Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows,
not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But
as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For
as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark…
Genesis 6:1 Now it came to pass, when men
began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them,
According to the writings of Henry Morris, The Genesis
Record, and James Ussher, The Annals of the World); the world population at the
time of the flood may have been around 7 billion.
As you know, today our world population hovers around
7 billion; perhaps for the first time since before the flood.
According to Jesus, as it was in the days of
Noah, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
2 that
the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they
took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
On the surface this sounds good; they’re following
God’s first command to man; be fruitful and multiply, Genesis 1:28.
They are marrying and giving in marriage, just as Jesus said,
Matthew 24:38.
However, a closer look reveals something quite
sinister. To find out what it is we must ask:
Who were, the sons of God?
There are different schools of thought.
We’ll look at three.
1. Godly Seth-ites
married ungodly Cain-ites
Around the 4th century A.D. an idea
emerged that the “sons of God” in Genesis 6:2, referred to the Godly line of
Seth intermarrying with the ungodly line of Cain.
2. Polygamous
Cainite Tyrants
This school of thought postulates that the descendants
of Cain became powerful tyrants that took wives for themselves of all
whom they chose.
3. Fallen angels
The best commentary on the Bible is the Bible. So,
what does the Bible say about, “sons of God.” More precisely
the two Hebrew words: בְנֵי־ הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙ (ḇə·nê- hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm).
We only see that phrase a handful of times in the
Bible. Here in Genesis 6:2, again in verse four and then, a few times in the
book of Job (Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7). Every time, ḇə·nê- hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm, is used in
Job it refers to angels.
Thus, according to sound Scriptural interpretation
methodology, we can suggest with confidence that the sons of God spoken of in
Genesis 6, refers to angels.
Apparently, the writers of the Septuagint (Greek
translation of the Hebrew Bible around 250 B.C.) believed that “sons of God”
referred to angels, because, “angels” is the word they used for “sons of God.”
So, it appears that for most of HIStory, there was a
common understanding that, “sons of God” (ḇə·nê- hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm), meant,
“angels.”
Furthermore, the first two ideas fail Scriptural
soundness or confirmation. They wouldn’t trigger the wrath of God to destroy
the world with a flood, or produce a hybrid race of people (creatures) called
Nephilim; which we’ll see in verse four.
However, the angel idea is not
without complications and brings up all kinds of questions and objections
(perhaps the reason other schools of thought were born).
Questions and Objections:
1. What about
when Jesus said angels can’t marry?
Good question. In Matthew 22:29-30, Jesus responds to
a question about who would be married in heaven, if they had multiple spouses
on earth. Jesus said, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but
are like angels of God in heaven.
This isn’t comparing apples to apples. It’s more like
angel food cake to deviled eggs. Jesus is talking about angels of God in heaven
after the resurrection, not demons on earth before the flood. So, the
comparison doesn’t apply to our text.
2. Angels are
spirit beings; how could they marry a human being?
True, angels are spirit beings. However, they can take
on human form. We see it throughout Scripture.
In Genesis 18:8, 19:1, Abraham saw “three men.” He
talked with them, had a meal made for them and stood by as they ate. One of
them turned out to be the LORD; the other two were angels.
You’re probably familiar with the passage in Hebrews 13:2 that tells us to be mindful to entertain strangers, for in so doing we may entertain angels unawares.
Okay so, angels can take on human form, they may even
be able to go through the motions of a marriage ceremony, but…
3. Can angels
procreate?
Once again, we find the answer in Scripture. This time
we only need to go a couple verses. Genesis 6:4, says the sons of God
came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them.
Thus, according to that verse, at that particular time
in HIStory, angels procreated with women.
Wow. It’s hard to imagine such a thing. But we must
believe the Word, whether we understand it, or not.
It’s obvious by God’s reaction in the next verse,
Genesis 6:3, that He’s not pleased; He sets a doomsday clock for 120 years.
Just to be clear, these “angels” are fallen angels, also known as demons
(Revelation 12:3–4, Luke 10:18, Isaiah 14:12–15).
3 And
the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed
flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
In 120 years, the ark will be built, the door will be
shut, and God’s wrath will flood the planet by way of water. Every living thing
will perish; except for Noah, his family, and the animals with him on the ark.
For 120 years Noah’s hammer echoed God’s warning,
REPENT! JUDGEMENT IS COMING.
But one day, the hammering stopped…and the wrath of
God poured.
As it was in the days of Noah so shall it
be…
Jesus has been knocking, knocking, knocking, but one
day the knocking will stop. The trump will sound, and the wrath of God will
pour.
4
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.
The “giants” are the children of the, sons
of God, and, the daughters of men. In the original text the
word is, “Nephilim.” The Hebrew root word for Nephilim is Nephal;
which means: to fall. Adding “im” to the end, makes it plural. So,
Nephilim, means: fallen ones.
Now we have the makings of a monster movie. People’s
imaginations have run wild to the point of obsession; some have even become
Nephilim hunters—like ghost busters.
We should give it as much attention as the Bible does.
Which is very little.
However, since we’re here let’s peek at what piques
people’s interest.
Did Nephilim appear again after the flood?
There are a couple reasons why folks believe they did.
One is what we just read in Genesis 6:4. There were Nephilim on the
earth in those days, and also afterward…
The words,
and also afterward leads folks to believe that there
were Nephilim, before and after the flood. The Dake Bible
teaches as much.
However, we haven’t even gotten to the flood story
yet; so, it might be a bit premature to be talking about something that hasn’t
even been introduced.
Additionally, the phrase, “and also afterward”
by definition of original text could read: indeed following.
Thus, the text may imply that, Nephilim were
on the earth, indeed following when the sons of God came in to the daughters of
men.
But what about the other time Nephilim is
mentioned, after the flood?
Good point.
We only see the word Nephilim in one other verse in
the Bible; it’s mentioned twice in Numbers 13:33.
Twelve spies went to spy out the Promise Land. Two
spies returned, and ten chickens. Two were brave, Joshua and Caleb; they said,
grab your gear let’s roll.
The other ten were chicken. They said we can’t, the
land devours the people, we’re grasshoppers, they’re Nephilim.
There are multiple Scriptural references to giants in
the Bible after the flood. They are never called Nephilim except
by the ten, cowardice, grasshopper sized chickens. They didn’t mention Nephilim
in the original description of the land. Only in that one verse, when the ten
were speaking fearfully and allegorically, do we see the giants referred to as
Nephilim. Even forty years later when Joshua, Caleb and crew return to face the
giants, they are never called Nephilim.
Thus, considering the context, and the lack of any
solid Scriptural confirmation, it appears that the spies used the word
Nephilim, as they used the word grasshopper; metaphorically, to emphasis their
point.
Will there be a return of the Nephilim?
Some imaginations leap like grasshoppers into the
future, claiming Nephilim still exist, or that there will be a return of the
Nephilim.
What an eerie thought.
Now, there’s coming a day when some very eerie,
grasshopper like demons, will emerge from the abyss, during the tribulation.
Revelation 9:2-3.
But for now, using our Bible instead of our
imagination, what we see is more comforting that eerie, regarding the fallen
angels and Nephilim of Genesis 6.
Jude 6-7, and 2 Peter 2:4-5 tells us that those demons
who crossed the line in Genesis 6; are in chains and imprisoned, until
judgement day.
So, take courage, do not fear, there are more than
twice as many good angels, as there are bad.
Better still, for the Christian, Greater is He
that is in you, than he that is in the world. 1 John 4:4.
Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows,
not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But
as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For
as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and
giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and
did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the
coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in
the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two
women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch
therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But
know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would
come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore
you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
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