People have a number of ideas about angels that do not accurately reflect what we see revealed in Scripture.
For instance, there is no mention of wings in most appearances of angels in Scripture, while they do occur in some visions—though not with just two. There are other common misconceptions too.
Halos of light
A typical feature of angel costumes in children’s Bible plays is a glittery halo—representing a supposed ring of light over the head denoting holiness. This recalls a lot of medieval art, where saintly Bible characters are depicted with a halo or glowing golden disk over or behind the head. In fact, this image—also known as a nimbus, aureole, glory or gloriole—has been used in the sacred art of many religions.
We find it among the Greeks and Romans. The rayed crown of the sun god Helios was depicted in the Colossus of Rhodes (and later copied for the Statue of Liberty). It was used in images of Hellenistic and Roman rulers. This may have been associated with the Zoroastrian divine luster that marked Persian kings. The halo also occurs in ancient Hindu and Buddhist art.
And it goes back much further. “Sumerian religious literature frequently speaks of . . . a ‘brilliant, visible glamour which is exuded by gods, heroes, sometimes by kings, and also by temples of great holiness and by gods’ symbols and emblems’” (Wikipedia, “Halo (religious iconography)”). Indeed, we see it prominently as the solar disc of Ra, the Egyptian sun god.
As the editors of The Encyclopaedia Britannica point out: “Because of its pagan origin, the form was avoided in Early Christian art, but a simple circular nimbus was adopted by Christian emperors for their official portraits. From the middle of the 4th century, Christ was also shown with this imperial attribute . . . In the 5th century it was sometimes given to angels, but it was not until the 6th century that the halo became customary for the Virgin Mary and other saints . . . The halo was used regularly in representations of Christ, the angels, and the saints throughout the Middle Ages” (Britannica.com/art/halo-art). While Christ and the angels do have glorious radiance—with brilliant, shining faces—this does not correspond to the halo and its origins as a pagan sun symbol.