Who Is An Archangel?
Is the angel Gabriel an archangel or is he the Messenger of God? An archangel is one who has authority over other angels.
But no place in the Scriptures reveals that the angel Gabriel was in charge of other angels.
Therefore, to answer your question, is Gabriel an archangel? The biblical answer is no. Gabriel is not an archangel.
An archangel is the highest position that an angel could hold; therefore, there is only one archangel. Spoiler alert, he is not Gabriel!
Who Is The Angel Gabriel In The Bible – KJV?
The Holy Bible tells us that the angel Gabriel stands in the presence of the Lord God Almighty. This is an important position for he is the only one to hold it.
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.”
Even though the angel Gabriel is not an archangel he is constantly in the “presence of God”. This means that he is always waiting near the throne of God for his orders.
Is The Angel Gabriel The Messenger of The Lord God?
Because the Lord is God; He does nothing, consequently the importance of Gabriel’s role.
Whenever the Lord has an important message for us that must be delivered in person He sends Gabriel.
The first time we observe him in operation, the Lord sent him to give clarity and understanding to Daniel’s vision.
Daniel was seeking the Lord. He had a vision that he couldn’t understand, thus the Lord God sent Gabriel to explain it to him.
Daniel 8:16
“And I [Daniel] heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.”
So, he visited Daniel in person and explained the meaning of his visions to him.
The second time we see Gabriel fulfilling his function as a messenger of God concerns the birth of John the Baptist.
Zacharias was an old priest. He had no children. So, he prayed without ceasing to God for a son. He heard and granted his prayer.
As a result, to inform Zacharias personally about His decision He sent Gabriel to him with the good news!
“And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.”
Luke 1:18
“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.”
Luke 1:19
If Gabriel Was An Archangel Why Did He Deliver Messages?
In the Bible, the archangel does not deliver messages! The Lord has an angel for that!
This is the third time we noticed that Gabriel personally delivers good news messages.
However, this one concerns Mary and her selection by God for the immaculate conception of Jesus Christ, His Son.
Subsequently, six months after he visited Zacharias, God sent Gabriel to see Mary.
“And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth”
Luke 1:26
“To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.”
Luke 1:27
However, this wasn’t the last time the angel Gabriel would deliver good news from God to humanity.
Gabriel And The Soldier
The fourth occasion of the angel Gabriel’s visit to humanity was to a Gentile soldier of Caesarea called Cornelius.
He was seeking God by prayer and fasting just like Daniel was. So the Lord sent Gabriel to inform him that he pleased God. See Acts 10:1-6.
Additionally, just as Daniel had visions Cornelius had them too and Gabriel used them to communicate with them both.
Now, I know someone is saying that the Bible didn’t inform us explicitly that the angel Gabriel communicated with Cornelius.
So, how do I know the angel was him?
Conclusion
I have explained why the angel Gabriel is not the archangel and that there is only one archangel. Similarly, I have shown, using the Scriptures, that Gabriel is the Messenger of God.
Similar to the archangel, there is one Messenger of God.
He delivers good and personalized messages to people whom God has chosen.
He delivered such messages to Daniel, Zacharias, Mary, and Cornelius. But these were not the only people he delivered good news messages to.
Finally, God is a fixed principle.
He does the same thing in the exact manner over and over. He always utilizes the angel Gabriel to deliver messages; therefore, He will not change now or later.
He will continue to use him as he hid for Cornelius.
In closing, Gabriel is not fallen but Lucifer is! The former is the Messenger of God but the latter is no longer The Son of The Morning for he has fallen to Satan or the Devil.
