IRENAEUS, CLEMENT & JESUS AS THE ANGEL
I will cite from two great saints of the Church, Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria, who both taught that it was Christ in his prehuman existence that appeared throughout the OT as the divine Angel of God. All emphasis will be mine.
Irenaeus of Lyons
The Holy Ghost, throughout the Old Testament Scriptures, made mention of no other God or Lord, save him who is the true God.
1. Therefore neither would the Lord, nor the Holy Spirit, nor the apostles, have ever named as God, definitely and absolutely, him who was not God, unless he were truly God; nor would they have named any one in his own person Lord, except God the Father ruling over all, AND HIS SON who has received dominion from His Father over all creation, as this passage has it: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool. Here the [Scripture] represents to us the Father addressing the Son; He who gave Him the inheritance of the heathen, and subjected to Him all His enemies. Since, therefore, the Father is truly Lord, and the Son truly Lord, the Holy Spirit has fitly designated them by the title of Lord. And again, referring to the destruction of the Sodomites, the Scripture says, Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrha fire and brimstone from the Lord out of heaven. Genesis 19:24 For it here points out that the Son, WHO HAD ALSO BEEN SPEAKING TO ABRAHAM, had received power to judge the Sodomites for their wickedness. And this [text following] does declare the same truth: Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever; the sceptre of Your kingdom is a right sceptre. You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity: therefore God, Your God, has anointed You. For the Spirit designates both [of them] by the name, of God — both Him who is anointed as Son, and Him who does anoint, that is, the Father. And again: God stood in the congregation of the gods, He judges among the gods. He [here] refers to the Father and the Son, and those who have received the adoption; but these are the Church. For she is the synagogue of God, which God— that is, the Son Himself — has gathered by Himself. Of whom He again speaks: The God of gods, the Lord has spoken, and has called the earth. Who is meant by God? He of whom He has said, God shall come openly, our God, and shall not keep silence; that is, the Son, who came manifested to men who said, I have openly appeared to those who seek Me not. Isaiah 65:1 But of what gods [does he speak]? [Of those] to whom He says, I have said, You are gods, and all sons of the Most High. To those, no doubt, who have received the grace of the adoption, by which we cry, Abba Father. Romans 8:15
2. Wherefore, as I have already stated, no other is named as God, or is called Lord, except Him who is God and Lord of all, who also said to Moses, I am that I am. And thus shall you say to the children of Israel: He who is, has sent me unto you; Exodus 3:14 and His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who makes those that believe in His name the sons of God. And again, when THE SON SPEAKS TO MOSES, He says, I have come down to deliver this people. Exodus 3:8 For it is He who descended and ascended for the salvation of men. Therefore God has been declared through the Son, who is in the Father, and has the Father in Himself — He who is, the Father bearing witness to the Son, and the Son announcing the Father.— As also Esaias says, I too am witness, he declares, says the Lord God, and the Son whom I have chosen, that you may know, and believe, and understand that I am. Isaiah 43:10
3. When, however, the Scripture terms them [gods] which are no gods, it does not, as I have already remarked, declare them as gods in every sense, but with a certain addition and signification, by which they are shown to be no gods at all. As with David: The gods of the heathen are idols of demons; and, You shall not follow other gods. For in that he says the gods of the heathen— but the heathen are ignorant of the true God — and calls them other gods, he bars their claim [to be looked upon] as gods at all. But as to what they are in their own person, he speaks concerning them; for they are, he says, the idols of demons. And Esaias: Let them be confounded, all who blaspheme God, and carve useless things; even I am witness, says God. Isaiah 44:9 He removes them from [the category of] gods, but he makes use of the word alone, for this [purpose], that we may know of whom he speaks. Jeremiah also says the same: The gods that have not made the heavens and earth, let them perish from the earth which is under the heaven. Jeremiah 10:11 For, from the fact of his having subjoined their destruction, he shows them to be no gods at all. Elias, too, when all Israel was assembled at Mount Carmel, wishing to turn them from idolatry, says to them, How long do you halt between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him. 1 Kings 18:21, etc. And again, at the burnt-offering, he thus addresses the idolatrous priests: You shall call upon the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord my God; and the Lord that will hearken by fire, He is God. Now, from the fact of the prophet having said these words, he proves that these gods which were reputed so among those men, are no gods at all. He directed them to that God upon whom he believed, and who was truly God; whom invoking, he exclaimed, Lord God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, hear me today, and let all this people know that You are the God of Israel. 1 Kings 18:36
4. Wherefore I do also call upon you, Lord God of Abraham, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob and Israel, who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God who, through the abundance of Your mercy, has had a favour towards us, that we should know You, who has made heaven and earth, who rule over all, who is the only and the true God, above whom there is none other God; grant, by our Lord Jesus Christ, the governing power of the Holy Spirit; give to every reader of this book to know You, that You are God alone, to be strengthened in You, and to avoid every heretical, and godless, and impious doctrine.
