But in addition to these general considerations, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ lead us to the recognition of the existence of angels as bodiless spirits.

At the end of the Introduction to this work, it is said that Jesus Christ can either be fully believed or not at all, there can be no middle ground, and that since it is impossible not to believe in Christ who is unconditionally truthful in everything, sinless and omnipotent, resurrected and ascended, there is only one way out: to believe Him unconditionally in everything, even if some things are inaccessible to the limited human mind. And since Jesus Christ spoke of angels as existing bodiless spirits, we must believe Him, as we believe that man possesses an immortal soul, which, having freed itself from its bodily shell, also becomes a bodiless spirit. The entire teaching of Jesus Christ is aimed at bringing us into this higher world of angels, making us angel-like; and if we reject the existence of angels, then we must reject the immortality of our soul, and the future eternal life, and in general the entire teaching of Christ about the destiny of man. But since, I repeat, we cannot but believe in Jesus Christ, we must also believe in the existence of angels.

But belief in the existence of angels does not in the least eliminate the question of whether Zechariah had a vision or an appearance of an angel.

In resolving this question, it must be borne in mind that the Evangelist Luke, telling about the appearance of an angel to Zechariah, conveys, of course, all the details of this appearance from the words of those close to Zechariah, and not otherwise than in the words of Zechariah himself, for there were no outside witnesses of the angel's appearance to him. Zechariah was righteous before God (Luke 1:6), therefore, in telling his relatives the details of this event, he undoubtedly conveyed to them truthfully and accurately everything that he himself had seen and heard; Quite reliable in his high moral qualities, the witness of the described event was incapable, of course, of distorting the truth, and therefore there is no reason not to believe him. Moreover, when he saw the angel, he was confused, that is, perplexed at first as to whether it was a vision or an apparition, and when he was convinced that it was not an apparent but a real appearance of an angel, then he only ventured to relate the details of what had happened in this sense. But since the righteousness of a witness alone is not enough to unconditionally believe his testimony, let us also pay attention to the consequences of this event. From the subsequent narrations of the Evangelist, it is clear that the angel's prediction came true with amazing accuracy, and this gives reason to assert that the prediction was really given, and not created by the imagination of Zechariah; and if it was given by an angel, then it follows that he appeared, and this appearance was real, and not apparent.

The Jews believed that the appearance of an angel heralded the imminent death of the one to whom he appeared, so the fear inherent in all who shared this belief attacked the elderly priest. But fear and confusion were immediately dispelled by God's messenger, who said: "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John; and there shall be joy and gladness for thee, and many shall rejoice at his birth" (Luke 1:13-14).

Zechariah's Prayer

It is usually believed that the angel spoke of Zechariah's prayer for the resolution of his wife's barrenness, but this is only a supposition. If Zacharias had prayed before for the granting of offspring to him, then at the time described by the Evangelist he had already lost all hope of having children, since he did not even believe the angel who announced to him the impending birth of a son by Elizabeth. Rather, Zechariah, as one of the few best people of that time who were waiting for the Messiah, prayed for nothing else but for His speedy coming. And so, in answer to such a prayer, he hears from the angel what he could not have expected: "And your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son." In relation to this explanation, the angel's speech can be expressed as follows: you prayed for the coming of the Messiah; thy prayer is heard: He shall come quickly; thy son, whom Elizabeth thy wife shall bear thee, shall be His forerunner.

He will be great in the sight of the Lord; he shall not drink wine or strong drink. Strong drink was any intoxicating drink that was not made from grapes. By these words the angel indicates that John would be a Nazarite, who, according to the law (Num. 6), had to abstain from all intoxicating drinks throughout his life. And the Holy Spirit shall be filled even from the womb of the mother (Luke 1:15). With these words, the angel points to the extraordinary abundance of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which will be communicated to John for the fulfillment of His destiny (Bishop Michael, Explanatory Gospel, 2:243).

The angel says that Zechariah's son, John, is to prepare the people of Israel for the coming of the Messiah and to turn the children of Israel to the Lord their God.

In short, their faith in God and the promised Messiah was too far from the true faith of their forefathers. People with such perverted notions, of course, could not understand the teaching of Jesus Christ about the kingdom not of this world, and therefore it was necessary to prepare them to accept this teaching. The task is not easy! To fulfill it, a person was required who was gifted from above with a special strength of spirit, such as, for example, the strength that was gifted to the prophet Elijah, a great zealot for the true faith in God during the time of godlessness and moral stupefaction of the people of Israel. That is why the angel says that John will convert many (but not all) of the children of Israel to the Lord their God; will go before Him (that is, God, the Messiah) in the spirit and power of Elijah, to restore the hearts (faith) of the fathers to the children, and to the disobedient (ungodly) the way of thinking of the righteous, that he may present to the Lord a prepared people, and for this he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb (Luke 1:16-17, 15).

Zacharias did not believe the angel: he and his wife were too old to expect offspring from them, according to human standards; Therefore, he asked the angel for a sign, that is, proof of his words.

To dispel Zechariah's doubts, the angel gives his name, known to Zechariah as a priest, from the prophecy of Daniel; he says that he was sent to him by God to announce the good news of the imminent coming of the Messiah and the birth of His Forerunner; but, not waiting for Zechariah's answer, he pronounces a sentence for unbelief: "Thou shalt be silent... until the day when these things come to pass (Luke 1:20). The word dies on Zechariah's lips, he becomes mute.

The usual censing in the Sanctuary required little time; but Zachariah did not go out for a long time to the people who were waiting for him praying in the courtyards of the temple; and when at last he went out and began to explain himself to the people by signs, they all understood that something extraordinary had happened to him in the Sanctuary; probably, Zachariah himself, explaining to the people by signs about the reason for his long stay in the Sanctuary, made it clear to those who were waiting for him to come out that an angel had appeared to him.

Zachariah remained at the temple to serve until the end of his turn, and only then did he return to his home.