We are entering the last and most important part of our study: “Sod” – secret, mystery. Sod is His revelation, so let us try to see this story through His eyes. Whilst I have no doubt that various pieces of this story have already been revealed to different people, let us trust Him to assemble all these pieces together here.
BEGINNING
First of all, when and how did it begin? The narrative of the Flood starts in Genesis 6, but how far back should we go in order to comprehend this story?
I suppose, we all know the answer to this – as with all beginnings of human misery (but also the beginning of the messianic hope and salvation), our story also begins in Genesis 3. We remember how God cursed the serpent:
“Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”[1]
Yes, the serpent was cursed, yes, he was warned – but as a result of the Fall, he was also handed some power, not only to bruise the heel of the ‘seed of the woman’, as is clear from our text, but also, as we read in verse 15, to eat “dust”. In Hebrew, this is the very same word – “dust” , עפר – that Adam was formed from. Thus, we are given a very profound message that is often overlooked: we are told that the serpent/sin will “eat” man – just as in the book of Job: The Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand”.[2] Moreover, the serpent/sin will be nourished by man. That is why we read regarding Cain: “And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”[3]
PATTERN
So now, as Satan is aware of God’s plan for his ultimate defeat and is given this ‘permission’ to be nourished by man, wouldn’t he try to destroy Gods plan? The question is, of course, how he will do that.
An attentive reader would see that, every time God’s plan is under attack, we find in Scripture the same pattern: first, Satan tries the most straightforward approach, then he moves to the more subtle strategy. The first step – the most brutal and in a sense, the most simple – would be to kill. We saw this in the case of Moshe (Moses), when all the male babies were thrown into the river; we saw it in the case of Mordecai when Haman wanted to destroy him and all the Jews; we also saw it in the case of Jesus when the baby boys in Bethlehem were killed by Herod. (Only in the case of Adam and Eve the serpent had to start with temptation, because at this point he could not kill them – death had not entered the scene yet).
However, when this first step doesn’t work – Moshe was saved, Mordecai was not killed, and Jesus’ family fled to Egypt to save Him – then Satan makes the next, much more subtle move: he tries to tempt and corrupt. We know he wants to destroy: if not to kill, then to steal. Moshe grew up as an Egyptian prince, and it was God’s miracle and grace that he didn’t begin to worship Egyptian gods: By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;[4] Esther – Hadassah – was a queen surrounded by all manner of heathen temptations, – and, once again, it was a clear miracle that she remained faithful to God and the people of God; Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit in order to be tempted, and Satan was allowed to tempt and to try to corrupt him.
We see this pattern again and again in Scripture and in history. Jewish tradition says that in Numbers 25, when the people of Israel “began to commit harlotry with the daughters of the Moabites”[5] it happened as a result of Balaam’s advice: Balaam was called by Balak to curse Israel (in a sense, it was equal to “kill”: Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people …. that we may smite them[6]), but when he could not curse Israel, he advised Balak to tempt and corrupt them. In this case, the desired result was achieved: The Moabite women called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.[7] So, we can see this pattern over and over again: first he tries to kill (or to curse) – and if that doesn’t work, he tries to corrupt.
THE PLOT
Now perhaps we can follow Satan’s plan right after the 3rd chapter of Genesis, and we can clearly see the same pattern. First, he started to “eat” Cain, and the first murder happened: Abel was killed by Cain and so his line was cut off. Almost the entire 4th chapter of Genesis is very gloomy, because it describes the men ‘eaten’ by sin – the godless line of Cain. However, God was determined to continue His plan, and therefore the place of Abel could not remain unfilled. Accordingly, in the last two verses of this chapter we find the hope: God gave to Adam and Eve another son, Seth, and in the last verse of chapter 4 we read: 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.[8]
It is probably at this point that Satan realizes that the first part of his plan didn’t work – a third son was born, and the righteous line of Seth was established. Therefore, he goes to the second level – temptation and corruption.
Finally, we are in Genesis 6. Now we can understand Satan’s plot: to corrupt the human bloodline, so that the one who is destined to defeat him – the one promised from the seed of woman, not from some angelic seed – could not be born. Thus, was the plan unfolded: The sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them.[9] The hybrid angelic/human offspring, clearly unintended by God, had a corrupted bloodline. The plan seemed to be very successful indeed, and the time came when almost everyone had demonic DNA in their blood. So, in spite of what many may think, the flood was not a cruel and terrible punishment from an angry and vengeful God – rather, it was a merciful and protective act to leave hope for His creation, and not throw humanity into an abyss of wicked demonic hopelessness.
