Genesis 22:11-12

"And the angel of Jehovah called out of heaven, and said, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me."

"The angel of Jehovah ..." "The angel of the Lord is the Lord himself, as the context shows (Genesis 22:11-12,15-18; 18:2,22; 19:1)."[21] Again and again, this glorious person appears throughout the Scriptures, as notably also in the visions of Zechariah.

"Abraham, Abraham ..." marks great urgency, or is an indication of some unusually significant event: "Jacob, Jacob" (Genesis 46:2), "Moses, Moses" (Exodus 3:4), "Samuel, Samuel" (1 Samuel 3:10), and "Saul, Saul" (Acts 9:5).

"Now I know ..." This, along with James' declaration that Abraham was justified" when he offered up Isaac" makes mandatory the conclusion that God's final approval of Abraham as the instrument of his purpose occurred right here. The truth that "God already knows everything" does not nullify this. The great corollary for all people is simply this: God tests every person who would receive eternal life. If God compelled Abraham to withstand such a test as this, how could it ever be imagined that God today saves people merely upon the glib assertion of their faith? The test for all people now was announced by Christ himself: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).