Hebrews 1: 7 and 14 “…He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.” Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”

Angels exist to do God’s bidding. There is hierarchy among angels, the more important the task, the mightier the angel chosen to accomplish it. Some are named in Scripture and some are not. Often we are simply told an angel of the Lord appeared or spoke to someone. Most of us are familiar with at least two by name: Michael and Gabriel. In the book of Jude, we read about the archangel Michael in his capacity as a warrior against Satan.

The angel Gabriel appeared in very strategic places and he both spoke and acted with authority. In Luke 1, he appeared to Zechariah to bring good news that he and his wife would be the parents of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus. He identified himself: “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to tell you this good news.” When Zechariah’s wife Elizabeth was six months pregnant, Gabriel appeared again to Mary who would be the mother of Jesus: “Greetings, you are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” He reassured the quaking girl: “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” The conversation continued and his final words were: “Nothing is impossible with God.”  I don’t know about you, but just reading about these encounters send shivers up and down my spine!

We are in a position to look back at these announcements as having been fulfilled. Look for Gabriel also in the Book of Daniel, chapter 8 where he interpreted Daniel’s vision of things yet to come. Why did God use an angel for this and why Gabriel? I hardly completed this thought when the Holy Spirit responded:

“There are things I desire to do in the earth and I must choose my messengers. Gabriel was a trusted ally whom I designated for the most important missions. There are things which need to be done supernaturally which I cannot entrust to mere men.”