|
GENESIS SIX
Verses 1-13, The Angelic Infiltration as an
extension of the war on the Messianic promise of Genesis 3:15.
If Satan can pollute the human gene pool so that the result will be a
creature who is not "truly" human, it would prevent the Messiah
from coming into the world as "true humanity" and this would prevent
the fulfillment of God's plan both in blessing Adam's race and in judging
the fallen angels.
Gen. 6:1-2 speaks of a period of time when
something (unusual) happened in conjunction with a large population explosion in
the land.
1. The sons of God took women for themselves (probably seduced, rather than
forced).
2. The natural result of that physical seduction would be offspring. It seems
that would be "understood," but that natural result is not mentioned until verse
4.
3. So to anticipate, BECAUSE of this encroachment into the human gene pool,
human "flesh" is spoiled or ruined and at verse 3 God gives a warning IN VIEW of
this development within the human race.
Verse 1
1. Now it came about: the normal progress of time
2. Great population expanse which does two things.
A. Amplifies the volitional issues of the angelic conflict.
Gen. 4:26, "then calling on the name of the Lord was caused to
begin."
B. Indicates to Satan that the promised "Seed" could come at
any time in the future and from any woman. It was not going to come directly
from Eve.
3. Point of interpretation:
A. The human race is designated by the terms men and daughters.
B. Daughters born to them indicates normal human procreation.
C. Sons of God refers to a different creature from man.
Verse 2
Sons of God: this is the FIRST CLUE that something strange is going on.
1. That the sons of God: a new group of creatures introduced.
Not men; not daughters; but sons of God.
A. benā ha elohim: used 4 times and only of angels
1. Gen. 6:2, 4; Job 1.6; 2.1
2. Job 38:7 has benā elohim with no definite article, and still refers
to angels.
3. Dan. 3.25: Chaldean form is bar elohin - "a son of God (or the
gods)" still refers to an angel.
B. They are called sons of God to indicate origin. They were created
by God.
Similar to the concept in Acts 17:28-29 with reference to the human race.
"The offspring of God."
C. This was a common term to refer to angels in the time period prior to 2000
AH (ano hominus - in the year of man). Later, the word "messenger" was used
and became the standard for referring to angels. (melek in the Hebrew and
angelos in the Greek).
Thus in Peter and Jude the common word, angelos, is used to refer to this
historical infiltration rather than the term used at the time of the event.
2. Saw the daughters of men: reference to females of the human race.
A. Note again the distinction: men's daughters, sons of God
B. Some claim that this refers to the godly line of man procreating with
the ungodly line of man.
1. There is no such distinction made in the scriptures.
2. The use of the term sons of God denies this claim.
3. The natural flow of the context indicates that man and the sons of God
are two different creatures.
4. The offspring that results is because of a mixture of different genes.
Not because the father was a believer and the mother was an unbeliever.
5. Also, there is no mention of godly women mating with ungodly men.
6. The male contribution here is from angels which are always viewed in
scripture as male.
7. It is argued that angels don't procreate so they can't be involved.
a. It is true that there is no sexual activity among the angels. They
were all created in one point of time and they are all male. Mat. 22:30.
This is describing a situation that exists in the heavenly realm and does
not address the issue of angels taking human form to procreate with human
females.
b. But the absence of activity does not demand the absence of capacity.
c. The 3 New T. passages that comment on this incident make it perfectly
clear that angels participated in a non-bona fide sexual activity. 1 Pet.
3:19-20; Jude 6-7; 2 Pet. 2:4-5 (see below)
3. That they were beautiful: tobh = good, attractive or beneficial.
There was a very real attraction to the angels. But the attraction was not
"beauty."
The word, "good" indicates something that is beneficial. This
was the attraction.
They saw that these women would be beneficial in fulfilling Satan's plan
to frustrate the arrival of the Messiah into the human race.
Within their natural "spirit" realm, there
would be no need for sexual expression or fulfillment, except to fulfill a "lust
of the flesh" that the fallen angels had through the possession of an "angelic"
sinful nature, acquired when they sinned against God.
The only other reason to "leave this realm" would be the attempt to
destroy the "true humanity" factor within the human race and thus
prevent the Messiah from coming into the world as "true humanity."
