Mike Criswell
I have to admit that there are a lot of bible passages that really stump me! And, like most, I’d like to know more. Humans, by nature, are inquisitive, as seen in the fact that our first parents (Adam and Eve) just couldn’t stay away from the tree of “knowledge.” Something about that bush irresistibly drew them to it. Ironically, it’s Eve who gives us a hint as she sees the tree is good for food (nourishing), pleasant to the eyes (noticeable), and will make her wise (narcissistic). So, there you have it! Humans like what satisfies their taste buds, whether it’s good for them or not. Humans like things that are flashy, whether they have intrinsic value or not. Humans are just narcissistic enough to want to be on the cutting edge of science, philosophy, or even gossip.
Admittedly, Genesis 6:1-2 is difficult, and I’d love to know more than what is written. But on a positive note, I’m convinced that God has revealed enough for us to come to a reasonable conclusion about what’s going on!
By the time we get to Genesis 6, the world has literally gone to pot! The wicked descendants of Cain (the one who murdered Abel) have now spread throughout the world. The righteous lineage of Seth (Genesis 4:26) seems to be dwindling. And as always seems to be the case, good is being slaughtered by evil. Into this matrix of madness, we are introduced to a righteous man named Noah. You remember the story; God sees the wickedness of the world and eventually brings a global flood to wash away the sin!
However, before the text develops the Flood Story, we have the following enigmatic passage: “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” (Genesis 6:1-2). Now, there is no shortage of theories about what’s going on here. At the far extreme, some take the “Son’s of God” here to refer to “fallen” spirit beings (angels) who come to earth, marry beautiful women, and procreate, resulting in an evil class of giants whom scripture calls Nephilim (giants). Some scholars connect this theory with what the New Testament book of Jude says in verses 6-7 about “angels falling” and about Sodom and Gomorrah going after “strange flesh.” Others connect Genesis 6: 1-2 to the apocryphal book of Enoch and “The Watchers,” who come to earth to interact with humans. The ideas get pretty crazy! So how do we decipher all of this? Well, we don’t have space to deal with all of these interesting esoteric views. But here is the bottom line: Let’s let scripture interpret scripture!
Sometimes, desiring the forbidden fruit, we make things a lot more difficult than they need to be. So, what about our passage? Well, it’s pretty simple, really. The “sons of God” in Genesis 6 are the righteous lineage of Seth. The “daughters of men” are simply the unrighteous lineage of Cain. When godly people marry ungodly people, it never goes well. Righteousness gets watered down! Literally.
Besides the fact that there is no biblical evidence that wicked angels married and had children with humans, we have at least two other problems with this theory. First, God created ALL species to multiply after their own kind (Genesis 1:24). If angels even have DNA, it would, by definition, be incompatible with humans. Second, Jesus makes it very clear that angels cannot marry (Matthew 22:30). In other words, they are not sexual beings! So, here’s the point. The theories involving spooky-sounding notions are certainly more akin to pagan literature than scripture. And that is exactly where these nutty ideas have their origin. It’s always important to let scripture speak for itself and to interpret scripture with scripture. When we marry pagan notions with scripture, we, too, are liable to end up with “giant mistakes.”
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