Pastor Jeff and I like to say that "The Bible is an inexhaustible supply of information"... We refer to it as inexhaustible, because no matter how often you read it and no matter how much you study it, if you're reading it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, from time to time He shows things to you that you've never seen before!
Are those 2 verses enough for us to figure it out yet?
I don't think so, so let's go further...
Genesis 6:4 - There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
So to paraphrase, "Sons of God came in to daughters of men and had children with them. Their children were referred to as Giants". (The offspring of two HUMANS would never be referred to as unnatural giants!) Is this enough to figure out who these "Sons of God" are yet? Nope, not yet. Let's go further...
Job 1:6 - Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
Now this is intriguing! Again, allow me to paraphrase, "There was a day when the Sons of God came to present themselves before God AND Satan came too!" This is one of those times when I have to point out the obvious...
Never in Scripture does a sentence start by talking about one thing and end referring to something completely unrelated. For instance, you wouldn't see something like this, "And in that day, the Lord told men to eat and enjoy the bread of the land and as you eat this meat, give thanks to the Lord." If that did happen, it would cause mass confusion.
So a day came when the Sons of God AND Satan showed up...
Logically, we have to ask ourselves some questions...
Who (or what) is Satan and How could he possibly be related to those "Sons of God"?
Satan is a term only bestowed upon one individual in the Bible, Lucifer.
What do we know about Lucifer?
Well, his proper name is only used once in Scripture:
Isaiah 14:12-15 - How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ' I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.
So who do we all know, that has "fallen from heaven" and has been brought down to Sheol (Sheol is the Hebrew word for Hell), to the lowest depths of the pit? THE DEVIL!
So, just to be clear: Satan = Lucifer = The Devil
So we've answered the Who and the What, in reference to Lucifer, now we have to ask "How is Satan related to those "Sons of God?"...
Now we have to ask "WHO" (or WHAT) could possibly "fall from Heaven"?
God? No...
Clouds? No...
Planets? No...
I know, how about ANGELS?
Is there such a thing as a "fallen angel"?
You bet there is!
As a matter of fact, there are so many references to fallen angels, I hardly know where to start. I'll share just a few with you...
2 Peter 2:4 - For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment...
Jude 1:6-7 - And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Revelation 12:7-9 - And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
And the final nail in the coffin:
Ezekiel 28:12-15 - ...'Thus says the Lord GOD: "You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you."
How's that for the icing on the cake???
It's essential that you remember the "3 C's"...
You have to take the verse you're reading and put it in Context with the chapter and then put it in the Context of the book and finally in Context with the entire Bible. Context, Context, Context! It's only by keeping the entirety of Scripture that we can ever truly come to understand what it is that God means when God speaks...
As for the 5 times the term "Sons of God" is used in the New Testament, if you look at those 5 verses (Matthew 5:9, Luke 20:36, Romans 8:14,19, Galatians 3:26), you'll see something verrrrrrrry interesting... (BTW, did you notice there are 5 verses in the OT and 5 verses in the NT? Coincidence? I don't think so!)
Matthew 5:9 - Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
Luke 20:36 - nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
Romans 8:14 - For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Romans 8:19 - For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
Galatians 3:26 - For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Look at those verses very carefully and tell me what you see...
Go on, read them again...
One more time!
Those 5 verses ALL point to ONE THING...
They say that WE (the Saints!) shall all become Sons of God by and through our faith in Jesus Christ! That all those who are lead by the Spirit of God shall become Sons of God! That upon our (the Saints!) resurrection, we shall become EQUAL TO THE ANGELS, thereby becoming Sons of God!
I pray that this has been as much of a Blessing for you to read as it was for me to prepare for you! Always remember to be like a Berean! There's Blessings galore waiting for you on EVERY PAGE!
NOTE FROM PASTOR JEFF: Pastor Jeff asked me to add one more fun tidbit! Any creature "CREATED BY GOD" is considered to be a "Son of God". Some examples would be, Lucifer and all the Angels, Adam & Eve AND Jesus! (BTW, after the fall of Adam and Eve, mankind is referred to as "Sons of Adam", not Sons of God.)
