Now we continue with the 2nd period of testing, Conscience. There are two more sections in man’s failure during this time to look at. The 3rd has to do with the first man, Adam and the sons of God. In Genesis 6:1-4 we find specific references to the man (the same reference found in Genesis 1:27 and 2:7-8, the Hebrew ha adam, “the man”, not a reference to mankind in general, but to the first man God created). Most translations in Genesis 6 incorrectly use “men” in verses 1, 2 and 4 and “man” in verse 3 – all are ha adam and refer to the particular man, Adam.
This is my corrected translation of Genesis 6:3. “Then the Lord said, My breath of life will not always remain in the man (Adam), for he has become as all other men (corrupt), yet his life will be extended another 120 years.” God’s message to Adam was that he would not live forever (he probably thought he would, since he did live 930 years). And, that at the time this warning was given, he had another 120 years to repair by repentance what he had done.
So you ask, what had he done? In the context of the narrative it is evident that Adam had become a willing participant in the corruption that had enveloped the earth. This corruption is described in verses 2 and 4 and has an extensive history that will be cited both here and in later lessons. Verse 2 says, “The sons of God saw the daughters of the man (Adam) that they were beautiful and they took them as wives, all of them that they desired.” Then, verse 4 says, “There were giants (nephilim, tyrant, giant, fallen ones) in the earth at that time and also after that (that is, after the flood) because the sons of God had as wives the daughters of the man (Adam) and they bore children to them. Now these became mighty men, who were of ancient times men of renown.”
These giants became the so-called “heroes” of ancient mythology. And just so there’s no confusion here, if you do a search of “the sons of God”, you’ll find it is used only 5 times in Scripture and each time it is a clear reference to angels. Something else to consider here is the laws of reproduction established by God in Genesis 1 (“after his kind”) preclude normal men and women producing giants as they are described in Scripture. However, it is evident that those in the spirit realm have the ability to enter into our physical realm and affect it in this way.
A study of angels will show that they can interact with man and also have a material affect. Genesis 19 is the account of two angels at the Lord’s direction raining fire and burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah after they had rescued Lot and his family from Sodom.
Another great example of a spirit being having a physical affect on our material world is the Holy Spirit supplying the physical material necessary for conception to take place in Mary, the mother of Jesus (see the article Grace, Faith and the Plan of God). Now, the existence of giants both before and after the flood (remember verse 4) constitute two separate Satanic plots to interrupt the plan of God for the ages: the first, before the flood, to corrupt the seed of the woman so Messiah could not be born; the second, after the flood, to destroy the nation of Israel as they tried to enter the promised land so the lineage leading to Messiah would be cut off.
The Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmunites, Hittites, Perizzites, Amorites, Canannites, Girgasites, Jebusites, Hivites, Anakims, Emims, Horims, Avims, Zamaummims, Caphtorims and Rephaims are all identified as nations of giants living in and around the land promised to Israel by God (Deuteronomy 1:28; 2:10-11, 19-20; 3:11 just for starters, you can find a lot more if you look). I Chronicles 20:4-8 tells us giants could reproduce after their kind.
And finally on this subject, giants were not men in the eyes of God because they will have no resurrection. John 5:28-29 tells us that both the good and the evil will be resurrected - the good to life eternal and the evil to judgment. However, Isaiah 26:13-14 tells us there were “other masters” who ruled on the earth (verse 13) that are now dead, destroyed by God, who will not rise again (verse 14). And in Isaiah 14:9-11 in his description of hell, Isaiah tells us the “dead” are stirred up to greet those who enter. The word here translated “dead” is rephaim and is a clear reference to giants. The souls of giants are in hell, where they will always remain.
The fossil record establishes the fact that giants existed in this part of the world. Josephus in The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 5, Chapter 2, says that skeletons of giants up to 14 feet (our measure) tall were on display in Jesus’ day. And in the 1940’s a construction project building a road across Syria excavated a large burial ground full of remains of giants, many of which are on display in museums there.
Some who have studied this subject extensively claim there has been some effort to hide such evidence since the early 1900’s, purportedly to protect the theory of evolution – the presence of giants and their extinction would suggest the reverse of the theory. This is something the antiGod crowd would promote.
The last is the failure of all men in general, a failure so great God was willing to destroy them (Genesis 6:6-7, 11-13); a failure so extensive there were only 8 people that survived this age (I Peter 3:20); and those fallen angels responsible would eventually be chained in darkness in the abyss, so they could not continue their rebellion against God (II Peter 2:4-5; Jude 6-7). So, God’s judgment was the flood (Genesis 6:8-8:14).
God’s affirmation of His grace is three-fold. The first is the preservation of mankind through Noah and his family, giving them the opportunity to continue in the plan and purpose of God for the ages (to replenish the earth with people who would have the opportunity to know and serve Him.
The second is the preservation of clean animals in order to continue the ritual sacrifices begun at the start of this age illustrating the principle of the substitutionary death of the
Christ that would redeem mankind in a future age (Genesis 7:2; 8:20).
Then, the third is God’s promise to never destroy the earth again with a flood by the physical appearance of a rainbow after a rain. (Genesis 8:21).
In testing man’s conscience, his failure is overwhelming. His disobedience, tendency towards evil and seeming cooperation with Satan and angels produced a race of monsters that had no conscience – unparalleled in not just size, but in evil. So, since man had proven he could not govern himself with conscience, God would now intervene and begin giving him laws to regulate his life. The next period of testing is Human Government.