The sons of God saw the daughters of men

Brethren, "Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you." (Philemon 1:8, 9) I quote this verse so those that would be contentious, believing I’m forcing them to obey something, might know our heart.

My duty is to declare to you the truth of our Lord and God. Modern day Christians believe all kinds of things with no Scriptural backing at all. Many have preconceived ideas or personal bias, but as always the Bible is our textbook and the Holy Spirit is our guide.

The Text

"That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 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. 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." (Genesis 6:2-4)

This is the main text of the teaching that is expressed. The Scriptures provide some others see: Job 1:6; 2:1, 38:7; Hosea 1:10; John 1:12; Romans 8:14, 19; Philippians 2:15; 1 John 3:1, 2. We will deal with these later.

Word Definitions

In Genesis 6:2, 4; Job 1:6, 2:1; 38:7; and Hosea 1:10 all use the Hebrew word "ben" or "bane" for son which simply means a son or a son of.

The John 1:12; Philippians 2:15; and 1 John 3:1,2 passages uses the Greek word "teknon" for son meaning that which is born or a child.

The Romans 8:14 and 19 passages uses a different Greek word "huios" for son meaning anyone of origin, their origin, or the starting point of the person named.

The word giant in Hebrew is "nphil or nefeel." Nowhere in the Bible is the word "nephilim" used. The Septuagint in Genesis 6:4 has gigantes as does the Latin Vulgate.

Some translations wrongly use "nephilim" and some get it right.

"The fallen ones were in the earth in those days" (YLT)

"The Nephilim were in the earth in those days" (ASV)

"The Nephilim were in the earth in those days" (WEB)

"But there were Giantes in those dayes in ye earth" (Bishop's Bible)

"Les géants étaient sur la terre en ces temps-là"(French Version)

"Había gigantes en la tierra en aquellos días" (Spanish Version)

You can see how one can be prompted to follow the whole nephilim teaching?

The Question

Many interpret this passage either two ways, one that this is fallen (therefore the borrowed word nephilim—fallen ones) demons come down to have sexual relations with women and thus creating an offspring of wicked giants. The other is these are regular men having relations with women and thus producing of deformed offspring of giants. This is what is before us. Both cannot be right, and both cannot be wrong, so one must be right.

A Closer Look

"That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 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. 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." (Genesis 6:2-4)

The setting for this is after Noah and his sons are introduced in the text. Genesis 6:1 says, "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them," Pretty simple just as it says then we read, "That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose." This is where the question comes in—are these men or fallen angles? How is it that this is even questioned? Some have taken passages of a no canonical book called the book of Enoch and infused this doctrine into the church. Genesis 6:2 does not say, "the sons of God saw the daughters of God" but "daughters of men."

"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 the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children. And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells." (The Book of Enoch 6:1-3; 7:1-3)

The book of Enoch states that the sons of God were angelic fallen creatures who fathered the Nephilim born of the natural daughters of Adam. This is the pretext that they build their whole theory on. The "Nephilim" are supposed to be half human and half alien. The source is of course the Apocrypha which has never been accepted by the "Christian" mainstream as part of the canon of scripture then why has the Nephilim theory?

Just think if angelic beings had access to the daughters of men today, they may be able to come and carry your wife away when you were busy away at work, and use her to produce a family of humanoids wouldn't that be awful. I hope you can see such folly in this teaching? 

We have to remember that angels good or bad cannot marry, engage in sex, or reproduce. Demons can possess men but that evil spirit cannot be transferred from person to offspring it is impossible. Getting back to Enoch, many suggest this is not canonical. However, Jude through the Holy Spirit does quote him. Do we so readily accept part of the books quote and throughout the rest? If we reject the book of Enoch then we would have to reject the quote from it as well?

We have to look at the facts. One, which after the event in Genesis 6:1, 2 that something happened to bring on verses 3, 4, and 5. We know from others Scriptures (Numbers 13:33, Deuteronomy 2:11, 20; Joshua 12:4) there were giants in the land just as there is with us today. Two, if "sons of God" are spirit beings in human flesh how is that possible? Three, if "sons of God" are children of Seth righteous for God why Genesis 6:3, 4, 5?

Two Groups of Children

The Scriptures are clear as it divides two groups of "children" in regards to mankind in the spiritual sense. One is lost and the other redeemed. We have "children of the flesh" (the sons of men) and we have "the children of God" (the sons of God), the righteous seed, also known as children of the promise.

"That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed." (Romans 9:8)

The Bible displays two "seed lines" all throughout. One is the righteous seed line which goes back to Abel and then Seth (the true line). The other is the wicked unrighteous seed line that goes back to Cain (the religious line). Men were called the sons of God in the Old Testament never angels.

"Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God." (Luke 3:38)

Adam was the son of God being in the Messianic lineage. Which means if Adam was the son of God, then so was righteous Seth (who replaced murdered Abel), Enos, and all the righteous lineage from and back to Jesus. These were indeed the sons of God (plural) Jesus of course, being the only begotten Son of God.

"…and all of you are children of the most High." (Psalm 82:6)

"Ye are the children of the LORD your God." (Deuteronomy 14:1)

"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, Ye are the sons of the living God." (Hosea 1:10)

Men, not spiritual beings, are referred to as the sons of God in the Old Testament never angels!

"I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth." (Isaiah 43:6)

The New Testament

"For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26)

Only those who have been grafted into Christ, becoming part of the seed lineage, can be named "children of God."

"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." (John 1:12)

"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 8:14)

"For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." (Romans 8:19)

"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." (Philippians 2:15)

"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." (1 John 3:1, 2)

There is no doubt that misinformed and hyperbolic people produced and propagate the Nephilim theory. But to the Bible believer who sees the consistency throughout scripture of which the sons of God always were and are today—God's children on earth!

Giants?

"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." (Genesis 6:4)

The scripture is clear that there were giants on earth at the time the sons of God came and went into the daughters of men. Therefore, being giants in those days has nothing to do with a mixture of human and angelic seed, but because of the hundreds of years of separation between Seth's line and Cain's line coming together. Genesis makes it clear only two of a kind can procreate.

Also, there were not only individual giants in the new earth pre-flood, but there were "races" of giants post-flood which the children of Israel had to contend with. These were the sons of Anak, the Anakims.  There is no scriptural record these were the offspring of angelic beings intermingling with mankind. They too were men of flesh and blood and known in the end as "the remnant of the giants" (Deuteronomy 3:11, Joshua 13:12) the last stronghold of giants after the Flood.  After this, there were only remnants of these people. When David cut off the head of Goliath he was a man not an alien or half alien. Neither was he a freakish monster or humanoid. However, he was one of the remnants of the giants still left on earth, as we still have some with us today through genetic throwback, and not through a product of alien adduction or angelic sex with humans.

Some facts to guide you

1.       Scripture is clear angels and demons cannot reproduce, take women, or marry.

2.       There can be no angels or demons entering a human body and engaging in sexual relations with women and then produce some kind of mutant. It is impossible for a spiritual being, angel or demon, to "pass on" some part of them to human offspring.

3.       There were giants in the land as Scripture shows, but they were not because of some angelic mixture.

4.       And finally Scripture is clear believers are "the sons of God" not some strange demonic visitors.

Be careful of what you believe! Trust God and His Bible alone.

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