In many references the archangels are said to be the higher-ranking angels.
Do all angels have wings?
Many religious sources do list certain angels as having wings. The Archangel Gabriel is said to have 140 wings! Some people see angels with wings and some do not. Many people believe that angels are beings of light and do not need wings at all, and that it’s the ‘light’ which is mistaken for wings. This idea is thought to go back to the earliest times when humankind assumed that to fly, an angel would need such assistance.
Some people who see angels believe that the ‘wings’ are, in fact, streams of upward-flowing energy.
Winged creatures were known to the Vikings, who called them ‘valkyries’; the Greeks called them the ‘horae’. The Greek god Hermes served as a messenger and was shown with wings on his feet. Do these early references contribute to the angels-have-wings tradition? Angels were not really known as having wings (with any regularity at least) until the time of the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century after Christ, and it is the art of the Renaissance which gives us much of our angel imagery. In the Bible, for example, the angels who gave the news of the resurrection of Jesus are described as ‘two men’, but they appear in the light associated with angels.
Ancient cave drawings and carvings do show beings with wings. Were these angels or something else? We may never know.
Do all angels visit the earth?
No, I don’t believe they do, although many angels are assigned the role of guardians of the Earth and protectors of humans. Many millions more have roles in heaven and other realms and planes of existence.
Sometimes angels are known to pass their message through people rather than enter our atmosphere, which is difficult for them to do. It can also be frightening for humans!
Do angels go to other planets?
Almost certainly. Each planet has its own angels who look over it.
Have angels existed since the beginning of time?
Yes, angels were made right at the beginning and the spirit that resides in the human form was made later, but as to whether angels were created just before or just after the beginning of the world is up for debate.
‘On the second day, God created the angels with their natural propensity to good. Later He made beasts with their animal desires. But God was pleased with neither. So He fashioned man, a combination of angel and beast, free to follow good or evil.’
HEBREW BIBLICAL TEXT
In Psalm 148 in the old Testament it says,
‘Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights! Praise him all his angels praise him, all his host!…Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created.’
Others believe that the seven great archangels were made to help with the building of the Cosmos. Jewish writings suggest that they came into existence each morning through the breath of God, only to be reabsorbed each evening after their work had been completed. The Catholic Church teaches that before God made the world he made the angels – and all in one go! So I guess the answer to that question depends on whom you ask.
How many angels are there?
Many times it is quoted that there are more angels in the heavens than there are men on the Earth which will put the numbers of angels at billions!
Jesus said:
‘Do you think I cannot call my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?’
MATTHEW 26:53
There is also another mention in the Bible:
‘Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.’
BIBLE, REV 5:1
Are angels common to all religions?
Yes, most religions recognize angels in one form or another. Not all religions call them angels, but they do recognize wise and loving beings of light who work with us from another plane of existence. The Hindus, for example, have devas (‘the shining ones’) who do a similar work to angels, and the Buddhist equivalent of an angel is also a diva, with their form described as spiritual beings with light emanations. They are recognized as enlightened beings. In Judaism, the ‘malachim’ are messengers of God.
Do angels have halos?
The halo appeared in the fourth century as an artistic development! In biblical times, angels were seen (or at least reported) on a more regular basis. Angels, as beings of pure light, are surrounded by a glow. This aura of light is what is believed to have been interpreted as a ‘halo’ in all the great renaissance angel paintings. So angels do not just have halos, they are halos!
Do angels have relationships or partners?
Angels do not have relationships in the way that we would understand. Their role is one of pure love and service to the divine. So their relationships are with God, rather than as we would think of relationships.
Jesus was asked if a person had been married more than once, whom would they be with at the resurrection. Jesus explained that,
‘At the resurrection, men and women do not marry; they are like the angels in heaven.’
MATTHEW 22:30
Which would indicate this fact that relationships are not part of an angels specification.
Are angels male or female?
Angels are actually androgynous (having no sex), but are sometimes shown (or show themselves) as male or female to indicate traditional masculine or feminine tendencies such as gentleness or strength. The Bible for example shows Gabriel to be a female but the Moslems recognize a male Gabriel, ‘Jibril’, who dictated the Koran to the prophet Mohammed.
Increasingly, I believe that this is unnecessary and angels will more and more show themselves with no sex. As we soften and merge the lines between the sexes, so the angels will take their clue from us.
Do angels eat?
There are many stories where angels have appeared as human and have pretended to eat in order to make us feel more comfortable, but they live on ‘the love of god’ and food as we know and understand it is not required for sustenance. There are references to angels and food however. Jesus was brought food and water by a helpful angel when he spent his forty days in the wilderness.
‘Manna’ is said to be the food of the angels – food given as a gift from the angels. Mann is a