In the Old Testament, a recurrent figure named "the Angel of the Lord" (Messenger of YAHWEH) represents a unique figure who stands apart from typical messengers of God. This entity is not just a heavenly being but is often depicted as embodying the presence and authority of God Himself. This angel is not only involved in pivotal moments with key figures like Hagar, Abraham, and Jacob, but also directly claims responsibilities and attributes unique to God, such as promising descendants, providing redemption, and declaring divine commandments.

The Angel Of The LORD Is Yahweh

Before we can discuss the nature of the Angel, we must make sure we are aware of it's role and place in the story of the Bible:

Exploring The Angel Of The LORD In The Bible

From the collection of passages above, we can make the following conclusions about the Angel:

Appears in many forms: as a man (Genesis 32:24; Joshua 5:13; Judges 13:2-14), as fire in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2; Judges 13:20), and in the pillar of cloud and fire (Exodus 14:19). As Commander of Yahweh’s army (Joshua 5:14) and is seen with a drawn sword before Joshua (Joshua 5:14), David (1 Chronicles 21:16), Balaam (Numbers 22:23) and Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:35). Where He stands is declared holy ground (Exodus 3:5; Joshua 5:15), and under His feet is sapphire stone (Exodus 24:9-10).
His name is unique: called the God of Seeing (Genesis 16:13), His name is Wonderful (Judges 13:18), the same name as the Messiah (Isaiah 9:6), and Hosea calls Him the Yahweh of hosts(Hosea 12:5), Gideion calls Him Yahweh of Peace (Judges 6:24). He is the Angel of the Covenant (Malachi 3:1) He is directly called Yahweh (Exodus 3:2-6; Genesis 19:24; Joshua 6:2.
Called and recognized as God by many:
- Gideon (Judges 6:22), Manoah (Judges 13:22), Hagar (Genesis 16:13-14), Jacob (Genesis 31:13; 32:28), Joseph (Genesis 48:16), and the elders of Israel (Exodus 24:9-10) and even Balaam (Numbers 22:23).
- Those who see Him fear death, believing they have seen God (Genesis 32:30; Judges 6:22; Judges 13:22).
- Accepts worship that other angels reject: Joshua bowed down (Joshua 5:14), Manoah was told to offer a burnt offering to Yahweh (Judges 13:16), and Jacob made a vow to Him (Genesis 31:13).
- Jacob Prays to Him (Genesis 48:16), David Praises Him (Psalm 34:7; 35:5–6)
Bears Yahweh’s exclusive authority:
- He bears Gods presence: In the OT, God’s ‘Name’ represents His very presence (Deut 12:5; Isa 30:27–28; Ps 20:1,7). The Angel uniquely bears this Name (Exod 23:21) and is even called the ‘Angel of His Presence’ (Isa 63:9). He is inside the Cloud of Glory that is in the Temple (Exodus 40:34–38).
  He does only what God can do: He forgives sins (Exodus 23:21; Zechariah 3:4), He redeems from evil (Genesis 48:16), Putting on them Clean Robes ( Zechariah 3:4). He grants life and descendants (Genesis 16:10,22:17; Judges 13:3) and even curses (Judges 5:23) and controls plagues (2 Samuel 24:16)
- Speaks in the first person as God: “I brought you up from Egypt” and “I will never break My covenant” (Judges 2:1-2), “You have not withheld your son from me” (Genesis 22:12). Uses the divine “I AM” identity (Exodus 3:6, 14) and calls Himself the God of Bethel (Genesis 31:13; Hosea 12:4). He intercedes for Israel (Zechariah 1:11–12).
- When God say He will do something, it is the Angel that does it (2 Kings 19:35). Such as the case of the exodus God claimed (Leviticus 11:45;Deuteronomy 4:35–38;Joshua 24:17), but the Angel is given credit (Judges 2:1;Exodus 23:20–22). God was in the Pillar of __ (Exodus 13:21) and so was the Angel (Exodus 14:19)

