In November I taught a three-week series yesterday called “You Asked for It” at Oak Tree Community Church. We asked our congregation to submit questions that they wanted me to answer during the series. Their questions could be about a Bible passage they don’t understand, a Biblical topic they want more information about, or something in the culture they wonder if the Bible addresses.
However, there were several questions I couldn’t get to during the services, so I’ll post answers here over the next couple of weeks. Here’s a great place to start:
In Genesis 6 it talks about angels/demons having children with people. How are spiritual beings able to do that?
Genesis 6:1-4 has always been a difficult passage to interpret, primarily because it’s so short and doesn’t have a lot of context. Because of that, there are three main interpretations, only one of which is that the “sons of God” are angelic beings.
What we do know is that this exact phrase “sons of God” occurs only here and in Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7 (similar Hebrew phrases in Daniel 3:25; Psalm 29:1; and 89:6 are also clearly refer to supernatural beings). Since one of the first principles of interpretation is to let clear passages explain unclear passages, and the sons of God in Job are obviously angelic beings, we will take that here as well. Additionally, Moses sets up a clear distinction between the “daughters of humanity” and these “sons of God,” furthering the thought that they were probably not human.
When we think of angels, we think of spiritual beings with no bodies. And while that’s probably the normal case, every time an angel appears in the Scriptures, it appears as a man, both in form and function. In several instances, angels were able to eat human food, touch and be touched by humans, and even go unnoticed as anything different than the humans they were with (Hebrews 13:2). Without anything telling us otherwise, given that they have these abilities (apparently at will), it is not out of the question that they could have reproductive abilities as well.
This may have been part of Satan’s plan to destroy the offspring that God promised would come through Eve and defeat him.
If you still have questions, we’re still taking them. Just comment below or email them to questions@oaktreechurch.com.