Who is the angel of the LORD?

Answer 1

Many believe the angel of the LORD (Yahweh)/the angel of God who appeared to many at times throughout the Old Testament is in fact Jesus Christ. The angel (which can be translated messenger) certainly claims to be God:

1. In Genesis 16:7-13 the angel of the LORD promised to do something that only God can do (see v.10). Hagar knew that it was Yahweh who spoke to her (v.13) and she identified the angel of the LORD as God: "You are the God who sees me" (v.13).
2. In Genesis 21:17-20 the angel of the God promised to do something only God can do (see v.18). This angel is identified as God (v.19).
3. In Genesis 22:15-18 the angel of Yahweh is speaking (verses 15-16) and yet verse 16 makes it clear that it is Yahweh who is speaking ("said the LORD")! In verses 17-18 the angel of Yahweh promises to do what only God can do.
4. In Genesis 31:11-13 the angel of God (v.11) identifies Himself as God: "I am the God of Bethel" (v.13)(see Genesis 28:10-22).
5. In Exodus 3:2-7 the angel of Yahweh appeared to Moses out of the midst of a burning bush and identified Himself as God (verses 4 and 6) and as Jehovah (verses 4 and 7). See also Acts 7:30-32 where the angel of the Lord is identified as the Lord God.
6. In Exodus 14:19-21 the angel of God does what only God can do (verses 19-20) and is identified with the glorious manifestation of God in the pillar of the cloud (verses 19-20). In verse 21 this angel is identified as "the LORD" (Yahweh).
7. In Exodus 23:20-23 this passage makes it clear that Yahweh's angel is much more than a mere angel; this angel is closely identified with God: Yahweh's "name is in Him" (v.21, "name" referring to Yahweh's nature and character) and God's people must "obey His voice" (v.21). Indeed, He has the authority to "pardon your transgressions" or not to pardon them, and who can forgive sins but God alone? Notice that the angel is distinct from God and sent by God. The LORD said, "Behold, I send an angel before me." We are reminded of New Testament parallels as the Son was distinct from the Father and sent by the Father (John 3:17; etc.) and yet equal to the Father (John 1:1, John 5:18).
8. In Judges 2:1-3 the angel of Yahweh says things that only God could say. God is the One who brought them into the land which He swore to give unto their fathers (v.1). God is the One who promised to never break His covenant (v.1).
9. In Judges 6:11-24 as you follow this passage, pay close attention to who is speaking to Gideon: in verse 12 the angel of Yahweh is speaking; in verse 14 Yahweh is speaking; in verse 16 Yahweh is speaking; in verse 20 the angel of God is speaking. Yahweh and the angel of Yahweh are one and the same.
10. In Judges 13:3-23, especially verses 17-18, Manoah said to the angel of Yahweh, "What is your name?" (v.17) and the angel of Yahweh said, "Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?" This "wonderful is the same Hebrew word found in Isaiah 9:6 - "His Name shall be called wonderful..." In Isaiah 9:6 the term is used as a name of Christ who is also called "the Mighty God." The fact that Yahweh's angel was God was certainly known by Manoah. After the angel of Yahweh appeared to him Manoah said, "We have seen God!" (v.22).
11. In 1 Chronicles 21:12-27 we learn that the angel of Yahweh is a person distinct from Yahweh (see v.15 where Yahweh God sent the angel and spoke to the angel, and so also in v.27). In v.16-17 David sees the angel of Yahweh and calls him "God."

To summarize, the angel of Yahweh is not only identified as God, he directly claims to be God, he claims to do things only God can claim, but also he is identified as doing things only God can do.

Answer 2

In the Old Testament, we find the phrase 'angel of the Lord' for those supernatural 'messengers' of our Creator God to mankind and other times we discover that it is actually 'the Word' who would becomes Jesus Christ' a time later as God's messenger which even the translators in some of the different translations get it right because they'll capitalize the "A" for Angel realizing it's something more than just an ordinary angel.

The context of the Scripture and the fact that the Angel of the Lord allows Himself to be worshipped will help differentiate the 'who' the messenger is for the reader.