All About Angels

by Anna Galeniece

Have you ever seen angels? What do they look like? What do they wear? What do they do? Lots of people wonder about these questions, but we don’t always get clear answers. 

The Bible tells us about Abraham and Sarah, who saw angels visiting their home. They looked like travelers who ate food with Abraham and Sarah. The angels told them that they would have a baby boy in a year! 

But there was another angel who helped Peter escape from prison. This angel looked different. He made the prison cell shine with light! He woke Peter up, helped him break free from his chains, and told him to put on his clothes and sandals, wrap a cloak, and follow him. The prison doors opened all by themselves, and after they had walked far away, the angel disappeared.

Ellen White saw angels on many occasions. Sometimes the Lord used them to deliver a message to Ellen White in a vision or dream. One of those angels had God’s special assignments for her and the church. Can you guess what he looked like? Let’s read about this angel, as she describes him in a letter.

“Then a young man whom I had frequently seen in my dreams came into the council. He listened with deep interest . . . , and then, speaking with deliberation and authoritative confidence, said . . .” 

This angel looked like a young man who was not different from other men of Ellen White’s time. He even participated in a discussion with wisdom and authority. Here is another description of the same angel appearing to Ellen White in a dream during a camp meeting in Rome, New York, on September 12, 1875. 

“I dreamed that a young man of noble appearance came into the room where I was. . . . This same person has appeared before me in important dreams to instruct me from time to time during the past twenty-six years.” 

Amazing! The same angel was appearing to her again and again to deliver special messages! And guess what? She portrayed him as “a person of beautiful form and countenance.” He did not get older, because she continued to describe him as “a young man.” 

Ellen White also pictures angels’ faces as “mild and expressive of happiness.” Their forms are “perfect.” In a vision, angels sometimes even carried God’s messenger (Ellen White) in their arms. 

Angels are real! They can look like regular people, and they might come to help us when we least expect it. Sometimes they visit families, eat meals together, or protect travelers in danger. Many people have heard angels’ voices without even knowing that they were talking to angels sent from God. Isn’t that amazing?

When Jesus comes to take us to His eternal kingdom, we will see our guardian angel and many other angels. Imagine hearing their stories about protecting, helping, and guiding us closer to Jesus. What an incredible reunion that will be!