ANGELS & DEVILS, Are angels women?

Are angels women?

ARE ANGELS WOMEN?

by Shawn Brasseaux

Dear friend, we have all seen them in ecclesiastical art. Young women with long hair and feathered wings—supposedly angelic beings. Would this be an accurate description of angels? Is this how the Bible depicts angels, or is this merely superstition and mythology?

In the Bible, God’s angels are always referred to with the pronouns “he” and “him”—never “she” or “her.” Angels take on the form of men rather than women. Notice this sampling of verses:

  • Genesis 31:11-12: “[11] And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And I said, Here am I. [12] And HIS said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.”
  • Numbers 22:23: “And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and HIS sword drawn in HIS hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.”
  • Judges 6:22: “And when Gideon perceived that HE was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face.”
  • 1 Chronicles 21:27: “And the LORD commanded the angel; and HE put up HIS sword again into the sheath thereof.”
  • Zechariah 5:5-8,11: “[5] Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. [6] And I said, What is it? And HE said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. HE said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. [7] And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. [8] And HE said, This is wickedness. And HE cast it into the midst of the ephah; and HE cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof….[11] And HE said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.”
  • Matthew 28:2-4: “[2] And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. [3] HIS countenance was like lightning, and HIS raiment white as snow: [4] And for fear of HIM the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.”
  • Luke 1:11-12: “[11] And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. [12] And when Zacharias saw HIM, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.”
  • Acts 10:3-4: “[3] He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. [4] And when he looked on HIM, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And HE said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.”
  • Revelation 22:8-10: “[8] And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. [9] Then saith HE unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. [10] And HE saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.”

DOES THIS REALLY MATTER?

Why does it really matter that we refer to angels as men instead of women? Should we dogmatic, or are we making something out of nothing? We will let the Bible speak for itself.

Go back to Zechariah chapter 5 and read the full context of the verses we quoted earlier: “[5] Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. [6] And I said, What is it? And HE said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. HE said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. [7] And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. [8] And HE said, This is wickedness. And HE cast it into the midst of the ephah; and HE cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. [9] Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. [10] Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? [11] And HE said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.”

There are two types of spirit creatures in this passage. Firstly, we see an angel, appearing as a man, giving instruction to the Prophet Zechariah. Secondly, we see two spirit creatures that are women, they have wings like the wings of a stork, and they are associated with “wickedness” (verses 7-9). They are associated with “Shinar,” the site of the Tower of Babel, man’s first rebellion against God; Zechariah is mentioning them as they relate to man’s final rebellion against God in prophecy to be fulfilled beyond our day. These women creatures with wings are not God’s servants but rather fallen angelic beings. When you see pictures of women with flowing blond hair and wings, you know they are not God’s angels but evil beings serving Satan!

Also see:
» Do angels really watch us?
» What is the “angels’ food” of Psalm 78?
» Do we have guardian angels?