B'nai HaElohim:
Angels or Sons of Seth
Shalom,
Sons Of
God
(Genesis
6:1 “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth,
and daughters were born unto them, 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.”)
A
controversy within the body of Christ surrounds this scripture in Genesis 6.
Many people hold that the Sons of God mentioned in this scripture refers to the
Sons of Seth because they were righteous ones. But is this really the correct
position of this scripture when it refers to the Sons of God? The answer is no,
not at all. Let me demonstrate the true teaching as it was taught to be and was
held in the early church.
The
Hebrew term translated “Sons Of God” is “B’nai HaElohim” a term consistently used in the Old Testament for
angels. When the Torah was translated into the Greek
version of the Hebrew scripture it was known as the
Septuagint, and the term “Sons Of God” were translated as Angels.
The
Book Of Enoch helps widely on this subject, but I will
include Enoch in the next lesson, which is another great deal of controversy
over the view of scripture.
Now
“The daughters of men” translated from Hebrew as “Benoth
Adam” literally means “The daughters of Adam” which refers to the natural
female descendants of mankind. Their is no particular genealogical issue in
this translation claiming that the daughters were of the Sons of Cain. But now lets look at the word “Giants” and it’s translated
form from Hebrew as “Nephilim” which literally means
“The Fallen Ones” which come from the verb “Nephal”
as to mean “to fall”. In the Septuagint translation,
the term used was, “Gigantes”, or known as “Earth
born”. They were also called “Hag Gibborim” meaning
“The Mighty Ones” or “Hero” or “Chief Man.”
Sons Of
Seth Theory
Both
the ancient Hebrew scholars and the early church fathers understood the text to
refer to fallen angels procreating with human women. But it was in the 5th
century A.D. that the angel interpretation of Genesis 6 was increasingly viewed
as an embarrassment when attacked by critics. Within that time period, the
worship of angels had begun within the church.
Also,
celibacy had also become as institution of the church. The angel view of
Genesis 6 was feared as impacting these views.
Celsus and Julian the apostate used the
traditional angel belief to attack Christianity. Julius Africanus
restored to the Sethite interpretation as a more
comfortable ground. Cyril of Alexandria also repudiated the orthodox angel
position with the line of Seth interpretation. Augustine also embraced the Sethite theory and thus it prevailed into the Middle Ages. It is still widely taught today among many churches who
find the literal angel view a bit disturbing.
The
problems with the Sethite view is the text itself. As described above we have a clear understanding of who
the “Sons of God” are from the Hebrew scriptures. The
“Sons of Seth and daughters of Cain” interpretation strains and obscures the
intended grammatical antithesis between the Sons Of God and the daughters of
Adam. Attempting to impute any other view to the text flies
in the face of the earlier centuries of understanding of the Hebrew text among
both rabbinical and early church scholarship.
The
lexicographical antithesis clearly intends to establish a contrast between the
angels and the women of the Earth. If the text was intended to contrast the
“sons of Seth and the daughters of Cain” why didn’t it say so? Seth was not
God, and Cain was not Adam. Why not the “sons of Seth” and the “daughters of
Cain?” There is no basis for restricting the text to
either subset of Adam’s descendants. Further, there exist no
mention of daughters of Elohim.
And
how does the “Sethite” interpretation contribute to
the ostensible cause for the Flood which is the primary thrust of the text? The
entire view is contrived on a series of assumptions without scriptural support.
The Biblical term “Sons Of Elohim” which means of the
Creator Himself, is confined to the direct creation by the divine hand and not
to those born to those of their own order. In Luke’s
genealogy of Jesus, only Adam is called a “son of God”.
At
no time, before the Flood of after, has God destroyed or threatened to destroy
the human race for the sin of “mixed marriages.” It is impossible to reconcile
this extreme punishment with the mere verbal strictures found elsewhere in the
Bible for the same practice. If God is going to be consistent, He should have
destroyed the human race many times over. When on tries to imply that the “Sons
of God” were Sethites and they were godly, one cannot
come up with solid evidence to prove this statement at all. We know from
Genesis that when the time came for God to destroy the human race, He found
only one godly family left among them, and that was Noah’s. So where were all
the other supposedly godly sons of Seth? Even Seth’s own son could hardly be
called righteous. His name was Enos, meaning “mortal”
or “Frail.” And he certainly lived up to it. Genesis 4:26 reads:
(Genesis 4:26 “And to Seth, to him also
there was born a son; and he called his name Enos;
then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.”)
