Is Jesus the Angel of the Lord? (3 Reasons He Is)

The phrase “Angel of the Lord” appears frequently in the Old Testament, and for centuries, scholars and believers alike have debated who this mysterious figure truly is.

Was it merely a created being, or was it a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ Himself?

Below are three compelling reasons why Jesus is the Angel of the Lord—and why this matters for how we understand both the Old and New Testaments.

1. Both Are Prayed To

One of the clearest indicators of divinity in the Bible is prayer. Prayer is directed to God alone, yet we find both the Angel of the Lord and Jesus being prayed to in Scripture.

Genesis 48:14–16 records a remarkable moment: Jacob, now renamed Israel, blesses Joseph’s sons and invokes both God and the Angel of the Lord in the same breath.

“The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads…”— Genesis 48:16 

Jacob doesn’t simply mention the angel—he invokes Him for blessing. That would be blasphemous unless the angel shared in the divine nature of God.

Similarly, in the New Testament, we see Stephen pray to Jesus directly while being stoned:

“And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”— Acts 7:59 

This mirrors the psalmist’s prayer to God in Psalm 31:5, “Into thine hand I commit my spirit.” The shift in attribution is striking: Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit, directs that sacred prayer to Jesus.

We also see Trinitarian blessings in 2 Corinthians 13:14:

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.”

Just like Jacob prayed to both God and the Angel, Paul includes Jesus alongside the Father and the Spirit in a single blessing.

These patterns are not coincidence—they reveal something deeper about the divine identity of Christ.

2. Both Bear the Divine Name

Building on point #1 is the attribution of God’s sacred name. The Angel of the Lord is not merely from God—He is called God.

In Genesis 16, when Hagar encounters the Angel of the Lord, she makes a profound statement:

“And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me…”— Genesis 16:13 

The angel is called “the Lord” and “God” by Hagar—but even more significantly, the narrator of Genesis, Moses, affirms her description. It’s not a misunderstanding. Moses confirms: she had spoken to God.

This theme continues in Isaiah 63:7–10, where we see the Lord described as Savior—and then, in the very next line, the angel of His presence is also called the one who saves:

“In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them…”— Isaiah 63:9 

And the passage concludes:

“But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit…”— Isaiah 63:10 

Here we see Father, Angel (the Son), and Spirit—working together in redemptive history, much like the New Testament presentation of the Trinity.

It’s a foreshadowing of Matthew 28:19, where Jesus commands baptism:

“…in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

This isn’t theological invention. It’s theological fulfillment.

3. Both Are Called Angel, Wisdom, Son, and More

Some stumble over the title “angel,” thinking it must mean a created being. But the Hebrew word Mal’ak simply means “messenger.”

It doesn’t speak to the nature of the being—only their role. In fact, God Himself can act as His own messenger.

This becomes crystal clear in Acts 7:30–33, where Stephen recounts Moses’ encounter at the burning bush:

“There appeared to him in the wilderness… an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire… And as he drew near… the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying, I am the God of thy fathers…”— Acts 7:30–32 

The same figure is first called an angel, then clearly speaks as God.

This echoes Exodus 3, where God tells Moses:

“Put off thy shoes… for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”— Exodus 3:5 

The ground is holy not because of a creature—but because of the Creator. Jewish writings before the time of Christ also support this understanding.

Scholars have documented that many ancient Jews believed in a divine mediator—a second power in heaven—who bore titles like “Wisdom,” “Son,” and “Angel of the Lord.”

Notably, books like The Two Powers in Heaven by Alan Segal and Border Lines by Daniel Boyarin detail how this belief existed in Jewish thought before Christianity emerged.

Early Christians didn’t invent the identity of Jesus—they recognized who He had always been. Share on X

There is Only One God

The Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament is no ordinary angel.

We pray to Him, call Him by the divine name, and hear Him speak and save as only God can—because He is God.

These moments aren’t isolated; they form a consistent thread that points directly to the eternal Son, Jesus Christ.

The Old Testament doesn’t introduce a different God—it reveals the same divine nature that Jesus makes fully known. What once remained hidden in shadows now stands clear in the light of Christ.

He has always worked to redeem, guide, and reveal the Father through Himself.

To go deeper into how Jesus shares the divine nature with the Father—and why it matters—read this next article about the divine nature of God and Jesus. God bless.

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