Sermon Detail

In this episode, Dr. Sean Cole presents the two historical views of the identity of the Nephilim and argues for the Reformed interpretation of Genesis 6:1-4.

Genesis Chapter Six has sparked some of the most contested and controversial interpretations concerning the identity of the Nephilim. Were these “mighty men” in fact giants? Were they the offspring of fallen angels who procreated with human women? How do we understand this very difficult passage of Scripture?

There are two predominant views on this, and history has split right down the middle on which side to take.

The first is the historic Reformed view, held by Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Matthew Henry, Bavinck, Berkhof, and R. C. Sproul.

The first view holds that the sons of God are those in the lineage of Seth, the godly line that intermarried with the ungodly line of Cain. Intermarriage between the Israelites and pagans was strictly prohibited by God throughout the Old Testament. So this view holds that Seth’s line—the godly line—did the unthinkable, and instead of marrying within the godly line of Seth, they went outside it and found the daughters of Cain attractive and took them as their wives.

The second view was held by the early church fathers, who were influenced by the Book of Enoch and Second Temple Judaism. In addition, many within Dispensationalism hold this view.

The Book of Enoch (particularly 1 Enoch 6–16) interprets the “sons of God” as angels (the Watchers) who married women and fathered giant offspring (200 BC-100 AD).

According to this understanding of Genesis 6, the sons of God are fallen angels who come to earth, have sexual relationships with human women, and produce an ungodly, demonic offspring called the Nephilim.

Sean has released a new book on prayer called 30 Days of Praying the Scriptures, and you can purchase it here:

https://bit.ly/49XaYQN

Sean has published three other books:

Compassionate Calvinism: Defending the Doctrines of Grace Without Being a Jerk

You can purchase it here:

https://www.amazon.com/Compassionate-Calvinism-Defending-Doctrines-Without-ebook/dp/B0FZDNLGK4/ref=sr_1_1

https://shop.g3min.org/products/compassionate-calvinism-defending-the-doctrines-of-grace-without-being-a-jerk

You can purchase Sean’s two books here:

40 Days in Philippians: Finding Joy in Jesus: https://g3min.org/shop/books/g3press/40-days-in-philippians-finding-joy-in-jesus-sean-cole/

Your Identity in the Trinity: Discovering God’s Grace in the Gospel: https://rb.gy/yoa223

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www.seancole.net