Of course this reminds me to remind you that there are no "Girl Angels". Sorry, all of the Christmas tree toppers with "female" angels are a feminist / man-made construct. While there are only a few Angels actually named within the Bible itself, there is a non-Canonical book called "The book of Enoch" that reveals some 200 names of the angels involved in both the fall and after. Whether the book of Enoch is an inspired text or not isn't really up for debate in this post. Because whether it is or isn't, the names of the Angels that ARE named in the Biblical canon are all male. To assume otherwise would just be adding what you feel or what you believe into an otherwise perfect work. As an aside, those toppers are still pretty, they're just not Biblical...
We're never called to be Christians, but we are called to become Disciples! (John 8:31)
Feel free to listen to our Basic Discipleship series @ http://www.ButIsItBiblical.com
Today's nugget can be found in multiple places, but most specifically in Genesis 6:1-2,4, Job 1:6, Job 2:1, Job 38:7, Matthew 5:9, Luke 20:36, Romans 8:14,19, Galatians 3:26. But before I share it with you, allow me to give you a brief overview...
There's a term that's used in both the Old and New Testaments that reads, "Sons of God". There are boundless errors in teaching regarding this "term". Some people say that the sons of God referred to in the Old Testament (The Torah) are all of Adams children. Some say that they're the Christians, while others have really peculiar teachings altogether! What I'm going to share with you today, is so, So, SO simple, that all you need to do is read the verses I call out and you can't help but get the truth, right out of God's mouth...
In the Old Testament the term "Sons of God" appears a grand total of 5 times. Now I've taught this at least 1,000 times, but I'm going to remind everyone yet again that the Bible was NOT written in English! It was written in Hebrew, Greek and a small amount of Aramaic. So when you're reading the Bible, it's in everyone's best interest to sometimes go back to the ORIGINAL language that was used.
Now, those 5 particular verses are Genesis 6:1-2,4, Job 1:6, Job 2:1 & Job 38:7. If you look up the Hebrew associated with those 5 verses, you'll see something like this, "B'nai ha Elohim". (I say "something like this", because Hebrew is often transliterated into English differently, ie: bnei HaElohim, b'nai Elohim, b'nai ha-Elohim, B'nei Ha Elohim, etc. They all intend to mean the same exact thing, regardless of how they're spelled out in English.) So B'nai ha Elohim translates into English as "Sons of God".
So WHO are these supposed Sons of God?
Let's look at the Bible (in English) and see if we can figure it out!
Genesis 6:1-2 - Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
There's a term that's used in both the Old and New Testaments that reads, "Sons of God". There are boundless errors in teaching regarding this "term". Some people say that the sons of God referred to in the Old Testament (The Torah) are all of Adams children. Some say that they're the Christians, while others have really peculiar teachings altogether! What I'm going to share with you today, is so, So, SO simple, that all you need to do is read the verses I call out and you can't help but get the truth, right out of God's mouth...
In the Old Testament the term "Sons of God" appears a grand total of 5 times. Now I've taught this at least 1,000 times, but I'm going to remind everyone yet again that the Bible was NOT written in English! It was written in Hebrew, Greek and a small amount of Aramaic. So when you're reading the Bible, it's in everyone's best interest to sometimes go back to the ORIGINAL language that was used.
Now, those 5 particular verses are Genesis 6:1-2,4, Job 1:6, Job 2:1 & Job 38:7. If you look up the Hebrew associated with those 5 verses, you'll see something like this, "B'nai ha Elohim". (I say "something like this", because Hebrew is often transliterated into English differently, ie: bnei HaElohim, b'nai Elohim, b'nai ha-Elohim, B'nei Ha Elohim, etc. They all intend to mean the same exact thing, regardless of how they're spelled out in English.) So B'nai ha Elohim translates into English as "Sons of God".
So WHO are these supposed Sons of God?
Let's look at the Bible (in English) and see if we can figure it out!
Genesis 6:1-2 - Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
Are those 2 verses enough for us to figure it out yet?
I don't think so, so let's go further...
Genesis 6:4 - There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
So to paraphrase, "Sons of God came in to daughters of men and had children with them. Their children were referred to as Giants". (The offspring of two HUMANS would never be referred to as unnatural giants!) Is this enough to figure out who these "Sons of God" are yet? Nope, not yet. Let's go further...