That
statement seems harmless enough, but what does it mean when it says that it was
only now that men began to call upon the name of the Lord? Upon whom did Adam
call? And Abel? And Seth himself? Some
scholars give us a more literal and exact translation to this verse: “Then men
began to call themselves by the name of Jehovah.” Other scholars translate the
statement in this manner: Then men began to call upon their gods “idols” by the
name of Jehovah.” If either of these be the correct translation then the
evidence for the so called godly line of Seth is non-existent. The truth if the
matter is that Enos and his line, with few noted exceptions,
were as ungodly as the other line. The divine record could not be clearer:
(Genesis
6:12 “all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth”)
There
is no evidence stated or implied, that the line of Seth was godly. Only one
person was translated from the judgment to come who was “Enoch”, and only 8
were given the protection of the ark. No one beyond Noah’s immediate family was
accounted worthy to be saved. In fact the text implies that these were distinct
from all others. There is no evidence that the wives of Noah’s sons were of the
line of Seth. There must be a understanding here that the term “Sons of God” in
the Old Testament is only referred to “Angels” where in the New Testament the
term “Sons Of God” are implied to those “Born again” and “Sealed of the
Spirit”. So if the lines of Seth were so faithful, why did they perish in the
flood?
Now
let us turn to the daughters of Cain.
The
“Daughters of Adam” also does not denote a restriction to the descendants of
Cain, but rather the whole human race is clearly intended. These daughters were
the daughters born to the men with which this very sentence opens:
(Genesis
6:1-2 “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the
earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the
daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which
they chose”)
It
is clear from the text that these daughters were not limited to a particular
family or subset, but were indeed, from all the Benoth
Adam, “the daughters of Adam.” There is no apparent exclusion of the daughters
of Seth. Or were they so without charms in contrast with the daughters of Cain?
All of Adam’s female descendants seem to have been involved. And what about the
“sons of Adam?” Where do they, using this contrived
dichotomy, fit in? Let it also be known that the line of Cain was not
necessarily known for its ungodliness. From a study of the naming of Cain’s
children, many of which included the name of God, it is not clear that they
were all necessarily unfaithful.
What
about the unnatural offspring? The most fatal flaw in the specious “Sethite” view is the emergence of the Nephilim
as a result of the unions. Bending the translation to “giants” does not resolve
the difficulties. It is the offspring of these peculiar unions in Genesis 6:4
which is cited as a primary cause for the Flood. Procreation
by parents of differing religious views do not produce unnatural offspring. Believers marrying unbelievers will not create superhuman,
or unnatural children. It was this unnatural
procreation and the resulting abnormal creatures that were designated as a
principal reason for the judgment of the flood. The very absence of any such
adulteration of the human genealogy in Noah’s case is also documented in
Genesis 6:9. Noah’s family tree was distinctively unblemished. The Hebrew word
is “Tamiym” which is used for physical blemishes.
Why
were the offspring uniquely designated “mighty” and “men of renown?” This description characterizing the children is not
accounted for if the fathers were merly men, even if
godly. A further difficulty seems to be that the offspring were only men; no
“women of renown” are mentioned. Was there a chromosome deficiency among the Sethites? Were there only “X” chromosomes available in this
line?
So
in its full and final understanding, the “Sons of God” view to fit the “sons of
Seth” description is debunked due to faulty understanding of the scriptures and
a manmade doctrine that emerged out of the Roman Catholic Church. Even though
the “sons of Seth” view is debunked and is not the right view on the “Sons of
God” subject, what else does this study shed light on about these “Sons of God?
Angelic Beings & The Nephilim
The
other Biblical scriptures that view the “Sons Of God”
as angels are found in:
(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?”)
