(Continued -Chapter III- God's Moral Government)

The Lord gave Satan permission to strike at Job, but each time He laid certain limitations upon him. In doing so, He placed barriers before the devil beyond which he could not go. From Luke 22:31,32 we learn that he requested permission to sift the Apostles as wheat--to bring upon them certain trials; but the Lord Jesus made supplication that their faith might not fail. The Lord always limits Satan's activities, not allowing him to tempt the saints above what they can stand or endure. In the case of Job, Satan therefore left the presence of God and came to the earth. Immediately he stirred up different groups and tribes, who started out in marauding bands, and who robbed Job of all his property. Finally, Satan used the elements in bringing about the destruction of his children.

Thus in this prologue of the Book of Job, chapters 1 and 2, we are taken behind the curtain which separates the visible world from the invisible and observe Satan as an actor who is permitted by the Lord God Omnipotent to interfere with human life and activity--under certain conditions and within defined limits.

In Job, chapters 40 and 41, we read of behemoth and leviathan. Of the former the Lord declared: "He is the chief of the ways of God: He only that made him giveth him his sword" (40:19). Concerning leviathan, He also said: "Upon earth there is not his like, That is made without fear. 34 He beholdeth everything that is high: He is king over all the sons of pride" (Job 41:33,34). In view of these two statements it is clear that, though the Lord did use these terms that were generally applied to actual sea monsters, He was not here--as the facts of the context reveal--speaking of literal animals. They therefore are used symbolically. Under such symbolism the Lord spoke of this creature who was the first being whom the Lord God Almighty brought into existence. This one is so very mighty, powerful, and wise that there is no one upon the earth with whom he can be compared. When these facts are weighed in the light of other Scriptures dealing with the same subject, it becomes evident that Satan, of whom we read in Job, chapters 1 and 2, is the one who is thus pictorially represented in the epilogue of the Book of Job.

In Zechariah 3:1-5¹ we read of Joshua the high priest--of the days of the restoration from Babylonian captivity--who was standing before the angel of the Lord, and who was opposed by the adversary Satan, the devil. An examination of the facts of this passage shows that Joshua in this vision is presented in his official capacity as the high priest of the Jewish nation. We therefore must not interpret this vision as a personal matter, but as one presenting a national situation. The high priest therefore represents the nation of Israel. Satan is especially hostile to God's Chosen People and is accusing them before the Lord.

Joshua, as we see from the passage, is clothed in filthy garments. Satan is hurling every insinuation and accusation against him, but nothing that he does or says can turn the Lord against His ancient people.

Finally the Lord instructs those who are standing by (the angelic hosts) to remove the filthy garments of Joshua and to robe him with the clean, holy garments of rich apparel. This symbolic act signifies the removal of the iniquity of the nation of Israel at the time here foreseen.

There can be no doubt that this opponent of Israel of whom Zechariah speaks is none other than the adversary, the devil, who is presented to us in the Book of Job.

In the New Testament revelation we get much information concerning this one, which supplements our knowledge gained from the Old Testament. We learn from Matthew 4:1ff and Luke 4:1ff that at the beginning of our Lord's ministry Satan appeared to Him and subjected Him to the severest tests possible. But Christ repelled every attack and was preeminently victorious.

From our Lord's teaching we learn that Satan is a powerful, sinister being, who has a kingdom of servile malignant spirits under him. These he has organized into a well-ordered government. That the opposition with which the child of God is confronted is terrific may be seen from the following:

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 withal taking up the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints, 19 and on my behalf, that utterance may be given unto me in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak (Eph. 6:10-20).

Suffice it to say, by way of a summation, that Satan is a personal, mighty, powerful, and wise being, who is opposed to God, man, and all for which they stand. Though he is very powerful and cunning, he is not omnipotent; nor, omniscient; nor, omnipresent. He is subservient to the Almighty and must get permission from Him before he can ever touch any of the saints of God.

"And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us;
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us.
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill:
God's truth abideth still,
His kingdom is for ever."

Satan would have men to doubt and to deny his own existence and personality. He forever plays the role of deception and lying.

"His craft and power are great,
And armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal."

If he can deceive men to believe that there is no such being as he, he has scored a great victory that gives him untold advantage over those who are thus deluded.

May we, one and all, seek to know the teaching which God has given us concerning this conniving spirit. May we, as the inspired Apostle Peter urged us, "Be sober, be watchful," and resist the devil, strong in our faith, in order that he may flee from us (I Pet. 5:8,9). "Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).

"Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right man on our side,
The man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is he;
Lord Sabaoth is his name,
From age to age the same,
And he must win the battle."

