PETER'S EPISTLES

1 Peter: Living In Conflict With The Culture

XV. Wise Living In View Of Christ's Perfect Example, 1 Peter 3:18-4:6

C. Parenthesis: A Lesson In Bible Interpretation With 1 Peter 3:19-20

(1 Peter 3:19-20)

I. Introduction

A. After our study of 1 Peter 3:19-21 last Sunday, someone told me about a major interpretation of the passage that teaches that the 1 Peter 3:19 "spirits in prison" were fallen angels who await judgment in a prison for angels since they led Noah's generation to sin. (cf. bible.org/netbible/1 Peter 3:19) This view holds that those demons in Genesis 6:2, 4 impregnated women who then bore evil men. (gotquestions.org/sonsofGod.html)

B. Though many evangelicals hold this interpretation, it actually undermines the entire Christian faith!

C. We thus correct this view and offer an important lesson in interpreting Scripture by revisiting 1 Peter 3:19-20:

II. Parenthesis: A Lesson In Bible Interpretation With 1 Peter 3:19-20.

A. The view that 1 Peter 3:19-20 means Christ announced to fallen angels in a prison judgment for their role as "sons of God" in impregnating women to bear the evil men in Genesis 6:2, 4 undermines the Christian faith:

1. Though a word study of the phrase "sons of God" in the Old Testament shows it is used of angels and demons (Job 1:6; 38:7), for angels to beget children by cohabiting with women counters Christ's Matthew 22:30 claim that angels "neither marry" as male bridegrooms "nor are given in marriage" as female brides.

2. In reply, defenders of the view that Genesis 6:2, 4 speaks of angels claim that Jesus did not say that angels could not marry or be given in marriage, only that they did not do so. (Ibid., gotquestions.org)

3. However, since Christ said that angels do not marry as men nor are they given in marriage as women, if the "sons of God" in Genesis 6:2, 4 who did marry and beget sons by women were angels, Christ lied in Matthew 22:30 by claiming that angels do not do what Genesis 6:2, 4 claims those alleged angels did do!

4. If Christ lied in Matthew 22:30, He sinned, and He cannot qualify as God's sinless Sacrifice in our behalf on the cross to save us (2 Corinthians 5:21), we are still in our sins and the Christian faith is a false faith!

B. The solution to this entire problem is to heed the priority of context in interpreting Scripture (as follows):

1. Though word studies may help if a passage is unclear, the literal, grammatical, historical contexts take precedence over word studies in interpretation -- especially so at Genesis 6:2, 4 (as follows):

a. Though word studies show the phrase "sons of God" repeatedly means angels in the Old Testament, since Christ claimed in Matthew 22:30 that angels do not marry, there must be some other meaning or use for the "sons of God" phrase in Genesis 6:2, 4 that is not supplied by the Old Testament passages!

b. Indeed, archaeological evidence has shown that the phrase "sons of the gods" in Ugaritic was used of members of the pantheon of gods as well as great kings, B. K. C., O. T., p. 36. " . . . (F)or the pagans, gods had their origin in copulation between gods and humans. Any superhuman individual in a myth or any mythological or actual giant would suggest a divine origin to the pagans," Ibid.

c. Accordingly, the Genesis 6:2, 4 "sons of God" phrase was what pagans falsely boasted, Ibid. Moses used the phrase that pagans used of their own great men to display their false, wicked boastings, cf. Genesis 6:5.

2. The wider Bible context supports this archaeological find and interpretation of Genesis 6:2, 4 (as follows):

a. Lamech, a descendant of godless Cain (Gen. 4:17-19), married two women (Gen. 4:19) and slew a man who tried to kill him, falsely boasting to his wives that he would protect himself seventy-sevenfold without needing God's help as Cain had required, Gen. 4:13-15; Ryrie St. Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Gen. 4:23-24.

b. Lamech's example was thus used by later generations until in Genesis 6, men used demon possession, false boasts of partial divinity and massive polygamy to propagate hordes of violent men. (Ibid., B. K. C., O. T.)

3. Also, 1 Peter 1:10-11 notes the Spirit of Christ ministered through Old Testament prophets, so Christ's Spirit ministered through Noah according to 1 Peter 3:19-20 in accord with the contexts of the epistle.

4. Thus, the literal, grammatical, historical contexts of Scripture lead us to see that 1 Peter 3:19-20 refers to Christ's ministry through Noah to his godless generation and that the Genesis 6:2, 4 "sons of God" were those same evil men who greatly sinned in the original pattern of their forefather Lamech!

Lesson: Since the literal, grammatical and historical contexts of Scripture take precedence over word studies, Genesis 6:2, 4 and 1 Peter 3:19-20 refer to the wicked generation of people who lived in Noah's day.

Application: May we rely on Scripture context and check our interpretation with the rest of Scripture for the truth.