The Fall of … angels? Part 1

Marcus Walker Van Every1 Comment

“The Nephilim (giants) were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.”(Genesis 6:4)

The Fall of Man

One doesn’t need to read very far into the Genesis account to discover the the fall of man. Genesis 3 vividly describes how the serpent, the adversary of God, seduced Eve with cunning lies, subverted Adam’s authority as God’s representative on earth, and led the entire human race down the tragic path of sin and death. As a result God cast man out of the garden, cut off Adam and Eve from their very Source of life, and cursed the whole creation. The fall of man caused utter spiritual ruin for the human race, and we continue to suffer the devastating consequences to this very day.

Most people operating from a Biblical worldview understand the significance of Adam’s sin and the consequent fall of the entire human race. After all, the doctrine of original sin is foundational to the orthodox teachings of the church. For example, the Apostle Paul writes … “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12), and also he says, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

There has always been a theological connection between Adam, the son of God (Luke 3:38), with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus is the “second Adam,” who came to undo what the first Adam had done and to do what the first Adam could not. That is why there truly are only two kinds of people in the world — those who still are in Adam (i.e. separated from God in their sins) and those who are in Christ (i.e. saved by God’s grace through faith). The mission of Jesus from the very beginning has always been to redeem what was lost in the garden. But there is more to the mission of Jesus.

The Fall of the “sons of God”

The fall of man is not the only fall that we read about in the early chapters of Genesis. If we aren’t attentive students of the Word of God, we can easily gloss over one of the most significant events ever to take place in human history. In Genesis 6, we read about another fall — a celestial fall. And this one brief but theologically charged passage of Scripture is essential for a comprehensive understanding of the origin of evil and ultimately of the greater mission of Jesus Christ.

Inherent in the Genesis account is a heavenly rebellion, a satanic subversion of the throne of God. These heavenly beings are called the “sons of God,” and their wicked rebellion in the days of Noah must not be overlooked. The sons of God did that which was forbidden in the sight of God and further corrupted the earth to a point of no return.

Before we take time to discuss what these fallen sons of God had done in Noah’s day, let us take a minute to properly identify who they were.

Descendants of Seth or heavenly beings?

If one were to pick up a modern study Bible today and read the study notes on Genesis 6:1-4, he would likely discover that the interpretation of the term, “sons of God,” alludes to the godly human lineage of Seth, son of Adam, and the “daughters of men” refers to the ungodly offspring of Cain. The problem with this interpretation is that the Old Testament never connects the sons of God with the offspring of Seth. This “Sethite” view of Genesis 6 is a man-made construct that first emerged in the 1500s to try to explain away the plain reading of the Biblical text and give a more palatable interpretation. The orthodox traditional view of both the Jews and the early church was that the sons of God in Genesis 6 were referring to the fall of the angelic host of heaven. [I will address the problems with the Sethite view in detail in a later post.]

When we harmonize the Genesis 6 account with other references to the sons of God in the Old Testament, it is clear that these were no ordinary human beings. For example, the book of Job uses the term, “sons of God,” when describing a heavenly assembly.

“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.” (Job 1:6)

Furthermore, we read in Job 38 the rebuke of the LORD, where He rhetorically asks Job a series of questions to silence Job’s complaint. Consider the LORD’s description of the creation account …


“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7)

According to the LORD, the sons of God were singing and shouting for joy as witnesses to God’s creation. These are clearly divine beings in the heavenly realm, not humans in the earthly realm. Likewise, what we read in Genesis 6 depicts much more than the descendants of Seth intermarrying with the descendants of Cain, and to force this view onto Genesis 6 clearly violates the text. But what about the New Testament? How did the New Testament writers interpret Genesis 6? I’m glad you asked.

New Testament Interpretation of Genesis 6

Both Peter and Jude make clear references to this heavenly rebellion in the New Testament. Let’s first consider what Peter had to say about Noah’s day.

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.” (2 Peter 2:4-5)

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared.” (1 Peter 3:18-20)

Peter clearly connects this heavenly rebellion of the past — where the angels “sinned” and “formally did not obey” — with the days of Noah.

Jude also makes this very same connection. He writes, “And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day… Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.” Jude 1:6-7)

Jude explains that the true interpretation of Genesis 6:1-4 involves the angelic host who did not keep their proper domain but abandoned their proper abode in the heavenly realm and entered into the earthly realm to carry out profane and grotesque acts of sexual immorality and pursue unnatural desire. This is what is clearly implied when it says “the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them.” (Genesis 6:4) It is also interesting to note that Jude quotes from the ancient book of Enoch (Jude 1:14), which provides a detailed account of the Watchers who came down in Genesis 6.

The Nephilim

So what was the result of this unholy act of immorality? What kind of offspring was produced through this intermingling of the sons of God with the daughters of men? The Bible says that this perverse angelic incursion produced an entirely new race of giants, called Nephilim, which became the mighty men of old and heroes of renown. That’s right. Giants. There were giants on the earth in Noah’s day, and even after that. As bizarre as that may seem to some, it is true.

