Sunday, December 21, 2014

The Archangel Gabriel

(Luke 1:19) " And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that
stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew
thee these glad tidings." The angel Gabriel spoke these words to Zacharias
the father of John the Baptist, proclaiming beforehand John's birth. Gabriel
was also the angel that visited Mary with the announcement that she would
give birth to Jesus Christ. Gabriel is God's chosen messenger of glad
tidings. (Heb. 1:14) tells us that all angels are, "ministering spirits,
sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation," but why is
Gabriel mentioned by name? Well, the above verse says that he stands "in the
presence of God," and in (Daniel 8:16) Gabriel was "caused to fly swiftly"
to give Daniel God's vision. You see, Gabriel is (The) messenger of God, and
even though there is only one archangel mentioned in scripture, (Michael)
the defender of Israel (Dan. 12:1), most scholars believe that Gabriel was
one as well. The term "archangel" means "chief angel," and certainly Gabriel
is one of the chief ones, for Gabriel was the only one given the privilege
of proclaiming the greatest announcement ever made to man,  the birth of
Jesus Christ!