Jesus Shares The Attributes Of The Angel Of The Lord In the New Testament,

Jesus Christ embodies many attributes and actions that mirror those of the Angel of the Lord as described in the Old Testament, supporting the argument that Jesus is the fulfillment and personification of the Angel of the Lord's divine presence and God himself:

Seeing Jesus is to see God Himself:
- Similar to encounters with the Angel of the Lord, seeing Jesus is often equated with seeing God. Jesus states in John 14:9, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father", and in other passages like John 6:57, "As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me." These are parallel instances in the Old Testament where seeing the Angel of the Lord was akin to seeing God.
Divine Authority:
- Just as the Angel of the Lord speaks with God's authority, Jesus speaks and acts with divine authority. He forgives sins (Mark 2:5-11), commands nature (Mark 4:39), and makes promises (John 14:3). Even taking Gods commands and adding to them in the sermon on the mount.
Redeemer of Israel and Mankind:
- As the Angel of the Lord is called Jacob's and Israel's redeemer, Jesus is called our Redeemer, who delivers humanity from sin and death. In Galatians 3:13-14, Paul describes Christ as redeeming us from the curse of the law, a role that resonates with the Angel’s redemptive actions in the Old Testament.
Acceptance of Worship:
- Similar to the Angel of the Lord, Jesus receives worship throughout the Gospels and New Testament writings, with individuals bowing before Him in reverence as seen in Matthew 2:2,11; 14:33 28:9 28:17, and other passages. After His resurrection, Thomas declares to Jesus, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28), and Jesus accepts this worship. This act of worship, confirmed as divine in nature by Hebrews 1:6, aligns with the worship due to God alone, as echoed in Philippians 2:10-11, referencing the prophecy in Isaiah 45:23. The divine authority and role of Jesus are further affirmed in Daniel 7:14 and Revelation 22:1-3, where He is depicted as the recipient of religious or sacred service, a form of worship reserved for deity. See Jesus Accepts Worship And Encourages It
Embodiment of God's Acts, Power, and Glory:
- Just as the Angel of the Lord performs acts attributed to God, Jesus performs miracles, heals the sick, and ultimately conquers death itself, all actions that manifest God’s power and glory through His earthly ministry. Deeds Of God Credited To Jesus
Commander of Heaven's Armies:
- While the Angel of the Lord leads heavenly armies, Jesus is described in Revelation 19:11-16 as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, leading the armies of heaven, fulfilling the militant role previously seen in the Angel’s encounters. Jesus Is The Word Of God
Source of Righteousness:
- As the Angel of the Lord clothes Joshua the high priest in righteousness, Jesus provides righteousness to all who believe in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 explains that God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Wonderful Name:
- The Angel’s name is described as "wonderful," a characteristic shared by Jesus, whose name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, and Everlasting Father in Isaiah 9:6, accentuating the divine significance and power inherent in His name.
The Fulfillment of Yahweh’s Role:
- In the New Testament, Jesus is repeatedly identified with Yahweh. He applies Old Testament descriptions of Yahweh to Himself (John 8:58), referencing Exodus 3:14) and claims to fulfill the role and identity of the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses through His life, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. See Jesus And The Claim To Be I AM (ἐγώ εἰµι)
Divine Presence among People:
- As the Angel of the Lord signifies God's presence among His people, Jesus embodies God's presence in an unprecedented way. In Matthew 1:23, He is called "Immanuel," which means "God with us," directly indicating that Jesus is God's presence incarnate among humanity. This continuity suggests that Jesus is the ultimate revelation and personification of God's presence and activity in the world, as first revealed through the Angel of the Lord. See Attributes of God Credited To Jesus

When we examine the various biblical narratives together, it becomes clear that the Angel of the Lord aligns with the pre-incarnate Christ.