4. And they took women: ishAh - used also for wife, but no marriage is
involved here. Jude 7 indicates that this is "gross immorality . .
. going after strange flesh."
5. Taking the women results in OFFSPRING. At
this point in the record offspring has already come into existence. These angels
took human form and were able to pass on non-human DNA to the offspring
that resulted from having sex with the women whom they chose.
6. These offspring will be identified at verse
4 as "the nephilim."
7. So to repeat the order of events.
A. Population explosion within the human race: men and women.
B. Angels took women, had sex, and produced offspring with
non-human DNA.
C. THEN God gave the warning and the duration of the evangelistic
activity to take
place before the flood.
Verse 3 The convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit for salvation.
1. Then the LORD said: the warning is given after the infiltration had
started.
The REASON for the warning is BECAUSE of the encroachment of non-human DNA into
the human gene pool.
2. my Spirit: ruach, refers to the 3rd member of the Godhead. the revealer
of Truth. God the Holy Spirit
3. Shall not strive: dun, there is no certain background to this word,
but some idea of judging is present in the context as well as some act of
God toward man.
A. The best that meets all the information is the act of the Spirit
in convicting (endure, put up with, DEAL with) the world of sin righteousness and judgment so that they
might be saved.
B. This ministry was probably carried out by the teaching of Methuselah,
Lamech and Noah
4. With man: be AdAm, refers to mankind and specifically a reference
to the present civilization.
5. forever: le. olAm means "perpetually" and is often used
as an idiom to indicate the extent of a designated period of time. Indicated
as 120 years.
6. Because he also is flesh: this is another difficult and disputed passage.
A. there are two possibilities
1. because he also is flesh
2. in his erring, he is flesh.
B. First point is that this phrase does not really affect the context
one way or another. The phrase before and after do not depend on the phrase
in the middle.
1. The Holy Spirit convicts
2. And man's time to respond is given as 120 years.
3. This issue is clear regardless of how we interpret the phrase in the
middle.
C. This is saying something about why God's convicting ministry is going
to be limited to 120 years. But that is perfectly clear from v. 5 and 11-12.
D. So, without the phrase the context still explains the issues of man's
physical and moral condition. And the phrase itself must comment in some
way on that condition.
E. The meaning of the phrase centers around one word. be shaggam (the
part, "he is flesh" is clear)
F. The first choice: "in that also (or because) he is flesh."
1. be = preposition, in;
2. sha = contraction of asher (that) and gam = also
3. emphasis on the status of man as being flesh.
4. It does not refer to the presence of the sin nature directly or of the
evil that comes from the flesh.
Noah + 7 are the same, Gen. 8:21
5. "also" indicates in addition to something else. Man is
made up of body, soul and spirit.
a. The soul and spirit are integral parts of true humanity.
b. But the body is also an issue of whether a creature is true humanity
or not.
6. So, this would indicate that the present civilization is given a
limited period of time in order that the true humanity factor does not
become totally corrupted.
7. The attack on the coming of the "true humanity" messiah
is not limited to the realm of the soul but is also related the physical
body.
G. The second choice: "In his erring he is flesh.." which
relates to the expression of evil that God is to judge.
1. be = preposition, in;
2. shaggam = qal infinitive construct of shAgag + 3ms suffix (shAgag means
to go astray or err)
3. Humans are evil by nature, but that in itself does not require the flood.
After the flood the evil nature continues.
4. But in his evil expression, he is flesh. That is, the problem is
concerning the physical purity of the race. It is a "fleshly" physical
issue.
5. This requires the flood so true humanity will be preserved for the
coming of the Messiah.
6. In his erring he is corrupting the true humanity factor of the physical
body.
H. And so, in either choice, the translation can very easily be interpreted
as relating to the attack on true humanity.
I. The time limitation and then destruction of the earth is because
true humanity is being contaminated and this will prevent the coming of
the "true humanity" messiah.
7. Yet his days shall be 120 years: the allotted time period for the
present civilization so that all the volitional creatures might have an
opportunity to be saved.
Thus, God will give humanity a time limit to benefit from God's patience. 1
Peter 3:20, "when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah."
