11
Fascinating Facts about the Angel Gabriel by Jeffery Kranz
1.Gabriel
isn’t called an archangel in the Bible
Did you know that every month, 12,000 people Google
“archangel Gabriel”? What’s interesting about this is that the Protestant Bible
never once calls Gabriel an archangel. The only named angel specifically called
an archangel in the Bible is Michael (Jude 9). So
why does everyone think of Gabriel as an archangel? Well, a long time
ago someone wrote a piece of literature called the book of Enoch. This is,
as far as we can tell, a work written between the Old and New Testaments.
It was super influential—so influential that the book of Jude even quotes it (Jude
14–15)!
2.
Gabriel is one of two named (good) angels in the Protestant Bible
The Bible mentions many angels—sometimes seers see
tens of thousands at a time. But for all the angels in the Bible, only two are
explicitly named. Gabriel is the first. The other is Michael. Granted,
there are a few more divine creatures and critters with names in the Bible. But
they’re not so clearly on God’s side. Caveat: This only goes for the
Protestant Bible. My Catholic and Orthodox friends can cite Raphael as
another biblical angel (from the book of Tobit).
3. Gabriel
first appears in Daniel’s vision
In the eighth chapter of Daniel, the prophet has
a vision about a ram and a goat—and a lot of crazy stuff happening with their
respective horns. I’ll let you check out the bizarre details yourself. Suffice
it to say Daniel has a hard time understanding this vision. So someone
“who looked like a man” comes to explain it to him. This person’s name is
Gabriel.
4.
Gabriel stands in the presence of God
Gabriel’s second appearance in the Bible is in the
book of Luke. He’s the one who announces to Zechariah the priest that he is
going to have a son (John the Baptist). Zechariah is confused by this—more on
that later. He asks Gabriel how he can be sure that this is going to happen. Gabriel
responds with a mic drop (and I paraphrase): “I’m Gabriel. I stand in the
presence of God and he sent me to tell you this good news.” (Lk1:19)
The Bible mentions some other divine beings who
stand in the presence of God. For example, Isaiah sees seraphim, a group
of six-winged beings flying around God’s throne in the temple (Is
6:1–2). Ezekiel sees cherubim, a group of four angels with four faces who
transport God’s throne (Ezek 10:20). Even an agent called “the satan,” an
angelic prosecutor, stands before God on a few occasions (Zec 3:1).
5.
Gabriel only speaks to three Bible characters
Gabriel speaks with Daniel, the prophet and
sage. God sends Gabriel to Daniel in response to Daniel’s prayers (and
confusion about those visions). Gabriel next speaks to Zechariah the
priest, to tell him about the coming birth of John the Baptist. The last
person Gabriel speaks with is Mary, the mother of Jesus. He famously announces
that even though she is a virgin, she will bear the Son of God.
6.
Gabriel’s messages all point to the coming Messiah
Every time Gabriel shows up in Scripture,
he makes some mention of Jesus. The first time he speaks with Daniel,
Gabriel explains that one of the horns in Daniel’s vision represents a
“fierce-looking king” (Da
8:21–23). Gabriel tells Daniel that this king will destroy many, and
take his stand against the Prince of princes (8:25). Daniel is understandably
vexed by this. Later, he prays to God for mercy. Once again, Gabriel is sent to
Daniel. This time, Gabriel tells Daniel that the Messiah, the ruler, will be
put to death (9:25–26). Both of these messages point to a conflict between a
coming “fierce-looking king” and Messiah—and for a time, it will look like the
Messiah is the loser of this conflict. Fast-forward to the New Testament.
Gabriel tells Zechariah that he will have a baby boy in his old age. And this
isn’t just any son: this is the one who will “go on before the Lord, in the
spirit and power of Elijah […] to make ready a people prepared for the
Lord” (Lk
1:17). The “Lord” here is Jesus. And then of course, there’s the
announcement of Jesus’ birth to the virgin Mary.
7.
Gabriel looks like a (really scary-looking) man
When Daniel first describes Gabriel, he says that the
angel looks like a man (Da 8:15). In fact, when Gabriel shows up afterward in
chapter 9, Daniel doesn’t describe Gabriel as an angel—instead he calls Gabriel
“the man I had seen in the earlier vision” (9:21). But he doesn’t seem to just
come off as your average dude. When Gabriel shows up, his appearance
frightens people. For example, when Gabriel first approaches Daniel, the seer
is terrified (8:17). Zechariah is likewise “startled and gripped with fear” (Lk 1:12).
Now, to be fair, Gabriel did show up unannounced in what was
supposed to be an empty temple. So I can imagine that Zechariah may have been
less spooked by Gabriel’s looks than he was by Gabriel’s sudden
appearance. Oh, and while we’re talking about Gabriel’s appearance …
8.
There’s no record of Gabriel having wings
Just thought I’d through this one in for fun. While
the Bible tells us that Gabriel came to Daniel “in swift flight,” it never
mentions wings (Da 9:21). But we can probably cut da Vinci a break: the
Bible doesn’t say that he doesn’t have wings either. ;-)
9.
Gabriel can tell if someone doesn’t believe him
Gabriel delivers two messages in the book of
Luke: one to Zechariah and the other to Mary. Both concern miraculous births. An
interesting thing that Luke tells us is that Gabriel can tell whether or
not the people he’s talking to believe his message. For example, Zechariah asks
Gabriel, “How can I be sure you’re telling me the truth? I mean, Elizabeth
and I are pretty old.” And Gabriel replies, “Look, I’m Gabriel. God sent
this message, and since you didn’t believe me, you can stay mute for the next
nine months.” (Lk 1:18–20 … paraphrasing, obviously.) But later on
Mary asks Gabriel the same kind of question: “How can I have a son? I’m a
virgin!” But Mary gets an explanation, and no silencing effect.
10.
Gabriel comes in response to prayers
The Bible preserves four conversations between Gabriel
and people: two with Daniel, one with Zechariah, and one with Mary. Half of
these conversations begin with God sending Gabriel in response to a
prayer. In Daniel chapter 9, Daniel makes a long, heartfelt prayer to God on
behalf of Jerusalem, the temple, and the people of Israel. This is a prayer
confessing that Israel has sinned and does not deserve God’s favor—yet Daniel
throws himself on God’s mercy to ask for his favor anyway. As soon as Daniel
begins praying, Gabriel is sent to Daniel (Da 9:23). And
when Gabriel appears to Zechariah, he opens by saying that God has heard
his prayer for a son (Lk 1:13).
11.
Gabriel names the two greatest humans to ever live
When it comes to baby-naming, Gabriel gets the
highest honor. When Gabriel tells Mary that she will bear a son, he tells her
that his name is to be Jesus (Lk 1:31).
Being that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, and the exact representation
of God’s nature (Heb 1:3), it’s safe to say he’s the greatest human to walk
the earth. But that’s not the only baby Gabriel names! When Gabriel startles
Zechariah in the temple, he tells the priest to name his son John (Lk 1:13). In
Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus states that among the sons of women, nobody is
greater than John the Baptist—although the very least in the kingdom of God
would be greater than John (Mt 11:11).
