What do angels look like?

Answer

Angels are spiritual beings “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”, (Hebrews 1:14), so they do not possess any essential physical form. However, angels do have the capability to manifest in human form. In instances where angels appeared to humans in the Bible, they took on the appearance of ordinary men. For example, in Genesis 18:1-19, God and two angels appeared as men and shared a meal with Abraham. Angels are depicted as men numerous times in the Bible (Joshua 5:13-14;Mark 16:5), and they consistently appear in the form of men, never as women.

At times, angels appeared not in human form, but in a manner that was otherworldly, causing terror to those who encountered them. Frequently, the initial words spoken by these angels were “do not be afraid,” as intense fear was a common response. The guards at Jesus’ tomb were so frightened upon seeing the angel of the Lord “and for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.”, (Matthew 28:4). The shepherds in the fields in Luke 2 were “greatly afraid” when the angel of the Lord appeared and the glory of the Lord shone around them.

Regarding physical attributes, angels are sometimes described as having wings. The cherubim images on the ark of the covenant had wings that covered the mercy seat “And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall t

He faces of the cherubims be. », (Exodus 25:20). Isaiah saw winged seraphim in his vision of the throne of heaven, each one having six wings «Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. », (Isaiah 6:2). Ezekiel, too, saw visions of winged “living creatures,” which we take to be angels (Ezekiel 1). Isaiah 6:1-2 depicts angels having human features—voices, faces, and feet. Angel voices are heard singing and praising God in several other passages. The angel at Jesus’ tomb is described as having a brilliant appearance: “His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow” «His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: », (Matthew 28:3).

Whatever appearance angels take on, there is reason to believe they are incredibly beautiful. Ezekiel tells us that the “guardian cherub” was lifted up in pride over his beauty (Ezekiel 28:16-17). In addition, beings such as angels, who are continually in the presence of God, would be expected to have extraordinary beauty because God’s glory is reflected upon all that is around Him.