Sons of God and Daughters of Men
Gen. 6:1-2
Questions:
A. Who were the sons of God?
B. Who were the daughters of men?
C. Who were the giants?
D. Who were the men of renown?
What happened here? There are two major answers.
Sons of God are fallen angels who came to the earth and cohabitated with women and produced offspring that were full of evil.
Sons of God are saved people who married lost people and produced offspring that were full of evil.
The first answer is wrong because:
1. I must ask this question – Why would anybody conceive of a theory which puts fallen angels having sexual intercourse with women and producing offspring which were exceedingly wicked? Maybe to show their "intelligence?" Or to transfer the blame for judgment from something that is our fault to something that is somebody else’s fault? In the Garden of Eden, Adam blamed the woman and the woman blamed the serpent. Our sinful nature desires us to blame somebody else (anybody else, actually) for our sins. Sinful mankind really believes they don’t deserve punishment or chastisement because it isn’t our fault!
Think of this:
a. If the Sons of God are fallen angels and the daughters of men are women, it is the only place in the Bible where rebellious, fallen, condemned angels are said to be the Sons of God.
b. It is always important when determining what a specific passage means to determine the context of the passage.
1) Genesis 6 follows after Genesis 4 and Genesis 5.
2) Genesis 4:16-18 gives the genealogy of Cain to the seventh generation.
3) Genesis 5 gives the genealogy of Adam all the way to Noah.
4) Genesis 6 then follows with the statement concerning the Sons of God and the daughters of men. There is no mention anywhere about any fallen angels. Anyone reading this passage right after it was written and before the other books of the Bible were completed would know the sons of God are saved people and the daughters of men are lost people. There would be no complicated explanations concerning fallen angels to detract from the truth that the sins of mankind caused the flood, just like the sins of mankind will cause God to judge the world the second time with fire.
Angels are spirits - they are sexless.
a. They can't reproduce.
b. Matt. 22:30 - Jesus said in heaven we are like the angels, we don't reproduce or marry.
c. Luke 20:27-36 - Jesus repeating (refer to Matt. 22) that there is no marriage or giving in marriage. We are equal to the angels because we are children of the resurrection.
d. Since this won’t work, another theory is devised which states that the sons of God in Genesis 6:1,2 are fallen angels who have been born to human parents (demon possession), then when they grow up they cause all this trouble. This is another ridiculous assumption because it is impossible to have a half angel and a half human.
4. Son(s) of God.
The phrase son(s) of God appears 59 times in 58 verses in the entire Bible.
Son of God is always Jesus Christ.
a. Mark 1:1 – "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;"
b. I John 5:5 – "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"
c. Rev. 2:18 – "And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;"
d. Daniel 3:25 – "He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."
Sons of God appears 11 times in the entire Bible (five times in the Old Testament) and is always believers or saved people.
Sons of God are always saved people.
e. John 1:12 – "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:"
f. Romans 8:14 – "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."
g. Phil. 2:15 – "That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;"
h. I John 3:1,2 – "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
5. The term "son* of God" is used five times in the context of this study.
Genesis 6:2 and 6:4 are the first two times the words are used in the Old Testament.
Daniel 3:25 – This verse is not in the context of this study, but I am including it here because this is the only time the phrase "son of man" is found in the entire Old Testament. This passage is clearly speaking about Jesus Christ, not fallen angels, and not saved people. King Nebuchadnezzar saw men in the burning fiery furnace and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
There can be no doubt but King Nebuchadnezzar saw God come down to be with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
He did not see the incarnate Christ, but saw God as Jacob in Genesis 32:30 saw God.
They both saw God in a special body possessed for this special purpose.
Job 1:6 - See comments for part "D".
Job 2:1 - These are sons of God.
These sons of God are saved people who went to worship God, as we worship God in church.
a. Job 1:6 and 2:1 teach that God and Satan are both present in the worship services of humans.
b. God is present to look up and receive glory from our worshipping Him. It would be terrible to think that we assembly to worship and God is not there.
c. Satan is present to try to accuse saved people of some sort of sin. When we don’t pay attention in church services, Satan has something to accuse us before God. When our mind wanders, that gives Satan something to accuse us before God.
d. Rev. 12:10 states that one day the accuser of our brethren will be cast out of heaven permanently.
2. God is everywhere, but especially some places.
a. Gen. 4:16 - Cain went from the presence of the Lord.
b. This does not mean that Cain went to a place where God was not.
c. It meant that Cain went from the place where God was worshipped.
d. Job 1:12, 2:7 - Satan goes from the presence of the Lord. This does not mean that Satan went to a place where God could not see him, but that Satan left the place where the sons of God (men) were worshipping God.
e. Jonah 1:3,10 - Jonah fled from the presence of God.
1. Jonah didn't go to a place where God was not, for God caused the storm on the sea.
2. God also prepared a great fish to swallow him.
3. Notice the word "LORD".
a. This is Jehovah - the Covenant name of God.
b. "Lord" means "master".
c. People called him "LORD" if they have a covenant relationship with Him.
d. Nobody has a covenant relationship with God except people.
D. Job 38:7 - "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." This is probably the most difficult passage of all to understand, but if we interpret this passage according to what we have discovered in the Bible, there can be little misunderstanding that the sons of God spoken of in this verse is no different from all the other sons of God.
