Do Angels Have Wings

  We always imagine Angels as winged beings. So most might find it hard to believe that the Bible never mentions Angels having wings. So if the Bible does not mention it, then where does this belief come from?

Most people believe that the Bible mentions that Angels have wings because they have made the mistake of thinking that Seraphims and Cherubims are Angels. This information is incorrect. The Bible makes a clear distinction between Angels, Seraphim, Cherubim and even the four living creatures of the book of Revelation 4:8 (which may be Seraphims also since John's description of them is very similar to what Isaiah 6:2-3 describes). The problem is that many have taken Angel to mean “spiritual being”, therefore, everything that they perceive to be in Heaven must be a Angel. But in fact the word angel in Hebrew is “mal'ak” which means “messenger”, not spiritual being. As a matter of fact the word mal'ak is used in the Old Testament referring to human messengers also. So the word is not exclusive to the spiritual beings we've come to associate with wings.

Now I want to make it clear that I am not saying that Angels do not have wings. I have not seen one (as far as I know) so I can say if they do or if they don't. What I'm saying, and trying to make clear, is that the Scriptures do not tell us they do. Is it possible that the teaching that angels of God have wings is an attempt to corrupt the Word of God? Or did our imaginations get away from us. Many people have claimed to have seen Angels. In their descriptions of these being they tend to mention that they have wings. I will not make the mistake of saying if a persons account is true or not, that is not my job, but I do have the right to not believe everything I hear.

There are many occasions in the Bible where someone is talking to an Angel without even realizing it. There are possible explanations to this. One explanation could be that the Angels have disguised themselves so that the person would not know they were talking to an Angel. Another explanation could be that they look identical to humans and until they do something miraculous, like ascending into the Heavens, would go unnoticed. There is a third possibility. It is possible in some cases that it was not an Angel but an actual human messenger and that the Bible translators got it wrong. This might seem controversial to some, but it has happened before. Let me explain.

The Bible mentions that Satan has Angels (Revelation 12:9). Which has lead many to believe that these are Fallen Angels from Heaven working for him. But if we were to translate that verse correctly it would have read, “Satan...and his messengers.” When you read it that way you do not get the notion that it is referring to Angels from Heaven. But I'm getting off track. For more on this topic check back in here in the following weeks were I will be posting a whole article on Angels.

So to wrap up, we might not know exactly what Angels look like until we actually see one personally. But we cannot say that the Bible says they have wings, because it does not. Peace be with you.

(Important Note: The Greek (New Testament language) word for Angel is "aggelos" which also means "messenger".)