The
earliest reports of fallen angels is found in the book of Enoch. Which states the sons of heaven, who belonged to the
guardian angels, had lusted for the beauty of the daughters of men and in the
time of Jared decided to descend upon
Now
there is one problem some people have been taught and will try to oppose to the
understanding that angels of God Almighty came down upon the earth and took
wives for theme selves. And it deals with the scripture in Matthew where Yeshua was speaking about the resurrection:
(Mat
22:30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage,
but are as the angels of God in heaven.)
Some
will try to say and use this one scripture to oppose the real understanding of
the “Sons of God” by saying that the angels are perfect. This is not the case
of all the angels. Yeshua was teaching about how we
will be transformed into our glories form and holy bodies just as the angels
are. People easily forget the difference between heaven and earth, and the
nature of these 2 dimensions that exist in there forms.
Heaven
the throne of God is pure. Where earth is filled with sin, and all of its
temptations. Nothing unholy can exist in heaven, this
is why Paul said that we are to put on the incorruptible exchanging it for this
corruptible life that exist in a world of sin.
(1Co
15:52-54“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall
be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal
[must] put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be
brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.“)
So
let us understand the nature of anything that materializes it self into this
physical dimension that is surrounded by sin. So then the question is raised.
Can angels do what man does when entering human form? The answer is yes, it
should not be shocking. Let us look at the scriptures.
(Gen
19:1 “And there came two angels to
These
2 angels were in the flesh, the later sat and ate with
(Gen
32:24 “And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the
breaking of the day.”)
Lets
focus on one who is the Son of God, but was made a little lower than the angels
to become man. This will show that even Yeshua though He is the Son of God, He still humbled
himself as a man, to be a example and could’ve just like any other man fell
into sin, by the nature of this physical dimension. This will also show that if
Yeshua could’ve fallen into sin, what makes you think
the angels who are not mightier then the Son of God could’ve not fallen into
sin?
John
1:14 describes the Word became flesh:
(Joh 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)
full of grace and truth.”)
Hebrews
4:15 describes how Yeshua was surrounded by
temptation, but did not sin:
(Heb
4:15 “For we have not an high priest which cannot be
touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like
as [we are, yet] without sin.”)
Matthew
4:1-10 describes the greatest form of temptation that surrounded Yeshua, which came by Lucifer while in the wilderness,
praying & fasting:
(Matthew
4:1-10 “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted
of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was
afterward an hungred. And
when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that
these stones be made bread. But he answered and said,
It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then
the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself
down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and
in [their] hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot
against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again,
the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high
mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the
world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All
these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. hen saith Jesus unto him, Get thee
hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship
the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”)
Let
us have understanding that Satan is a angel of light,
but he is a fallen angel, just as the 1/3 of the heavenly legion that is casted out of heaven with him as described in Revelation
12:
(Rev
12:3 “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red
dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And
his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the
earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was
ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”)
(Rev
12:7 “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the
dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was
their place found any more in heaven. And the great
dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth,
and his angels were cast out with him.”)
So
there must be a responsibility that God has entrusted with certain angels, just
as he trust His authority with His Prophets, Apostles, etc. We cannot view all
angels equal, because even they just as we of the human race have been created
different with our own uniqueness and image. So these angles that have fallen
in Genesis and recorded by Enoch are called watchers. God has created angelic
beings as Angels, Archangels, Watchers, Seraphim, Cherubim, etc.
But
is there any vital piece of information held in the New Testament that can help
us clear our understanding that in fact, angels were and can be tempted by
women, that in Genesis 6, during the days of Jared, Enoch, and Noah they came
down and even after the Flood, that they bore the Nephilim?
In
1 Corinthians 11:9-10, Paul instructs that a woman should cover her head as a
sign of subjection to her husband, and also because of the angels. Angels?
(1Co
11:9 “Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. For
this cause ought the woman to have power on [her] head because of the angels.”)
This
observation has intrigued commentators though the years. Why this sudden
reference to angels? Obviously, Paul believed that an uncovered woman was a
temptation even to the angels. There is a very old rabbinic account, that it
was the beauty of the women’s long hair that attracted and tempted the angels.
Now
since this sheds major light on who the Angels were and are, let us move into what
else the New Testament bares witness to the account that happen in Genesis 6.
