There are four persons that circle the throne.
The Bible uses the terms מלאך אלהים (melakh Elohiym; messenger of God), מלאך יהוה (melakh Adonai; messenger of the Lord), בני אלוהים (b'nai Elohiym; sons of God) and הקודשים (ha-qodeshim; the holy ones) to refer to beings traditionally interpreted as angels. The word "angel" in English (from Old English and German Engel), French (from Old French angele), Spanish, and many other Romance languages are derived from the Latin angelus, itself derived from Koine Greek: άγγελος, angelos, "messenger" (pl. άγγελοι). The ultimate etymology of that word in Greek is uncertain.
The rationalist view of angels, as held by Maimonides, Gersonides, Samuel Ibn Tibbon, etc., states that God's actions are never mediated by a violation of the laws of nature. Rather, all such interactions are by way of messengers. Maimonides harshly states that the average person's understanding of the term "angel" is ignorant in the extreme.
According to Maimonides, the wise man understands that what the Bible and Talmud refer to as "angels" are actually metaphors for laws of nature, or the principles by which the universe operates.
The origin of angels in history is quite complicated to figure out, due to angels or similar spirit beings being found within many cultures around the globe.
Angels are also found within Sumerian, Babylonian, Persian, Egyptian and Greek writings. Serapis (Latin spelling, or Sarapis in Greek) was a syncretic Hellenistic-Egyptian god in Antiquity. It is well known that ancient Sumerian texts predated the Hebrew book of Genesis, including the idea of the existence of angels.
Although called different names, angels can also be found within other religions, mythologies, and lore. Hinduism has avatars, Buddhism has devas and bodhisattvas, the Greeks wrote about daimons, and other spirit beings similar to angels, such as guardian spirits and spirit guides, have been taught by tribal cultures.
The reality is this from a biblical perspective. A messenger of God is a person either here on earth, or from the Kingdom of God. The number of wings is symbolic of status, nothing more. The difference being a real person, or Pagan mythology.
