Angels had sex with women?!
Here is the whole passage from which the question arises.
“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 a 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 fame. 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 repents me that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:1-7)
We will examine this whole passage, but the key phrase is “sons of God.” Many preachers and nonbelievers in the Bible teach with great confidence that these are angels, fallen and/or unfallen. However, it is a huge assumption without Biblical support. Let’s try to define this phrase from the Bible and the Bible only before we look at other aspects of this text.
Who are the sons of God?
Listed below are all the verses containing the phrase “sons of God”. They can be categorized into three ways.
Undefined in Genesis
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. (Genesis 6:2)
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 6:4)
Heavenly beings in 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)
Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. (Job 2:1)
These scenes take place in heaven after Satan’s fall and after Adam’s fall. Apparently, because of the successful temptation at the tree, Satan has taken Adam’s place as the “prince of this world.” (Ephesians 2:2; John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) Otherwise, what would have released Satan from “everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day?” (Jude 1:6; 2 Peter 2:4) So these sons of God are probably not angels, who are God’s ministering spirits (Hebrews 1:14), but other heads of other planets. (Hebrews 1:2; 1 Corinthians 4:9) If they were angels they would have been specified as angels like in all the other places in the Bible.
When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:7)
This third text from Job implies heavenly beings other than angels, because morning stars and stars in general are often used as symbols of angels. The name, Lucifer, means “morning star.” Also, we know these sons of God are not human, because the timing of the verse at the creation event before the earth started to have humans who could celebrate.
Converted humans in the New Testament
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)
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14)
For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. (Romans 8:19)
Paul precedes this verse with “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Therefore, the emphasis is on the converted saint being granted immortality in the future life, but that does not mean it is limited only to humans. The fallen, suffering creature (us) waits for our own immortality as well as meeting the rest of God’s universal family face to face. So “sons of God” can refer to humans and to heavenly beings.
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world. (Philippians 2:15)
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. (1 John 3:1)
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)
Conclusion
Who are the sons of God? The New Testament tells us they are God’s converted people. Job tells us they are non-angelic, heavenly beings. The common thread is that sons of God are on God’s side. They are the good guys, never the bad guys. They are saints, not rebels.
Also, they can be male, female, or nongendered. “Sons” in each of the verses is used generically.
Even though Genesis does not define sons of God exactly, there is a strong implication. “They took them wives.” Angels do not marry. (Matthew 22:30) Therefore, Genesis does NOT say that angels had sex with human women. However, there are still two Biblical options remaining. 1) God’s people intermarried with nonbelievers, or 2) non-angelic heavenly beings had sex with human women. We must go back to the full passage in Genesis 6:1-7 to get more clues.
It is easy to take almost any passage and invent some fantastic idea or sensational theory. However, “no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” (2 Peter 1:20) Bible verses cannot be isolated. Every passage is a piece in the big picture puzzle and so must be consistent with it, otherwise it is wrong or just mere speculation. Every piece contributes to the puzzle and the big picture gives every piece meaning and importance.
What is the significance of extraterrestrials having sex with humans? Why is not mentioned later? What sure spiritual lesson is to be learned? It is hard to find any.
Read the whole passage again. The focus is on God’s displeasure with human wickedness.
The sons of God “took them wives of all which they chose.” “The wickedness of man was great in the earth.” “Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” The focus is on human wickedness. It makes more sense that God is upset with His people intermarrying with the nonbelievers and losing their faith. This is what Jesus refered to. “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 Noah 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) Marriage itself is good, but if marriage destroys your faith, then it has been abused. Then it will turn around and drag you down. This is an important fact of life.
“Be you not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? or what part has he that believes with an infidel? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for you are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be you separate, says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)
Notice how that teaches the same lesson as Genesis, but in reverse! In Genesis, the believers marry unbelievers and stop being God’s children. In this passage, the unbelievers become believers and marry believers which makes them God’s sons and daughters. Husbands and wives can help each other or they can hurt each other. Which do you think makes God happy?
What about the giants?
The fact that there were giants has nothing to do with extraterrestrials. The people before the flood lived longer, lived healthier, and grew much larger than us. Everybody was a giant compared to us!
Noah and his sons were giants and gave birth to giants after the flood, but the generations soon declined in stature and longevity. However, there was a notable exception with the children of Anak, of whom was Goliath of Gath, the giant that David killed. Goliath was over nine feet tall. (1 Samuel 17:4) While that line was an exception for their time, they were probably much shorter than Adam and Noah. Even Abraham, several hundred years before Goliath, was probably Goliath’s size!
Before the flood, giants were normal. What was not normal was a good giant.
The sons of God followed God’s commands, including the dietary instructions given in Eden and after the exile. (Genesis 1:29-30; 3:18-19) They were vegetarians. Also, they were not selfish and violent. (Genesis 4:23-24; 6:11-12) Rejecting God’s Spirit, clouding their minds with animal flesh, which then made them indulge the animal passions of lust, violence, and laziness, the “daughters of men” were not as creative, noble, self-controlled, and blessed as the “sons of God.” However, when someone from the long line of the faithful married someone who had several generations of degeneracy in effect, the change was easy to see and for the better. These were the "mighty men."
In conclusion, the idea of angels or any other extraterrestrials fathering children with humans is purely speculative and immoral and contradictory. A heavenly son of God committing adultery is no longer a son of God and is now fallen and needs a Savior. A devil is not a son of God to begin with so that contradicts the story. Like tabloid headlines at the grocery store, angels having sex with women grabs the attention, but doesn’t make sense the more you read it.
However, the huge influence that marrying a nonbeliever has on the believer, the effect of diet on health of body and brain, and the blessings that come from obeying God’s will are all real and important and talked about in many places in the Bible.
Read the whole Bible and put it all together. Be content to be God’s faithful child doing His will. Don’t be distracted by crazy ideas like angels having sex with women.