Who was the angel of the Lord?
Here's the answer:
The angel of the Lord appeared during Old Testament times and was probably Jesus before He was born as man.
During Old Testament times (the part of the Bible before Jesus’ birth), the angel of the Lord appears at special times. This angel is distinct from other angels, such as when the Bible mentions "an angel" or "an angel of the Lord." Read the following stories of when the angel of the Lord appeared and see if you can figure out who He is:
• The angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar. She called Him, "the God who sees me" (Genesis 16:7–13).
• The angel of the Lord stopped Abraham from sacrificing Isaac and said He would bless Abraham (Genesis 22:11-18).
• The angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in a burning bush and revealed Himself as God (Exodus 3—4).
• The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon (Judges 6:11–24).
The angel of the Lord spoke as God, people called Him God, and He acted as God. A mere angel isn’t God. So, the angel of the Lord seems to be an appearance of God! Because the angel of the Lord doesn’t appear in the New Testament (which begins with Jesus’ birth), the angel of the Lord could have been Jesus before He became a man.
Bible Truth
"Christ [Jesus] is the exact likeness of God, who can’t be seen. He is first, and he is over all of creation. All things were created by him. He created everything in heaven and on earth. He created everything that can be seen and everything that can’t be seen. He created kings, powers, rulers and authorities. Everything was created by him and for him" (Colossians 1:15–16).
"So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs" (Hebrews 1:4).