(Martin Luther.)

After this seeming digression--which was made necessary by the important bearing that the subject matter therein discussed has upon the theme of human redemption--I shall now resume the discussion relative to the origin of sin.

Since unquestionably sin is in the world, since Satan did not create this force, or power, and since God most obviously did not create it, whence came it? To answer this question, we must take a glance at the universe, which consists of the material cosmos with its complement, or counterpart, the invisible realm of ethereal substance. The non-material substance that is unseen by the human eye is as real as the material physical world. Science has proved that there are basic fundamental principles and laws that control all matter of a material nature. It also has established beyond peradventure the proposition that there are likewise laws that control the unseen sphere. We have every reason to believe that both the seen and the unseen spheres of creation are different in some respects and similar in many others.

Approaching the less-known from the well-known in this investigation, let us note the fact that all material substances are governed by principles or laws imposed upon them by the Creator himself. Men have learned many of these laws of the various substances and have combined them in such a manner as to bring about results which these basic elements could not otherwise accomplish. For instance, man, by his research, has learned unknown principles concerning matter and has produced "a heavier than air machine" which can fly and which appears in the form of the modern aeroplane. In chemistry the scientist has learned the fundamental properties of the various elements, each element having its own distinctive characteristic and property. Some of these are helpful to man, whereas others are injurious to him. There are those elements that would be deadly to man if taken alone, but when combined with other primary elements, they are most beneficial for man's well-being. The exact opposite of this likewise is often true with reference to other elements.

I am strongly inclined to believe that Satan intruded himself where he should not and took these forces, good and useful in their proper place as ordained by God, and combined them in such a way as to make a different power altogether. Such an unauthorized combination or manipulation of these forces resulted in the destructive power which in the Scriptures is called sin. This power of sin is as much a force as any of the forces or laws which God made originally and with which Satan did not tamper. This corrupting, destructive force has spread and permeated the entire universe. There is therefore nothing throughout all His domain, as Bildad said, that is pure in His eyes: "Behold, even the moon hath no brightness, and the stars are not pure in his sight: 6 How much less man, that is a worm! And the son of man, that is a worm!" (Job 25:5,6).

This deadly force of sin existed in the universe prior to the creation of Adam. The Lord, knowing that this power existed and that it would be detrimental to man's well-being, warned him not to partake of the tree of knowledge of good and evil lest he come in touch with this deadly power which would result in death to him. I might illustrate this by a warning placed in prominent places where there are live wires--high voltage. The electrical companies putting up the signs know that, if the individual should touch such live wires, he would be instantly killed. God in a manner similar to this warned Adam about this deadly power which existed, and which would result in his death. Thus this destructive power of sin has remained in the universe and has been operative from the moment that Satan combined these forces in this deadly union. Someone may ask why did not the Almighty immediately step into the picture and right the wrong which Satan accomplished and rearrange things according to the original plan. My answer to this question comes in the form of this counter question: When man disobeyed God and thus allowed this deadly power of sin to come into the human realm and to corrupt man's nature and bring all the evils that it has, why did not God banish or suppress this evil and make the proper readjustment then? The facts lead one to believe that under God's moral government such a procedure would have been contrary to the fundamental foundation principles of a divine regime. Had it been logically possible for God to right the wrong at that time, He certainly would have done it. "Shall not the judge of the whole earth do right?" (Gen. 18:25). From the prophetic word we know that He eventually will, at the conclusion of the Millennium, eliminate the power of sin from the world. The fact that He does not remove it until that time is proof that it was not logical for Him to do so--under the divine government.²

Satan, as we have seen, by his pitting his will against God, corrupted his own nature. When he, the anointed cherub, thus fell, he no longer could be trusted to perform the duties which he had prior to his rebellion. He lost his excelling beauty, as we see in Ezekiel, chapter 28. He ceased to be the generalissimo of the heavenly hosts. He could still be used on the negative side and could execute the wrath of God against sin which he had introduced into the world. From the time of his fall to the present, he has been the minister of death--designated not arbitrarily, nor for some special cases, but universally--to execute the wrath of God in administering the death sentence. That he is still the minister of death is affirmed in the following quotation: "Since then the children [humanity] are sharers in flesh and blood, he [Christ] also himself in like manner partook of the same; that through death he might bring to nought him that had³ the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb. 2:14,15). The execution of the death penalty is as much the judicial exercise of the wrath of God as it is the exercise of the God-hating power of Satan by means of sin, which he has transmitted to men, and which they cherish. "The soul that sinneth it shall die" is the divine decree against sin. Satan therefore executes this sentence.

