Are you weeding about Angel Wings and their symbolism in the Bible, Islam, Quran & Torah? Or are you thinking if Angels have wings at all?
The images of Angels Wings are common in tattoos and greeting cards. The holy texts of all major world religions contain rhymes about wings of angel.
The Creative Illustration of Angels
The term Angel is derived from the Latin Word Angelus which itself is derived from Greek term ἄγγελος ángelos.
Now let us try to understand the artistic depiction of the word angel by understanding the meaning of these words;
Angelus –> Messenger of God
ἄγγελος ángelos –> Ambassador or Messenger or Delegate
Its translation in Hebrew is mal’ākh and is commonly used for someone who is the true delegate of God.
It is believed that Angels have the power to take the appearance of humans although they do not possess any physical body.
They are the pure spirits sent by God and are naturally invisible creatures.
The visible form of angels that we see on Netflix TV series or various online shows is just a facade so that our imagination of angels could get some real shape.
In the religious art and culture, the church angels were shown quite similar to humans which was simply based on the little information about them in the Biblical records.
However, at the end of the 3rd century, several creative artists started to differentiate the heavenly creatures from humans.
Prince’s Sarcophagus, found at Sarigüzel, near Istanbul is the 1st known depiction of an angel with wings that dates back to the 3rd-century end.
With the beginning of the 4th century, artists started linking the angel wings to the mission of the angels with the messenger of God.
With the 5th century, there was an abrupt switch in the symbolism of the birds as they were considered to be the messengers on earth.
This old tradition of using birds as the messenger started in the ancient parts of Noah and then spread across the entire Greek civilization.
The hat or helmet of God Hermes always had the symbolic presence of angel wings and was often called the True Messenger of God.
Therefore, several Greco-Roman painters and artists became highly influenced by the tradition of wings with angels.
So although some believe that angels do have wings yet most of the historians say that it is just a mere depiction that has continued through several eras for the messengers to be having wings.
The truth is still a mystery!
Angel and Mystery – Understanding Bible
Angel wings exist or not is a debatable topic and before we jump to it, let us 1st have a clear understanding of the angel and what the Bible teaches us about them.
As per Hebrews 1:14, the angel wings are described as the wings of ministering spirits.
These spirits are sent by God to bring out purpose and knowledge to the ignorant people on the earth and also explain Gods purpose on the earth.
Under the clear instruction of Jesus Christ, the angel works say 1 Peter 3:22.
While many non-believers tend to like this question that “Where did the angels come from?” and to this, there is no direct answer in the Bible as well.
However, the only answer that we can give is that the information is not important for our redemption.
As per the Bible, the angel is said to be pure soul sent by God and therefore are sometimes given the status of the almighty as well. This can be understood by the Exodus 23:20-21 i.e.
“Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.”
Exodus 23:20-21
As per the Bible, these messengers are completely loyal to God and obeys all his orders at any cost.
The angel wings are gift that God has bestowed to them to help them support others and convey is message quickly.
Angels with and without Wings – True Appearance
Angel is not bound by any physical laws of mother nature as they are very powerful mystical souls. Yet, many followers have observed their presence with angel wings, as per many reports published online.
However, some other people claim that they have seen the angels in different manifestations and that too without angel wings.
The manifestation of Angels without wings is tough to find in the historic art and culture but there are always two schools of thought for the same.
Our team thus concludes by saying that there can be 2 types of angels; one with wings and the other angels without wings. Or the angel might have the power to be visible in any form with or without wings.
Different Forms for Different Duties – Angel Myths and Truth
Unlike human beings, angels are not limited to just 1 physical form. These are God’s purest spiritual beings that can take any possible form depending on their purpose on earth.
1. Bible Sayings
Angels can enter the lives of people without even letting them know and then help them in different ways that are just unthinkable and this has also been said in Hebrews 13:2, Bible.
However, there are times when the entry is too glorified and the angel appears without wings.
As per the William Booth, founder of the salvation army the appearance of the mystical beings was full of glory and bright light.
