Jude 6-The Second Example from the Old Testament of the Lord Judging Those Who Rebelled Against Him (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville AL)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Sunday July 31, 2022

Jude Series: Jude 6-The Second Example from the Old Testament of the Lord Judging Those Who Rebelled Against Him

Lesson # 8

Jude 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. (NIV)

Jude 5-7 presents three examples of a group of individuals that God judged in the Old Testament for their rebellion against Him.

The first of these examples appears in Jude 5 which speaks of the Lord disciplining unrepentant, apostate members of the Exodus generation who rebelled against Him by not trusting Him even after He delivered them from the bondage of slavery in the land of Egypt.

The second is found in Jude 6 and is the fallen angels of the antediluvian period who rebelled against the Lord by possessing the bodies of men in order to have sex with unregenerate women which resulted in the birth of the Nephilim and the resultant proliferation of evil in the world as a result of these individuals.

Now, Jude 6 is properly interpreted by comparing its contents with the contents of Genesis 6:1-8, 2 Peter 2:4-5 as well as 1 Peter 1:18-20.

This is indicated by the fact that each of these three passages discuss the actions of fallen angels in relation to the judgment of the world-wide flood during the days of Noah.

The period from the fall of Adam to the flood of Noah is called by theologians, “the antediluvian” period.

Secondly, there is a connection between Jude 6 and Genesis 6:1-8 as well as connection between Jude 6 and 2 Peter 2:4-5.

This is indicated by the fact that the condemnation of the angels described in Jude 6 is fitting in light the actions of “the sons of God” and the Nephilim in Genesis 6:1-8.

Thirdly, like 2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6 describes these angels as presently chained under the control of total supernatural darkness and kept incarcerated until the day that their sentence of experiencing eternal condemnation is executed at the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:10-15).

Therefore, Genesis 6:1-8, 1 Peter 3:18-20, 2 Peter 2:4-5 and Jude 6 are all speaking about a rebellion of some of Satan’s fallen angels during the antediluvian period.

Altogether, these four passages give us the identity of these angels and when in history they rebelled against the Lord and their present place of incarceration as well as the execution of their sentence of eternal condemnation at the Great White Throne Judgment.

Now, as we noted there is a connection between Jude 6 and Genesis 6:1-8 because the condemnation of the angels described in the former is fitting in light the actions of “the sons of God” and the Nephilim in the latter.

Therefore, like Genesis 6:1-8, Jude 6 describes the rebellious actions of these fallen angels.

In fact, Jude 6 interprets the contents of Genesis 6:2, which asserts that “the sons of God saw that the daughters of humankind were beautiful. Thus they took wives for themselves from any they chose.” (NIV)

Jude 6 describes that these actions of “the sons of God” as that of “And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling.” (NIV)

Genesis 6 and in particular Genesis 6:1-8 records that the sons of God carefully chose and took wives for themselves during the antediluvian period.

As we will note, “the sons of God” were angels and in particular fallen angels who were led by Satan.

This act on the part of these angels constituted their rebellion against God because according to Jude 6 they left their sphere of activity ordained by God for the angels and left their place of habitation or dimension ordained by God for the angels.

Genesis 6 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. 5 The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (NIV)

The phrase “the sons of God” has been interpreted as referring to the Sethite line (believers), and the “daughters of men” as referring to the Cainite line (unbelievers).

Thus, some theologians interpret this passage as being the separation between believers and unbelievers.

This is not the case and neither the descendants of Seth, nor the believers of Genesis, had ever been referred to as “the sons of God,” in any kind of spiritual sense, except for Adam, himself.

Now, if the phrase “the sons of God” referred to human beings who were believers, we should expect it to then be applied to Noah and his sons and their wives, who were all believers and survived the flood, however, this is not the case.

In the New Testament, the phrase “the sons of God” is a technical term for those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and, as a result, are members of the royal family of God (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 3:26-28); however, in the Old Testament, the phrase always refers to angels (Gen. 6:2).

The phrase “the sons of God” in Hebrew is bənê-hāʾĕlōhîm (בְנֵי־הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙) can refer to both elect and non-elect angels (Gen. 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7).

In the book of Job, this expression refers to all the angels without reference to their relationship to God.

However, in Genesis 6:2 it is used exclusively of the fallen angels of Satan and specifically to those of his angels who had sex with women to prevent the incarnation of the Son of God.

I believe that this expression bənê-hāʾĕlōhîm (בְנֵי־הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙), “the sons of God” in Genesis 6:2 is a reference to some of the fallen angels and not all the fallen angels for several reasons.

First, the expression is always used of angels in Job which as we noted is the only other place this expression is found in the Old Testament.

Secondly, bənê-hāʾĕlōhîm (בְנֵי־הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙), “the sons of God” in Genesis 6:2 and 4 are clearly distinct from the rest of the human race suggesting that they are not human which is consistent with the use of this expression in Job.

Thirdly, Genesis 6:3-7 makes clear that as a result of bənê-hāʾĕlōhîm (בְנֵי־הָֽאֱלֹהִים֙), “the sons of God” taking women for their wives God declared that He would judge the earth.

Furthermore, the progeny of this sexual union between the sons of God and the daughters of the human race was the Nephilim according to Genesis 6:4.

Also, Genesis 6:5-7 describes the proliferation and saturation of evil during the antediluvian period.

The implication is that the presence of the Nephilim was principal reason for the proliferation of evil behavior in society during this period.

In other words, this act of the sons of God taking wives for themselves and then having offspring with them, i.e., the Nephilim is the reason why God had to judge the human race with the great flood during the days of Noah since the Nephilim were the primary cause of the proliferation of evil during the antediluvian period.