As
the Days of Noah Were
by
Chuck
Missler
There continues to be a flow
of articles, books, and entertainment programs dealing with UFO's,
aliens, and the like. Many
wonder if there is a connection or relationship to the prediction of our
Lord in Luke 17:26:
"And
as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the
Son of Man." The Nephilim
Genesis 6 indicates that the
"sons of God" (B'nai Elohim) took wives of the
"daughters of men," which gave birth to the "Nephilim."
What on earth was going on?
The B'nai Elohim is a
term that refers to angels. It occurs four times in the Old Testament
and is rendered "Angels of God" in the ancient Septuagin
translation. The intrusion of
certain angels into the human family resulted in unnatural offspring
termed Nephilim, which derives from the Hebrew naphal (to
fall), or the Fallen Ones. (The Greek Septuagint renders this term gigantes,
which actually means "earth-born." This is often misunderstood
to mean "giants"--which they also happen to have been,
incidentally.)
"Line
of Seth?"
The early church viewed the B'nai
Elohim as angels up through the late fourth century: Justin,
Athenagoras, Cyprian, Eusebius, et al. (also Josephus, Philo, Judeaus,
and the Apochrypha regard this view).
Celsus and Julian the
Apostate exploited the older common belief to attack Christianity. Cyril
of Alexandria, in his reply, repudiated the orthodox position. Julius
Africanus (a contemporary of Origen) introduced the theory that the
"sons of God" simply referred to the genealogical line of
Seth, which was committed to preserving the true worship of God.
Seemingly more appealing,
the "Sethite theory" prevailed into the Medieval Church, and
many still hold this view.
This view, however, has
several serious problems. There is no indication that the Sethites were
distinguished for piety; they were not exempted from the charge of
general wickedness which brought on the flood. In fact, Seth's son Enosh
was the one who introduced apostasy to that world. This is masked by a
mistranslation of
Genesis 4:25, which should read:
"...then
men began to profane the name of the Lord."
Furthermore, when the
faithful marry the unfaithful, they do not give birth to unnatural
offspring! And the "daughters of men" were not differentiated
with regard to the Flood. All were lost.
(Incidentally, the Nephilim
didn't completely end with the flood. Genesis 6:4 mentions, "...and
also after that..." We find the sons fo Anak, the Anakim,
later in the Old Testament.)
The Reason
for the Flood
It was the infusion of these
strange beings into the human predicament that brought on the Flood of
Noah. The Flood was preceded by four generations of prophets/ preachers
warning of the coming judgment: Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah.
It seems that this was part
of Satan's stratagem to corrupt the line of Adam to prevent the
fulfillment of the Messianic redemption. Noah was apparently unique in
that his genealogy was still uncorrupted.
The strange events which led
to the flood are also alluded to in ancient mythologies.
The legends of the Greek "titans"--partly terrestrial, partly
celestial--embrace these same memories.
(The Greek titan is linguistically linked to the Chaldean sheitan,
and the Hebrew satan.)
The Angels
that Sinned
There is a great deal
revealed in the Bible about angels. They can appear in human form,
they spoke as men, took men by the hand, even ate men's food,
are capable of direct physical combat,
some are the principal forces behind the world powers.
They don't marry (in Heaven),
but apparently are (or were) capable of much mischief.
The strange events of
Genesis Chapter 6 are also referred to in the New Testament. Peter
refers to events preceding the flood of Noah:
"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..." 2 Peter 2:4
(Peter uses the term tartarus,
here translated as hell. This was a Greek term for "the dark abode
of woe, the pit of darkness in the unseen world." Homer's Iliad
portrays tartarus "as far below hades as the earth is below
Heaven...")
Also, in Jude, it mentions
them:
"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 Gomorrah, 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." Jude 6-7
Scripture warns against
meddling with the spirit world. The punishment which overtook the angels
that sinned was to emphasize the serious nature of apostasy: beings of a
higher order than ours have been hurled down into a dark place of
confinement where they have remained for thousands of years.
God has not changed His
attitude toward them; time has not mitigated the seriousness of their
sin. False teachers are prewritten into condemnation.
The
"Sons of God" Return?
There are many who believe
that the recent "alien" involvements are also demonic and are
just another precursor to the end-time. Some also believe that the
Coming World Leader (for more information on the Coming
World Leader, see our Briefing Package) may boast of an "alien
connection." It would be consistent from what else we can infer
from Scripture.
(The Restrainer of II
Thessalonians 2 may be restraining far more than we have any suspicion
of! When He is removed, the world is in for some astonishing surprises!)
In the meantime, what are
our weapons of protection against such things? We do, indeed, "wrestle
not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places."
Our armor is well defined in
Ephesians 6:10-17.
The unprepared are in for
some unpleasant surprises. Always. Have you done your
homework?