What Do Angels Really Look Like?

Tanner H. (age 12) asked,

“What do angels really look like?”

Thanks for your question, Tanner!

Angels appear in many different forms throughout the Bible. For example, in Genesis 18 and Mark 16:5, angels appeared to humans, looking like human men.

In other places in Scripture, angels are described as being radiant. In Matthew 28:3, the angel at Jesus’ tomb is described as looking like lightning, and his clothing was bright white like snow. In Luke 2, angels appeared to the shepherds to tell them about Jesus’ birth, and “the glory of the Lord shone around them” (Luke 2:9). In Revelation 10:1, an angel is described as having a face like the sun.

Many paintings and cartoons show angels with halos and wings, often glowing white. However, only a few of the descriptions of angels in the Bible include wings. For example, the seraphim (SEH-ruh-fim; a kind of angelic being) in Isaiah 6:2 are described as having six wings—two to cover their eyes, two to cover their feet, and two used to fly.

Angels are God’s messengers and servants. Throughout the Bible, they take on different forms depending on the purposes they are serving for God.

God created angels during creation week, about 6,000 years ago. Job 38:6–7 explains that angels (which he calls “morning stars”) were present when God laid the foundations of the earth. That means he possibly created them on day one or by day three of creation week.

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