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NASB | Ephesians 4:9 (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 4:9 (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had previously descended [from the heights of heaven] into the lower parts of the earth? |
Bible Question:
Dr. B., Here is another question for you. Are you saying that aggelos (angels) are the humans ... the "sons of God" from Genesis 6:2? It appears I do not understand your view on the Greek. Your view on the context is strange, I see the angels happening at a time before the flood, as the flood happened before Lot's rescue. Searcher |
Bible Answer: Dear Searcher, Was John the Baptist an angel? Matthew 11:10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger [AGGELOS] before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Were John the Baptists disciples angels? Luke 7:24 And when the messengers [AGGELOS] of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? Where the spies sent to Jericho angels? James 2:25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers [AGGELOS], and had sent them out another way? The word Aggelos means - a messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God. As you can see, it certainly does not always refer to the angels of heaven, and there is no reason to automatically believe that the angels of 2 Peter 2 were angels of heaven, especially in the context – which is of wicked humans who had abandoned their positions as sons of God, and were killed by the flood. This also comes back to a point I have made before on the angels: Luke 20:36 "Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels." Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death" I hope you see the point. If the wages of sin is death, and angels cannot die, then neither can they sin, or they would die, which they cannot do. At least, not according to Jesus. Therefore the angels of 2 Peter 2 are definitely not spirit angels because they cannot sin. Likewise the sons of God in Genesis 6:2 were not angels because they sinned. Look even for a moment at the context in Genesis to see who the sons of God were. First Genesis 4:26, which chronologically immediately precedes Genesis 6: Gen 4:26 ... then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. Dr. Boothroyd and others translate the passage, "Then began men to be called by the name of Jehovah." How would they do this? They would obviously not all be called "Jehovah". So the descendants of Seth separated themselves from the descendants of Cain by calling themselves the sons of God. Gen 6:2 ... the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. Gen 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, The Lord did not say "My spirit shall not always strive with angels" but with men. God did not repent "that he had made angels on the earth", but that he had made man. This is because the descendants of Seth had become as wicked as the descendants of Cain, and only Noah and his family found grace in the eyes of the Lord. The sons of God were men, and it was those men, not angels, who caused God to bring the flood. Okay, Dr. B. |