Genesis 6 - Giants
1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.
6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 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.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
- Genesis 6:1-8 (KJV)
And with Noah, the Flood begins. If it hadn't been for Noah, God would have destroyed mankind, and you wouldn't be reading this.
It can be clearly seen that God's Spirit strives with mankind, and get them to repent, but at some point God says "enough". This is exactly what will happen in the last days when God will withdraw His Spirit from this world. As a result we'll see exactly what sin leads to. Sin leads to corruption of the mind.
We can also see that God isn't just some sort of robot that sustains the Universe. No, the sinful state of mankind grieved Him at His heart. God is a loving God, who cares for us very much. God will soon judge mankind, and create a new heaven and a new earth, where there will be no more sorrow.
The phrase "the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown" shows that the men living before "The Flood" were super intelligent (they didn't need to write things down, they just remembered them), perfect in every way, lived to become of old age (Adam lived to become 930 years old), and were "well known". They were superior to us in every way.
There were giants in those days.
Evidence for giants
No one is denying the existence of giants, as the evidence for giants is overwhelming.
Many skeletons have been dug up all over the world.
A lot of people think giants are photoshopped, but you simply can't deny the bones and skeletons that are stored in museums all around the world. Some hundreds of years old.
- By Joe Taylor / Mt. Blanco Fossil Museum
Even today, giants exist. Although there is a difference between giants, and "giantism" (growth gland problem).
Giants in the Bible
The most famous example of a giant in the Bible is of course Goliath.
And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span (9.5 feet).
- 1 Samuel 17:4 (KJV)
- By Gebhard Fugel / Wikimedia Commons
And another mention in the Bible is that of King Og.
For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof (13.5 feet), and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.
- Deuteronomy 3:11 (KJV)
And here a whole group of giants.
And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
- Numbers 13:33 (KJV)
Some giants had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot.
And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature ("huge man" in some translations), that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.
- 2 Samuel 21:20 (KJV)
Adam and Eve were giants also.
As Adam came forth from the hand of his Creator, he was of noble height, and of beautiful symmetry. He was more than twice as tall as men now living upon the earth, and was well proportioned. His features were perfect and beautiful. His complexion was neither white nor sallow, but ruddy, glowing with the rich tint of health. Eve was not quite as tall as Adam. Her head reached a little above his shoulders. She, too, was noble-perfect in symmetry, and very beautiful.
- Ellen White, Signs of the Times, January 9, 1879, Art. B, par. 13
Giants died out after "The Flood".
Angels procreating with mankind?
A very popular theory is that angels (supposably sons of God) procreated with daughters of men, and produced giants, which then caused mankind to become evil, after which God wiped them all out.
The idea that the "sons of God" are angels, comes from the book of Job.
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.
- Job 1:6 (KJV)
There are some problems with this though.
For example, if giants were the root of all evil, then why were there giants before and after the Flood? Did God's Flood fail?
Fallen angels are never considered to be "sons of God".
In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
- 1 John 3:10 (KJV)
The sons of God are normally referred to as believers.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
- John 1:12-13 (KJV)
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
- Galatians 3:26 (KJV)
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
- Romans 8:14 (KJV)
Angels are normally referred to as the angels of God, messengers, stars, or just "men".
And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
- Genesis 32:1 (KJV)
And also, why did God equip the angels with "man bits", and compatible DNA, if He didn't want them to interbreed?
For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
- Matthew 22:30 (KJV)
Marrying means to become "one flesh" (intercourse), so if the angels don't marry, it's not likely they can procreate.
Here's more evidence that the earthly and heavenly bodies don't mix.
All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
- 1 Corinthians 15:39-40 (KJV)
I do believe that angels appear to us as men, but I just don't believe the giants came from the angels. God would never allow it.
Some will go as far as to quote from the book of Enoch to justify giants coming from angels, but that's walking on thin ice as well. For example, the book of Enoch talks about giants of 3,000 ells (4,500 feet) tall. That's insane, and not plausible at all. Also, the book of Enoch simply doesn't read like any of the other God-breathed books of the Bible.
I simply believe that man is created in the "image and likeness" of God, so that, in Christ, we truly are the sons and daughters of God. Angels are just created differently, and are never called sons of God.
Maybe there is another explanation.
Alternative explanation
The above theory falls apart when we learn that "sons of God" means something completely different.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.
- John 1:12 (KJV)
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
- Romans 8:14 (KJV)
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
- Galatians 3:26 (KJV)
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
- 2 Corinthians 6:18 (KJV)
So from all this we learn that the "sons of God" means something like "those that believe on His name", e.g. His sons and daughters (children). And yes, people believed in Jesus before He was born. Even back then people were told to expect a Saviour.
This "calling upon the name of the Lord" thing started with Seth.
And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
- Genesis 4:25-26 (KJV)
But, why then the whole "sons of God" and "daughters of men" thing?
I strongly believe that "daughters of men" refers to pagan women (from the Cain bloodline?). So what we have are righteous men, marrying pagan women, and in doing so corrupting themselves, and also their children (as they are then raised by pagan women). It's a bit like Israel going to Babylon, and defiling itself by picking up idols, and pagan traditions, etc.
This concept of the sons of God marrying the daughters of men (and picking up the pagan traditions) is not new, and is evident throughout the Bible. It's a bit like when Eve tricked Adam into eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.
- Deuteronomy 7:3-4 (KJV)
By the sounds of it, this evil doing escalated to the point where God wanted to destroy mankind, and did indeed create a worldwide Flood for that purpose.
Some have suggested that the sons of God are those from Seth, and that the daughters of men came from Cain. It's possible, but I couldn't find enough proof for that. In my opinion the sons of God are those that follow God. It's quite possible that some of the sons of Seth had fallen away as well. Also, does a bloodline really determine your relationship with God, or can each man repent and become a child of God?
God wiped out mankind for the evil they had done (and not because of what the angels had done).
What about the giants?
Well, all that Genesis says is that there were giants in those days, and also after. The Flood did nothing to change that. It just wasn't nearly as common anymore. Maybe because of a recessive gene? God could have changed that.
The Flood also changed how long people were living, e.g. now less than 100 years, etc.
Conclusion
There's a lot we can learn from the days of Noah.
But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
- Matthew 24:37-39 (KJV)
For more information, check out this YouTube video.