1. There can be no doubt that the morning stars are the stars in the sky.
a. Ps. 19:1 - The heavens declare the glory of God.
b. Ps. 148:1-6 - The creation of God is commanded to praise the Lord.
2. The sons of God are saved people that are shouting for joy.
3. Only sons of God (saved people) can shout for joy.
I believe this is a speaking of a time when all the saints of God are gathered together in worship to God.
5. Job 38:7 - Sons of God shouted for joy.
a. Job wasn't there. He wasn't born yet. God is showing Job that he is a fallible man and He is totally supreme. God does not have to give an answer to Job for His actions. God doesn't answer to anybody.
b. They're shouting for joy at the creation of God and His exceeding goodness - This is a worship service.
c. Job wasn't there when the morning stars sang together (those are actually stars – see points 1) and 2) below) nor was he there when those before him worshipped God.
1) According to Rev. 22:16 – Jesus is the bright and morning star. While Jesus is the bright and morning star, His creation is the morning stars.
2) Ps. 19 – (especially the first part of the Psalms) – the creation shows the glory and praise of God.
3) 148:1-6 – The creation is commanded to praise the name of the Lord.
d. Job will be there when the sons of God shout for joy (this will take place when all the sons of God are gathered together). Job will be there, but he will be praising God for His wondrous power, and will not be questioning or asking why.
e. Job wasn't the end of things, nor the beginning of things – (though he thought he was). Neither are we.
f. I have no objection at all to believing that the morning stars singing together and the sons of God shouting for joy took place in the mind of God before He established time. God doesn’t live in time, but in eternity. God isn’t restricted to time like we are. God is speaking to Job, who lives in time and is finite. Job wants to understand God who is infinite and cannot be understood in finite terms. God wants Job to look at Him with spiritual eyes, not eyes of the flesh.
THE FALSE IDEA GOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS:
I. Fallen angels cohabitated with humans.
II. Jude 6 put in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day
A. I think the key here is when the angels were put in everlasting chains under darkness.
B. I believe the fallen angels were put in chains when they fell (when they followed Satan, instead of God), and they remain in that condition to this very day. Whether these are literal chains or not remains to be seen, but at the very least, the fallen angels are sealed in their fate, and will never be given an opportunity for redemption or forgiveness.
C. Fallen angels are not demons.
D. Those that believe fallen angels are placed in everlasting chains under darkness when they cohabitated with women will also believe (more than likely) that when Jesus died He went into paradise to preach and deliver saved people to heaven.
III. I Peter 3:19 Jesus preached to the spirits in prison (hell and paradise - to speak about the glories of his resurrection.
A. Paradise is not (and has never been) in the center of the earth, separated by a watery chasm from hell.
1. The watery chasm comes from the thought in Luke 16:26 which states there is a great gulf between Abraham, Lazarus and the rich man. The gulf is not water, like the Gulf of Mexico is water. It is a vast chasm.
2. Paradise is in heaven, specifically the third heaven.
a. Luke 16:43 – The thief on the cross will be in paradise that day with Jesus Christ.
b. II Cor. 12:4 – Paul declares (in comparing verses 1-4) that paradise and the third heaven is the same thing, the same place.
c. Revelation 2:7 – The tree of life is in the midst of the paradise of God, which is in heaven, more specifically, the new earth, where God dwells with His people.
B. Was paradise ever in the center of the earth?
1. There are no scripture references in the entire Bible that places paradise in the center of the earth, near hades, or hell.
2. People make paradise and heaven two different places because they misinterpret several passages of scripture.
a. The scriptures they misinterpret and the sequence of events they misunderstand are that fallen angels cohabitated with the women, and produced very wicked children.
b. I Peter 3:19 that Jesus preached to the fallen angels, or to saved people in paradise, explaining to them about the resurrection, then Eph. 4:8, lead them into heaven at His resurrection.
IV. Eph 4:8 – led captivity captive so the saved would be with Him.
A. This scripture does not teach that Jesus took paradise to heaven. As has already been proven, paradise is heaven.
Psalms 68:18 declares that Jesus has led captivity captive and received gifts for men. This is referring to his giving salvation to the lost, and giving them all the victories that rightly belong to Him.
Psalms 78:60,61 reveals that Christ has delivered his strength into captivity (Christ took upon Himself the form of a man, yet without sin), and gave His glory into the hand of men (and men greatly abused the Son of God.)
Judges 5:12 is the son Deborah and Barak sang when God gave them the victory over Sisera. They lead thy captivity captive, which means they have delivered the children of Israel from the enemy. This is what Christ did when He saved our souls by His death, burial, and resurrection. He has delivered us, who were captive by Satan, and brings us into heaven, where He lives.
B. In closing this section – leading captivity captive is speaking about victory, it is speaking about winning the battle, it is speaking about bringing the citizens home from the foreign land.
V. The theory that Christ preached to people in hell, or in paradise (which at that time was in the center of the earth) is all wrong.
A. The Mount of Transfiguration proves that Elijah and Moses was already present with Christ.
B. They were not in a place near hell in the center of the earth.
C. And Moses and Elijah are Old Testament !!
D. The theory that leading captivity captive is when the bodies of the redeemed is kept in safeguard in heaven is also false because Elijah and Moses appeared with Jesus before His resurrection. The battle is not over the bodies, it is over the whole person.