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Genesis 6:1-4 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, [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. [3] 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. [4] 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.
It is somewhat controversial to hold the position that the sons of God in Genesis 6 were angels and that they procreated with human women. This notion, understandably, can seem strange and difficult to believe, especially if one is hearing it for the first time. So, we offer further evidence that these sons of God were, indeed, angels:
(1) The term, sons of God, in the Old Testament is used only five times. Twice, here in Genesis 6, and three other places. It is clear in these other places that it refers to angels:
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?
In one place, the term, Son of God, is used: 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.
The above statement was made by a heathen king by the name of Nebuchadnezzar. He had thrown three Israelites into a fiery furnace but they were not consumed. When he looked into the fire, he saw four men walking about. Many in Christendom make the mistake of believing that Nebuchadnezzar saw Jesus, the only begotten Son of God. This, though, could not be. At this time, there was no begotten Son of God, as we know of Jesus, and there wouldn't be until Mary conceived and brought forth a child. Three verses later, Nebuchadnezzar states that God had sent his angel (Daniel 3:28 Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel…). Even if it were somehow Jesus (who had not yet been born), how could a heathen king know what the future only begotten Son of God would look like, even John the Baptist didn't know (John 1:29-34)? No, this was an angel and he was called the son of God.
If, as in the above verses, the term sons or son of God refers to angels, it is logical to conclude that the same term in Genesis 6, also, refers to angels.
(2) The fact that the offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of men were giants proves that this was not a natural human act of procreation. Pure human offspring would not be giants for all of God's creation produces after their kind. God's design is that everything is to produce after it's kind:
Genesis 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
Giants are not after the kind of man.
Now, some hold that the word, giants, is a mere figure of speech. However, it is clear in scripture that there were literal giant beings in the earth.
1. Goliath (whom David slew in 1 Samuel 17:48-51) was a giant (1 Samuel 17:4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.). If a cubit is 21" and a span is 10", this would make Goliath 11'-4" tall. His spearhead weighed over 23 pounds (1 Sam. 17:7). His coat of mail (armor) weighed over 194 pounds.
2. Og, king of Bashan, slept in a bed that measured 15'-9" in length (Deuteronomy 3:11).
3. Other places indicate greater and taller beings were common in the earth: Deut. 1:28 Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we ...Deut. 2:10 (KJV) The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims...Numbers 13:33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight…
There are many other references to giants in scripture but this is enough to make our point. These were literal, physical giants. Again, some hold that the word, giants, really, indicates that bad things happen when godly men are united with ungodly women. This, however, flies in the face of the proofs offered, above, and below. Conversely, while it is true that there should be no union between the godly and the ungodly (1 Cor. 6:14), no such union has ever produced giant offspring, even though there are many such unions, today.
(3) The sons of God in Genesis 6 must have been angels for there were no godly men on the earth at this time. If there were, why is it that God could find only one man, Noah, that found grace in His sight and whom he chose to save from the flood?
Genesis 6:5-13 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. [6] And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. [7] And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. [8] But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. [9] These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. [10] And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. [11] The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. [12] And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. [13] And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
(4) While many fallen angels are loose and active (Rev. 12:7), 2 Peter 2:4 speaks of a specific group of angels that sinned. The sin they committed must have been very serious for they were placed into chains of darkness ("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;"). What sin these angels committed is not stated here, but in Jude 1:6, we have a clue (Jude 1:6 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.). The next verse gives us much more clarity (Jude 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.)
So, it appears clear that whatever the angels did, Sodom and Gomorra did "in like manner". And what did Sodom and Gomorra do? They gave "themselves over to fornication" and went "after strange flesh".
(5) The well-known Jewish historian, Josephus, writes in Antiquities I, chapter 3: "for many angels of God accompanied with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they had in their own strength, for the tradition is that these men did what resembled the acts of those whom the Grecians call giants…"
Many believe that the angels are sexless but this is not stated in scripture. As a matter of fact, angels are always referred to in the male sense. The verse many use to hold this belief is Matthew 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. This, however, simply states that the angels do not marry nor are given in marriage. And why should they? Angels do not have to preserve their race or produce offspring to repopulate. They never die. (Nor do resurrected saints.)
So, while there is much more that could be presented, we believe that this is sufficient proof that the sons of God were angels, that they committed fornication with the daughters of men, and that their offspring were giants.
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