The angels surrounded the booth with magnificent colours like that of the rainbow and in total bright light.
2. Islam Sayings
As per the Hadith that has all the important collection of Muslim culture and teachings taught by none other than Prophet Muhammad has the following declaration i.e.
“The angels were created from light”.
Hadith
Angel wings glory and mystery have always forced people through the time to praise God’s creation and power.
As per Quran, the holy book of Muslims, Chapter 35 of Al-Fatir verse 1
“All praise belongs to God, the maker of the heavens and the earth, who made the angels messengers with wings, two or three or four (pairs). He adds to creation as He pleases: for God has power over all things.”
Chapter 35 of Al-Fatir verse 1
Glorious and Bizarre Angel Wings
Angel wings are bizarre sights to see, and often appear to be glorious as well.
As per the Torah and the Bible, both have explained the vision of Isaiah’s of a seraphim angel with wings. These angels come from heaven on the orders of God.
“Above him were seraphim, each with six angel wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory’”
(Isaiah 6:2-3) Angel Wings
The prophet Ezekiel in chapter 10 of Bible and Torah describes an exotic vision of cherubim angels.
As mentioned in verse 12, they have described angel wings as “full of eyes” and the under the wings there was something that appeared to be like human hands just as mentioned in verse 21.
Each angel can make use of angel wings just “like a wheel intersecting a wheel” (verse 10) that “sparkled like topaz” (verse 9) to move around.
Again Ezekiel in 10:5 says that the not only did the angel wings looked impressive but the sounds they make were just extraordinary.
“The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court [of the temple], like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks.”
Ezekiel in 10:5
The Seraphim or Cherubim Angel
The “Cherubim” is probably the only thing in the Bible that advocates us proof that angels have wings.
It is derived from the term “Cherub” which was adapted after little alteration from the Pagan culture, which means the great Greek God “Cupid”.
A child with wings or the cute God of Love is what turned to be what is called the Cherub and is usually depicted a little child with wings.
This little God is shown with an arrow who flies and fires the arrows on people’s hearts so that they feel the love and emotions. However, such a God or Creator is just the pure imagination of mankind.
So, if this is human creation then what is there in the Bible about the Cherubim?
As per Ezekiel 1, the term Cherubim has been mentioned a lot many times in the Bible but they are said to be having 4 faces, a lion, a man, an eagle and an ox.
Several texts in the holy book describe having angel wings.
In addition to the wings and hands, many believe that they have wheels as well. Also, the feet look like the colour of “burnished brass” and their over-all form is like “burning coals of fire” (Ezekiel 1:7&13).
In most of the places, the angels’ wings are referred to in symbolic manifestations.
In various texts of Ezekiel, most of the features are referred to be symbolically meaningful and pointing to the doings of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 3:24).
Angels represent the manifestation and imagination of God and their features are the symbols which we can easily decode by reading the other parts of the Bible and connecting the dots.
Seraphim is often referred to term in Isaiah 6 where we can find great examples such as Seraphim finds coal and puts them to Isaiah’s mouth directly.
However, this is considered to be just imagination as Isaiah speak soon after some time. Therefore, if the coal was not in true form, similarly Seraphim is not real too.
So now the question comes that if we humans can really take the symbolic features of the angels and consider then the true angel elements?
This seems to be quite an early assumption according to us because the symbolic Cherubim has the features of wings that should be only there on a true angel!
Cyphers of God’s Commanding Care
The Angel Wings that are visible when the angels’ take human form is an indication of God’s care and love for the people of this planet. As per Psalm 91:4 of the Bible and Torah culture, it says that God;
“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings, you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”
Psalm 91:4 of the Bible and Torah
As per Psalm 91:4, the people who have trust in God can always expect that God will send his angels for their protection and care. The verse of Psalm declares that;
“For he [God] will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”
The verse of Psalm
When Israelites were given instructions by the creator for construction of the Ark of the Covenant, he instructed them specifically for the creation of 2 golden cherubim angels’ wings.
This has also been mentioned in the Exodus 25:20 of the Torah and the Bible i.e.
