THE SONS OF GOD IN GENESIS 6:1-7

[Highway54]

23 And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, 24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Ex 21:23–25.

Yep! Can't get more just than that.

 

[BB1956]

The "sons of God" in verse 2 are the human, godly line of Seth. The godly line of Seth were disobedient and took wives of the ungodly daughters of men, had children, and because of the sin nature in man and the influence of the ungodly women wives upon the children, they were without restraint of the Covenant godly line of Seth and were grown to be dictators and bullies in their society. I know Christians take "sons of God" as angels, but angels are first, a fixed number, have no genitals, and cannot mate with flesh.

Many say that these ‘sons of God’ were themselves human, being in reality men of the line of Seth. They base their argument on the fact that Seth’s line was that through which godly Noah came, whereas the other lines from Adam, that of Cain and those of any other sons born to Adam at Genesis 5:3, 4, were destroyed at the Flood. So, they say that the taking as wives “the daughters of men” by “the sons of the true God” means that the men of the line of Seth began to marry into the line of wicked Cain.

There is nothing to show that God made any such distinction between family lines at this point in history of man. I honestly don't believe there to be any corroborating Scriptural evidence to support the view that intermarriage between the lines of Seth and Cain is what is here meant, or that such marriages were responsible for the birth of “mighty ones" as mentioned in verse 4.

However, there is an explanation that finds corroborating evidence in the Scriptures. The expression “sons of the true God” that occurs at Job 1:6, is obviously to spirit sons of God(angels) assembled in God’s presence, among whom Satan, who had been “roving about in the earth,” also appeared. (Job 1:7; Job 2:1, 2.) Again at Job 38:4-7 “the sons of God” who ‘shouted in applause’ when God ‘laid the cornerstone’ of the earth clearly were angelic sons and not humans descended from Adam. So, too, at Psalm 89:6 “the sons of God” are definitely heavenly creatures, not humans.

The identification of “the sons of the true God” at Genesis 6:2-4 with angels is objected to by those holding the previously mentioned view because they say the context relates entirely to human wickedness. This objection is not valid, however, since the wrongful interjection of spirit creatures(demons) in human affairs most certainly could contribute to or accelerate the growth of human wickedness. Wicked spirit creatures(demons) during Jesus’ time on earth, though not then materializing in visible form, were responsible for wrong human conduct of an extreme nature. The mention of a mixing into human affairs by angelic sons of God could reasonably appear in the Genesis account precisely because of its explaining to a considerable degree the gravity of the situation that had developed on earth prior to the Flood.

I believe scripture supports the "sons of God" being angels because of the apostle Peter’s references to “the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient when the patience of God was waiting in Noah’s days” (1Peter 3:19, 20), and to “the angels that sinned,” mentioned in connection with the “ancient world” of Noah’s time (2Peter 2:4, 5), as well as Jude’s statement concerning “the angels that did not keep their original position but forsook their own proper dwelling place.” (Jude 6) If it is denied that “the sons of the true God” of Genesis 6:2-4 were spirit creatures, then these statements by the Christian writers become difficult to understand, with nothing to explain the manner in which this angelic disobedience took place, or its actual relation to Noah’s time.

Angels definitely did materialize human bodies on occasion, even eating and drinking with men. (Genesis 18:1-22; 19:1-3) Jesus’ statement concerning resurrected men and women not marrying or being given in marriage but being like the “angels in heaven” shows that marriages between such heavenly creatures do not exist, no male and female distinction being indicated among them. (Matthew 22:30) But this does not say that such angels could not materialize human forms and enter marriage relations with human women. It should be noted that Jude’s reference to angels as not keeping their original position and to them as forsaking their “proper dwelling place” (certainly here referring to an abandoning of the spirit realm) is immediately followed by the statement: “So too Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them, after they in the same manner as the foregoing ones had committed fornication excessively and gone out after flesh for unnatural use, are placed before us as a warning example.” (Jude 6, 7) So, the combined weight of the Scriptural evidence points to angels deviating, the performance of acts contrary to their spirit nature, occurring in the days of Noah.

 

[JLB]

I believe scripture supports the "sons of God" being angels

Of course the sons of God refers to angels in Genesis 6.


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 6:4


All flesh was destroyed in the flood except Noah and his family.


So the question is, how could the sons of God continue to produce Nephilim giants after the flood, if they were not angels?

• There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men

Furthermore, we see in the context of Genesis 6, the bloodline lineage genealogy of mankind from Adam to Noah, and their is no mention of sons of God, nor is there mention of Nephilim giants.


This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.
Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died.
Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan. After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died.
Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died.
Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died.
Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died.
Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died.
Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.” After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died.
And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Genesis 5:1-32


Finally we see the New Testament refer contextually to the sons of God as angels.


For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 2 Peter 2:4


The angels who sinned and were cast down to hell, are contextually linked to Noah and the ancient world.





JLB

 

[Consecrated Life]

Another clue as to the nature of these "Sons of God" is the fact that Satan is mentioned as being among them, and participating in their activities :

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.


This business of " Presenting themselves " before God shared by both these Sons of God And Satan indicates to me beings that have been cast out to roam the earth .
We know that God's angels are unrestricted to their access to God, and have no need to " present themselves "

 

[JLB]

Another clue as to the nature of these "Sons of God" is the fact that Satan is mentioned as being among them, and participating in their activities :

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.


This business of " Presenting themselves " before God shared by both these Sons of God And Satan indicates to me beings that have been cast out to roam the earth .
We know that God's angels are unrestricted to their access to God, and have no need to " present themselves "

Yes, these sons of God and Satan, “came from the earth” to be before the Lord.

The point being they were not on earth in this meeting with the Lord.

And unless humans could fly back then, the sons of God were angels, as the other references in Job validate.


JLB