Bible Question:
I have read most of the comments that stemmed from my question. Your statement is the reason why I can't believe that there were "fallen angels" and human woman having children. From what I can understand we have free will right, so if these angels did such a thing what would stop it from happening again. Also if the angels mixed with the women, why in the following verses it states the men became wicked. If you read the entire story in context it makes more sense to me that these great "giants" were godly men that mixed with ungodly women and became evil. GOD was not pleased and then destroyed them. I am trying to learn how to intepret the Bible. I have been told that you interpret scripture against scripture. But just because you use a phrase in one book of the Bible (for instance Job uses the sons of God to mean angels) doesn't necessarily mean the same phrase is used the same way in another part of the bible. You have to read the context and compare context with context. If one scripture is referring to something in context and it also refering to the same thing "in context" then yes it would mean the samething. (correct?). Another example would be when I first read Gen 5:24 I did not understand what was meant by "And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him". It was not until I read Heb 11:5 that I understood by faith he did not see death. |
Bible Answer: Hi Noveta, Many people have reached the same conclusions as you have, and that can also be meaningful towards determining if you are on the right track or not. If I come up with something in the Bible that no one, over the past couple of thousand years, has come up with, long odds are that I am reading something into it that isn't there. My pastor counts this passage as "waiting for more information." You are certainly not out in left field for reaching the conclusion you have. Many would say I am for thinking it was fallen angels. Now, whether or not the fallen angels would or wouldn't engage in this sort of behavior again, some think that they did. There were anakim after the flood, as Isreal entered the promised land. Some believe that the fallen angels again propagated to try to prevent them from taking the land. This activity may be severely limited because the fallen angels who are not currently in chains of darkness may not want to join the ones who are - the deterent value of their incarceration. There is an interesting little verse in Daniel, of the final human kingdom: Dan 2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. It is argued that that which mingles with the seed of man, not cleaving to it, is not the seed of man itself. Its an interesting point. We have many people throughout the centuries who have engaged in enequally yoked marraige. The very church itself, as exemplified in the letter of Jesus to Pergamos, wed to the world. These were not judged by world-wide cataclysm. I fully agree with you that context plays a strong role in determining the meaning of scripture. A correct interpretation will not bend the meanings of the words used, will take into account the entire passage and its context, will be in harmony with all other scriptures. I understand that Hebrew especially can have a variety of meanings to the same word depending on the context (If there is a Hebrew scholar out there, please correct me if I am wrong!). The main thing in understanding the Bible is to let the Author explain it to you. If your heart is open to the leading of the Lord, and you give every indication that it is, you can come to a scripture, pray about it, study it, meditate upon it, discuss it, read about it, all of these, and you will reach certain conclusions about it. Perhaps you will be right, and perhaps you will be wrong. Perhaps you will have seen one level, and God will yet show you more meaning in time. We are not always right about our conclusions, you're not, I'm not, but we learn as we go. The good thing is that God will not stop teaching us. Its ok to reach a point where we say, "that's all I can get from this passage for now, but as the Lord leads, I am open to revisit it later." I can't tell you how many times I have revisited a passage and seen so much more that before, sometimes changing my view, sometimes expanding it. One day, we will all be in complete agreement about all of these things, in the meantime, we have this cool forum to share our ideas on. Glad you're here! Love in Christ, Mark |