“The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them…”
Exodus 25:20 of the Torah and the Bible
Several other incidents like the depiction of winged angels on the arc that carried God’s manifestation on earth is a symbol of angels with wings. The representation portrayed angels wings near the throne of God in heaven.
Cyphers of God’s Magnificent Creation
Another great interpretation of angel wings is how beautifully God has created the wings on angels for them to travel between dimensions.
This is sometimes related to time travel and air flight concepts by human beings. Thus, these mystical creatures are said to work equally both in heaven as well as the earth.
As per Saint John Chrysostom, the significance of angels’ wings is best described as;
“They manifest a nature’s sublimity. That is why Gabriel is represented with wings.
Not that angels have wings, but that you may know that they leave the heights and the most elevated dwelling to approach human nature.
Accordingly, the wings attributed to these powers have no other meaning than to indicate the sublimity of their nature.”
Saint John Chrysostom
As per the records in al-Musnad Hadith, it is said that the almighty was captivated by the spectacle of Archangel Gabriel’s huge wings or angel wings in bright light and admiration of God’s artistic work;
“The Messenger of God saw Gabriel in his true form. He had 600 wings, each of which covered the horizon.
There fell from his wings jewels, pearls, and rubies; only God knows about them.”
Al-Musnad Hadith
Earning Angels’ Wings?
Many ancient traditions have mentioned that many angels’ have to earn wings by completing some of the most difficult tasks. In the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the same concept has been explained in detail.
In the classic Christmas movie, a 2nd class angel named Clarence in trained and finally earns the angel wings after successfully convincing a suicidal man to live life again with cheer and joy.
However, when we tried to dig deep in holy books of the Bible, Quran or Torah, then we were unable to find any of such incidents.
The only conclusion that we could derive was that the angels are God gifted with the angel wings that they use to communicate the creator’s message to humans.
What will angels do in future?
As per the Holy Bible, it is believed that Jesus Christ will soon return to earth and this bring revival and ruling and those accepted will be arranged eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:23+50-51).
These new bodies will support Jesus Christ in establishing the true kingdom of God on the earth with Jerusalem the capital. (Luke 1:32-33, Matthew 6:10, Acts 1:6, Psalm 149:9)
It is believed that the evil will be destroyed from the earth and the world will get back to peace and morality.
The new immortals will give different positions and rankings under God’s kingdom and they will work and follow the teaching of Jesus Christ.
They will not only live with peace and harmony but will also spread the teachings of God to those who are ignorant and unaware.
As per the Revelation 20:6 of the Bible, this era will continue for more than 1000 years and then this will again be followed by a revival and verdict where finally all the evil will be destroyed.
In the end, death itself will be eradicated from the Earth and these will be God all in all (1 Corinthians 15:26-28).
Now you must be thinking, what will be the angel’s role in such a world where there is god everywhere?
We read this for example in Hebrews 2:5
“For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.”
Hebrews 2:5
Thus, it is believed that the angels’ role will be completely suppressed by the immortal beings that are truly faithful to God and this will give birth to a new age.
We recite that like the angels, folks willing to follow Christ now are a people being ready “for Gods name” (Acts 15:14). A magnificent purpose is set before them. Ponder the words of the Lord Jesus Christ:
“The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage:
Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.”
Luke 20:36
Conclusion – Wings of Angel
Angels with or without wings have been a debatable topic since centuries. Here we have tried to cite out various texts and scripts from ancient religious books of various cultures like the Bible, Islam, Quran and Torah.
Now, we leave this up to you are your imagination of what you feel about the angel wings.
Their creation purpose and symbolism in this modern era. If you have experienced any encounter with such heavenly bodies, then do let us know in the comment section below!
People Also Ask (FAQs)
Do angels have wings or not?
Angels with or without wings have been a debatable topic since centuries. Here we have cited countless texts and scripts from ancient religious books of various cultures like the Bible, Islam, Quran and Torah.
Why do angels have wings?
The angel wings are used by them to travel between dimensions. This is sometimes related to time travel and air flight concepts by human beings.