(Genesis 6:4, "in those days"). So when the offspring began to be born, the
warning was given. A very reasonable explanation for the time allotment is
because of God's patience, which is ever "not willing for any to perish but for
all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
Verse 4 The Nephilim
1. In those days: the days of V. 2; the period
of time described above referring to the seduction of human females and the
period of God's patience and warning (120 years) as a result of that seduction.
This is the time period that the sons of God were procreating with human women.
The infiltration comes first WITH the resultant offspring. And THEN the warning
is given.
Verse 4 is simply telling what happened as a result of verse 2.
2. and also AFTER THAT: the adverb kan with the
preposition, acharay refers to a specific time or time period within the
context.
A. This cannot refer to after the flood because the flood is not even in view
until verse 13.
B. In context it can refer to the time when the sons of God seduced human
females, looking at it from the standpoint of its inception and the years after
that inception.
C. Or the time period of 120 years from its inception and throughout its
duration.
D. In either case, it is the same period of time.
3. When: gives us the reason for the nephilim being on the earth.
It is directly connected with the angelic infiltration.
The Hebrew word is asher. It is a descriptive particle. It's purpose is to
indicate a description of the "time" word the precedes it so that it answers
"when," "where," "how,"
or "why."
Thus, it is telling us HOW the nephilim came to be on the earth. It is WHEN -
that is, during the time frame that the sons of God CAME INTO the daughters of
men and they (the daughters) bore offspring to them.
4. The sons of God came into the daughters of
men.
A. This explains v. 2, took women for themselves.
B. If this were natural procreation within the human race, there would
be no strange offspring.
C. But the point is being made that because of the mixture of angelic
and human genes, a volitional, human like offspring comes into existence.
D. And they bore to them: explains how the Nephilim came into existence.
6. Nephilim: used only three times - here and two times in Num. 13:33
A. It means giant, based on the LXX use of
gigas. (gigantes)
B. Some trace it back to the verb nAphal which means to fall, and therefore,
fallen ones. But they are not fallen ones, they are offspring from the
fallen angels, but in themselves are volitionally independent.
C. In numbers it describes a group of men from the perspective of their
physical stature. They were giants.
D. Here, it refers to ones that have a physical superiority as described
in the next phrase.
E. One thing is certain. The giants in Numbers are not the same as here
since all but Noah + 7 were destroyed in the flood.
F. The same word (nephilim) is used because
it is a bona fide
Hebrew word to describe the "physical" features involved,
not because they are the same creature. I might use the word "giant" to
describe pumpkin or in referring to a man's character as "a giant of a man."
Or even to refer to a man's physical stature and say the same thing, "a giant
of a man." But none of this equates any of the things mentioned.
G. The same thing applies to the noun rephaim, which is from the verb rAphAh
(which occurs at 2Sam. 21:16, 22). The noun occurs 10 times (not counting
the 8 times as "valley of the Rephaim"). At Gen. 14:5
and others, it is translated by the Greek as gigas. The word simply means
giant and has nothing to do with the Genesis 6 infiltration.
H. The same understanding should be applied to other words that are
associated with the nephilim and "giants" in general (emim, anakim, zamzumim;
zuzim: Deut. 2:21; 9:2; Josh. 11:21, 22; 14:12, 15; Num. 13:28-29;Deut.
1:28; 2:10-11; Gen. 14:5)
I. There is a secondary meaning ascribed to rephaim that is often translated
as "departed spirits" at Job 26:5; Isaiah 14:9; Isaiah 26:4; Isaiah 26:19;
Psalm 88:11; Prov.2:18; Prov. 9:18; Prov. 21:16.
MIGHTY MEN: This is the SECOND CLUE that
something strange is going on.
7. Description of the Nephilim: Those were. The pronoun, they, (hemAh) directly
refers to the offspring just mentioned; the nephilim.
A. mighty men: gibor (plural adjective) = gibborim which speaks of their
abilities and would include physical stature.
B. of old: This comment is made by the writer as he looks back into
history and records an accurate opinion of them.
C. Since then, the historical facts as preserved by Noah, became distorted
and turned into the many stories as found in ancient mythology.
D. Men of renown: men of the shām (name); men with a well-known
reputation
8. HEBREW STRUCTURE OF THE VERSE
There is a very important accent that occurs right after "bore offspring to
them."
It is called the athnach accent (looks like an upside down V). It gives the MAIN
division of the sentence. Thus "these were" starts the SECOND half of the
sentence and gives a final description of the primary subject, which is "the
Nephilim."
