Do angels have wings?
Pictures of angels almost always show wings, yet the Bible's own descriptions of angelic visits rarely mention them. The question is really two questions: what does Scripture actually say about how angels look, and where did the winged figure in art come from?
The Popular Picture
Writers who examine the biblical accounts point out that the familiar image owes more to painting than to the text. One survey of every angelic appearance in Scripture concludes that we are told very little, and that what we are told does not match the usual picture:
A J PollockAs to the personal appearance of angels we have little account. The popular pictures of feminine beings with white wings are, of course, fanciful. Angels are often spoken of as "men," never as "women." They usually caused no surprise by their appearance, and sometimes it was only by the way they spoke and acted that their true nature was recognised.
The same writer traces where the wings in art most likely came from — not from angels at all, but from the golden figures over the ark in Israel's tent of worship:
A J PollockThe cherubim of the tabernacle are shown with outstretched wings, a picture of swiftness in carrying out judgment. It is probably from this that the popular idea of angels with wings is taken.
Angels Appear as Men
When angels actually turn up in the narratives, people mistake them for ordinary travellers. Abraham entertains three visitors; two of them go on to Sodom and are only then named as angels. One commentator draws the obvious conclusion:
A J PollockNext we find the Lord in angelic form appearing to Abraham with two angels as men, showing that angels, in this case as in many others, appeared in no unusual way.
Wings Belong to Cherubim and Seraphim
The winged beings of Scripture are named, described, and counted. Their wings vary in number from vision to vision:
J. N. DarbyThe cherubim in the temple had two wings, which formed the throne; they looked on the covenant… In Ezekiel they were the support of the firmament above which the God of Israel was: it was a throne of executive judgment… They had four wings: two to fly with, two to cover themselves… In Isaiah 6 the seraphim (or burners) have six wings as here; they are above the throne, and cry as here, Holy, holy, holy!
What the Wings Mean
Wings in Scripture carry a settled sense, and it is not decoration. A reference work on Bible words gathers both strands of the image:
Morrish Bible DictionaryUsed as a symbol of protection. Under "the shadow of God's wings" is referred to in the Psalms; and the Lord said He would often have gathered Israel as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but they would not… Wings were given for rapid motion. The living creatures in Ezekiel 1 had each four wings, and those in Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4 had each of them six wings. God's executives are swift messengers.
Whether Cherubim Are Beings at All
Commentators differ here, and the difference matters for the question. One holds that the cherubim are not a separate class of creature but a picture of a function God assigns to whoever He chooses:
W. W. FeredayThe cherubim have been well described as "God's judicial executive, to whomever entrusted, and in whatever circumstances displayed." They do not appear to be a distinct order in the creation of God; they are rather symbolic figures. In His ways of government and judgment God sometimes uses angels and sometimes men. Whichever it may be, the instruments employed would be God's cherubim for the moment.
Another argues the opposite from what the cherubim are shown doing — worshipping, and hiding themselves from God's presence:
Samuel RidoutWe cannot think of them as merely symbolic figures of divine attributes, for we could not imagine God being worshipped by His own attributes, or their being veiled with wings in His presence. Only conscious personal beings could present their adoration to Him this way… We must beware of intruding into things we have not seen, among which is a "religion of angels" (Col. 2:18); but this does not stop us gathering all that God has been pleased to reveal to us.
The Limit of What We Know
Angels are called spirits, and appearing in human shape does not settle what they are in themselves:
Frederick W GrantCorporeality is not proved for angels by examples in which God (as in Genesis 18 and 32), or an angel, appeared as men. This is not a display of angelic nature, but the taking on of human form by them. There may be mystery in this, no doubt. We soon touch the bounds of our knowledge, that is all.
Summary
- Picture — The winged, feminine angel of art is described as fanciful; Scripture gives little account of how angels look.
- Men — Angels appear as men, never as women, and usually cause no surprise; often only their words and actions reveal them.
- Wings — The winged beings named in Scripture are the cherubim and seraphim, counted at two, four, or six wings depending on the vision.
- Swiftness — Wings signal protection on one hand and rapid motion on the other: God's executives are swift messengers.
- Limits — Commentators differ on whether cherubim are real beings or symbolic figures; both agree we quickly reach the edge of what is revealed.