If you’ve ever wondered why biblical angels say “Do not be afraid” so often, Ezekiel’s visions will give you your answer. This prophet saw things that would absolutely terrify most people.
We’re not talking about the cute, chubby cherubs you see on Valentine’s cards or even the peaceful, glowing figures from Christmas nativity scenes.
Ezekiel’s descriptions of angels are wild, overwhelming, and honestly pretty intimidating. We’re talking about beings with four faces, wheels covered in eyes, wings that sound like rushing waters, and forms that seem to defy our normal understanding of physical reality.
His visions in chapters 1 and 10 particularly give us some of the most detailed and unusual descriptions of heavenly beings anywhere in scripture.
What makes Ezekiel’s account so fascinating is how specific he gets. He’s trying his best to describe something that clearly doesn’t fit into normal human categories.
You can almost feel him struggling to find the right words as he uses phrases like “the appearance of” and “something like” over and over. These weren’t just spiritual impressions. Ezekiel saw something real and tried to capture it in language that would make sense to us.
Bible Verses About How Ezekiel Described Angels
- Ezekiel 1:4
I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north, an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal.
- Ezekiel 1:5
And in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human.
- Ezekiel 1:6
But each of them had four faces and four wings.
- Ezekiel 1:7
Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze.
- Ezekiel 1:8
Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings.
- Ezekiel 1:9
And the wings of one touched the wings of another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.
- Ezekiel 1:10
Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle.
- Ezekiel 1:11
Such were their faces. They each had two wings spreading out upward, each wing touching that of the creature on either side; and each had two other wings covering its body.
- Ezekiel 1:12
Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went.
- Ezekiel 1:13
The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it.
- Ezekiel 1:14
The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.
- Ezekiel 1:15
As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces.
- Ezekiel 1:16
This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel.
- Ezekiel 1:17
As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not change direction as the creatures went.
- Ezekiel 1:18
Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.
- Ezekiel 1:19
When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose.
- Ezekiel 1:20
Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
- Ezekiel 1:21
When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
- Ezekiel 1:22
Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome.
- Ezekiel 1:23
Under the vault their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body.
- Ezekiel 1:24
When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
- Ezekiel 1:25
Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings.
- Ezekiel 1:26
Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.
- Ezekiel 1:27
I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.
- Ezekiel 1:28
Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
- Ezekiel 10:1
I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of lapis lazuli above the vault that was over the heads of the cherubim.
- Ezekiel 10:9
I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like topaz.
- Ezekiel 10:10
As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel.
- Ezekiel 10:11
As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went.
- Ezekiel 10:12
Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels.
- Ezekiel 10:14
Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
- Ezekiel 10:18-19
Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
- Ezekiel 10:20
These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim.
- Ezekiel 10:21
Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like human hands.
- Ezekiel 10:22
Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River. Each one went straight ahead.
Our Summary on What The Bible Says About How Ezekiel Described Angels
Ezekiel’s descriptions completely shatter our comfortable, sanitized ideas about what angels actually look like.
These aren’t gentle guardians with feathery wings and halos. They’re powerful, complex beings that combine elements from different parts of creation into forms that seem almost impossible to comprehend.
The four faces representing a human, lion, ox, and eagle tell us something profound. These creatures embody the pinnacle of different aspects of creation: human intelligence, the strength of wild beasts, the service of domestic animals, and the freedom of birds.
They’re not limited by our physical constraints. The wheels within wheels covered in eyes suggest omniscience and the ability to move in any direction instantly without turning.
What strikes me most is how Ezekiel keeps using phrases like “the appearance of” and “something like.” He’s seeing something real but struggling to express it in human language.
That’s actually reassuring because it shows us these visions weren’t just made up or imagined. When you encounter something truly beyond your experience, you grasp for comparisons.
The glory, the fire, the lightning, the sound like rushing waters all point to beings of immense power who serve in God’s direct presence. These cherubim aren’t here to comfort us but to execute God’s will with precision and power.
Say This Prayer About Understanding God’s Angels
Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us glimpses into the heavenly realm through your prophets like Ezekiel. These visions remind me that you are far greater and more awesome than I can fully comprehend.
Help me to approach you with the reverence and wonder you deserve, never reducing you to something small or manageable.
Thank you for the angels who serve you faithfully and for the ways they carry out your purposes in this world. When I’m tempted to think heaven is boring or ordinary, remind me of Ezekiel’s visions.
Give me a heart that longs to worship you in spirit and truth, recognizing that your glory surpasses anything I can imagine. May I live each day aware that I serve a God whose throne is surrounded by such magnificent beings. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
