TV shows like Highway to Heaven and others seem to give the impression that angels can be walking around looking just like human beings, and interacting with people.
What are angels? If one is near will one see it? What sort of seeing is it. Can they be photographed?
What does the Bible say on this?
In their true form, you can not see angels with your physical eyes, as their true form is no form, formless. The world above us is infinite world, just as would world is the finite world. Our world is as cut out from the infinite world.
In some sense, however, this also applies to us human Christians (who are brothers and sisters of angels), as we should see each other by our hearts, not our outward form.
Angels do take human disguise, even Jesus was said by Paul to 'disguise himself as human' -- difference there, however, is Jesus did become human, was born from a woman, and lived a life as a human, even dying as a human. Angels take temporary forms and their work does not require them to be born and stuck in a singular body or life. These temporary forms can, however, be long term, or have every appearance of being long term.
When they do take these forms, everything is real. Their bodies, clothes, anything material which might accompany them.
For the Heavenly, reality is as manipulatable as a dream or virtual reality.
Angels can be photographed.
If you are near one you can see them, unless they are not allowing you to.
I have, for whatever reason, worked a lot with angels. One of the primary focuses of my work God has given me over the decades. However, I might add here, the more I have seen, the more I have learned, the more I have learned I do not know. (Really, like anything one studies well.)
One of the hardest things for me to believe was that they can have persistence here on earth, and take on elaborate "disguises" with full legends and "backup". If you have studied undercover cops or spies, you can get an idea of what I am talking about here.
If you are wondering,it took God years to persuade me of this. And I am a pretty open minded, intelligent fellow who was early on able to believe some pretty fantastic things.
I had to see a great deal of evidence to really, firmly, believe this was true.
For whatever reason, God obliged.
There are a lot of angels among us. Do they cover the entire world's population? I would not put that past God.
Back to an angel's form, I will note: before God showed me I was around angels - I was thinking that these were just exceptional people filled with the Spirit of God - God had a regular looking man transfigure into "one like a son of man" before my very eyes.
That one event, as massive as it was, was the foundation for a good twenty plus years of revelations to follow about angels in disguise.
(If you are wondering, God has yet to show me really 'why' or to do anything with any of this. I am as waiting for a mission. )
So, on "what is the real form", it is like that, like how Jesus looks transfigured, or Moses or Elijah. I could describe it, but John describes him well in Revelation. I can actually add details not there. And details on the actual transformation, which was only briefly covered in one of the three accounts of the transfiguration. But, that is not what is most important.
Almost anyone, can be an angel. As for some of the oddest things I have seen? One angel actually being many different people at the very same time. Second to that, evidence that an angel can keep an "avatar" or "human body self" "running" even while they are no longer much using that old avatar. How that works, I have yet to understand.
But, there is much about angels I do not understand.
As for Scripture, I mean, there is a lot.
Hebrews has a verse that warns people to treat strangers well, as many have entertained angels in disguise unaware. Initially, I believed that meant only literal strangers, and could only accept a homeless person as an angel. That is where God started with me... and expanded outward from there.
How so? Well, even a close friend you may think you know. And you may know them well. But, they could be an angel, and you would not know them. Who we really are, after all, is as Jesus, who answered those who thought they knew who he really was and where he was from, "you do not know where I come from, nor where I am going".
For us Christians, I do believe it is safe to say, while we know Jesus, we are also still always learning new things about Jesus. Situations are dynamic, and people are as dynamic as the river of situations we view them in.
Anyway, as in a dream, where you doubt the reality of something, and the dream provides evidence? That is how deep their disguise can go.
Like with a really well resourced deep cover spy or cop, they can have paper trails, people asserting they went to high school with them, religious and political biases, fans of xyz movie, music, tv... job histories... parents... friends they hang out with... houses full of used stuff... on and on it goes.
Can I provide Scripture for that? Scripture does not explain all the mysteries of the world. None of this goes against Scripture. Jesus speaks of angels going out into the fields. The fields are the world. Revelation speaks of the stars falling from Heaven to earth. The stars are representative of the angels. (They are not here because they are rejected, they are working.)
The parable of the goats shows everyone as having dealt with Jesus. Everyone. And they did not know it. How could Jesus be in so many places? Angels.
The similar parable of the ten virgins, is also about everyone. Not just Christians. Christians who are real would be the vigilant virgins. Everyone is waiting, longing for someone or something greater, even Muslims, Hindus, atheists... but it also could be they have known them. Because they have known Jesus through angels.
Which brings me to a final point here: 'one like a son of man' is the term given to Jesus in his glorified body. What scripture asserts that an angel could appear as Jesus in that body, and speak as Jesus in the first person as if they are Jesus? Revelation. Near the end, John falls down to worship whom he thought was Jesus in glorified form. But, then, the 'one like a son of man' confirms he is an angel. The angel of Jesus. And asks that he not worship him.
Then, Jesus continues, "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to you..."
So, yes, angels can be "as Jesus", so as to effectively create clone incarnations of Jesus in every conceivable form, across the whole earth.
Is that what has happened? I do not know.
I know it could happen, and that says something about the nature of 'angels in disguise'. But, I do not know if that is God's plan and what is happening. Me, I am surrounded by angels, and not sure why. I was not always aware of this. Others could be in my circumstances. You could be, and just not yet informed of it.
So... hope that helps.
You definitely ended up asking the right person.
