Post your vauge impressions, I'm curious too :)

I don't know much about Gabriel to say other than something that I mentioned a little while ago in another thread.

In Christian texts, every time an angel appears to a human, the first they they always say is, "Do not be afraid."

When one takes into consideration the descriptions we get for angels, this isn't surprising. They're terrifying creatures with eyes on their wings and 4 faces around their heads and other bizarre stuff like that.

And, for most of the instances in which "Do not be afraid is" is not blatantly written, the context of the situation or how people react can still indicate that the individuals in question are, indeed, afraid.

This, however, does not apply to Gabriel when he appears to Mary to tell her that she will have God's child. In fact, Gabriel's appearance seems to calm Mary.

Why is Gabriel so different? I don't know. It could be that he's just lucky and coincidentally looks the most like what humans look like. Maybe that's why he was chosen as a messenger.

Or, maybe his body was chosen as the archetype for what humanity should look like when we were being designed. Of course, that implies intelligent design and no evolution. At the very least, that implies that evolution a process dictated by a higher power. And that's... strange...

Or, maybe Gabriel IS god. And, the important part about how Mary was impregnated was left out in that story. And Gabriel appears so comforting because he can make himself that way. That would also explain why so many religions and beliefs speak of him.

>>17208227
In the Abrahamic religions, Gabriel (Hebrew: גַּבְרִיאֵל, Modern Gavri'el, Tiberian Gaḇrîʼēl "God is my strength"; Biblical Greek: Γαβριήλ, Gabriēl) is an angel who typically serves as a messenger sent from God to certain people. Gabriel is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

In Islam, Gabriel (Jibra'il) is considered one of the four archangels whom God sent with his divine message to various prophets, including Muhammad. The 96th chapter of the Quran, sura Al-Alaq, is believed by Muslims to be the first surah revealed by Gabriel to Muhammad.

>>17208246
King Solomon described Gabriel as a weird angel, a most unique and strange metaphysical creature. I need to read up on this...

>>17208246
Mary Magdeline also sees comforting angels at the tomb in John. They are unnamed. She doesn't really react to them as angels, which may indicate human form or that she was just in shock in general (from either the angels or the empty tomb).

Both Marys are the only women in canon to receive angelic messengers.

>>17208317
Only women in those particular stories. Gabriel shows up in more then one religion. And if he appeared to those women he could appear to any woman he wanted I would imagine. But this is all beside the point.

What is Gabriel? Like a LAM? A communicator god, like Mercury. Or is he something more. And what is an arch angel as opposed to just an angel?