And as I will share next time, the giants unlock many ancient mysteries that also will help us understand the future. For the truth is much heavier than fiction.

Noah’s Flood – Fact or Fiction?

Marcus Walker Van Every2 Comments

“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth… For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.” (Genesis 6:11-13, 17)

Any rudimentary study of history yields an abundance of flood folklore. From the oral histories of the native Americans to the earliest writings of the ancient near East to Greco-Roman mythology and everything in between, the collective historical record of humanity seems to agree — there was a flood of epic proportions in the past. It’s been estimated that there are some 300 different flood legends from around the world.

Many of these flood stories contain the same basic narrative. It goes something like this. The gods became angry with the wickedness of mankind and in judgement brought a flood upon the earth. Usually in this collective legend, only one man and his family survive on a boat and become the new progenitors of the human race.

So what are we to make of this collective mythology? Do ancient flood legends diminish the Biblical account of the flood in Noah’s day? Is the Biblical flood story just that – just another mythical story to be lumped in with the rest and dismissed altogether? After all, some of the earliest flood legends discovered through archeology are thought to predate Moses and the writing of Genesis. Did Moses just borrow from one of these legends?

Or do these ancient legends simply substantiate the reality of one true, catastrophic flood event in the past? Maybe that which has been preserved and passed down through the generations is more than myth. 

It’s been said that reality becomes history. History becomes legend. And legend becomes myth. But when one traces the various diversions of mythology back to its original source, he often can discover the true narrative. As one who unapologetically believes that the Bible is the revealed word of the One True God, I am convinced that God has preserved for us the one true account of history in Scripture. After all, there can only be one true past.

So the various ancient flood stories in no way violate or threaten the validity of Biblical flood. If anything, these legends only point us back to the flood of Noah’s day. It only stands to reason that the true account of the flood would have been passed on from Noah and his three sons to the next generation, and as the nations were scattered after the tower of Babel (Genesis 11), every people group would have taken the flood story with them. Over time, these oral traditions were embellished and distorted from the truth … except one.

But whereas our ancestors would have unequivocally acknowledged the truth of an epic flood in our past, there is an entire generation alive today that categorically denies a flood ever occurred. What happened? Why so many modern-day scoffers?

Considering the mass wake that Darwinian evolution cast upon the scientific community over the last 150 years, the most foundational Biblical doctrines of 6-day creation, original sin, and the global flood have been scrutinized, ridiculed, and outright rejected. What may be even more surprising is that many of these skeptics are now found within the community of faith – Christians who apparently have replaced “thus says the Lord” with “thus proves science.”

The reason we are seeing more objections to a literal, global flood within the community of faith (i.e. the church) is because a global flood is irreconcilable with Darwinian evolution and uniformitarianism, which postulates that the geologic changes that have taken place on the earth were caused by slow, gradual, natural processes over millions of years. When an evolutionist looks at rock layers and the fossils buried within, he automatically assumes millions of years of slow, gradual formations – each layer upon layer representing different periods of the distant past (i.e. the geologic column).

With the success of mass indoctrination and the institutionalization of darwinian evolution in our modern culture, many within the community of faith have been blinded by an entirely man-made fabrication of the facts. The worshippers of this evolutionary belief system have conveniently hijacked the term “science” and have made themselves the collective voice of authority for all mankind. This idea of “science” is not true science at all, but rather it is a fundamental belief system based on mere speculation about the past, not the observable present. Science has been deified, replacing God, and the scientists have become the zealous preachers of our day. Anyone who would dare disagree or object to the authority of the scientific community is to be maliciously maligned as an enemy of progress and considered most imbecilic.

In making an attempt to reconcile the Word of God and the new “revelations” of science, many in the community of faith have quickly compromised and looked for ways to force darwinian evolution into the Scriptures. One of these compromises is the idea that Noah’s flood was merely local, not global. Nearly all proponents of the local flood paradigm also hold to some form of progressive creationism or theistic evolution. While there have been many books and peer-reviewed articles written on this subject, I only would like to propose a few reasons why I believe that Noah’s flood was indeed global.

What does the Bible say?

“Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.’ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.” (2 Peter 3:3-6)

At the very core of this debate between a global and local flood is an even more serious issue. In my estimation it all comes down to whether or not the book of Genesis – more specifically the first 11 chapters of Genesis – is to be understood as literal history or not. As I stated before, it is impossible to harmonize the creation and flood accounts as recorded in Genesis with Darwinian evolution and uniformitarianism. To affirm the Biblical account of creation and the flood is to categorically reject evolution.

What does the Evidence say?

