Since as a society, we seem to get the Christmas celebration earlier and earlier I figured it wasn't too early to broach the topic which has bugged me for a while about angels and how tradition views them. If you go into any novelty store and look at a ceramic angel I imagine most, if not all, are depicted as female, a child, with wings and that they sing. There is one problem with this. The Bible NEVER depicts angels in this manner. Angels are adult, MALE, they don't have wings and they speak, not sing. Cherabim have wings but they are not angels. Cherabim are sphinx like creatures with human heads, the bodies of lions and two wings. They guarded the entrance to the Garden Of Eden after Adam and Eve were expelled (Genesis 3:24) and they also formed the mercy seat on the Arc of the Covenant (Exodus 25:18-20).
Only two angels are named by name and they are both male... Gabriel and Michael.
Jude 9
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
Luke 1:19
And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.
When Jesus ascended to Heaven and promised to send the Holy Spirit, it was two MEN in white robes who spoke to the disciples in the book of Acts 1:9-11
After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
The Angels who came to Lot were mistaken as men by the men of Sodom who wanted to have homosexual relations with them.
Genesis 19: 1-5
That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. “My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.”
“Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.”
But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate. But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”
Even our Christmas Carols (does the song "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" come to mind) have erroneously mentioned that Angels sing. The bible does not state this. The verse that many think mentions Angels singing is in reference to the birth of Christ but if we look at the scripture, there is no mention of singing, just saying.
Luke 2:13-14
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and SAYING,“Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
We know there are no baby angels because angels do not reproduce. How do we know this?
Matthew 22:30 "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."
So the question is, since the Bible clearly teaches that when angels are seen, they have the form of adult men why do gift shops sell angels that look like a 4 yr old girl with wings? Answer, they sell a lot better than a figurine of an adult male would. We have been engrained by tradtion to look at the logo of an angel to be this cute little girl baby with wings. It is what sells. It is much like the logo we have of Christ (you know the long haired guy). Jesus did not have long hair as he is depicted yet it is what we accept as a logo for Him.
Now, is all the angel stuff vital as far as salvation? Of course not. However, we need to be solid on our doctrine and rightly divide the truth in the Bible and this area is one that is usually not researched or discussed much. It is just accepted by society.
Be careful if you follow the traditions of men that you are not deceived. Don't take my word for it, study the Bible and check things out for yourself. I leave you with this:
Colossians 2:8
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
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