Posted on 08/11/2012 10:55:08 AM PDT by John Leland 1789
No subject on angels would be complete (and this treatise is far from complete), without dealing with the passage in Gen. 6, one of the most controversial, confusing, and convoluted Bible passages. The incident happened just before the global Flood, and whatever position one may take as to the identity of the culprits, their sin was a partial reason (along with the violence) for the world disaster (Gen. 6:5; 11).
Moses tells about the “sons of God” cohabitating with the “daughters of men” resulting in the production of nephilim translated “giants” and/or “fallen ones.” Some scholars contend that the “sons of God” were humans in the linage of Seth while the “daughters of men” were women in Cain’s linage. Whoever these people were, it was a forbidden sexual sin that led to the Flood. It is noteworthy that the men chose the women that were “fair” suggesting that the women’s relationship to God was not important. Moreover, why would sex, even illicit sex, between men and women produce nephilim or any other unusual offspring?
Before giving my reasons for believing that the “sons of God” were fallen angels, we need to consider II Peter 2:4-5, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, (Tartarus) and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.” Whatever these angels did, it resulted in them being thrust down to Tartarus. This is the only time Tartarus is used in the New Testament or the Septuagint, but it was often used by Greek authors (Homer, Philo, Pindar, etc.,) as the dark, dismal, doleful, deep abyss of Hades in the heart of the Earth.
What in the world was Peter writing about? He is clearly referring to fallen angels. But if they were those who followed Satan in rebellion, why were not all the demons in prison? Obviously, these imprisoned “spirits” had more to their résumé than rebel and follower of Lucifer. Maybe they were the “ugly” angels who did far more than rebel against God.
I think the only reasonable explanation is that they were the angels who pretended to be human and had sexual relations with human females and the results were so horrific that God put them in prison. If there are good angels, bad angels, then these are the ugly angels: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Furthermore, this would explain Jude 6 where he wrote, “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” I think it is obvious that the imprisoned spirits in Jude and II Peter are the same demons who were judged by God for their sins as recorded in Genesis 6.
Those who believe the sinners were men maintain that sex between angels and humans is unreasonable, unnatural, and very unthinkable since angels are sexless. However, while the Bible teaches that there is no marriage in Heaven (Matt.22:30) and we will be like the angels, that does not mean angels are sexless. Needless to say (but I will anyway) to appear human, they had to take on either male or female bodies!
The “sons of God” term is used of both men and angels in the Scripture; however, that particular word in Genesis 6 is never used of humans, according to Willmington’s Guide to the Bible (that every serious Bible student should possess) and other sources. Friends with whom I have discussed this issue, after referring to “sons of God” always bring up the “fact” that angels are sexless. Maybe, maybe not. Angels can take on human form and could have been sexually involved; after all, they did other human things such as eating, walking, sitting, etc., as all humans do. Evidently the perverts in Sodom thought them human enough to try to have sex with them.
Moreover, Genesis 6 clearly states that the offspring of the union between “sons of God” and “daughters of men” were very unusual, even giants. However, Adam Clarke says that there are seven words for giant and not all of them mean people of enormous stature. No one suggests that every child born of humans would be unusual, even giants. No, the sexual incompatibility of demons and humans seems to have resulted in nephilim or “fallen ones.”
I pulled down my valuable set of Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews to see what the ancients thought of Gen. 6. Josephus wrote of the sons of Seth, “They made God to be their enemy, for many angels of God accompanied with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good.” The translator’s footnote on that page reveals: “This notion, that the fallen angels were, in some sense the fathers of the old giants, was the constant opinion of antiquity.” That position of Josephus and the revelation that the ancients thought the culprits were fallen angels should impress those who take the opposite position, after all, he was an expert on the Jews and his work was done two thousand years closer to the event we are discussing. Furthermore, the Greek Old Testament Septuagint identifies the “sons of God” as “angels of God.”
Because of the preponderance of evidence in favor of demon activity in Genesis 6, I have finally taken the position that angels cannot rebel again and demons were sexually involved in Genesis 6.
Whatever the correct interpretation is, it is a fact that sin will divide, defile and destroy anyone without discrimination as to race, gender, and national origin–human or angelic!
Copyright 2012, Don Boys, Ph.D.
(Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives, author of 14 books, frequent guest on television and radio talk shows, and wrote columns for USA Today for 8 years. Three years ago, the second edition of ISLAM: America's Trojan Horse! was published, and his new eBook, The God Haters is available for $9.99 from www.thegodhaters.com. These columns go to newspapers, magazines, television, and radio stations. His other web sites are www.cstnews.com and www.Muslimfact.com. Contact Don for an interview or talk show.)
Angels are sexless?
That angels are “sexless” is not my position. I believe that they are, each and every last one of them is male.
Food for thought.
Link to part I
Link to part II
Interesting reading, IMHO.
Perhaps their off spring, the “fellers of men” are the basis of tales of the demigods of legend.
Genesis speaks of the ‘sons of God’ and John 3:16 speaks specifically of Jesus as God’s ‘only begotten Son’. It is possible that the ‘sons’ (note the lower case and upper case usage) are still sons, but simply not begotten, and by that, not human.
Another curious usage is that God is also called the Lord God and after reading a lot of other curious terms, I have to wonder if that means that He is the chief God. In Genesis 1:26, “God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.....”. I find myself wondering if that sentence references Him musing with what is called the Royal ‘We’ or if he is talking with His Family—the sons of God. As I do not read the Bible in the original translation, I can’t be sure.
As far as to whether or not the ‘sons of God’ are angels or demons, there is nothing to lead me to believe that they are anything but what they are called, the ‘sons of God.’
