The History Behind Noah's Flood

In the spirit of the upcoming Noah film, I wanted to ask you a history question....

How many of you know the true reason why God caused the flood? 

Here is what Genesis tells us:

"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them." Genesis 6:5-7

According to scripture, God saw that the "the wickedness of man was great" and He actually regretted that he had created man.

How can a loving and gracious God, spend so much time and consideration towards creating something and then one day wake up and decide to destroy it? Does that make sense to you?

Here's the part that breaks my heart: There are people who read this passage of scripture, draw the same conclusion and then close the book without ever pressing further for an answer.

Let me be the first to tell you... there IS a logical answer.... and I believe that it lies in the verses immediately prior to what we just read. A convenient little passage of scripture that is very often overlooked, and very much surrounded in controversy.

"And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown." Genesis 6:1-4

Let's break this down, shall we? Who are these sons of God? Where did they come from? It seems like just a few chapters ago, we were basking in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve as the only inhabitants of earth.

There is actually a lot of speculation about who these "sons of God" were. Some believe that the term "sons of God" refers to the men of earth, possibly the sons of Cain. Remember that guy? The one who killed his brother Abel, became an outcast and was forced to wander the wilderness with a sign on his forehead?

Some people translate these first verses of Genesis 6 to mean that the sons of Cain intermingled with the daughters of Seth (the third son of Adam) and then brought forth a genetically deformed race of giant children. This seems like a logical explanation and a very safe assumption.

But there's another theory... one that is a little more far-fetched, a lot less safe... but one that can actually be traced throughout scripture. It is a widely held belief that the phrase "sons of God" is a direct reference to angels.

Let's compare scripture to scripture and I'll let you draw your own conclusion:

Job 1:6:

"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them." KJV

"One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them." NIV

Job 38:7:

"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" KJV

"While the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?" NIV 

Daniel 3:25:

"He answered and said, 'Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.'" KJV

"He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."" NIV

"Then why do I see four men walking around in the fire?" he asked. "They are not tied up, and they show no sign of being hurt - and the fourth one looks like an angel." GNT

According to these scriptures, it becomes apparent that the phrase "sons of God" is directly inter-changeable with the word "angels". You find this all throughout scripture. Lets re-read the first verses of Genesis 6 with words interchanged:

"And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the angels saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose....... There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the angels came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown." 

WOW. That really blows scripture wide open, doesn't it?! The scripture is clearly stating that angels (which we can assume are corrupt) mated with the women of earth and together they bore giant children who become known as the "mighty men of old".

The very next scripture says, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart."

It appears that the wickedness God saw, was in direct correlation to these fallen angels mating with the women of earth and corrupting the population. More specifically, corrupting the lineage of God's chosen people. That makes a little more sense, now, doesn't it? It's still a big pill to swallow... but it helps us to have a better understanding of why God would want to destroy such corruption from the face of the earth.

So now the question becomes... why couldn't He just kill off the corrupted? Why did He have to kill everyone?? The bible has an answer for that one too. Let's look at the next verse:

"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God." Genesis 6:9

Let's hone in on the word "perfect". "Noah was perfect in his generations." Strongs 08549 defines "perfect" as "un-defiled, un-impaired, without blemish, whole". Basically, he was genetically pure. According to God, Noah and his family were the only ones worthy of being saved.

That helps puts things a little more in perspective, right? Make sense? Dont get me wrong, it's a mind-blowing twist to a story that we grew up knowing by heart. It blows the roof off of scripture. But on the other hand, it offers a different perspective, a missing piece of the puzzle which helps us clarify the bigger picture.

As you dig deeper into scripture, you will discover that hints of the giants and the corruption of angels mating with humans is found sprinkled throughout the Bible. Ever read the story of Sodom and Gomorrah? Lot had to hide the angels in his house to keep the townsmen from trying to rape them. Go read the story! Genesis 19. Once again, God destroyed the city in an attempt to rid the corruption.

Hear me clearly - there is a part of history that has been hidden, and it just so happens to be the piece of the puzzle that opens our eyes to see the bigger picture.

"You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32