What Is a Biblically Accurate Angel?
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It’s always interesting to me when aspects of Christianity or stories in the Bible go viral on the internet. It’s often something outrageous or confusing, but when we approach these moments well, they can be a great opportunity to share truth with our non-Christian friends and point them toward God’s glory and power.
There are other instances of angels in the Bible, but these are some of the most notable.
A biblically accurate angel is a being that appears like a man, to tell Mary that she will give birth to the Savior.
A biblically accurate angel is the seraphim, a being with six wings, crying out in praise to God with a voice so loud that it shakes the doorposts and fills the temple with smoke (Isaiah 6:2-3).
A biblically accurate angel is a humanlike figure with four faces and four wings. It has “feet like those of a calf [that] gleamed like burnished bronze.” (Ezekiel 1:7). Each of these has “the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle” (Ezekiel 1:10).
A biblically accurate angel may have wings (Exodus 25:20), or they may not (Hebrews 13:2). Compelling Truth remarks that “in contrast with the popular understanding of the angels who appeared to the shepherds on the night of Christ's birth, there is no mention of wings or flying. Instead, ‘And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God’ (Luke 2:13). The angels may have appeared walking rather than flying.”
A biblically accurate angel is not the chubby baby with tiny wings that we often see in cartoons. Angels are not described – ever – as laying around playing the harp. A biblically accurate angel does not have a bow and arrow that they use to shoot people and make them fall in love. And the Bible never says that those we love will become angels in Heaven after they die.
To conclude, as with all things we see posted on social media, especially relating to religion and Scripture, we must do our due diligence and open the Bible for ourselves. To summarize:
Does the Bible describe beings that are interlocking wheels covered in eyes?
Yes.
Are these what all angels look like?
No.
Are they real?
Absolutely.
How can we be certain?
The Bible tells me so.
Should I be worried about being visited by a hovering, blinking wheel?
Not in the least.
Angels are fascinating to study, but it is not something that we should be overly concerned with or focused on. Finding a comfortable balance when approaching the supernatural is good for us to do. We should not be too focused on uncovering the mysteries of the supernatural; rather we can trust that all is under God’s control. But neither should we assume that none of these unimaginable things are real. This side of eternity, there will be plenty of things we just can’t fathom. But oh what a glorious day when we can see and understand it all, right alongside our Savior!
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Bethany Pyle is the editor for Bible Study Tools.com and the design editor for Crosscards.com. She has a background in journalism and a degree in English from Christopher Newport University. When not editing for Salem, she enjoys good fiction and better coffee.