."'

'And she called the LORD who spoke to her, "You are El-roi," by which she meant, "Have I not gone on seeing after He saw me!"'

'And in the dream an angel of God said to me, "Yakov!" "Here I am," I answered. And he said, "Note well that all the he-goats which are mating with the flock are streaked, speckled, and mottled; for I have noted all that Laban has been doing to you. I am the God of Beth-El, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to Me. Now arise and leave this land and return to your native land"' (Genesis 31:11-13).

'Yakov was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he wrenched Yakov's hip at its socket, so that the socket of his hip was strained as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for dawn is breaking." But he answered, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." Said the other, 'What is your name?" He replied, "Yakov." Said he, "Your name shall no longer be Yakov, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human and have prevailed." Yakov asked, "Pray tell me your name." But he said, "You must not ask my name!" And he took leave of him there. So Yakov named the place Peniele meaning, "I have seen a divine being face to face, yet my life has been preserved."

'And he said: "Thy name shall be called no more Yakov, but Israel; for thou hast striven with God and with men, and hast prevailed."'

'And Yakov called the name of the place Peniel:b "for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."

'And he blessed Joseph, saying, "The God in whose ways my Fathers Avraham and Isaac walked, The God who has been my Shepherd from my birth to this day---the Angel who has redeemed me from all harm---Bless the lads..."'

'An angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire out of a bush. He gazed, and there was a bush all aflame, yet the bush was not consumed.

Moses said, "I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn't the bush burn up?"'

'When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush: "Moses! Moses!" He answered, "Here I am." And He said, "Do not come closer. Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. I am," He said, "the God of your father, the God of Avraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Yakov." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.'

'When he arose in the morning, Balaam saddled his ass and departed with the Moabite dignitaries. But God was incensed at his going; so an angel of the LORD placed himself in his way as an adversary.'

'He was riding on his she-ass, with his two servants alongside, when the ass caught sight of the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. The ass swerved from the road and went into the fields; and Balaam beat the ass to turn her back onto the road.'

'The angel of the LORD then stationed himself in a lane between the vineyards, with a fence on either side. The ass seeing the angel of the LORD, pressed herself against the wall and squeezed Balaam's foot against the wall; so he beat her again.'

'Once more the angel of the LORD moved forward and stationed himself on a spot so narrow that there was no room to swerve right or left. When the ass now saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; and Balaam was furious and beat the ass with his stick.'

'Then the LORD opened the ass's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?" Balaam said to the ass, "You have made a mockery of me! If I had a sword with me, I'd kill you." The ass said to Balaam, "Look, I am the ass that you have been riding all along until this day! Have I been in the habit of doing thus to you?" And he said, "No."'

'Then the LORD uncovered Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, his drawn sword in his hand; thereupon he bowed right down to the ground.c The angel of the LORD said to him, "Why have you beaten your ass these three times? It is I who came out as an adversary, for the errand is obnoxious to me.' 'And when the ass saw me, she shied away because of me those three times. If she had not shied away from me, you are the one I should have killed, while sparing her.'

'Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I erred because I did not know that you were standing in my way. If you still disapprove, I will turn back." But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men. But you must say nothing except what I tell you." So Balaam went on with Balak's dignitaries.'

'Once, when Yehoshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing before him, drawn sword in hand. Yehoshua went up to him and asked him, "Are you one of us or of our enemies?" He replied, "No, I am captain of the LORD's host. Now I have come!" Yehoshua threw himself face down to the ground and, prostrating himself, said to him, "What does my lord command his servant?"

The captain of the LORD's host answered Yehoshua, "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy." And Yehoshua did so.' 'Now Jericho was shut up tight because of the Israelites; no one could leave or enter. The LORD said to Yehoshua, "See, I will deliver Jericho and her king [and her] warriors into your hands."'

As he went along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His talmidim (students) asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, for him to have been born blind?" "Neither he nor his parents' sin caused this blindness," Yeshua said, "he was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him."'

'As long as the day lasts I must carry out the work of the One who sent me; the night will soon be here when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world."'

'Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a salve with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man, and said to him, "Go and wash in the Pool of Shiloah (a name that means, 'the Pool of the Sent One'). So the blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.'

'His neighbors and people who earlier had seen him begging said, "Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "Yes, it is the same one." Others said, "No, he only looks like him."'

'The man himself said, "I am the man." So they said to him, "How are your eyes opened?" "The man called Yeshua made a salve, put it on my eyes, and told me, 'Go to Shiloah and wash.' So I went and as soon as I had washed, I could see!" They said to him, "Where is he?" and he replied, "I don't know."

'They took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. Now the day on which Yeshua had made the salve was a Shabat (Sabbath). So the Pharisees asked him again how he had become able to see; and he told them, "He put a salve on my eyes, then I washed, and now I can see." At this, some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God because he doesn't keep Shabat."

'But others said, "How could a man who is a sinner do miracles like these?" And there was a split among them. So once more they spoke to the blind man: "Since you're the one whose eyes he opened, what do you say about him?" He replied: "He is a prophet."

'The Judeans, however, were unwilling to believe that he had formerly been blind, but now could see, until they had summoned the man's parents. They asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?"

'His parents answered, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind; but how it is that he can see now, we don't know; nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him - he's old enough, he can speak for himself!" the parents said this because they were afraid of the Judeans, for the Judeans had already agreed that anyone who acknowledged Yeshua as the Messiah would be banned from the synagogue. This is why his parents said, "He's old enough, ask him."'

'So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, "Swear to God that you will tell the truth! We know that this man is a sinner." He answered, "Whether he's a sinner or not I don't know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see."

'So they said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" "I already told you," he answered, "and you didn't listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Maybe you too want to become his talmidim?" Then they railed at him. "You may be his talmid," (student) they said, "but we are the talmidim of Mosheh!" "We know that God has spoken to Mosheh, but as for this fellow - we don't know where he's come from!"'

'"What an astonishing thing!" the man replied. He has opened my eyes and you don't know where he comes from! We know that God doesn't listen to sinners; but if anyone fears God and does His Will, God does listen to him.

Ever since the world began it is unheard of for anyone to open the eyes of a man who was born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn't do a thing." "Why you mamzer!" (illegitimate child or one born of parents not married to each other) "Are you trying to teach us," they retorted, "and you a sinner through and through, since you were born!" And they threw him out.'

'Yeshua heard they had driven him away, and when he found him he said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" "Rabbi," the man replied, "tell me who he is so that I may believe in him." Yeshua said, "You are looking at him; he is the one speaking to you." The man said, "Lord, I believe," and worshiped him.'

'Yeshua said, "It is for Judgment that I have come into this world, so that those without sight may see and those with sight turn blind."'

'Hearing this, some Pharisees who were present said to him, "We are not blind, surely?" And Yeshua replied: "Blind? If you were, you would not be guilty, but since you say, 'We see,' your guilt remains."' (Yohanan/John 9:1-41; JNT)

'I saw in the night visions, And, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven One like unto a son of man, And he came even to the Ancient of days, And he was brought near before Him.' 'And there was given him dominion, And glory, and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, And his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.'

'...and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man...' '...This was the appearance of the brightness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face...'