What Do Angels Really Look Like?

Singing praises

Hebrews 1:6 says that when God brought Jesus into the world, the Father told the angels to worship the Son. Angels sang when he was born, as we know from Luke 2:8-14:

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.

“And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

The fiery furnace

Some say it was Michael who was sent to protect Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they were thrown into the Fiery Furnace for their refusal to worship the king’s idol (Dan. 3:22-25). He transported the Prophet Habbakuk from Judea to Babylon and brought food to Daniel in the Lions' Den (Dan. 14:33-37). In Jude 1:9, he disputed with the devil over the body of Moses.

He was been said to have appeared to the Roman Emperor Constantine, to have intervened in assorted battles and to have appeared, sword in hand in answer to the prayers of Pope St. Gregory the Great that a plague in Rome should cease. Russians in particular have a special veneration to Michael. Many monasteries, cathedrals and local churches are dedicated to him.

Gabriel

The Archangel Gabriel is traditionally God’s messenger. In Luke 1, an angel appears to Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist. Zachariah initially refuses to believe that his barren wife, Elizabeth, and he will have a child in their old age. So, the heavenly messenger says, "I am Gabriel. I stand before God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news" (Luke 1:19).

Gabriel was sent to Mary to tell her she would give birth to Jesus and uttered the words now repeated by millions in the Catholic rosary – “Hail, Mary, full of grace! Blessed art thou among women …”

Tradition says it was Gabriel who came to Joseph, Mary’s husband, in a dream, telling him that her pregnancy was miraculous and that he should protect and care for her. Gabriel is said to be the one who appeared to the shepherds near Bethlehem, telling them that the Messiah had been born. Also, he is said to have been the angel who rolled away the stone at Christ’s tomb and sat on it – terrifying the Roman guards, who fell “like dead men.”

He is also said to have been the one who gently told the women who came to prepare Jesus’ body on the first Easter Sunday that “He is not here; He is risen.”

Uriel

A fourth archangel, Uriel, is mentioned in the Fourth Book of Esdras in the Apocrypha. His name means “the Light of God.” In that text, the prophet Ezra asks God a series of questions and Uriel is sent by God with the answers.

Tradition says that it was Uriel who rescued Jesus' cousin, John the Baptist, from evil King Herod’s massacre of Bethlehem’s baby boys. Tradition says Uriel carried little John and his mother Elizabeth to join the Holy Family after their flight into Egypt. Their reunion is depicted in Leonardo da Vinci's Virgin of the Rocks.

Tradition also says it was Uriel who stood at the gate of the Garden of Eden with a fiery sword, blocking Adam and Eve’s return and who checked the door posts of Egypt for lamb's blood during the first Passover.

^{Artwork: The Curing of Tobias' Father by Bernardo Cavallino}

Protecting angels

Psalm 34: 7 promises us that the angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him and delivers them.

In Acts 12:7-10, we read that an angel of the Lord appeared in prison beside the sleeping Peter and hit him on the side to wake him up. The angel then told Peter to rise quickly and Peter’s chains fell off. Then the angel told Peter to get dressed and tighten his sandals. Peter did and followed him – even though he thought it was all a vision, particularly when they strolled past two guard stations and the prison’s front gate.

But when the angel disappeared, Peter realized he really had been freed from prison.

However, we are not to worship angels, according to Revelation 22:8-9.

And the Apostle Paul warns us in Galatians 1:8 to beware of angels bearing false teaching: But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

Miracles today

Author Jay Tower shares a story sent to him by a reader: ”My grandma, mom and I were driving to British Columbia for Easter and I needed out of the car to run and play. I was about 6. We stopped at the Columbia ice fields and decided to go up for a walk. I was running ahead and my mom yelled for me to slow down. Just as I turned to see where they were, I saw my grandma fall and start sliding towards a cliff.

“My mom caught her. but they already had so much momentum they weren’t stopping. We were all screaming at the top of our lungs, but there was no one around.

“As Grandma and Mom slid toward the edge of the cliff, two men appeared out of nowhere and grabbed my mom just as she was losing Grandma over the edge – and lifted Grandma like she was a feather.
“Both were battered and beaten but alive. Just as they got to their feet, I went running to them, but the two men were gone.

“We will always be grateful to these two angels.

“Because of them, I didn't lose my family.”

Caught on film

A 14-year-old girl with a history of serious health issues lay dying of pneumonia in a hospital room," reports Mike Celizic for NBC-TV's Today Show. "But as her mother waited for the girl to take her last breath, an image of bright light appeared on a security monitor. Within an hour, the dying girl began a recovery that doctors are at a loss to explain.

Colleen Banton, the girl's mother, has an explanation. “This was an image of an angel,” she told NBC News.

The incident happened in Charlotte, N.C. Chelsea had battled serious health problems all her life. A pneumonia infection had taken her to death’s door. Told that there was no hope, Colleen had just instructed doctors to take her daughter off life support and allow nature to take its course when the bright light appeared on the monitors Her mother is convinced that Chelsea was saved by divine intervention.

“It’s a blessing,” she told the Today Show. “It’s a miracle.”

Banton took a picture of the television monitor on which the image appeared. Some who look at it would describe it as a flare of reflected light. Others — including nurses who were on duty — say the three vertical shafts of light are indisputably an angel.

Angels unaware

In the Bible angels appear to people in unpredictable and various ways. Abraham was visited by God and two angels in Genesis 18:2, when God informed him of the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The same two angels visited Lot and instructed him to escape the city with his family before it was destroyed (Genesis 19:1-11).

When Jacob saw angels (Genesis 32:1), he immediately recognized them as the army of God.

In Numbers 22:22, an angel confronted the disobedient prophet Balaam, but Balaam did not see the angel at first, although his donkey did.

Angels deliver messages from God and do His bidding. In every case, they point people to God and give the glory to Him.

God is still just as active in the world as He has always been, and His angels are certainly still on the job. Just as they protected God's people in the past, we can be assured that they are guarding us today. Hebrews 13:2 instructs us, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”