Job 1:6 - Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
Now this is intriguing! Again, allow me to paraphrase, "There was a day when the Sons of God came to present themselves before God AND Satan came too!" This is one of those times when I have to point out the obvious...
Never in Scripture does a sentence start by talking about one thing and end referring to something completely unrelated. For instance, you wouldn't see something like this, "And in that day, the Lord told men to eat and enjoy the bread of the land and as you eat this meat, give thanks to the Lord." If that did happen, it would cause mass confusion.
So a day came when the Sons of God AND Satan showed up...
Logically, we have to ask ourselves some questions...
Who (or what) is Satan and How could he possibly be related to those "Sons of God"?
Satan is a term only bestowed upon one individual in the Bible, Lucifer.
What do we know about Lucifer?
Well, his proper name is only used once in Scripture:
Isaiah 14:12-15 - How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ' I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.
So who do we all know, that has "fallen from heaven" and has been brought down to Sheol (Sheol is the Hebrew word for Hell), to the lowest depths of the pit? THE DEVIL!
So, just to be clear: Satan = Lucifer = The Devil
So we've answered the Who and the What, in reference to Lucifer, now we have to ask "How is Satan related to those "Sons of God?"...
Now we have to ask "WHO" (or WHAT) could possibly "fall from Heaven"?
God? No...
Clouds? No...
Planets? No...
I know, how about ANGELS?
Is there such a thing as a "fallen angel"?
You bet there is!
As a matter of fact, there are so many references to fallen angels, I hardly know where to start. I'll share just a few with you...
2 Peter 2:4 - For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment...
Jude 1:6-7 - And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Revelation 12:7-9 - And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
And the final nail in the coffin:
Ezekiel 28:12-15 - ...'Thus says the Lord GOD: "You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. "You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you."
How's that for the icing on the cake???
It's essential that you remember the "3 C's"...
You have to take the verse you're reading and put it in Context with the chapter and then put it in the Context of the book and finally in Context with the entire Bible. Context, Context, Context! It's only by keeping the entirety of Scripture that we can ever truly come to understand what it is that God means when God speaks...
As for the 5 times the term "Sons of God" is used in the New Testament, if you look at those 5 verses (Matthew 5:9, Luke 20:36, Romans 8:14,19, Galatians 3:26), you'll see something verrrrrrrry interesting... (BTW, did you notice there are 5 verses in the OT and 5 verses in the NT? Coincidence? I don't think so!)
Matthew 5:9 - Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
Look at those verses very carefully and tell me what you see...
Go on, read them again...
One more time!
Those 5 verses ALL point to ONE THING...
They say that WE (the Saints!) shall all become Sons of God by and through our faith in Jesus Christ! That all those who are lead by the Spirit of God shall become Sons of God! That upon our (the Saints!) resurrection, we shall become EQUAL TO THE ANGELS, thereby becoming Sons of God!
I pray that this has been as much of a Blessing for you to read as it was for me to prepare for you! Always remember to be like a Berean! There's Blessings galore waiting for you on EVERY PAGE!
NOTE FROM PASTOR JEFF: Pastor Jeff asked me to add one more fun tidbit! Any creature "CREATED BY GOD" is considered to be a "Son of God". Some examples would be, Lucifer and all the Angels, Adam & Eve AND Jesus! (BTW, after the fall of Adam and Eve, mankind is referred to as "Sons of Adam", not Sons of God.)
Of course this reminds me to remind you that there are no "Girl Angels". Sorry, all of the Christmas tree toppers with "female" angels are a feminist / man-made construct. While there are only a few Angels actually named within the Bible itself, there is a non-Canonical book called "The book of Enoch" that reveals some 200 names of the angels involved in both the fall and after. Whether the book of Enoch is an inspired text or not isn't really up for debate in this post. Because whether it is or isn't, the names of the Angels that ARE named in the Biblical canon are all male. To assume otherwise would just be adding what you feel or what you believe into an otherwise perfect work. As an aside, those toppers are still pretty, they're just not Biblical...
We're never called to be Christians, but we are called to become Disciples! (John 8:31)
Feel free to listen to our Basic Discipleship series @ http://www.ButIsItBiblical.com
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