Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” . . . Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-theGod-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” Gen. 16:10, 13.
Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. . . . And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” Gen. 32:24, 30.
And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. . . . So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” Exod. 3:2, 4; see also Exod. 23:23; Judg. 2:1.
Now the Word of God is His Son, as we have before said. And He is called Angel and Apostle. . . . For thus it is written in them, “And the Angel of God spoke to Moses, in a flame of fire out of the bush, and said, ‘I am that I am, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.’” Justin Martyr (c. 160, E), 1.184.
“And the Lord spoke to Moses, ‘Say to this people, Behold, I send My angel before your face, to keep you in the way. . . . Give heed to Him, and obey Him . . . for My name is in Him.’” . . . The name of the One who said to Moses, “for my name is in Him,” was Jesus. Justin Martyr (c. 160, E), 1.236.
That Christ would act in this manner when He became man was foretold by the mystery of Jacob’s wrestling with Him. Justin Martyr (c. 160, E), 1.262.
Christ Himself even testified back then that this name was His own, when He talked with Moses. For who was it who talked with Moses, but the Spirit of the Creator, who is Christ? Tertullian (c. 207, W), 3.335.
The Lord Himself at that very time appeared to Abraham among the angels. He had not yet been born; yet, he was undoubtedly in the flesh. Tertullian (c. 210, W), 3.527
To me, He became a man. To the angels, He became an angel. . . . In several passages, angels speak in such a way as to suggest this, such as: “the Angel of the Lord appeared in a flame of fire. And He said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’” Origen (c. 228, E), 9.315.
This was the work of one who was not simply an angel, but the “Angel of Great Counsel” (as the prophecy regarding Him said). For He announced to men the great counsel of the God and Father of all things regarding them. Origen (c. 248, E), 4.566, 567.
The Angel met with Hagar, Sarah’s handmaid. . . . Now, was it the Father who was seen by Hagar, or not? The Angel is declared to be God. But far be it from us to call God the Father an Angel [i.e., Messenger]. Otherwise He would be subordinate to another whose angel He would be. . . . So we ought to understand it to have been God the Son. Since He is of God, He is rightly called God. For He is the Son of God. However, because He is subjected to the Father, and because He is the Announcer of the Father’s will, He is declared to be the Angel of Great Counsel. Novatian (c. 235, W), 5.628.
Moreover, Moses added the instance of God being seen by Abraham at the oak of Mamre. . . . Now, if they [i.e., the Monarchians] will have it that the Father was seen at that time and was received with hospitality in the company of two angels, the heretics have believed the Father to be visible. . . . Unless because, in order that His proper invisibility may be restored to the Father and the proper inferiority be remitted to the angel, it was only God the Son (who is also God) who was seen by Abraham. Novatian (c. 235, W), 5.628.
In another place also, we read in like manner that God was described as an Angel. . . . He says that the Angel of God had said to him in a dream, “Jacob, Jacob. . . . I have seen all that Laban has done to you. I am God, who appeared to you in the place of God.” . . . He who promises those things is manifested to be both God and Angel. So reasonably there must be a distinction between Him who is called God only, and Him who is declared to be not God simply, but Angel also. . . . Moreover, if this is Christ—which it is—the person is in terrible risk who says that Christ is only either man or angel, withholding from Him the power of the Divine name. Novatian (c. 235, W), 5.630.
Therefore, let no one who does not shrink from speaking of Christ as an Angel, shrink either from declaring Him also to be God. Novatian (c. 235, W), 5.631.
Christ is at once both Angel and God. In Genesis, to Abraham: “And the Angel of the Lord called him from heaven and said unto him, ‘Abraham, Abraham.’ ” . . . Also in Exodus: “But God went before them by day indeed in a pillar of cloud.” . . . Yet, in the same place: “And the Angel of God moved forward, who went before the army of the children of Israel.” Also in the same place: “Lo! I send my Angel before your face. . . . For my Name is in Him.” Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.517.
He calls Him an Angel, that is, a Messenger of the Father. For He is called the Messenger of Great Counsel. . . . The great voice is to tell the words of the Omnipotent God of heaven to men. Victorinus (c. 280, W), 7.353.
His beloved Son, God the Word, the Angel of His great counsel. Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c. 390, E), 7.408; see also 1.223–1.228.