Expert: Quentin Parker - 7/13/2009

Question
Do you believe that angels had fornication with earthly women?   Why or Why not.  I listen to a lot of different prophecy teachers and it seems this is a controversy.  What is your gathering of the facts of Gen. 6, jude.  they also say that the angels chptr 9 or Revelation are the angels locked up because of fornication of earthly women.
They say that humans can't get into all that wickedness before the flood,  I disagree on this as God says our heart is wicked, human beings today are so wicked that I don't believe what Henry Morris says about humans can't do all that wickedness, it had to come from the angels.
What do you think?

Answer
Hello Jerry,

Thanks for your question!

The view that the phrase “sons of God” in the Genesis 6 passage refers to angels is the historical understanding of the passage. This view is predominant in many extra-biblical writings, such as the book of Enoch which interprets the phrase to mean “angels”. Many Bible translations also translate the phrase this way.

Many people do believe that the verses in Jude (verse 6: “And the angels which did not keep their first estate, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.”) refer to Genesis 6, especially as the sins listed in verse 7, are compared to the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah (verse 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.”)

Many commentaries, however, suggest that this passage is speaking of the fallen angels who were cast out from heaven.

Linguistically a number of different interpretations have been well-defended. Many people – and this would be the position I’d learn towards – do not believe that angels/demons have the power to procreate, given what Jesus said in Matthew 22:30 (Mark 12:25), “They will neither marry, nor be given in marriage, they shall be as the angels.”

In my view of the passage, it speaks of the sons of God in a spiritual sense (1 John 3:1, “Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us that we should be called the sons of God.”).  Those who professed to believe in God (sons of God) took wives for themselves from among the worldly heathen nations (daughters of men). This provoked judgment since it is expressly forbidden for the children of God to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14; Deuteronomy 7:3,4). Also, from the text it seems that they were choosing wives according to their own fleshly desires, based on the women’s attractiveness rather than obeying the commands that God had set forth for them regarding marriage. (Genesis 6:1b,2, “the sons of God  saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any that they chose.”) This too incurred God’s judgment upon them for their disobedience.

I hope this is helpful to you. Have a nice day!

-   Quentin Parker