The anointed cherub, occupying the position which he held when iniquity and unrighteousness first entered his heart, brought sin into the world. The presence of sin breaks all fellowship and communion with God, the source of all life and light. Since it was by Satan's iniquitous act that sin entered the world, and since sin separates the creature from God, Satan therefore held the power of death over all men until Christ died on the cross. Potentially He brought to nought Satan's power over the death of the believer.

וַיְצַו יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים עַל־הָאָדָם לֵאמֹר מִכֹּל עֵץ־הַגָּן אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל׃
וּמֵעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע לֹא תֹאכַל מִמֶּנּוּ כִּי בְּיוֹם אֲכָלְךָ מִמֶּנּוּ מוֹת תָּמוּת׃

"16 And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2:16,17).

Death, as just stated, primarily means separation. When it applies to man, it indicates separation from God, the source of both physical and spiritual life. Man began to die the day on which he, as we shall presently see, partook of the forbidden fruit. Physical death set in, preying upon his body. On that very day he was driven out from the tree of life and from fellowship and communion with God. Death in these forms will culminate in eternal separation from God, unless the individual is restored to fellowship with Him by the removal of sin--that which causes death. As to the angelic hosts that sinned, there seems to be no provision made for restoration to the divine favor and fellowship. According to Hebrews 2:16 God does not give help to angels, but to man. It is quite possible that the reason for the angels' being beyond redemption is that they had the full light of truth, crossed over the line into the land of disobedience with the exact knowledge of the consequences, and transgressed with a high hand.

We have seen that God has brought into existence His various creatures and placed them, figuratively speaking, on different planes, on which they are supposed to live, move, and have their being as free agents under Him. So long as they remain upon the level on which they were created, they can continue without being removed from their position--until they reach the point that they can no longer function as free agents. As proof of this proposition let us note the antediluvians. According to Genesis, chapters 6-9,⁴ the human family, though knowing God originally, refused to glorify Him as God, neither were they thankful; but, refusing to retain Him in their knowledge, they turned their backs upon Him and went with self-determination to seek their own pleasure and destiny. By the time of Noah, the tenth from Adam in the theocratic line, the antediluvians had gone so far into sin that they had benumbed their faculties and sensibilities until the very imaginations of their hearts were only evil continually. "... because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened" (Rom. 1:21). Everything, no matter how clean and pure it might have been, was suggestive of evil to them. Their minds and hearts were warped; their ideas distorted. It was impossible for them in such a frame or state of mind to function as free moral agents. God therefore had to step in and exterminate the entire race--with the exception of Noah and his immediate family--from the face of the globe.

As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the closing of this age. Vast hosts of the human family will refuse to retain God in their knowledge, will give expression to their own desires, and seek their own pleasures. In taking this attitude and pursuing such a course, they will wreck their spiritual and mental make-up to the extent that they will be unable to function as free agents. When that state is reached, there is but one thing that God can do, and that is to remove from the stage of human activity all who are in that condition. That many will reach that stage is evident from various passages of Scripture. Prophetic utterances on this theme point to the middle of the Tribulation as the date when vast hosts of mankind will have reached that state. When God's creatures, including man, reach the stage where they cannot any longer function as moral free agents, the Lord, in order to maintain His government, must step in, remove all such from places of freedom of action and incarcerate them where they can no longer be a menace to those who seek God.

To leave the level on which God placed any of His creatures is to bring summary punishment and judgment upon such transgressors. As proof of this proposition, let us consider the sons of God of whom we read in Genesis 6:1-8, and who saw the daughters of men and assumed the forms of men in order to marry them. Who were these sons of God? An examination of the term, sons of God, in the Old Testament leads us to the conclusion that these were angels. A careful study of Job, chapter 1 and 38:7⁵, which are quoted in the accompanying footnote, proves the correctness of this identification.* Those who came to earth and married the daughters of men are called the Nephilim, the fallen ones. The root form from which this word comes means to fall. There sprang from these unholy unions a race of giants. It was this invasion of the human realm by these fallen angels that precipitated the Flood. God would not brook such wanton, willful, deliberate rebellion against His will. He therefore had to exterminate the antediluvians and to incarcerate those fallen ones, where they could no longer plunge the world into a state of chaos. These are referred to in the following passages: "Because Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, 20 that aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water" (I Pet. 3:18-20). "For if God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 and spared not the ancient world, but preserved Noah with seven others, a preacher of righteousness, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly ..." (II Pet. 2:4,5).

