Things New and Old: Sons of God left their first estate and became men; the eternal Word was made flesh

No one knew they were angels.

Some angels did take upon themselves humanity and appeared as true men. And as true men, they did involve themselves in the affairs of man.

Why do so many find this simple fact so hard to believe?

Here are some examples of the elect angels who became real men and ministered to men.

Gen 18
1 ¶ And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground... 8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat... 16 ¶ And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.

"... lo, three men... and they did eat... the men rose up... Abraham went with them to bring them on their way." They were spiritual beings who temporarily took upon themselves true humanity and appeared as true men, and interacted with men, perceived and received and ministered to as men.

Gen 19
1 ¶ And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
3 And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and THEY DID EAT.
10 But THE MEN put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.
12 ¶ And THE MEN said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
16 And while he lingered, THE MEN laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

They were angels, but they were truly men at the same time. As real men, they experienced the kind hospitality of Lot. They were real men LUSTED AFTER by the perverse Sodomites.

These were spirit beings who took upon themselves humanity and temporally become real men... to carry out the will and purpose of God. This and other similar incidences are irrefutable evidence that angelic beings are capable of taking upon themselves humanity and becoming real men and entering into the affairs of man.

Why does it sound so incredulous then to so very many Bible-believing Christians that fallen angels had also taken upon themselves humanity and appeared as real men and enter into the affairs of mankind, in order to completely corrupt mankind in order to bring God's wrath and destruction upon it?

2Pe 2:4 "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..."

Jude 6 "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."

These two passages are describing what actually happened in Gen 6. Some fallen angels left their own habitation in the spirit realm, their first estate, and entered the HUMAN REALM. They took upon themselves humanity and became real men that were greatly desired by the daughters of men... "That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose."

They produced MONSTROUS offspring who were giants, i.e. not literally giants but men renowned for wickedness and perversity... who corrupted mankind completely.

Gen 6:4 ¶ There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. 5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Why do Bible-believing folks assume that the mixed marriage between godly men and ungodly women can even explain the effects recorded in Gen 6:4-5?

The marriage of ungodly men and ungodly women for thousands of years has not produced anything near what is stated there. The cause of the problem is far more serious!

The sons of God, angelic beings who made themselves flesh, they brought destruction upon the human race. Those angels SINNED... they were the angels which kept not their first estate but left their own habitation. Their first estate was in the spirit realm, but they left their own habitation in the spirit realm and trespassed into the human realm. That was their sin, and for that, they "were reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."

The Son of God, the eternal Word made flesh by God, brought redemption to the elect. The Son of God is the two-natured divine-human Being. Satan's attempt to prevent the Seed of the Woman from appearing to crush his head failed and failed completely. Those angels involved in this sabotage were "cast down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment."

Divine grace triumphed decisively, as always. "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." Noah was shown grace and preserved to ensure that the Seed of the Woman should come.

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PJ Walters
Thanks for posting this. I am still studying over both sides of this argument.
I have a sincere question: Where is proof of what "sons of God" means?

Sing F Lau
Right there in Gen 6 passage...
Note the CONTRAST: sons of GOD and the daughters of MEN.

The distinction is between those which are of divine origin and of human origin.
The distinction is NOT between godly and ungodly. That's a fiction read into the passage! Marriage between the godly and ungodly was not even an issue then. Read Gen 6:1 - a general statement of the human race happily procreating as commanded by God. Into this most natural process something INTRUDED, and which brought about disastrous effects.

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
Job 2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

In all these passages, the term refers to angelic beings - their beings are the direct offspring of God as they were created by God, and not through procreation.

Luke 3:38 "Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God."
Angels were the sons of God in the same sense as Adam was the son of God - they were direct offspring of God through creation, and not through procreation.

Daughters of men are products of man's procreation activity.

If you really believe mixed marriage between the godly and ungodly is adequate the explain the PLAIN facts stated in Gen 6, you don't have an issue.