The nephilim is the primary subject in the sentence.
Secondary information is then given about them until the midpoint of the
sentence.
After the split at the midpoint of the sentence, the sentence gives a final
summary of the main subject.
I. The nephilim
A. were on the earth
B. in those days (and also after {those days})
1. WHEN the sons of God
a. came into the daughters of men
(1. and they bore offspring to them (athnach,
ends the first half of the sentence).
II. these (the nephilim (as the offspring) were the mighty men; men of renown.
9. These Nephilim are volitional creatures with basic human limitations,
but their humanity is contaminated with angelic genes.
A. They are not creatures descended directly
from Adam because they have angelic
fathers.
B. However, they do have a sin nature created
from the combination of angelic and human genes, and therefore are under the
judgment that comes from inherent and personal sin.
C. Because they are volitional creatures and
newly brought into the angelic conflict, it is logical that grace would
provide for them a source of salvation and probably through the Messiah.
D. Although this is speculation, it is
consistent with the issue of free will within the angelic conflict.
E. It is not consistent with God's character to judge the Nephilim because
of their parentage.
They must have an opportunity to be saved.
F. Accordingly, the 120 year period is for
the salvation of all the volitional creatures present.
1. Those born as offspring of Adam who are
presently functioning as spiritual rebels through their own volitional
decisions.
2. Those innocently involved in the angelic conflict through birth,
both the nephilim and human babies.
10. Anyone who dies in the OT period go into
Sheol. The believers go to Paradise and the unbelievers go to torment (shades of
an earlier discussion).
The Nephilim who respond to the Messianic promise and trust in God will go to
Paradise when the die. Those who die without trusting in God's promise will go
to torment.
Verses 5-8 describes the sinful condition of
the human race stating the presence of the sin nature, and then gives the Divine evaluation of the human race.
1. Then Yahweh saw: rAAh = made a temporal observation and evaluation.
2. That the wickedness of man: raah ha AdAm - of mankind refers to the
overt expressions of evil and includes the physical corruption that the
human race participated in.
3. was great: rabhAh, to become much, many, great
4. on the earth: emphasis on the overt expression
5. And that: explains why there is such great prevalence of evil.
6. every intent: yātzer, inclination or expression
7. of the thoughts of his heart: reference to the sin nature.
machashAbhAh, reasonings of his lābh (heart)
8. was only evil continually:
A. only, raq = restrictive idea that indicates consistency.
B. evil, ra = character of evil which promotes self. Eph. 2:3
C. continually, kol hayom = every day
9. The character of evil amplified and promoted the expression of evil
in two ways.
A. agreement with the infiltration that was going on
B. active participation by the women and the offspring.
Verse 6 And Yahweh was sorry
The Hebrew verb is nAacham.
Did God express sorrow about having created man on the earth?
Or did God change his mind about having created man on the earth?
There are two basic ideas with this verb, nAcham.
1. be sorry, which, when used of God is the anthropopathic expression of
displeasure.
Jeremiah 13:14, “I shall not show pity nor be sorry (nAcham) nor have
compassion.”
Ezek. 24:14, “I shall not relent and I shall not pity and I shall not be sorry (nAcham).
2. repent, which means to change the mind.
This is seen at Num 23:19, where no change of mind is possible for God.
It seems that this is also the meaning at Ex. 13:17, “lest they “change (their)
mind” and return to Egypt.” But this could also be translated as be sorry and
return.
Perhaps we should accept that there is a fine line between sorrow and a
change of mind.
The question is whether the idea of changing the mind can be used of God.
He does however express great sorrow at the actions of His creation.
CONCERNING GOD CHANGING HIS MIND
1. He cannot change His character. That is a given.
Mal. 3:6, but that is a different verb (shAnAh) and refers to the unconditional
covenant with Israel.
Numbers 23:19 also refer to God’s plans for the nation of Israel.
2. Can He change his plans or actions? And is that a problem if he can or
does?
3. We have statements that indicate God does not change His mind. But it seems
that this is referring to specific things and not an absolute, as in it “never”
happens.
At 1Sam, 1:29 and 15:29, clearly the idea of changing the mind is in view, and
it is clearly stated that God does not CHANGE HIS MIND. But again, this seems to
be referring to the specific promise in the context.
