Have You Ever Wondered? (Part I)

Have you ever been reading the Bible and come across a passage that makes you say "Hmmmmm..." to yourself?  This occurs frequently with me, and here is a passage that evokes that thoughtful sound more than any other:

Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 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.  And the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he [is] flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."

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.
      Genesis 6:1-4 NKJV

What?  Sons of God?  Took women?  Had children?  Did I read that right?  These are the questions I asked of myself when I first read, then re-read again and again this short passage.  Of course I asked my Sunday school teacher about it and the response I got went something like, "Mark...the sons of God represent the Godly lineage of Seth while the daughters of men represent...."   "What???" I thought to myself....  How do you get that interpretation from what the scripture states quite plainly?  Well, here is a more studious look at that passage.  Why look at this?  Well, there are two reasons that come immediately to mind.  First, we don't fully consider the lengths to which Satan will go to corrupt what God has made or to make things very difficult for those who will follow truth.  Secondly, it is simply just interesting.  Enjoy!


But as the Days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.
     Matthew 24:37

Genesis 6
1]      And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2]    That the Son of God saw the daughters of men that they were fait; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

Sons of God = Bene HaElohim (Hebrew)
•    translated consistently when used in the Bible as angels every time.
•    Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7
•    Luke 20:36
•    Septuagint
•    Book of Enoch (for historical reference only)
•  
Daughters of Adam = Benoth Adam (Hebrew)

Daughters of Adam, not just Cain.  Adam had daughters (Gen 5:4): that’s where Cain got his wife!

“took…of all they chose”: doesn’t sound like the girls had much choice in the matter…

3]    And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh; yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4]    There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

Hebrew:
Nephilim: “the fallen ones.”
Nephal: “to fall, be cast down to fall away, desert.”
HaGibborim: “the mighty ones.”

Septuagint (Greek):
gigantes (giants)
gigas = “earth-born”

Geneges is the same word used in Greek mythology for “Titans,” creatures emerging from interbreeding of the Greek gods with human beings.  Genea, means “breed,” or “kind.”  The English words “genes” and “genetics” come from the same root.

These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

tamiym = “without blemish, sound, healthful, without spot, unimpaired”

New Testament Confirmations


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.  Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

     Jude 6, 7

For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
     2 Corinthians 5:2

The Greek word is oiketerion, habitation.  Used only twice: Jude 6 and 2 Corinthians 5.

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the world, but saved Noah…
     2 Peter 2:4, 5


Tartarus: Tartarus is the Greek term for the “dark abode of woe”; the pit of darkness in the unseen world.

Two Views

The commonly taught “Lines of Seth” view emerged in the 5th century but has no Scriptural support.

The “Fallen Angel” view was the view of the ancient Hebrew scholars and also the view of the early church. It was confirmed in the New Testament (Jude 6, 7; 2 Peter 2:4, 5) and it prevails among conservative scholarship today.

Furthermore, the ancient legends of Sumer, Assyria, Egypt, the Incas, the Mayans, Gilgamesh, Persia, Greece, India, Bolivia, South Sea Islands, and the Sioux Indians all bear reference to this phenomenon.

“Angel” View: B.C

•    Traditional Rabbinical literature
•    Book of Enoch (2nd Century)
•    Testimony of the 12 Patriarchs
•    Josephus Flavius
•    Septuagint (LXX)

“Angel” View: Church Fathers

•    Philo of Alexandria
•    Justin Martyr
•    Irenaeus
•    Athenagoras
•    Tertullian
•    Lactantius
•    Amrose
•    Julian

Modern Scholarship

•    G.H. Pember
•    M.R. DeHaan
•    C.H. McIntosh
•    F. Delitzch
•    A.C. Gaebelein
•    A.W. Pink
•    Donald Barnhouse
•    Henry Morris
•    Merril F. Unger
•    Arnold Fructenbaum
•    Hal Lindsey
•    Chuck Smith

The Stratagems of Satan

•    Corruption of Adam’s line: Gen 6
•    Abraham’s seed: Gen 12, 20
•    Famine: Gen 50
•    Destruction of male line: Ex 1
•    Pharaoh’s pursuit:  Ex 14
•    The populating of Canaan: Gen 12:6
•    Against David’s line: 2 Sam 7

Post-Flood Nephilim

•    “…also after that…”: Gen 6:4
•    Rephaim, Emim, Horim, Zamzummim: Gen 14, 15
•    Rephaim often translated “dead": Ps 88:10, Prov 1:18, 9:18, 21:16, Isa 14:9, 26:14
•    Arba, Anak & his 7 sons (Anakim),    Num 13:33

Encountered in Canaan

•    Og, King of Bashan: Deut 3:1, Josh 12
•    Goliath and his 4 brothers: 2 Sam 21:16-18

Unsparing Commands
Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
     1 Samuel 15:3


Ineligible for Resurrection?
They [Rephaim] shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.
     Isaiah 26:14


Notes excerpted from Chuck Missler on The Nephilim

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