There are 2 Biblical passages that teach more on the Old Testament event with
the angels, and they are (Jude 1:6-7) & (2 Peter 2:4) These verses indicate
that at some point in time a number of angels fell from their pristine state
and proceeded to commit a sexual sin that was both unusual and repugnant.
(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. 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.”)
(2Peter
2:4 “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;”)
Now
its interesting to understand that these angels not only failed to keep their
original dominion and authority, but they left their own habitation. Habitation means “dwelling place”, and the addition of the
Greek word “idion” “Their own” means that they left
their own private, personal, unique, possession. Heaven
was the personal residence of the angels.
This
is why the ultimate destination of the saints will not be heaven, but the new
and perfect earth which God will restore (Revelation 21:1-3) Heaven is reserved
for the angels, but as for the fallen angels referred to in scripture, they
have abandoned it. Not only did these angels leave heaven, they left it once
and for all. The Greek verb “Apoleippo” is in the
aorist tense, thus indicating a once and for all act. By taking the action they
did, these angels made a final and irretrievable decision.
As
to the specific sin of these angels, we are given the facts in Jude 7. They
were as the case of
Next
to these New Testament scriptures that teach about the fallen angles that are
bound underneath the earth, is there any more evidence of that supports these
scripture and gives them there understanding? These is, let us turn to the book
of Enoch. In my other lesson, I give detail on the Book of Enoch. Enoch records
what he was told by God, concerning their capture and being sent underneath the
earth intill the end of days, and the final judgemant:
Book
Of Enoch (“Further more God said to Raphael, Bind Azazel
by his hands, and his feet. And split open the desert
which is in Deudael, and throw him in there. And
cover him with darkness; and let him stay there forever. That on the day of
judgment he may be hurled into the fire. And God said
unto Michael, Go inform Shemyaza and the others with
him. When all their sons kill each other, and when they see the destruction of
their beloved ones, bind them for 70 generations under the hill of the earth
until the day of judgment. And in the those days they
will lead them to the abyss of fire”)
It
is well understood in rabbinic teachings that 4 of these fallen angels will be
used in the last days. The Book of Revelation concludes this:
(Rev
9:14-15 “Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels
which are bound in the great river
Further
confirmation from the early church fathers that they held to the fine
understanding of the “Sons of God” and their existence:
(The Writings of Justin
Martyr. Book 1 Pg 190)
“God
committed the care of men, and all things under heaven to angels who He
appointed over them. But the angels transgressed this appointment, and were
captivated by the love of women, and begot children who were of those that are
called Demons; and besides, they afterwards subdued the human race to
themselves, partly by teaching them to offer sacrifices, and incense, and libations,
of which they stood in need after they were enslaved by lustful passions; and
among them they sowed murders, wars, adulteries, intemperate deeds, and all
wickedness. Whence also the poets and mythologist not knowing that it was the
angels and those demons whom had been begotten by them did these things to men,
and women, and cities, and nations which they related ascribed them to God
himself, and to the offspring of those who were called brothers, Neptune and
Pluto, and to the children again of these their offspring. For whatever name
each of the angels had given himself, and his children, by that name they were
called.”
(The Anti-Nicean Fathers. Volume 2, Pg 142)
“Some
free agents you will observe, such as they were created by God, continued in
those things which God had made and over which he had ordained them, but some
outraged both the constitution of their nature and the government entrusted to
them; namely, this ruler of matter and it’s various forms, and others of these
were placed about the firmament, these fell into impure love of virgins, and
were subjected by the flesh, and he became negligent and wicked in the
management of the thing entrusted him of these lovers of virgins, therefore
were begotten of those who are called giants (Nephilim).
And if something has been said by the poets, too about giants, be not surprised
at this.”
In
my next lesson I will get into the Nephilim which is
known as “the Giants”, and the origin of evil spirits. This will connect all
these issues together into one part then, so everyone will have a clear
understanding of this subject.
In
Yahweh
Ezekiel
Ado`shem
P.E.A.C.E.
Study
taken from several sources, complied together by Ezekiel into study lessons
under Scared Lessons on the Secta7.com message board. For more information
about the lessons featured here, email: metatron@lordmetatron.net.