Jeremiah 4:27-28 refers to a SPECIFIC aspect of God’s plan that He declares will
not change.
4. We have statements that indicate God does in fact change His mind.
Jeremiah 18:8-10 is talking about a temporal judgment or blessing pronounced by
God upon a nation that is “changed” based on the positive or negative actions of
the people involved.
Verse 8, “I will relent (nAcham).” Veerse 10, “I will relent of the good (nAcham).”
Jeremiah 26:13, amend your ways . . . and I will change my mind (nAcham).
Jeremiah 42:10, “I will relent (nAcham) concerning the calamity.”
Exodus 32:7-14. The Lord changed his mind after the intercession of Moses.
But the thing that was changed was not a decree or a promise. It was a
SUGGESTION.
Verse 10, “now let me alone that my anger may burn against them . . . and I
will make you into a nation.”
Now all of the above clearly should not be translated as being sorry.
At Genesis 6:6, if it is sorrow that is in view then it is an anthropopathism
to communicate God's attitude toward the evil. An anthropopathism is a
communication device that takes a human "character" expression which God does
not possess and ascribes it to God, so that we can understand the "nature" of
God's actions.
(1) sorry: nAcham (niphal imperfect consecutive).
(2) God cannot actually BE SAD. But He can certainly be displeased with the
actions of His creation. Sorrow expresses this displeasure.
(3) The language is used to communicate Divine displeasure on the human level so
that man will understand that he has violated Divine standards.
But we then have another statement that basically says the same thing, "and
He was grieved in His heart." The verb is Atsabh (hithpael
imperfect/consecutive). This word means to be pained or hurt.
If sorrow is in view with nAcham, then this word is an amplification of sorrow
that intensifies how God’s attitude has changed concerning the human race.
Thus, another anthropopathism. God cannot be "unhappy." And He cannot actually
feel pain. But he can certainly be displeased with the negative expressions of
His creatures. Since God wants what is best for them, He can certainly be
displeased when they miss out on His blessings.
But why the repetition? It seems to be unnecessary.
What if God actually did change His mind about this particular situation?
It could be stating a change in God’s original purpose for the Adamic
civilization.
So I suggest: God had a plan for “made man on the earth.”
God's original intent was to have the human race continue until "the fullness of
time" when He would bring the Messiah into the world. His plan was NOT to have
Satan bring about this infiltration. BUT, God knew all about it from eternity
past and incorporated Satan's act into His perfect plan.
So based on the corruption of humanity through the angelic infiltration, God
changed His mind about “made man on the earth.” He now “adjusted” His plan using
a new civilization built from Noah + 7.
This is no different than the other changes that God has made throughout history
concerning various nations and peoples as already observed.
Verse 7 states the first reason for destroying
mankind; because of sinfulness.
BUT that pervasive UNIVERSAL sinfulness is NOT the primary issue. Man's
sinfulness CONTINUES after the flood (Gen. 8:21). There is another and more
pressing reason for the removal of all flesh.
The reason that all animals are destroyed is simply because of the NATURE of the
judgment that God is going to bring. It must be a universal, conclusive removal
of all "human" flesh. And that requires a total destruction of everything that
moves on the face of the earth.
Verse 8 Noah found grace, chān = favor and acceptance. The
reason is given in verse 9
THE THIRD CLUE that something strange is going
on. Perfect (or complete) in his GENERATIONS.
Verse 9 Three reasons to find grace.
1. righteous man: tsadiyq indicates he was a believer.
2. perfect in his generations: tAmiym in his dōr
A. The word, dōr, means a generation and not "times."
B. This is a physical issue. No contamination.
He was true humanity and so was his family.
C. This is the first and ONLY time such a statement is found in Scripture.
That pretty much sets it aside as being unique and describing something that
is unusual. It speaks of physical purity regarding his family line. It would
also include his relatives, including the wives of his sons.
3. he walked with God: a believer in fellowship, following Divine viewpoint
standards in his life.
Verse 10, Noah became the father of three sons: The emphasis on the fact that Noah's children were of his fathering
and there was no genetic compromise.
THE FOURTH CLUE that something strange is going
on; physical corruption.
