What do angels look like? Are they different sexes? Do they marry? - Angel Facts According to the Bible[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Angels are mentioned nearly 300 times in the Bible.
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What do angels look like? Are they different sexes? Do they marry?
Psalms 104:4 angels are spirits.
Whie the word angel is nearly always masculine, there is no male-female assignment of these spirits. Angels have no bodies, remember? They aren't made male or female. They are purely spiritual beings.
Angels are essentially "ministering spirits," (Hebrews 1:14) and do not have physical bodies like humans. Jesus declared that "a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Luke 24:37-39).
The Bible does, however, make it clear that angels can only be in one place at a time. They must have some localized presence.
Although angels don't have physical bodies, they can take on the appearance of men when the occasion demands. How else could some "entertain angels unaware" (Hebrews 13:2)? On the other hand, their appearance is sometimes in dazzling white and blazing glory (Matthew 28:2-4).
Beginning in the end of the 4th century, angels were depicted with wings, presumably to give an easy explanation for them travelling to and from heaven or to depict them as spirits. Scholastic theologians teach that angels are able to reason instantly, and to move instantly.
Angels are frequently depicted as human in appearance, though many theologians have argued that they have no physical existence. (Hence the frequently recounted tale of Scholastics arguing about how many angels could fit on a pinhead; if angels possess physical bodies, the answer is "a finite number", if they do not, the answer is "an infinite number".) Seraphim are often depicted as six wings radiating from a center — either concealing a body, or without a body.
Some Christian traditions hold that angels are organized into three major Hierarchies which are subdivided into orders or Choirs, and list nine orders of angels. The Celestial Hierarchy, gives the names that have become part of tradition: Angels, Archangels, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, Dominions, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. In this hierarchy, the Cherubim and Seraphim are typically closest to God, while the Angels and Archangels are most active in human affairs.
The New Testament takes little interest in the idea of the angelic hierarchy that developed later, but there are traces of the doctrine. The distinction of good and bad angels is recognized; there are names: Gabriel (Luke 1:19), the evil angels Abaddon or Apollyon (Rev. 9:11), Beelzebub (Mark 3:22) and Satan (Mark 1:13); ranks are implied: archangels (Michael, Jude 9), principalities and powers (Rom. 8:38; Col. 2:10), thrones and dominions (Col 1:16).
Not all angels have wings. Only the Cerubim and Seraphim are depicted with wings.
The Bible gives us no reason to believe that angels have a gender, or are able to reproduce. Matthew 22:28-30 and Mark 12:25 "For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." So, apparently, angels don't marry.
The Bible does not necessarily support the gender of angels being male or female. Whenever gender is “assigned” to an angel in Scripture, it is male (Genesis 19:10,12; Revelation 7:2; 8:3; 10:7). This does not indicate that angels are male though.
Matthew 22:30 is probably indicating that angels are “sexless.” If angels do not procreate, why would they need a gender? In a similar manner, God always refers to Himself in masculine language. God is neither male or female, however. He just uses masculine language because it more adequately describes who He is and what He does.
If angels do have a gender, Scripture would indicate that they are predominately or universally male. It is more likely that angels are genderless, just as God is, and that masculine language is just used to describe them and their role in serving God.
Since angels are spirits rather than physical beings, they don't have to be visible at all (Colossians 1:16). Elisha once prayed that his servant would see the armies of angels surrounding the city, and the young man discovered that he had overlooked a lot of invisible beings (2 Kings 6:17).
Abraham was visited by three heavenly messengers.When angels do appear, they generally appear in the form of men. In Genesis 18, Abraham welcomed three angelic guests who appeared at first to be nothing more than some travellers. In the following chapter, two angels went to Sodom where they were assumed to be simply a pair of human visitors.
With the possible exception of one debatable passage in Zechariah 5:9, angels always appear as males rather than females (Mark 16:5).
Sometimes an angel appears to be a man with unusual features. Daniel saw an angel with arms and legs resembling polished metal and precious stones, and a face like lightning (Daniel 10:5-6). The angel that rolled back the stone from Christ's tomb was radiating dazzling light (Matthew 28:3; Luke 24:4). The book of Revelation describes some highly unusual beings who may be a variety of angel in Revelation 4:6-8.
Angels in the Bible never appear as cute, chubby infants! They are always full-grown adults. When people in the Bible saw an angel, their typical response was to fall on their faces in fear and awe, not to reach out and tickle an adorable baby.
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