Chances are, it is something loosely based off pictures like this one:
Obviously, it may not be exactly like that. But let me tell you this, I can almost guarantee you imagined it having wings. Why is this? Because of pictures like the one above. You see, as far as I can tell, the Bible never mentions angels having wings. Other heavenly beings do, but not angels.
I decided to make this post after reading in Judges chapter 6. In that chapter, Gideon is met by an angel of the Lord. When Gideon first began talking to the angel, he thought he was talking to just a man. This is consistent with many encounters between men (or women) and angels. Many times, they seem indistinguishable from any other person. This is the case with Gideon and the angel. Gideon never even realizes he's talking to an angel until the angel makes Gideon's offering burn up in flames by simply touching it with the tip of his staff. The angel disappeared after this, leaving Gideon in shock. He thought he was going to die, having just seen an angel of the Lord.
Most of the times you hear of angels in the Bible, people do not realize they are angels at first. Of course there are other times, the instances in Matthew come to mind, where people realize immediately that they are talking to angels. In cases like this, the angels first must either convince those they are speaking to that 1) they are not going to kill them and/or 2) that the angels themselves should not be praised, but the Lord the messenger serves.
Now, for those few readers of mine who understand what any of these mean: JJ, ((W)) ((W)), WYWUAS, JE, OMBC, and several others, I know what came to your mind when I said "Angel". And guess what, that is a much more accurate description. For those of you who don't know, I am talking about Jackie Evancho.
(Official site:http://www.jackieevancho.com/us/home)
Many call her an angel. Others say she is a super powered being sent down from some advanced alien race, while others say she is possessed by the ghost of a 300 year old opera singer. I'll be talking about the first theory; the "angel" theory.
I mention her because, biblically, she is a better representation of an angel then pictures like the one I showed above. She looks like perfectly normal human being, sounds like one (just not one for her age), acts like one (better than most though), ect. I am not saying she is an angel, at least not a biblical angel sent by the Almighty such as Gabriel or Michael, what I am saying though, is that she is closer to the biblical description. Meaning, no wings and seems like an ordinary person. Of course, angels also have the power to destroy entire armies by themself. I would rather not find out if Jackie could do that, since she is seen as a messenger of peace, and frankly, there's a chance I might be in that destroyed army by then. So I will just say she has an amazing gift from the Creator (who can give whatever gift He wants, to whatever extent, to anyone He wants) but is still a human being.
Now, to continue on, since it feels like I was stagnating. Now, if most encounters with men and angels seem like an encounter between two human beings, such as we see often in the Bible, how many times does that still happen today? I have heard, and I am sure many of my readers have as well, of stories happening even in these modern times of encounters with people they later believe to be angels. Now, if angels seem just like perfectly normal people, how many angels do we see in our life? How many angels have I seen? How many times do we interact with angels on a daily basis? Have I seen any today? I will never know until I get to Heaven. But it does get you thinking. It leaves me thinking...