5. And the Apostle Paul also, saying, For though you have served them which are no gods; you now know God, or rather, are known of God, Galatians 4:8-9 has made a separation between those that were not [gods] and Him who is God. And again, speaking of Antichrist, he says, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 He points out here those who are called gods, by such as know not God, that is, idols. For the Father of all is called God, and is so; and Antichrist shall be lifted up, not above Him, but above those which are indeed called gods, but are not. And Paul himself says that this is true: We know that an idol is nothing, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth; yet to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we through Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him. 1 Corinthians 8:4, etc. For he has made a distinction, and separated those which are indeed called gods, but which are none, from the one God the Father, from whom are all things, and, he has confessed in the most decided manner in his own person, one Lord Jesus Christ. But in this [clause], whether in heaven or in earth, he does not speak of the formers of the world, as these [teachers] expound it; but his meaning is similar to that of Moses, when it is said, You shall not make to yourself any image for God, of whatsoever things are in heaven above, whatsoever in the earth beneath, and whatsoever in the waters under the earth. Deuteronomy 5:8 And he does thus explain what are meant by the things in heaven: Lest when, he says, looking towards heaven, and observing the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and all the ornament of heaven, falling into error, you should adore and serve them. Deuteronomy 4:19 And Moses himself, being a man of God, was indeed given as a god before Pharaoh; Exodus 7:1 but he is not properly termed Lord, nor is called God by the prophets, but is spoken of by the Spirit as Moses, the faithful minister and servant of God, Hebrews 3:5; Numbers 12:7 which also he was. (Against Heresies, Book III, Chapter 6)
St. Clement of Alexandria
But our Instructor is the holy God Jesus, the Word, who is the guide of all humanity. The loving God Himself is our Instructor. Somewhere in song the Holy Spirit says with regard to Him, He provided sufficiently for the people in the wilderness. He led him about in the thirst of summer heat in a dry land, and instructed him, and kept him as the apple of His eye, as an eagle protects her nest, and shows her fond solicitude for her young, spreads abroad her wings, takes them, and bears them on her back. The Lord alone led them, and there was no strange god with them. Deuteronomy 32:10-12 Clearly, I trow, has the Scripture exhibited the Instructor in the account it gives of His guidance.
Again, when He speaks in His own person, He confesses Himself to be the Instructor: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Exodus 20:2 Who, then, has the power of leading in and out? Is it not the Instructor? This was He who appeared to Abraham, and said to him, I am your God, be accepted before Me; Genesis 17:1-2 and in a way most befitting an instructor, forms him into a faithful child, saying, And be blameless; and I will make My covenant between Me and you, and your seed. There is the communication of the Instructor’s friendship. And He most manifestly appears as Jacob’s instructor. He says accordingly to him, Lo, I am with you, to keep you in all the way in which you shall go; and I will bring you back into this land: for I will not leave you till I do what I have told you. Genesis 28:15 He is said, too, to have wrestled with Him. And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled with him a man (the Instructor) till the morning. Genesis 32:24 This was the man who led, and brought, and wrestled with, and anointed the athlete Jacob against evil. Now that the Word was at once Jacob’s trainer and the Instructor of humanity [appears from this]— He asked, it is said, His name, and said to him, Tell me what is Your name. And he said, Why is it that you ask My name? For He reserved the new name for the new people — the babe; and was as yet unnamed, the Lord God not having yet become man. Yet Jacob called the name of the place, Face of God. For I have seen, he says, God face to face; and my life is preserved. Genesis 32:30 The face of God is the Word by whom God is manifested and made known. Then also was he named Israel, because he saw God the Lord. It was God, the Word, the Instructor, who said to him again afterwards, Fear not to go down into Egypt. Genesis 46:3 See how the Instructor follows the righteous man, and how He anoints the athlete, teaching him to trip up his antagonist.
