What Do Angels Look Like?

Angels: Our Strange Neighbors   by Ron Wenzel

 

What Do Angels Look Like?

 

 

For two thousand years or more, angels have been a favorite subject for all kinds of artists.  In many cases, angels are depicted as being female in appearance.  In many more cases, angels are portrayed as having the appearance of a man with two wings.

 

There are quite a few detailed descriptions of angels in the Bible.  Among them, not a single one describes an angel that looks like a woman, nor a normal-looking man with two wings.  Now you might be able to find angel described as a man-like creature that has wings…four, or even six of them.   But in these cases, the spiritual beings usually have more than one face, and some of them are the faces of animals.

 

There are stories in the Bible about angels appearing in the form of a normal (male) human being.  However, these angels are never described as having wings.  They just look like men.  It’s comforting to look at a piece of art that depicts an angel as a beautiful person with a lovely pair of wings.  But the Bible often describes angels as appearing very, very different from human beings.

 

Take cherubs, for example.  The Bible calls them Cherubim.  In art and popular culture, cherubs have almost always been portrayed as adorable, chubby babies with delicate, tiny wings.  They look nice on Valentine’s Day cards, or even on the ceiling of the Sistene Chapel.  They are cute and very non-threatening.

 

The Bible describes Cherubim very differently.  The Cherubim are considered some of the most powerful of the angels.  Strange angels at the beginning of the book of Ezekiel are considered Cherubim.  They are described as having a basically human form with four wings.  Under each of the wings are human hands.  They had four faces; the face of a human, the face of a lion, the face of an ox, and the face of an eagle.  And straight legs with no knees.  And hooves for feet.  The Bible says God used a Cherubim to guard the entrance to the Garden of Eden after He showed Adam and Eve the way out.  How would you feel about that angel on the front of your Valentine’s Day card?

 

This example is not an isolated case.  The Bible contains many fantastic descriptions of angels.  Sometimes, they have the appearance of an animal.  Or even an object, like a huge wheel in the sky (the rock group Journey wrote a song about that).  We like to think about angels as being very much like us, and in some ways they are…at least, some can be upon occasion.  For the most part, though, spiritual beings are very different from human beings.

 

Xenophobia is the fear of things that are different, that are “other.”  We shouldn’t let the Bible’s incredible descriptions of angels leave us in fear.  The end of Romans 8 says very clearly that no angel, no spiritual power of any kind, is capable of separating us from the love of God in Christ.  The book of Hebrews says it is the mission of God’s good angels to minister to people who trust in Him.

 

However, I think that, once we get to know what the Bible has to say about angels, it would be wise to give them a bit more respect than we would a chubby little baby with dainty wings.  Don’t you?

 

Ron Wenzel is an author and the pastor at Rosewood Heights Community Church.  He is also an adjunct professor at Brookes Bible College in St. Louis.  You can email him questions about angels at ron4jc2@yahoo.com, or post them on the Angels: Our Strange Neighbors Facebook page, or this blog!