The Destroying Angel
At the first Passover, the LORD sent a destroyer through Egypt to strike down every firstborn, passing over the houses marked with lamb's blood. The same destroying angel appears striking Israel after David's census and the Assyrian army in Hezekiah's day. These accounts reveal angels as executors of God's righteous judgment, and the blood-marked doorposts as a picture of deliverance.
Key Passages
The Passover Destroyer
Exodus 12:21-30
The destroyer strikes every firstborn in Egypt but passes over the homes marked with the blood of the lamb.
21hen Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.
Did You Know?
The same 'destroyer' struck Egypt's firstborn and later Israel after David's census.
In one night, the angel of the LORD struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers.
The Passover blood on the doorposts is what caused the destroyer to 'pass over.'
This is why the feast is called Passover - the angel passed over the marked homes.