[Aquila]

Originally Posted by SteppingStone

Jesus said angels don't marry so this passage can simply be interpreted, sons of the righteous had children with daughters of the unrighteous, meaning people not literally angels from heaven. This is obviously a metaphor, unless we are misinterpreting what Jesus said below.

Mark 12:25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

I personally don't believe the angels in heaven have reproductive organs because they are spirits...

While Jesus implies that angels "neither marry, nor are given in marriage", Christ nowhere indicates that angels are incapable of taking a physical form, nor does Jesus indicate what they are or are not capable of while in that physical form. All Christ's words specify is that angels do not marry. The Scriptures show Jacob wrestling with an angel until the breaking of the day. Obviously physical, tangible, and capable of fighting. We see two angels visiting Abraham with the LORD. While visiting Abraham these angelic beings were served food and did eat.

Genesis 18:1-8
{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;
{18:2} 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, {18:3} And said, My Lord, if now I have found
favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy
servant: {18:4} Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and
wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: {18:5}
And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your
hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come
to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
{18:6} And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and
said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal,
knead [it,] and make cakes upon the hearth. {18:7} And
Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and
good, and gave [it] unto a young man; and he hasted to
dress it. {18:8} 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.

If angels can eat while manifested in physical form on earth, what other biological functions are they capable of? I’m proposing to you that whatever form they take is complete and fully functional because we have no indication otherwise. Yes, if an angel remained in physical form long enough, he’d have to use the bathroom after eating. And so, I present to you that, if an angel was manifested in physical form, they could copulate. No doubt this would be a grievous sin in God’s eyes. And indeed it was.

The term “sons of God” is used in Job in relation to angelic beings:

Job 1:6
{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.

Writings from ancient times such as Josephus and others indicate that it was the common opinion of the ancients that the “sons of God” (bene-ha elohim) were angelic beings. Those who lived in the culture wherein the Scripture was written, and actually read and wrote the language it was written in, testify to the fact that the “sons of God” were angelic beings.

The opinion you espouse (the sons of Seth theory) doesn’t add up. First, why would they be called the “sons of God” if doing such wickedness? Second, why would their children be giants?

Also we have the testimony of the New Testament:

2 Peter 2:4
{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;

We know that this isn’t speaking about Satan and the demonic forces we wrestle with today, because they are not bound and are in fact warring against God and destroying mankind as we speak. So who are these “angels that sinned”? And what was their sin? Notice, Peter speaks of it as a presupposition. That means the readers knew exactly what Peter was talking about. This means that this sinful class of angels is indeed mentioned in Scripture. So the question is now, where in Scripture are these angels and their sin mentioned? You leave it an open ended mystery and thereby we are less informed than those Peter wrote to and are left guessing. Those of us who hold the angelic theory have the answer.

Let’s get a little more specific. What was the nature of the sin these angels perpetrated? Jude says something interesting…

Jude 1:6
{1:6} 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. {1:7} Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, 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.

While the text doesn’t specifically say, we read how these fallen angels are implicated along with Sodom and Gomorrha, who gave themselves over to fornication, and went after "strange flesh". The implication…sexual sin. It is implied that these angels had unlawful copulation. Now, where else in Scripture would we find this but Genesis 6?

Not to mention, the “bene-ha-elohim” angelic theory is part of comprehensive demonology acknowledged by the ancients in the Dead See Scrolls. You see, we are not merely dealing with superiorly intelligent and diabolical fallen angels, but we are dealing with rather impish and simple minded “unclean spirits”. Without becoming far more involved than necessary, “unclean spirits”, were regarded to be the spirits of the “giants”, the Nephilim. When these drowned in the flood, their spirits were released from their bodies. Being neither human nor devil there was no place assigned unto them. Therefore they were left to roam this world’s spiritual wasteland. These spirits seek bodies to inhabit. Why? They wish to live once more so that they can live out their lusts. When a person, “sins”, they position themselves as targets for these “unclean spirits”. If these spirits oppress, isolate, and possess a person, they will drive them deeper and deeper into sin until the individual is destroyed. Many lives and families have been wrecked by these spiritual locusts. Once the sinful individual dies, their soul is lost.

We don’t wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers. These are just one class of “demon” we are up against. Now, we’re down the road of discussing the value of both prayer and fasting in “deliverance” sessions. These are frightening and I’ve only attended two. But Jesus said specifically,

Mark 16:17
{16:17} And these signs shall follow them that believe; In
my name shall they cast out devils;…

Deliverance from demonic forces is an essential part of Christian ministry. The New Testament is riddled with accounts of Christ and/or the Apostles casting out devils. I believe that this is such a vague ministry in today’s church because we don’t understand exactly what we’re up against.

One last point, the Book of Enoch is DIRECTLY referenced in Jude 14-15:

"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these [men], saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."

Compare this with Enoch 1:9, translated from the Ethiopic (found also in Qumran scroll 4Q204=4QEnochc ar, col I 16-18):

"And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones To execute judgement upon all, And to destroy all the ungodly: And to convict all flesh Of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, And of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."

Why would the Book of Enoch be DIRECTLY referenced in Holy Scripture if it is of absolutely no value??? I believe they knew something we didn’t. Is it possible that God chose not to allow the Book of Enoch to be published with the Cannon to separate it for only the qualified?

The Book of Enoch’s antiquity is established by it’s fragments being found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. So the student has to be the prayerful judge.

The problem is, as I see it, that many today shy away from the supernatural. Things that are disturbing or unexplainable are quickly given more “natural” meanings. I think this comes from lack of faith.

Thoughts anyone???