Noah's Ark: Myth, Or Reality?
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Noah’s Ark: Myth, Or Reality? Part Three: The Spiritual Cause of the Flood Bill Crouse 9/30/18 ? ? ? The Conundrum of Genesis 6:1-8 ? ? ? ? 1 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim 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. 5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. The Big Question: Why Was God’s Judgement So Extreme? -What was the nature of the sin that caused God to mete out such a judgement? -Whatever it was, it resulted in ever-increasing human depravity and violence on the earth (vs.5). -God’s created order was violated. -We must not underestimate the wrath of God here. Varieties of Interpretation: 1. Those that Emphasize the natural 2. Those that Emphasize the supernatural 3. Those that regard it as a Jewish version of an ancient myth about the gods copulating with man. Five Major Interpretive Problems: 1. the daughters of men. It seems best to just take this in a normal way: daughters of men = daughters of men. 2. the sons of god. A word study of the Hebrew word: elohim yields only divine beings. 3. the nephilim. This is the tough one. It certainly seems to mean the progeny of this illicit mating. (see Num. 13:32-33) 4. the gibborim, or, the men of old, or, men of renown. This was the name given to some of the nephilim. 5. And, what does the 120 years refer to? Most interpret this as the time God gives to repent and to enable Noah to built the Ark. Five Major Views: 1. Unequally Yoked Marriages 2. Polygamy 3. Demon Possession 4. Divine Kingship 5. Mixing of Seeds (Miscegenation) 6. Various Combinations of Above 1. The Unequally-Yoked Marriage View Explanation: The line of Seth(the godly line) and the line of Cain(the ungodly line) were intermarrying. It violated the principle of being unequally yoked. It corrupted the line of Seth, i.e., the Messianic line. The sin then, is that the godly line of Seth fell into temptation. This is the view held by Augustine and Luther. Objections: 1. It does not seem to explain the severity of the Flood. The problem of mixed marriages prevailed after the Flood and exists even now. 2. The Hebrew: bena elohim, (sons of god), in all other occurrences in the OT means angelic or divine beings. See: Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7; Ps. 29:1, 82:1-2, 89:6; Dan. 3:25. 3. Man, or mankind, means the same thing in verse 2 as it does in verse 1. 4. Many Bible scholars believe angels were sexless, therefore unable to procreate. The Bible does not say that angels are sexless. True, angels in heaven do not marry, nor do the people in heaven. There is no need for angels to marry since their number never decreases. See Matt. 22:30, Mk. 12:25, Lk. 20.35-36. Angels are, however, spoken of as being male (Michael and Gabriel) and even as female (Zech. 5:9)! Yes, angels are spirit beings but they do take the form of humans and participate in human functions (see Gen, 19). These angels (divine beings) were fallen and were lustful. See other examples from the occult world. 5. It does not give a satisfactory answer to the offspring produced. 6. It runs roughshod over the passages in I Pet. 3:19,20 (spirits in prison); II Pet. 2:4,5 (the angels who sinned); Jude 6 (angels who did not keep their own position but deserted their proper dwelling). 7. None of the sons of god were on the Ark. Why not, if they were godly? And there is a logic problem: why would a godly person marry an ungodly one? Wouldn't this be considered a very ungodly act? 8. The contrast is between the sons of god and the daughters of men, not between the sons of Seth and the daughters of Cain. 9. This view was not known until about the 5th Century A.D. 10. In modern times (the age of rationalism) this view, that the sin involved intermarriage, seemed to be a more rational interpretation of the text in a time that disavowed the supernatural. 2. The Polygamy View: Explanation: Taking multiply wives, or, the pagan rite of the king having first intercourse with new wives. This polygamy resulted in over-population as in vs. 1. Objections: 1. It gives too much emphasis to pagan creation myths and not enough to scripture. 2. Again, does this explain the severity of the judgement? Was not man commanded to be fruitful and to multiply? Also, polygamy was practiced after the flood! 3. The Demon-possession View: Explanation: The sons of god were demon-possessed men, maybe even the rulers. This view would certainly do away with the problem of angels cohabiting with men. Demons do seem to have a craving for bodies. Objection: 1. Use of the term sons of god in other OT passages does not refer to demon-possessed men; they were embodied spirit beings. 4. The Divine King View: Explanation: Tyrants and kings were seen as deity and were worshiped. As gods they owned everything. Deity could be passed on to sons. See: I Tim. 1:4. This view could be a valid reason for God’s judgement. You certainly see this in antiquity, but, again this practice continued after the flood even up to WWII. 5. The Mixed Seeds View: The war of the seeds: Gen.3:15 Explanation: Satan was working to corrupt and destroy the godly line, the seed of the woman. Divine Beings, i.e., sons of god (“elohim”) were attempting thwart the plan of God by “marrying” women/ These divine beings who rebelled were once part of God’s ruling council. This corruption was not just spiritual, but became physical as well. Objection to the Angel-Hybrid View: 1.The major objection to this view is the difficulty in believing that angelic spirit-beings can co-habit with humans and produce offspring. The supernaturalness of this view makes it hard to accept. 2. In addition, it is often argued that Jesus says angels don’t do sex! For in the resurrection they (people) neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels.” Matt. 22:30. Jesus is not talking about what Angels cannot do, but what they do not do. He is talking about Angels in heaven, those in their normal abode. Support for this position 1. It would explain the severity of the flood. God judged the whole earth because God’s creative authority and Messianic plan were being thwarted.. I.D.E Thomas said: This specific sin of which these extra-terrestials were guilty, must be classified as the most repugnant and repulsive that one can meet anywhere in the annals of the human race. It is such an abomination in the sight of the Lord that it called forth the ultimate in judgement. No sin ever moved the Sovereign Lord of the universe to such unmatched anger and unmitigated wrath. And no sin was ever punished like this one. The Omega Conspiracy, p. 145. 2. It agrees nicely with the theme of Genesis (3:15). This conflict between the seeds is foretold in Gen. 3:15 (your seed would then be taken literally). God is trying to preserve and purify the seed which Satan is trying to corrupt and destroy. 3. This view, though it might be hard for moderns to hold, does justice to the several texts in the NT. Some very difficult passages in the NT yield explanation with this interpretation. See: Col.2:15; I Pet. 3:19-20; II Pet.2:4-5; Jude 6,7; Eph. 4:9. It might explain why women should cover their head in I Cor. 11:10. Col: 2:15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publically; He triumphed over them by Him. I Pet 3:19-20 In that state He also went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while an ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is , eight people—were saved through water. II Pet. 2:4-5 For if God didn’t spare the angels who sinned but threw them down into Tartarus and delivered them to be kept in chains of darkness until judgment; and if He didn’t spare the ancient world (cosmos), but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others, when He brought a flood on the world of the ungodly; Jude 6,7 …and He has kept, with eternal chains in darkness for the judgment of the great day, the angels who did not keep their own position but deserted their proper dwelling.