Verse 11, The status of the earth from two perspectives. One statement about the
sinfulness of man in general and one statement about the PHYSICAL condition of
the human race in general.
1. corrupt: shAchath means to ruin, spoil, corrupt, pollute, pervert.
The niphal imperfect indicates to be in a state of corruption which refers
to the physical contamination from angelic genes.
A. "filled with violence (more specifically, wrong-doing in general)"
describes the sinful condition of the human race in general, based on man's
sinful character as stated at verse 5. ChAmAs is the Hebew noun. BDB, "violence,
wrong. In general, of rude wickedness of men."
B. "The earth was corrupt in the sight of God." shAchath means to ruin, spoil,
corrupt, pollute, pervert. These are PHYSICAL factors.
(BDB, marred, injured, spoiled, ruined, corrupted. Ruin a waistcloth, Jer. 13:7.
Ruin a vessel, Jer. 18:4
The niphal (passive) imperfect indicates the receipt of a state of corruption.
The earth had RECEIVED an effect that placed it in a state of ruin and spoilage.
This lines up with the idea of physical contamination from angelic genes.
Verse 12, "God looked upon the earth."
1. and behold: hinā, this word is specifically for the reader.
It is emphatic to focus attention on the physical corruption of the earth
and not just the spiritual decline.
2. it was spoiled." niphal perfect of ShAchath. It was in a state
of ruin and spoilage. And then that STATE of ruin is explained further.
3. BECAUSE: kiy, explains the cause of the status
4. "for all FLESH: kol bAsAr.
The word, flesh (basar) clearly gives this a PHYSICAL emphasis.
5. had ruined its way upon the earth: Ruined is the hiphil
perfect of shachath, spoil, ruin, damage; trees, crop, vessels, houses, palaces,
cities, nations. Here, all flesh (in general) had ruined its WAY.
6.The word is derek; way, road, path, journey. Speaks of one's life
or normal sphere of existence on the earth. This seems to reinforce the ruin of
the human gene pool. All flesh refers to the vast majority of the people
but not absolutely all. cf. Verse 9, Noah. And Methuselah, who died in the year
of the flood (1656 AH).
FIFTH AND SIXTH CLUES that something strange
HAPPENED.
Genesis 8:21 through hindsight, gives us the FIFTH CLUE that something PHYSICAL
had happened back in Genesis 6. "For the intent of man's heart is evil from his
youth."
There is no difference between Gen. 6:5 and 8:21. So this SINFULNESS is NOT the
primary reason for bringing the flood.
14. Genesis 8:21 also gives us the SIXTH CLUE that we had a PHYSICAL attack on
true humanity back in Genesis 6. "I will never again destroy every living thing
like I have done."
The reason is because God had countered Satan's tactic. The SPOILED humanity had
been destroyed and such an attack would not be allowed by Satan again. Of course
we must appeal to other Scripture to understand that those fallen angels/sons of
God were imprisoned and apparently such an attack would never be permitted
again. Satan tried and failed, and would now have to attack the "seed of the
woman" in some other ways.
Genesis 6:13, Statement of Divine judgment
1. And God said to Noah: provides complete orientation to the problem.
The end of all flesh: basar, again focuses on the physical factors involved. IE.
there is a problem with "all flesh." It has become ruined and spoiled as
described at verse 12.
2. The end of all flesh: refers to the all flesh of V. 12 which is under
a physical corruption.
3. For the earth is filled with wrong-doing: refers to the overall moral
and spiritual decline of man which is separate from the physical corruption
but aggravated by it.
The extensive sinfulness that is (1) the result of the sin nature described at
verse 5. The noun is chAmAs which means WRONG DOING in general rather than
"violence" specifically.
Matthew Poole: injustice, fraud, rapine, oppression
Cambridge Bible for schools and colleges: "is doubtless meant to be impious
insolence and active disregard of all law of right and wrong."
BDB, "violence, wrong. In general, of rude wickedness of men."
And (2) because "all flesh" has contributed to the wrong-doing.
4. Because of them: this refers to the
"all flesh." It is because of something that the "all flesh" has done or "had
done to them" (the passive action of the niphal stem of shAchath) which is in the status
of physical corruption. These are the ones who through promotion of the
viewpoint of their angelic fathers contribute to the moral and spiritual
decline of others.