Attribute	Jesus	The Angel
Seeing is to see God himself	X	X
Divine Authority	X	X
The redeemer of Israel	X	X
Acceptance of Worship:	X	X
Shares God's acts, power, and glory	X	X
Commander of Heaven's Armies	X	X
Source of Righteousness	X	X
Wonderful Name	X	X
Divine Presence among People	X	X

The New Testament Shows Us That Jesus Is The Angel Of The Lord

Jesus is the Messenger from God

Jesus fulfills the role of a messenger in fact he was "The Messenger Of The Lord" not unlike the figure we see in the Old Testament. Jesus shared in God's glory and presence (John 17:4-6) came down from heaven (John 6:38) to do God's will (John 5:30), manifested God's name to his people (John 17:4-6), and his work (John 4:34). W. F. Howard notes in his analysis of the fourth gospel that:

Howard1947-zu

“He who sent me,” is found on the lips of Jesus no less than twenty-six times, whilst the verb ajpostevl (used by John with precisely the same meaning) occurs eighteen times in the Gospel for the Son’s mission from the Father, and three times in the First Epistle. The term “He who sent me” is in this Gospel a divine title, and when the Auctor ad Hebraeos called Jesus “the Apostle of our confession,” he expressed in one noun what St. John proclaims in a verbal phrase on almost every page.
A contemporary of John’s disciple, Polycarp [c. AD 70 156], Justin was active in Ephesus and in Rome. Both cities were key centers of Christianity. Ephesus, for example, was the final home of John the apostle (Adv. haer. 3.3.4), Mary the mother of Jesus

Günther Juncker) Notes that early church fathers like Polycarp, Justin Marytr, Irenaeus and Tertullian all used the word angel to describe a role of Christ in connection to passages like Isaiah 9:6 and some fathers like Theophilus Of Antioch supported the concept, although they do not expressly use the title. Irenaeus and Tertullian believed that all the OT Theophanies (Appearance of God in a bodily form) were appearances of Christ. It was Christ, “the Word of God,” who walked with Adam in the Garden of Eden, who appeared to Abraham as God and Lord in Genesis 18:80, who appeared to Jacob in Genesis 28:81 and to Moses in Exodus 3:82.

It should be stressed that they all used angels as a role, ie the messenger, not of Christ's nature. In fact, over time the use of angels to describe Christ started to be applied less over time because of how easy it was to confuse the teaching that Jesus is God and not a created being. in On The Flesh of Chirst Tertullian states:

Tertullian

He has been, it is true, called “the Angel of great counsel,” that is, a messenger, by a term expressive of official function, not of nature. For He had to announce to the world the mighty purpose of the Father, even that which ordained the restoration of man. But He is not on this account to be regarded as an angel, as a Gabriel, or a Michael.

Hippolytus, Clement, Origen, Cyprian, Novatian, Victorinus, Eusebius, Athanasius, Hilary, and Epiphanius, all referred to Christ by the title Angel as well (Günther Juncker) ). All of this stems from the New Testament teaching, as Günther Juncker continues on to say at the conclusion of his work:

Günther Juncker)

For John, Christ was always the Logos, the Messenger, and Revealer of the Father. But for John Christ was also God. And it was Christ’s glory which was seen in all of the OT theophanies: cf. John 1:14-18, 3:13, 8:19 ,John 8:56-59, 12:41. (While this may seem like a hasty generalization, we are virtually compelled to it by John’s view of the transcendence and invisibility of the Father.) But John is not unique in this regard. That the preexistent Son of God was active in the OT is axiomatic to much of the NT. The best-known passage is 1 Corinthians 10:1-4. But note also 1 Corinthians 10:9 and Jude 5. For in the latter two passages the best textual readings place Christ squarely into the Exodus theophanies. It is not simply a matter of typology but of the “real presence” of Christ.