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To be continued [10].. . .
[1] Gen. 3:14-15
[2] Job 2:6
[3] Gen. 4:7
[4] Heb. 11:24-25
[5] Num. 25:1
[6] Num. 22:6
[7] Num. 25:2
[8] Gen. 4:26
[9] Gen. 6:4
[10] If these articles whet your appetite for discovering the hidden treasures of the Hebrew Bible, I would be happy to provide more information (and also a teacher’s discount) regarding eTeacher courses. I also encourage you to read my book, Abaraham had two sons: this is the first (and the only) Messianic book that is written according to PARDES layers of meaning, and it will give you a taste of this approach to Jewish biblical exegesis (click here to get the book: Read Julia Blum )
I too love your teaching and would like to do the course but am commited to learning Hebrew for now but will in the future enroll. I would like to ask, are you with the Hebrew University as eTeacherBiblical is or a branch or separate? Thank you. Barbara.
Thank you Barbara for your kind words. Answering your question : eTeacherBiblical is not a part of Hebrew University, it’s a separate institution, expanding and growing all the time (in fact, it is called Israel Institute of Biblical Studies now). Will be excited to meet you in my class!
We actually see this analogy of ‘eating’ and being ‘eaten’ elsewhere in the Numbers story.13:32 “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants…(KJV says “eats up”); then later Joshua and Caleb, through faith, are able to say: “don’t fear them …for they are bread for us”. (14:9) In other words, without faith in Almighty God, they will ‘eat’ us, but with faith, we can ‘eat’ them. Adding your insight to this Julia, makes perfect sense. You’re amazing!
Amazing thought , Dorothy! In Psa 14:4, we also read: “They devour my people as though eating bread;
they never call on the Lord”. Now I can see that the Scripture is very clear and very consistent with this message – as you wrote : “without faith in Almighty God, they will ‘eat’ us, but with faith, we can ‘eat’ them”. So profound!
Think you Julia for that study, that’s wonderful. I’ve always thought that the expression SONS of GOD in that meant the descendants of SETH. Though fallen, these angels still called sons of God. In fact the careless students always thought the human’s calamities, pains such as: sufferings, tribulations and else come from God. God always wants man’s happiness. Thank you, God bless you!
An intriguing thought on Matt 22:30 from John Fleming in his book, “The Fallen Angels and the Heroes of Mythology”:
“These writers (who Fleming has been quoting), however, think it is not inconceivable that, although created without distinction of, or reference to sex, and destined by the Creator neither to ‘marry nor be given in marriage,’ they may yet have, latent in their nature, the power or capacity for the latter, rendering sexual intercourse not, in all circumstances, impossible – may have in their constitution the germ of a sexuality (if we may term it so) capable, under peculiar conditions, of being developed – just as the first man, though not created to sin, had in his original constitution the latent power or capability of sinning – a power which came into operation, in his departing from the ordinance of the Creator. In a like way might the unfolding of such latent power, in the angels, as that referred to – the development of such sexual distinction – be effected, as these writers suppose, by a willful departure from their original condition of existence, and their sinking to a lower and unnatural state, in their apostasy from God? From the fact that mankind, to whom in the present life belongs the distinction of sex, shall, in the resurrection, attain to that higher life, in which they neither marry nor are given in marriage, and in this respect be equal to the angels – Dr. Kurtz thinks it not unlawful to infer that, in the event of angels falling, by their own willful act, from the higher to the lower sphere of existence, a degradation of their nature, analogous to the elevation in the other case, may take place, and that thus may be developed that sexuality and procreative power which pertained to the lower grade of life…”
Thank you! Truly enjoy learning from your studies. Strangely enough, the Lord opened my eyes to the Serpent eating “dust” which I thought the same thing .. “eating man”. When I read the scriptures, I will look up every word in the Hebrew before continuing and that is when it “hit me” for the first time. The “light” finally came on!
Thank you Nancy! I am so glad you are enjoying the articles. It is also very exciting to hear about you Hebrew discoveries, come and join us in DHB (Discovering Hebrew Bible) class – or you are taking this course already? If not, I think you will enjoy it tremendously!
So the satan is purposely allowed to function in the world to give us the opportunity to purposely seek and cleave to the Creator. A chance to learn and grow – not just believe. My understanding from Judaism is our two foes are: our own “evil inclination”, and secondly the satan. Both are meant to be part of our journey. Is this a proper conclusion???? Thanks again for this blog and your perspective!!