It is He also who teaches Moses to act as instructor. For the Lord says, If any one sin before Me, him will I blot out of My book; but now, go and lead this people into the place which I told you. Exodus 32:33-34 Here He is the teacher of the art of instruction. For it was really the Lord that was the instructor of the ancient people by Moses; but He is the instructor of the new people by Himself, face to face. For behold, He says to Moses, My angel shall go before you, representing the evangelical and commanding power of the Word, but guarding the Lord’s prerogative. In the day on which I will visit them, Exodus 32:33-34 He says, I will bring their sins on them; that is, on the day on which I will sit as judge I will render the recompense of their sins. For the same who is Instructor is judge, and judges those who disobey Him; and the loving Word will not pass over their transgression in silence. He reproves, that they may repent. For the Lord wills the repentance of the sinner rather than his death. And let us as babes, hearing of the sins of others, keep from similar transgressions, through dread of the threatening, that we may not have to undergo like sufferings. What, then, was the sin which they committed? For in their wrath they slew men, and in their impetuosity they hamstrung bulls. Cursed be their anger. Genesis 49:6 Who, then, would train us more lovingly than He? Formerly the older people had an old covenant, and the law disciplined the people with fear, and the Word WAS AN ANGEL; but to the fresh and new people has also been given a new covenant, and the Word has appeared, and fear is turned to love, AND THE MYSTIC ANGEL IS BORN — JESUS. For this same Instructor said then, You shall fear the Lord God; Deuteronomy 6:2 but to us He has addressed the exhortation, You shall love the Lord your God. Matthew 22:37 Wherefore also this is enjoined on us: Cease from your own works, from your old sins; Learn to do well; Depart from evil, and do good; You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity. This is my new covenant written in the old letter. The newness of the word must not, then, be made ground of reproach. But the Lord has also said in Jeremiah: Say not that I am a youth: before I formed you in the belly I knew you, and before I brought you out of the womb I sanctified you. Jeremiah 1:7 Such allusions prophecy can make to us, destined in the eye of God to faith before the foundation of the world; but now babes, through the recent fulfilment of the will of God, according to which we are born now to calling and salvation. Wherefore also He adds, I have set you for a prophet to the nations, Jeremiah 1:5 saying that he must prophesy, so that the appellation of youth should not become a reproach to those who are called babes.
Now the law is ancient grace given through Moses BY THE WORD. Wherefore also the Scripture says, The law was given through Moses, John 1:17 not by Moses, but by the Word, and through Moses His servant. Wherefore it was only temporary; but eternal grace and truth were by Jesus Christ. Mark the expressions of Scripture: of the law only is it said was given; but truth being the grace of the Father, is the eternal work of the Word; and it is not said to be given, but to be by Jesus, without whom nothing was. John 1:3 Presently, therefore, Moses prophetically, giving place to the perfect Instructor the Word, predicts both the name and the office of Instructor, and committing to the people the commands of obedience, sets before them the Instructor. A prophet, says he, like Me shall God raise up to you of your brethren, pointing out Jesus the Son of God, by an allusion to Jesus the son of Nun; for the name of Jesus predicted in the law was a shadow of Christ. He adds, therefore, consulting the advantage of the people, Him shall you hear; Deuteronomy 18:15 and, The man who will not hear that Prophet, Deuteronomy 18:19 him He threatens. Such a name, then, he predicts as that of the Instructor, who is the author of salvation. Wherefore prophecy invests Him with a rod, a rod of discipline, of rule, of authority; that those whom the persuasive word heals not, the threatening may heal; and whom the threatening heals not, the rod may heal; and whom the rod heals not, the fire may devour. There shall come forth, it is said, a rod out of the root of Jesse.
See the care, and wisdom, and power of the Instructor: He shall not judge according to opinion, nor according to report; but He shall dispense judgment to the humble, and reprove the sinners of the earth. And by David: The Lord instructing, has instructed me, and not given me over to death. For to be chastised of the Lord, and instructed, is deliverance from death. And by the same prophet He says: You shall rule them with a rod of iron. Thus also the apostle, in the Epistle to the Corinthians, being moved, says, What will you? Shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, in the spirit of meekness? 1 Corinthians 4:21 Also, The Lord shall send the rod of strength out of Sion, He says by another prophet. And this same rod of instruction, Your rod and staff have comforted me, said some one else. Such is the power of the Instructor — sacred, soothing, saving. (The Instructor, Book I, Chapter 7. Who the Instructor Is, and Respecting His Instruction)
FURTHER READING
63 Church Father Quotes on the Angel of the Lord
Taylor Marshall & The Angel of God
The Council of Antioch on Christ’s Divinity
CHRISTIANS ON CHRIST’S OT APPEARANCES
ATHANASIUS ON THE ANGEL OF GOD
HILARY ON JESUS BEING THE ANGEL
ST. AMBROSE ON JESUS AS GOD’S ANGEL
AUGUSTINE ON JESUS BEING THE ANGEL OF YHVH
POPE LEO & AQUINAS ON THE ANGEL OF GOD
ORTHODOX STUDY BIBLE, TRINITY & THE TORAH
CATECHISM, JESUS & THE ANGEL OF GOD