In the context of Christian theology, Jesus is often seen as fulfilling the role of a messenger from God, akin to figures depicted in the Old Testament. In addition to his role as a messenger, early church fathers and New Testament writers also portrayed Jesus as the fulfillment of the figure of the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament. This understanding is evident in passages such as John 1:14-18, where Jesus is described as the Logos, the Messenger, and Revealer of the Father. Other New Testament references, like 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 and Jude 5, further affirm Christ's active presence in Old Testament events. This belief persisted among early Christian theologians, including Hippolytus, Clement, Origen, and Athanasius, who referred to Jesus as the Angel. Early church fathers like Polycarp, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian used the term "angel" to describe Christ's role as a messenger, although they emphasized that this designation was in terms of function, not nature. Over time, however, this terminology became less common due to concerns about potential confusion regarding Jesus' divine nature. Nonetheless, the concept of Jesus as the divine messenger who reveals God's will to humanity remains central to Christian belief, as reflected in various passages from both the Old and New Testaments.

Jesus is the Word of God

In Judaism, the "Word of the Lord" (Devar Adonai) is understood as God's communication to humanity, primarily conveyed through the prophets. It's not just a phrase for spoken language but often appears in a tangible, visible form, indicative of God's direct intervention or presence. In Genesis 15, God's Word comes to Abram in a vision, in Jeremiah 1:9 the Word of the Lord extends His hand and touches Jeremiah's mouth. In 1 Samuel 3, the Word of the LORD comes to Samuel in a vision at night. Ezekiel 1:1-3 tells us that the Word of the Lord came to him in a vision once more.

To claim to be the The Word of the Lord [YAHWEH - יהוה] is more then speaking on Gods behalf, it is a aspect of how God chooses to reveal himself. The similar phrase "word of God" in the biblical context, reflects both the living, active presence of God in the world and the specific messages or commands He imparts. He speaks through His creation (Psalm 19:1), through ancient prophets (Hosea 12:10; Hebrews 1:1), through the Holy Spirit (John 16:13; Ephesians 6:17; Acts 16:6), through Scripture (Hebrews 4:12), and through the person of His Son, Jesus Christ (John 14:9).

Jesus showed a link between the written Word of God and Himself, in that He is the subject of the written Word (John 5:39) and His speech is called the Word of the Lord in Luke 22:61-62 and Acts 11:16. In a vision of glory, John would see Jesus once again called "The Word Of God, and in Revelation 1:2 the word of God is linked with the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 19:11-16 directly calls Jesus the Word of God and leader of heaven's armies, echoing the role attributed to the Angel of the Lord in Joshua 5:13-15.

Revelation 19:11-16 - ESV

11. Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

John starts his gospel with Jesus being described as the eternal Word, existing with God from the beginning and being divine Himself (John 1). It was in the beginning that Jesus [The Word Of God] made the world (Hebrews 11:3).The consistent reference to Jesus as the Word, reveal His divine nature and identity as God Himself.

John's vision of Revelation is full of great mysteries that Christians struggle with to this day. But some mysteries from the Old Testament are answered, such as just who Jesus was before His incarnation.

The Leader Of The Armies Of Heaven and the Word Of God

Revelation 19:11-16 directly calls Jesus the Word of God and leader of heaven's armies, echoing the role attributed to the Angel of the Lord in Joshua 5:13-15.

Revelation 19:11-16 - ESV

This alignment between the angelic figure in John's revelation and Jesus underscores a continuity of divine presence and action from the Old Testament to the New, affirming Jesus's eternal nature, His central role in God's plan for humanity, and His supreme authority as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

This interpretation aligns with Apostle John’s portrayal of Christ as "the Word" of God in John 1:1. Furthermore, John articulates in his gospel that "No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is at the Father's side, he has made Him known" (John 1:18). Similarly, Hebrews 1:3 emphasizes, "The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of His nature." Christ positions Himself as God's representative on Earth, unveiling the divine nature to humanity (Matthew 11:27). Essentially, Jesus embodies and conveys the very essence of God, as He himself confirms in John 14:8-10, illustrating through His life and actions the character and works of God.