I would like make some critical observations that compel me to believe the Word of God at face value and allow it to form my understanding of creation and the ancient world. Noah’s flood is no myth. It is the true, historical account that explains what really happened to the ancient world. And Noah’s flood was not local, but global in nature, covering the entire planet. This list is by no means exhaustive, but here are some reasons why I understand Noah’s flood to be both historical and global.

  1. For the Bible tells me so – As simple as it may sound, I trust the eyewitness account of history, not man’s vain attempts to pervert God’s word with limited knowledge. Our Creator God was there. He knows how it all happened, and He just so happened to tell us in His Word.
  2. Read the Text – The most basic reading of the the flood account clearly and explicitly describes a global event. Consider … “I have determined to make an end of all flesh” (Gen. 6:13), “I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die” (Gen. 6:17), “For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground” (Gen. 7:4), “Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark” (Gen. 7:23). These are but a few Scriptures that clearly emphasize the global catastrophic nature of the flood in Noah’s day. Not to mention, Jesus also affirmed the Genesis account of the flood.
  3. What about the rainbow? – Another critical element that many overlook when proposing a local flood would involve the obvious violation of God’s covenant with mankind. Consider the following passage. “When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, 15I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” (Gen. 9:14-16) If the flood were only local, then God promised Noah and every following generation that He would never flood the earth again. Considering the countless local floods that have occurred on this earth since that promise was made by God, we are forced to on conclude that God is perpetually breaking His promise, failing to keep His covenant and violating His own Word. Impossible.
  4. The rocks cry out! – Vast geologic formations all around the world cannot be explained apart from a global flood. Mountain ranges that jut out like they were rapidly pushed upward under extreme pressure. Swirling rock formations that leave the obvious remnants of rapid hydraulic formation. Layers upon layers of sediment that were rapidly buried and hardened. What we observed during the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens proves that rock layers and massive canyons can be formed very rapidly under extreme catastrophic conditions.
  5. The Fossil Record – Finally, a global flood is the only logical explanation of the mass graves of plant and animal fossils all over the world. The fossil record could not be possible without rapid burial that is consistent with a global flood. We find fossil beds all over the world on every single continent, which can only be explained by a global flood. Fossils almost never form when plants and animals die under normal conditions. Few animal remains are left intact due to scavengers, exposure and the elements. For a fossil to form, very specific conditions must exists. As organisms were buried rapidly during Noah’s flood, vast fossil beds were sorted in the layers of mud and sand, which eventually hardened and turned to sedimentary rock. Not to mention that archeologists also find marine fossils and sea shells on the highest mountain peaks all over the world, which implies the obvious. The entire earth was once covered in water.

In these last days, scoffers continue to scoff as they hide behind the name of “science,” but those who deny a global flood or propose that Noah’s flood was merely local deny both the Word of God and the real scientific evidence. And the Bible tells us why. Sinful men will deliberately suppress the truth in order to follow their own sinful desires and will intentionally deny the evidence in order to deny the dreadful reality of the coming judgment at the hands of a Holy God.


As in the Days of Noah

Marcus Walker Van Every2 Comments

“if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;” (2 Peter 2:5)

To some Noah is a myth. The world-wide flood — a fairy tale. The animals and the ark — a quaint nursery motif. But certainly not historical fact.

But to me and countless others … Noah is a true, historical figure, who lived in the most interesting times of the ancient world. And even more, I hold the fiercest conviction that the days of Noah’s past give us some of the greatest keys to unlocking the truth about the future.

This blog, in part, will be dedicated to discovering the truth about the ancient world of Noah’s day in order to make connections and draw accurate conclusions about our present generation. I am convinced, along with many both religious and secular alike, that we are living in the final days of this present age. The accelerating convergence of all things is clear. We are seeing this convergence geopolitically, scientifically, technologically, cosmologically, morally, spiritually, and most of all prophetically.

My primary motivation, however, is to create a platform that will express my hopeful expectation in the Return of Jesus Christ and also express God’s unfathomable love for all of mankind.

The good news today is the same as it was in Noah’s day. He lived in a most perverse and wicked generation and preached the good news of God’s salvation. Just as there was only one way to be saved from the coming flood in Noah’s day, the gospel of Jesus Christ insists that there is only One Way of salvation to escape the coming judgement. Jesus says of Himself … “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (Gospel of John 14:6)

The world overwhelmingly rejected Noah’s gospel and perished in the greatest catastrophe this planet has ever seen – a global flood. Noah and his family were saved, and the rainbow remains to this day as the covenant symbol of God’s mercy. But the bow also should serve as a reminder of God’s impending judgment on all who reject Him and His salvation.

The Lord Jesus Christ affirmed both historicity of Noah and this cataclysmic flood. Consider the testimony of our Lord …

“For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:24-27)

Just as it was in the days of Noah … so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. So what was it really like in the days of Noah? And how does it connect with our world today?

It’s more fantastic than you could possibly imagine. For the truth is always heavier than fiction.