The Bible does not say that God forbade His sons to have intercourse with women; indeed, Genesis 6:1-4 indicates that it must have been a common practice as “There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.” Note the plural. It also does not state that those giants or men of renown were evil, only that ‘the wickedness of man was great in the earth’.
It would also seem hypocritical if God, Himself, begat a Son, if He’d been against the ‘sons of God’ doing the same earlier. There must be more to the story.
I’ll stick with Dr. John Whitcomb’s analysis on the subject which I believe is more in line with the totality of all scriptures. Demonically possessed men. See Genesis 1 to 11 studies 6 and 7 below.
http://www.voicesforchrist.org/welcome/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=John+Whitcomb
Each believer in the NT, each Christian, is a "son of God" by virtue of being born again, created after the image of Christ individually. Angels can not be "born again," but each is an individual creation of God, and that is why they are called in Scripture "sons of God."
Then would demonically possessed men be called "sons of God?"
Rather, what if the expression "son of God" in the Scriptures refers to individually and directly created beings?
I was not a son of God until, in December of 1977, God created me after the image of Christ as part of the New Birth, when He saved me. That new, individual creation, made me a son of God.
Adam was called "the son of God" as a direct creation of God (Luke 3:38), which reference has nothing to do with being born again or regenerated.
The men (and likely the women) in this passage allowed themselves to become possessed by demons and those demons now completely CONTROLLED the actions, et. al. of those men (and women)....isn't that what possession means?....and that fits with the statement in verse 5, that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Think about what that is saying....there were no good thoughts at any point in time in that depraved possessed mind....sounds like demon possession to me. I see no reason why demonically possessed (completely controlled)men could not be referred to as the sons of God, because the reference would be to the ones doing the controlling/possessing (ie. fallen angels).
Angels were ALL direct creations of God and therefore ALL sons of God. Angels therefore do not procreate (there are and were (IMHO) never any baby angels, mommy or daddy angels). Angels are also spiritual beings by nature and do not have by nature physical bodies made or designed to procreate. And angels neither marry nor are given in marriage....there is no reason to because they don't procreate. The reference here says they took them wives of all which they chose....that doesn't sound like a God-ordained marriage to me.
God completely wiped that bloody violent world out ("the world that perished") and did imprison those specific demons (fallen angels) that participated in trying to completely corrupt and utterly destroy mankind through demonic possession.
You are correct that Adam was a son of God because He was a direct creation of God. However, all other humans were procreated from Adam and Eve (we have moms and dads, etc. unlike angels). But you are also correct that Christians are sons of God through the regeneration or new birth provided through Jesus Christ. We are indeed new creations in Christ...And praise the Lord for that.
I just don't buy into this half human - half angel thing and never have. It conflicts with to many scriptures in the Bible.
ok so do the descendants of these demonic offspring exist among us today?
Perhaps not with other angels producing baby angels.
But the serpent himself---Genesis 3:15---has SEED, just as certain as the woman has seed. A spiritual being, Satan, with SEED.
There will probably be yet another outbreak of the same phenomena, the closer we get to the Lord's coming, as it will be "as the days of Noah."
And there will be a person, Antichrist, who will be the counterfeit christ, who may even claim as much as a virgin birth ; a virgin birth could be produced by Satan, with his SEED (Genesis 3:15) in a perversion of scientific method.
Angels clearly take human form.
Spiritual seed sure....not physical....because neither Satan or any angel is a physical being...they are spirit beings.
Spiritual beings that, throughout Scripture, do very physical things, themselves, and have very physical capabilities, themselves, without possessing human beings.
What would it be about a spiritual being possessing a physical being, causing him to act sexually, that would genetically change the human seed to produce giants? (Genesis 6 ; and the other breakouts of nephilim throughout the OT, " . . . and also AFTER that . . . " i.e., after the days of the flood. ---the giants in the land of Canaan seen by the twelve spies ; the giants in Saul and David's day, etc.)
Does possession of humans by spiritual beings change genetic structure?
Do not confuse the meaning of physical with our worldly concepts.
Angels, while identifiable with spirit beings, also are associated with having bodies. Some fallen angels have lost their bodies, but still exist spiritually.
Job 2:2 refers to Satan walking to and fro the earth.
It is true that some demons do not have bodies as we know them, but they are still able to engage in actions which result impact physical phenomenon. They can interact physically, throw a man’s body around, engage in a fistocuffs, although not be visible nor touchable by the man. They are in a different domain, which we really do not need to know at present as His Plan for us doesn’t require it.
While many may not believe in the Gen6 basis for Gap theory, IMHO, it is wise not to label it as false, but instead simply accept His Word as it is.
If He had wanted us to know more about it, He has the ability to communicate it, and does if the situation so warrants it. IMHO they are not situations to be coveted nor sought, as that tends to be the domain of witchcraft, which is highly forbidden.
Yes, demons and angels are in their own dimension and that isnt' a dimension we are supposed to try and mess with. Many do and find out the hard way that was a mistake.
And no, I do not believe in the so-called "gap theory" as I find that it does not stand up to what is taught in Genesis nor in looking at the totality of scripture. I believe in a literal interpretation of Genesis for very sound reasons. I believe God's Word for what it clearly says. Six days means six days - no more and no less. If God had meant something else He would have clearly said so. Please no Hebrew word lessons as I have done in depth studies of that as well.
Studied that one for over 20 years also and I find Dr. Morris' and Dr. Whitcomb's analysis to be in line with scriptures their as well....although I came to that conclusion through studying God's Word even before I was aware of those guys.
You are correct that God does not tell us everything (Deut. 29:29a) but there are many other things God does reveal to us (Deut. 29:29b) and the Bible is it's own best commentary; scripture interprets scripture. That is why I look at the totality of the scriptures related to a topic.
Funny, ..most people I've met who have studied some Hebrew enjoy Hebrew word lessons.
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