I. The Nephilim (Genesis 6:1-8)
A. 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,
a. Men –אדם 'adam
b. Daughters - בת bath,(feminine noun) daughter, girl, adopted daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, granddaughters, female child, cousin
B. Genesis 6:2 – That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
a. Notice from verse 1 that men began to multiply, giving no indication which men, but rather men in general.
1. These daughters were of men in general
2. Sons of God seems to indicate something different than these same men that had begotten the daughters
3. The phrase “sons of God” is used in many other places in scripture, lets look to those passages to try and bring clarity to what is meant here. The following passages lead the reader to the conclusion that sons of God is a reference to spiritual beings:
· Job 1:6 – Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
· Job 2:1 – Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
· Job 38:7 – When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
· 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.
4. There are also passages that lead us in another direction:
· Deuteronomy 32:5 – They have corrupted themselves, their spot [is] not [the spot] of his children: [they are] a perverse and crooked generation.
o Spot - מאום m'uwm (masculine noun)of moral stain
· Hosea 1:10 – Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, [that] in the place where it was said unto them, Ye [are] not my people, [there] it shall be said unto them (future tense), [Ye are] the sons of the living God.
· Romans - For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
· Romans - For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. (a future event)
· Philemon - 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;
· 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. 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. So what are we to believe? Were they Angels or were they men of the Seth seed line as Leupold suggests? Lets try and collect more information as we proceed.
· John 3:5-6 – Jesus answered, “Verily. Verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God
o So after one is born of spirit would they be considered spirit and “should be called sons of God”?
o We are all born of water or amniotic fluid whichever you prefer, but what about Spirit? How does this happen?
o If God is Spirit then one can conclude that in order to be a “son of God” one must be of spirit or born of Spirit.
· II Corinthians - Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
o New information introduced, if any man “be in Christ” he is a new creature. Is this what is meant by being “born of the Spirit? Resounding YES!
o Would it have been possible for these primeval men to “be in Christ” or for that matter be “born of the Spirit”? Not until Christ rescued them from the prison when He “descended into hell”
· Ephesians - For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
o We were created in Christ and before ordained
· John 1:12-13 - 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: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
o So in order to “become the sons of God” there is a requirement to receive Him and believe on His name.
o And by receiving Him we become a new creature, being born of the Spirit with the potential to become a son of God.
6. After reviewing the above scripture we should be able to determine who these “sons of God” were in Genesis 6:2.
· That which is born of Spirit was Adam, but after the fall all of his progeny were “of the flesh” and could not be “of the Spirit” unless the requirements were met. Until Christ, who was born of the Spirit, as He was begotten of the Father, no one could meet the requirements to be called sons of God. Therefore, would it not seem that only the angels of heaven who were born of the Spirit could be the subject of this verse? One might now ask, “How does this impact me now?”
b. Matthew 24:37-38 – But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark.
1. This passage indicates that the events that transpired in the days of Noah will be repeated just prior to the coming of the Son of man. (i.e. marrying and giving in marriage, who was doing this?)
2. Who are “they” referenced in v.38? Let’s continue…
· Matthew -42 – And knew not until the flood came and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
o They are those who were taken away with the flood, the wicked and corrupted.
o This is one of the main verses those who subscribe to the rapture doctrine cling to, but if you read carefully, who are the ones to be taken, the good or the bad? Since it is paralleling the story of the flood and those taken away in the flood were the wicked the conclusion seems clear that the wicked are those taken away with the coming of the Son of Man.
c. The Book of Enoch – The Book of Enoch was extant centuries before the birth of Christ and yet is considered by many to be more Christian in its theology than Jewish. It was considered scripture by many early Christians. The earliest literature of the so-called "Church Fathers" is filled with references to this mysterious book. The early second century "Epistle of Barnabus" makes much use of the Book of Enoch. Second and Third Century "Church Fathers" like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen and Clement of Alexandria all make use of the Book of Enoch. Tertullian (160-230 C .E) even called the Book of Enoch "Holy Scripture". The Ethiopic Church
d. Enoch Chapters VI – XI go into great detail regarding the fall of the angels, their punishment and the future Messianic Kingdom
1. Enoch 6:1-6 – And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: “Come, let us choose wives from among the children of men and beget us children.” And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: “I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.” And they all answered him and said: “Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.” Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon , and they called it Mount Hermon , because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it.
o Interesting note that this is said to have taken place in the “days of Jared” remember from Chapter 5 that Jared (ירד Yered) means “descent” which would coincide with Enoch’s rendering of the descent of the angels.
o Mount Hermon - חרמון Chermown, a sanctuary, a mountain on the northeastern border of Palestine Lebanon Dan
e. Jude 6 – 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.
f. II Peter 2:4-5 – For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, 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;
1. Who are these “angels that sinned”? The Book of Enoch describes the following pronouncement from God:
2. Enoch -15 – And the Lord said unto Michael: “Go, bind Semjaza and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness. And, when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgment and of their consummation, till the judgment that is forever and ever is consummated. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: and to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined forever. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the end of all generations. And destroy all the spirits of the reprobate, and the children of the Watchers, because they have wronged mankind.
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