Daniel 8: 15 – 17: And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.
Daniel 12: 1: And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
The Bible makes mention of what appears at first glance to be two separate and yet very powerful angels. The first is called Gabriel, and the second is called Michael. What we perhaps are not acquainted with is the reality that Gabriel and Michael are actually the Lord Jesus Christ expressing Himself in different offices. Gabriel and Michael are God “en morphe” or changing form.
To help the reader grasp this concept, we must understand that God is known by various names throughout the Bible. He is Melchizedek, Gabriel, Michael, and Jesus, in the same way that the Devil is known as Lucifer, Satan, Abaddon, and Apollyon (Revelation 9: 11). It is different names to describe a different expression of the same being.
Daniel 8: 15 – 27 is Gabriel explaining the vision of the ram and he goat. Daniel 9: 20 – 27 is Gabriel teaching about the 70 weeks. Luke 1: 5 – 23 is Gabriel foretelling the birth of John the Baptist. Luke 1: 26 – 38 is Gabriel foretelling the birth of Jesus. We can see by this that when Jesus appears in the office of Gabriel, He is the Revealer of His Word, He is the Giver of revelation.
Daniel 10: 13 is Michael defeating the Prince of Persia. Daniel 12: 1 is Michael delivering the 144,000 Jews. Jude 1: 9 is Michael contending with the Devil. Revelation 12: 7 – 9 is Michael fighting against Lucifer. Here we can see that when Jesus appears in the office of Michael, He is the Protector of His Word, the Defender of His people. Michael is also connected with the resurrection as is shown in Daniel 12: 1 – 2, and when the Devil questioned Him about the whereabouts of Moses’ body in Jude 1: 9. Michael is the Archangel who brings on the first resurrection in 1 Thessalonians 4: 16.
The one who opened the scriptures to Daniel is Jesus Christ (Revelation 1 and Revelation 10) in the office of Gabriel and Michael; He is the same one who opened the Bible to us in this day (Revelation 10: 1 – 2). Gabriel and Michael are the two principal ministering Spirit expressions of God when dealing with His people (Daniel 10: 21: But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.).
“Gabriel” means in Hebrew, “Man of God” or “Warrior of God.” “Michael” means in Hebrew, “Who is like God.” The “el” of Gabriel and Michael means “God” in Hebrew, so the “el” of both names shows that Gabriel and Michael are really God Himself.
The Angel of the LORD spoken of in the Bible is always Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate form (before He became flesh). The Angel of the LORD is not given a name until we reach the Book of Daniel where He is identified as Gabriel, and again, as Michael. The Angel of the LORD came with a gift of discernment in Genesis 18 (to Abraham), in Judges 13 (to Manoah’s wife), and in Luke 1 (to Zacharias). Throughout the Bible, more definition is being given about this Angel: He is the Angel of the LORD, His name is Gabriel, He is the Giver of revelation, He has discernment, and the prophet described His physical appearance as being about six-feet tall, weighing about 200 pounds with olive complexion skin, dark hair to His shoulders, wearing a white robe, and always having His arms folded. This was Gabriel with the appearance of a man (Daniel 8: 15), but before He took the appearance of a man, He was first the Pillar of Fire at the prophet’s birth, then He was the whirlwind when the prophet was seven years of age, because the Voice of the whirlwind matched the Voice of the Angel.
Michael is Jesus in His warring office as the Captain of the host of the LORD, and is the one whom Joshua met near Jericho. Joshua worshipped the Captain of the host (Joshua 5: 14), and the Captain of the host received worship because He was Jesus manifested in His battle office. Michael was the Angel who rebuked Satan in Zechariah 3 and Jude 1; He cast down Satan in Revelation 12, and He delivers the 144,000 Jews in Daniel 12.
Luke 1: 11 – 13: And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Luke 1 describes the first appearing of Gabriel in the New Testament. When Gabriel appeared, he came in response to the prayer of Zacharias, just as Gabriel appeared to Brother Branham in 1946, at a cave in Greens Mill, Indiana, whilst He was praying and seeking answers from the Lord. When Gabriel addressed Zacharias, the first words he uttered were “Fear not;” these same words were spoken to the shepherds in Luke 2: 10 and were the first words spoken by the Angel to Brother Branham when He first visited the prophet in the cave.
Gabriel manifested himself to Zacharias with a gift of discernment. Gabriel knew the names of Zacharias and Elisabeth, and He knew that Elisabeth was barren, so the Angel next to the prophet demonstrating the gift of discernment was Gabriel, Jesus Himself in theophany form discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4: 12).
When Gabriel appeared to Zacharias, the scripture records that He was standing at the right side of the Altar of Incense. The Altar of Incense stood in front of the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. Gabriel said to Zacharias that He Himself stands in the presence of God (Luke 1: 19), so this great Angel is connected with God, especially with the right hand of God. This is very important to consider because the Angel of the LORD always has a connection with the right hand. When the prophet would have the prayer lines in his meetings, he would always have the people approach him from his right side, because that was the side the Angel of the LORD always came to him from.
“Gabriel” means in Hebrew, “Man of God.” Gabriel became a man when He was born in flesh from the womb of Mary. A most fascinating thing about Gabriel’s visitation to Mary is this: that when He told her that she would bare a son and call His name Jesus, this was actually the pre-incarnate Jesus in the form of Gabriel announcing His own birth! Hebrews 10: 12 and Hebrews 12: 2 show that the “man” Jesus overcame in Gethsemane and offered Himself as our sacrifice and is now setting at the right hand of God. Jesus is the Son of God who as the “Son of Man” overcame for us and is now at the right hand of the Father (Acts 7: 55), so He and Gabriel are again shown to be one and the same.
Daniel 10: 13: But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. It is here that Michael is first mentioned by name in the Bible, and happens to be a scripture where Gabriel is making mention of Michael. Michael is called “one of the chief princes,” but the number of those princes is not given. What we do know however is that there is only one chief Angel, and that is Michael the Archangel. When Jesus was revealed from Heaven in 1963, the number of chief princes was made known to us in the Cloud formed by seven Angels. Those seven Angels are the seven Spirits of God Himself. In Revelation 1: 4, God is on His Throne and the seven Spirits of the one God are before the Throne. Those seven Spirits are the one Holy Spirit of God expressed seven different ways, so Michael is the Spirit of God expressed in a very particular office.
At first glance Daniel 10: 13 would seem to imply that there are two separate angels being spoken of. Gabriel said that He was not able to reach Daniel for the space of 21 days because He was being withstood by the prince of Persia, but then Michael came to the aid of Gabriel.
Jesus in the form of Gabriel could not prevail over the powerful demonic prince of Persia, so then Jesus changed form and became Michael (the warring Prince), and in this office He subdued the dark power that had formally resisted Him. A similar scene is recorded of in Jude 1: 9: Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. Here we see Michael changing his office from that of the warring Prince and speaking as the Creator of the universe (the ultimate authority). Daniel 10: 13 and Jude 1: 9 demonstrate a perfect example of Jesus changing from Gabriel, to Michael to the Creator (Ephesians 3: 9).