When you think of angels, you imagine celestial beings, male, tall, white, with blond hair, a halo and a golden voice. Oh, do not forget the beautiful large wings and a flaming sword. There are also the Cherubim who we have been made to imagine as cute babies with curly blond hair with tiny wings and a halo.

You may not be entirely correct. Research has shown that there are biblically accurate angels that you may have probably not heard of. Note that the Bible does not give a specific form for all angels, but it describes some of them who we are going to discuss today.

So, keep reading to find out the Biblically accurate angels.

Who are Biblically accurate angels?

Biblically accurate angels vary, depending on the context. In the Old Testament, they are often portrayed as warriors who have been sent by God to protect His people. In the New Testament, angels are often described as messengers sent by God to deliver important messages to His followers. The following is how the scriptures describe angels:

• Angels are immortal (Luke 20:36). They have been around before God created the earth. They do not die because they are spirits.
• Angels are messengers of God (Hebrew 1:14). They pass on God’s messages, just like they did in the case of Mary when an angel announced that she would conceive and give birth to Jesus Christ, who will save the world.
• Some angels are warriors meant for destruction (Psalm 78: 49). They make up God’s heavenly army who went to war in Heaven before Satan’s fall.
• Angels have emotions (Genesis 6). This means that angels are closest in character to humans than other beings. They can express hatred and love as is seen in the Old Testament when some angels fell in love with some human women and had sons for them known as the Nephilim.
• Angels should not be worshipped (Revelations 22: 9). They may be spirits with special specific powers but they are just God’s messengers and warriors. Only God should be worshipped.

What do Biblically accurate angels look like?

Have you noticed in the Bible where an angel will appear to a person and the first thing the angel says is: “Fear not”? This is because angels are terrifying to look at, unlike the perfect-looking beings that we see in movies and art.

Here are some of the popular angels and what they look like.

Ophanim

The Ophanim, also known as wheels, are the most bizarre-looking among the angels. Ezekiel’s account describes them as beings made out of interlocking gold wheels, with each wheel’s exterior covered with multiple eyes. The Ophanim move by floating themselves in the sky. Since they are the highest ranked in the Maimonides’ hierarchy, their task is to guard God’s throne.

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Seraphim

According to Isaiah 6:1–8, the Seraphim has six wings, two of which are for flying while they use the rest to cover their heads and feet. Their basic function is to surround God’s throne singing “holy, holy, holy” in unison as He approaches.

Seraphim is derived from the Hebrew word, Seraph, which means “to burn”. The Seraphim is the second highest in rank in Maimonides’ hierarchy.

Malakim

The term, Angel, comes from the Greek word, Angelos, which originated from the Hebrew word for messenger, Mal’ akh. Therefore, the Malakim are the messengers of God and closest looking to humans. However, there is no mention of them having wings. In the Old Testament, they were the angels of death, acting on God’s behalf, like the story of the Passover in Exodus 12.

In the New Testament, the Malakim were messengers like in the case of Angel Gabriel, who informed Mary of her Immaculate Conception. Also, the Malakim is ranked third among the three tiers of angels.

Cherubim

In Ezekiel 1: 10, the Cherubim is described as having four wings, two for covering their feet and two for flight and four faces. The faces include that of a human, a lion, an ox and an eagle. Cherubim means “fulfilment of wisdom”. The Cherubim’s basic function is to guard sacred places like the Garden of Eden. Their mixed appearance is similar to that of the Babylonian Lamassu, Egyptian Sphynx and Hittite Griffin.

Meanwhile, the devil was once a Cherubim before he rebelled against God and was exiled to hell.

Archangel

Angels like Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are the archangels often mentioned in the bible. Their task is to carry out God’s specific plans. Archangels look like humans except for the wings. They often carry a flaming sword and a shield.

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Biblically accurate angels’ names

There are different types of angels and they come in three tiers of hierarchy. They are the following:

First-tier angels

• Ophanim or wheels, who guard God’s throne.
• Seraphim, who surround God’s throne singing “holy, holy, holy” in unison as He approaches.
• Malakim, who are God’s messengers and angels of death.
• Cherubim, who are angels that guard sacred places.

Second-tier angels

• Dominions, who lord over humanity and the remaining choir of angels (Ephesians 1:21).
• Virtue, who are mostly associated with control over the elements. They also appear on earth in human form or beam of light after receiving orders from God to bring help or miracles to humans (Ephesians 1:21).
• Powers, who are warring beings. They are also tasked to restore the natural order (Ephesians 6:12).

Third-tier angels

These angels interact with humans more than the other tiers and they include the following:

• Principalities, who guard over places and groups like nations, states, communities and churches.
• Archangels, who are tasked with carrying out God’s specific plans.
• Angels who are regarded as the foot soldiers of heaven. They work the most closely with humans.

Conclusion

As you can see, angels are usually not what they are portrayed to be. No wonder Biblical characters who encountered them were often scared and their lives never remained the same. Angels are not gods. They are simply messengers with specific tasks which they have to carry out according to God’s instructions.

So, if you encounter any, do not shout but count yourself lucky to have the honour of interfacing with them.

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