5. And behold: hinā, indicates that Noah needs to really
concentrate.
6. I am about to destroy: physical destruction at the flood
7. them: the specific "all flesh" that has become spoiled, with the earth.
8. with the earth: all others including the animal life.
The earth itself is not destroyed, just covered and this destroys all the
land-dependent life.
9. Whether believers or unbelievers, the earth must be cleansed from
the physical contamination.
10. Status of the creatures involved after the flood
A. The believers including the nephilim-believers are in Paradise. Luke
16:22 cf. Luke 23:43
B. The unbelievers including Nephilim-unbelievers are in torments. Luke
16:23
C. The angels who did Satan's bidding (who kept not their first estate)
are imprisoned to await the lake of fire.
1. 1 Pet. 3:19, spirits in prison
2. 2 Pet. 2:4, in tartarus, ie, pits of darkness, reserved for judgment.
3. Jude 6, preserved in everlasting bonds under darkness.
4. Each of these three passages make it clear that the angels in prison
are the ones involved in Gen. 6:1-13
1 Peter 3:19-20a
After Jesus died physically on the cross, his soul went into Hades where
he joined all believers who had died in the past and were now dwelling in
paradise (Luke 16:22) and where he also reunited with the believing thief
who also died on a cross (Luke 23:43).
While in hades, He also made a victorious proclamation to a group of
"spirit beings" who were imprisoned in a separate compartment.
These are specifically identified as some who were disobedient in the days
of Noah, while God's patience was waiting until He would bring the flood.
This group cannot refer to a group of humans who were disobedient at
that time, because ALL unbelievers of the Old Testament period went without
exception to the place of torments (Luke 16:22-23), and no person or group
was "set apart" from the others as more evil than anyone else.
They all went to the same place. Accordingly, this group of spirit-beings
must refer to a group of fallen angels, who committed such a specific and
grievous evil that God chose to imprison them as a punishment.
2 Peter 2:4-5
Peter tells us that there was a group of angels who sinned and were placed
in pits of darkness, reserved for judgment.
The Bible makes it clear that the devil and his angels are not imprisoned,
but are "alive and well" and causing much harm in the world today,
both to unbelievers and believers alike.
Accordingly, this specific group of angels cannot refer to those who
rebelled against God at the very beginning in the revolt led by Satan and
which resulted in him being removed from his heavenly home. So this must
be another and different type of evil that was committed by a specific group
of these fallen angels, and such a deed that would prompt God to actually
imprison them or "tartarize" them as the Greek indicates. Based
on this Greek verb, tartaroō, the place of imprisonment for these spirits,
has been designated as tartarus and should probably be identified with the
"pit of the abyss" (bottomless pit, Rev. 9:1; 20:1) and the great
chasm (Luke 16:26).
It is significant that Peter makes immediate reference to the generation
of Noah and the flood judgment as if to give us a chronological fix on what
group of angels he is talking about.
Hopefully, it is clear that the spirits in prison" of 1 Pet. 3 and
the "angels who sinned" of 2 Pet. 2 are one and the same.
Jude 6-8
Here we are told of "angels who did not keep their own domain"
which is described as abandoning their proper abode.
The word, domain, is archā and means beginning, and refers to
the "original" sphere of existence in which they were created, Ie, the angelic sphere of existence.
The word, abode, is oikātārion and means a sphere
of "dwelling" or function.
Thus, we learn that these angels left the sphere of their angelic existence
and the sphere of their angelic "function" and as a result, were
imprisoned to await the final judgment.
Jude tells us what exactly is meant by these concepts of "domain"
and "abode" when he explains at verse 7, that the men of Sodom
and Gomorrah, "since they IN THE SAME WAY AS THESE (the angels) indulged
in gross immorality and WENT AFTER DIFFERENT FLESH. The men of Sodom pursued
sexual activity with "strange" flesh, that is, flesh other than
what God designed for their sexual expression. Ie, men with men. In the
same way, the angels pursued sexual activity with "strange" flesh,
in that they went outside the "angelic sphere of existence" and
pursued sexual activity with humans. That is, they accomplished the angelic
infiltration as is described at Gen. 6.
These three passages perfectly correlate one with the other and together
amplify Genesis 6.
Verses 14-20, instructions and preparation of the ark
Return to Commentary Index
| 
