Table of contents hide 1 History of the Gabriel Gabriel in different religions 2 Intertestamentary literature 2.1 Important interventions of the Gabriel Gabriel 2.2 1st. Good News 2.3 2nd. Good News 3 The Feast of the Archangel Gabriel
For Abrahamic religions, those monotheistic faiths that recognize a spiritual tradition identified with Abraham, as in Christianity, Judaism and Islam, the term Gabriel means "strength of God . " But what else to know about Archangel Gabriel? Let's briefly know its history.
Gabriel is named in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible . In the Old Testament the prophet Daniel appears and in the Gospel of Luke to Zacharias to announce the birth of John the Baptist and, later, appears before Mary, to announce the birth of Jesus.
History of Archangel Gabriel in the various religions
The Archangel Gabriel is called "the man Gabriel" in the book of Daniel, while in the Gospel of Luke he is designated as the "Angel of the Lord."
In the Bible he is not mentioned as if he were an archangel, although in that way he is called in the Book of Enoch and in the other works of the intertestamental period, approximately between the years 200 BC and 50 AD
Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Orthodox treat him as archangel and saint, along with Miguel and Rafael.
In Islam, Gabriel is the archangel that God sent to make revelations to many prophets, including Muhammad. In chapter 96 of the Koran, al-Alaq, the first revelation made by Gabriel to Muhammad is recounted.
In Judaism, the rabbis call him the "man dressed in linen" for his readings in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Exequiel.
The tasks or functions developed by Gabriel, which appear in the Book of Daniel, were to interpret the visions of that prophet . Instead, in the book of Exequiel, Gabriel is presented as an angel sent by God to destroy Jerusalem.
Taking into account what was written in the Jewish Encyclopedia, Gabriel takes the form of a man and sits to the left of God .
In Kabbalah, Gabriel is identified with Yesod and plays a very important role as one of the archangels of God responsible for Kabbalah's own writing.
Gabriel is not prayed . Only God has the power to answer the prayers and is the one who sends Gabriel as his representative.
In the Garden of Eden, according to Jewish mythology, there is a tree of life, also called tree of souls, which when it blooms offers new souls and that will fall into the Guf or "Treasure of Souls."
There appears Gabriel who is responsible for taking the first soul from Guf to hand to hand it over to Lailah, the Angel of Conception, who will watch the embryo until its birth.
Intertestamental literature
The intertestamental period produced an abundance of texts in which the apocalyptic genre predominated . The names and degrees of angels and demons were widely disseminated in the populations and clarified their particular duties and status before God.
Relevant is what is recounted in the Book of Enoch. The Archangel Gabriel, Miguel, Uriel and Sariel, found that there was much blood spilled on the earth and heard all the souls of men cry and pray for their cause to reach the Most High.
Gabriel is in charge of telling God that he will answer: “… proceed against the bastards and reproofs, against the children of fornication and destroy them. Send them against each other so they can destroy each other in battle, so they will no longer prolong their days on this earth. ”
In this historical stage, God defines who his angels are and tells Enoch as follows:
“The first is Miguel, the merciful and great sufferer. The second is Rafael, who is above all the wounds and diseases of the children of men. The third is Gabriel, who is over all existing powers. The fourth is Phanuel, who is about repentance and hope of those who inherit eternal life.
And those are the four angels of the Lord of Spirits and the four voices that I heard these days. ”
Important interventions of Archangel Gabriel
1st. Good news
An angel made his appearance in front of Zacharias when he was praying in the temple, to announce that his wife Isabel was going to have a son, who would be John the Baptist .
“Do not fear Zacharias because your request has been heard and your wife Isabel will give you a son whom you will name Juan. He will be able to fill you with joy and joy and all those around you will be very happy with his birth.
It will be great in the eyes of the Lord, I will not drink wine or liquor. It will be full of the Holy Spirit from the womb and will convert many Israelites to the Lord their God.
Zachar as responded to the angel with distrust: What guarantees do you give me that this is possible? I am an old man and my wife Isabel is elderly.
The angel replied: `` I am Gabriel, who served God in his presence and was the one who sent me to speak to you to give you this Good News. But for not believing my words, you will remain mute and cannot speak until that is fulfilled.
2nd. Good news
God sent Gabriel to a small city in Galilee called Nazareth to find a virgin, named Mary, who had been promised a man named Josen, belonging to the David's family.
Gabriel appeared before Maray and said:
Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
What kind of greeting is that ?, asked astonished Mar a.
Do not fear Mary, the angel said, you enjoy God's favor and will give birth to a son whom you will call Jesus . He will be the greatest, his title will be that of the Son of the Most High and the Lord God will offer him the throne of David to reign over the House of Jacob to as long as his kingdom never ends.
How will that happen if I don't live with any man?
The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. So it will be that the consecrated person will be born and carry the title of Son of God.
Your relative Isabel has already conceived in old age and still considering herself sterile six months ago. Nothing is impossible for God, the angel told him.
- I am the servant of the Lord, Mary replied, may your word be fulfilled in me.
The party of the Archangel Gabriel
The day of St. Gabriel the Archangel was exclusively celebrated on March 18, according to various sources between 1608 and 1921. With the exception of a source published in the year 1856, (The Catholic Directory, Ecclasiastical Register an Almanac) indicating its commemoration April 7th.
The oldest known source is published in 1608, then there is an update in 1794 that ratifies on March 18.
Another source dated in 1910 (Manual of Christian Doctrine) again cites March 18 as Gabriel's memorial date.
Finally, in 1969, it was transferred to September 29 so that it could be celebrated simultaneously with the day of San Miguel and San Rafael.
Seen in About Español, by Pedro, editor of the White Brotherhood