Nick
Well said Nick, I agree with you here. As much as we may not like it, satan and our own evil inclination are meant to be part of our journey to becoming “overcomers” – he is “the Adversary” and we are warned to “be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour… And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:8,10)
Hi Nick, thank you for your input. The difference between Judaism and Christianity in their understanding of Satan is huge (maybe , at some point a post should be written about this difference) – but still, I believe in both of them it would be a proper conclusion: indeed, both Satan and our sinful nature (evil inclination) are meant to be part of our journey.
Excellent parsing of Scripture. It really makes the pages of Scripture come alive. Very good job, Julia!
I am really blessed to hear that “the pages of Scripture come alive”, thank you Marcia, for these generous words!
Love the way you teach. And in addition you have the name of my mother. Point to your favor.
Thank you for your kind words, Roberto! And I am glad to have an additional point to my favor 🙂
“””The plan seemed to be very successful indeed, and the time came when almost everyone had demonic DNA in their blood. So, in spite of what many may think, the flood was not a cruel and terrible punishment from an angry and vengeful God – rather, it was a merciful and protective act to leave hope for His creation, and not throw humanity into an abyss of wicked demonic hopelessness.”””
Such a big revelation. Wow! At least for me!
Wow ! that was also my reaction to the the new revelation—- God’s mercy indeed
How is it that you put forth the idea that fallen angels procreate with humans in Genesis, when Jesus states in Matthew 22:30 “For in the resurrection neither do men marry nor are women given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven [who do not marry nor produce children} (amlified bible). Just curious.
These were fallen angels…their fall was to leave their first estate (Jude 6); quite possibly their sin(fall) was this act of having relations with women which they were not meant to have. After all, Jesus also says that we will no longer have physical relations in heaven, yet we do here on earth.
Similarly, science is now “creating” chimeras by combining DNA of humans with pigs in order to grow organs for transplant. Is this good progress for healing our diseases or bad corruption of our genome? Something worth thinking about.
I strongly suspect that the Greek myths and legends spring out of this unholy alliance. Look at Heracles, for example – “best known as the strongest of all mortals and stronger than many gods … He was the last mortal son of Zeus, and the only man born of a mortal woman to become a god at his death.” These legends certainly seem to confirm the story we are looking at – I don’t think they were merely made up.
I also would like to understand how a fallen spirit being could possess sperm, and pass it on. I cannot argue against it, but neither do I understand how it could be.
Thank you Yulia for your Sod about The Flood and God’s plan for Human. HaleluYah !
Diane,
First, consider that even though angels are able to take on human form as seen in Scripture, they are first and foremost invisible spirit beings who dwell in the heavenly realm. And we know that demons, which are also spirit beings have the ability to live in and exercise control over people (and pigs! as seen in Matthew 8:28-34). I think we can say that angels, as spirits, also have the ability to enter human beings and exercise control. So, rather than thinking of angels in human form having intercourse with women, we should consider that these fallen angel spirits began to inhabit men who were sympathetic to their rebellion. These men then had normal relations with women, resulting the evil offspring referred to as nephilim etc. What’s interesting is the apparent effect on the offspring’s DNA, creating men of great stature (giants).
However, the idea of the spirit impacting the physical being is not surprising since Scripture seems to indicate that the genetic transference of spiritual attributes can also occur for the godly. Malachi 2:15 speaks to the idea that two people of Spirit can enter into a spiritual oneness for the purpose of producing a godly offspring. I believe that this verse refers to something more than the idea of the parents teaching or imparting godliness to the children. It seems to point to a genetic change which would be propagated to successive generations.
“And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.” Malachi 2:15
Getting back to Julia’s excellent article, is it possible that God’s answer to the nephilim, the spawn of Satan, is to create a godly line that manifests his nature and purposes to the earth? Ultimately, Jesus of Nazareth came as the federal head of a new race of people, referred to as the sons of God (Romans 8:19-21; Heb. 2:10-11). It is for these sons that the whole creation intensely longs, since their manifestation will finally set the creation free “from it’s slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of God’s sons.” Satan attempt to prevent their manifestation is one of the main reasons for the intense spiritual warfare which started in the garden and continues until the present time.
Hi Diane and Pete, thank you for your question. I believe, Jesus’ words in Mat. 22 refer to the angels in Heaven, not to the fallen angels who “abandoned their proper dwelling” (Jude 6). They were in a very different situation: they were not in Heaven anymore!