"Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God" (Daniel 3:25, NKJV). Those are words spoken by King Nebuchadnezzar. He ordered three men put in the firey furnace, because they would not bow to the statue of a false god. He described the fourth man "like the Son of God." Is that a reference to the pre-incarnate Christ? In Daniel 3:28, the king also described the fourth man as God's Angel.
W. E. Vine wrote, "The relation between the Lord and the 'angel of the Lord' is often so close that it is difficult to separate the two (Exodus 3:2, 4, 7-8, 12). This identification has led some interpreters to conclude that the 'angel of the Lord' was the pre-incarnate Christ."
Charles C. Ryrie explained that "the Angel of Yahweh is a Christophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. The Angel spoke as God, identified Himself with God, and exercised the prerogatives of God (Gen. 16:7-12; 21:17-18; 22:11-18; Exod. 3:2; Judg. 2:1-4; 2 Sam. 24:16; Zech. 1:12; 3:1; 12:8). Appearances of the Angel ceased after the incarnation of Christ, which supports conclusions that He was the pre-incarnate Christ."
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ the Son of God makes a promise to every believer, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). When believers go through trials of faith and testing, we should never doubt the promise of Christ. Always is His word of assurance to each of us.
