Expert: Ernie Laurence, Jr. - 8/26/2011

Question
What is your thoughts on Genesis chapter 6. And the historical but not inspired book of Enoch?  Demons/Fallen angels  Or is fallen angels demons as well?

Answer
Hey Josh,

Thanks for the question.  Sorry for the late response.

Genesis 6 has nothing to do with demons or angels or "half-angels".  The "sons of God" in every passage in scripture, both old a new, is a reference to faithful men.  John 1:12 speaks of those who have faith having the power to become sons of God.  In Genesis 6 what you have is the faithful of God marrying wicked humans and that "hook" eventually corrupted the entire world except Noah and his family.

Enoch is not inspired and has a number of serious doctrinal errors as well as conflicts with the 66 books of the Bible.  It is pure fantasy written by men who, like many today, misinterpret passages like Isa. 14 and then run with it.  Isa. 14, for example, is about king of a metaphorical Babylon (in reality representing Judah) falling from power.  Read the whole chapter.  Lucifer (eosphosphorus in the Greek) is the morning star.  His "fall from heaven" is a fall from power or rule.  In fact the metaphor for heaven, for sun, moon, and stars as figures of authority goes all the way back to Genesis 1 where the greater light "ruled" the day and the lesser night "ruled" the night.  Joseph's dream concerned the sun (his father) the moon (his mother) and eleven stars (his brothers) bowing to him.

Even the "war in Heaven" of Revelation chapter 12 is symbolic of Christ and the church vs. the Jewish persecutors ruled by the Herods (the Red Dragon called "the Adversary") during the first century AD.  It has no direct future application (only general principle to draw from).

The very idea that evil could be contemplated, much less acted on in Heaven is unBiblical in every way.  That evil could have existed there before implies that it can exist there again.  What does that mean for us who seek a rest from the constant struggle against evil here in the mortal realm?

Much of what you see today concerning angels, demons, half-angels, and the like are pure fiction from the minds of men.  They are based on works like "Dante's Inferno" or "The Screwtape Letters" or even the book of Enoch (which was in no way written by Enoch as it would not have survived the Flood).

I hope that answers your question.  If I need to expound on any of this, or you have more detailed questions, please ask.

In Truth and Love,
Ernie