Question from a Site Viewer
Where in the Bible does it say that Jesus Christ is the archangel Gabriel as Jehovah’s Witnesses claim?
Tim’s Answer
You ask what part of the Bible shows that Jesus Christ is the archangel Gabriel, as Jehovah’s Witnesses claim. The answer can be brief. First off, the Jehovah’s Witnesses actually believe that Jesus is the archangel Michael (not Gabriel). There is no proof of this in the Bible. But since you asked about Gabriel, I will answer that question. There is no part of the Bible that shows that Jesus Christ is the archangel Gabriel. You will not find a single verse or passage that states that Jesus Christ is the archangel Gabriel. To the contrary, the Bible states that Jesus Christ is the uncreated, eternal God. See references in this article about the deity of Jesus. Gabriel is an angel created by God (Luke 1:11-19, 26, 28, 30, 34-35, 38). And, to clear up a long assumed error, not once in Scripture is Gabriel ever called an archangel (The only person in Scripture called an “archangel” is Michael in Jude 9).
The angel Gabriel only appears four times by name in the entire Scripture. In Daniel 8:16 and Daniel 9:21, Gabriel spoke to Daniel to help him understand some visions. In Luke 1:19 and in Luke 1:26, Gabriel appeared to Zacharias and to Mary to announce the births of John the Baptist and of Jesus. These are the only times in all the Scriptures that he is mentioned. From these passages, we know that he was an angel who stands in the presence of God.
He is the one who announced the coming of Jesus to Mary. In Luke 1:32-33, 35, Gabriel made it clear that in announcing the coming of Jesus, he was announcing the coming of One who was not him. He does not say in verse 32: “And I will be great and I will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give me the throne of my father David.” Rather, Gabriel announced the coming of another person, stating “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.” The Biblical view is that Gabriel is an angel of God; He is not God.
As an angel, Gabriel is inferior to Jesus, God’s Son. In Hebrews 1, Scripture plainly states that Jesus is superior to the angels.
And, as previously stated, Gabriel is never called an archangel in Scripture. Although many today believe Gabriel is an archangel, their belief is without any Scriptural support. The idea that Gabriel is an archangel appears first in two books of the pseudepigrapha, 1 Enoch and 2 Enoch (In 2 Enoch 21:3, he is called an archangel). We are uncertain when these books were written. These books were never considered to be divinely inspired, either by the Hebrews, or by the early Christians. They are not part of the Bible.
Gabriel told Mary in Luke 1 that Jesus would be the One who was promised and that He would be the Son of the Most High and that He would save us from our sins. All who trust in Jesus will have eternal life (John 3:16). I pray that you will seek to follow Jesus with all of your heart.
tim
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