Jude speaks of these very ones in his Epistle: "And angels that kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation, he hath kept in everlasting bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. 7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, having in like manner with these given themselves over to fornication and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire" (Jude 6,7). Note the fact that certain angels "kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation" (vs. 6). These, like the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, gave themselves over to fornication and went after strange flesh--flesh that was different from their own nature. In going after this strange flesh, these angels descended to the human plane and committed fornication. As punishment they were removed from the earth and were incarcerated in the pit of the abyss, awaiting the day when God's judgments shall fall upon them. From this case we see that leaving the plane upon which one is placed by the Creator and descending to a lower level is such a violation of the fundamental basic principles of the divine moral government that the Almighty is forced into immediate and drastic action for the removal and also for the incarceration of the transgressors. Such exercise of judgment is necessary to maintain the existence and dignity of God's dominion.




Footnotes:

¹ 3 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary. 2 And Jehovah said unto Satan, Jehovah rebuke thee, O Satan; yea, Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel. 4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from off him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee and I will clothe thee with rich apparel. 5 And I said, Let them set a clean mitre upon his head. So they set a clean mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments; and the angel of Jehovah was standing by (Zech. 3:1-5).

² Does not the Scripture state that God creates evil? Yes, this fact is stated in Isaiah 45:7: "I form the light, and create darkness; and I make peace, and create evil; I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things." A glance at the word translated evil in this passage shows that it is used to refer to calamities and judgments, as well as to moral delinquencies and failures. Here opposites are contrasted. Light is the opposite of darkness; peace is put over against evil. By this arrangement, it is clear that evil is thought of here as the opposite of peace, namely, war. The prophets constantly spoke of God's bringing wars upon nations as punishment for their sins. Thus evil is used here in this manner. A careful survey of the Scriptures shows that there is not an utterance on the sacred pages that even implies that God is the author of evil, or sin.

³ The Greek is in the present tense--has.

⁴ 6 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, 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 that they chose. And Jehovah said, My spirit shall not strive with man for ever, for that he also is flesh: yet shall his days be a hundred and twenty years. The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them: the same were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown.

And Jehovah 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 Jehovah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And Jehovah said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah… (11) And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.

And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch... (17) And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is in the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.(Gen. 6:1-8; 11-14; 17-19)

  7 And Jehovah said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female: of the birds also of the heavens, seven and seven, male and female, to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the ground. And Noah did according unto all that Jehovah commanded him.

And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

(17) And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. And the waters prevailed, and increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both birds, and cattle, and beasts, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, of all that was on the dry land, died. (Gen. 7:1-7; 17-22)

  8 (4) And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen...

(15) And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth from the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee of all flesh, both birds, and cattle, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. (Gen. 8:4,5; 15-17).

  9 (8) And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you. Of all that go out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of the flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

And the sons of Noah, that went forth from the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah: and of these was the whole earth overspread. (Gen. 9:8-19)

⁵ There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and turned away from evil. And there were born unto him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the children of the east. And his sons went and held a feast in the house of each one upon his day; and they sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually. Now it came to pass on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, that Satan also came among them. And Jehovah said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered Jehovah, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And Jehovah said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job? for there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and turneth away from evil. Then Satan answered Jehovah, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath, on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will renounce thee to thy face. And Jehovah said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thy hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of Jehovah. And it fell on a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house, that there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them; and the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away: yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have taken them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house; and, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped; and he said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: Jehovah gave, and Jehovah hath taken away; blessed be the name of Jehovah. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. (Job 1:1-22)

When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:7)

* In the Old Testament the exression, "sons of God," occurs in only three passages: Gen. 6:1-8; Job, chap. 1; and Job 38:7. The term, "sons of the living God," appears in Hosea 1:10.

It is clear from the context of Hosea 1:10 that the term, the sons of the living God, is found in a prediction, which awaits its fulfillment, and that it refers to men. But in Job, chapter 1, and also in Job 38:7, it is equally clear that "the sons of God" can be interpreted only as designating angelic beings. The question arises regarding its meaning in Gen. 6:1-8. Some scholars understand that these sons of God, who married the daughters of men, were the descendants of Seth, and that the daughters of men were the progeny of Cain. If such is the correct interpretation of the terms, the language is strange; for no other passage can be cited which yields this meaning. The facts of the context must aid in determining its meaning.

As given in the text above, the supernatural elements of the Genesis context point very definitely to the idea that these sons of God were the angels that kept not their estate but left their proper habitation in their lust for strange flesh--flesh strange to their own nature.

(Continued on the next page)