This interpretation of Genesis 6 is neither my invention nor my discovery. When I first studied Genesis 6:2 fifty years ago, I was quite troubled. I had no difficulty with 6:1, but verse 2 presented a problem. Who are the sons of God mentioned there? Then I learned that some of the Brethren teachers said that there were two lines in Genesis 4—the line of the descendants of Seth, that is, the line of the godly people, and the line of the descendants of Cain. They said that the sons of God were the descendants of Seth. Since the descendants of Seth belonged to God, they were the sons of God. They also said that the daughters of men were the daughters of the descendants of Cain. I was not satisfied with that interpretation. It was not logical. How can you say that the sons of God were the descendants of Seth and that the daughters of men were the descendants of Cain? Were not the descendants of Seth also men? I could not accept their interpretation. Eventually I found the proper interpretation in Brother Watchman Nee's writing. In his writings Brother Nee said that the sons of God in 6:2 were angels. He pointed out that in the Old Testament we are told clearly that the angels are called the sons of God (Job 1:6; 2:1). Although this was very logical, I found it difficult to believe. I wondered how angels could have married human beings. Brother Nee went on to say that the Syriac Version of the Old Testament renders "the sons of God" as "the angels" and that a few ancient manuscripts also use "angels" instead of "sons of God" in Genesis 6:2. Brother Nee then argued that we cannot say that only the daughters of Cain and not also the sons of Seth were the descendants of men. I was already in agreement with that point. Brother Nee went on to say that in Jude 6 and 7 there is a strong proof that the sons of God mentioned in Genesis 6 were fallen angels. Brother Nee undoubtedly had studied Earth's Earliest Ages, by G. H. Pember. In that book Mr. Pember strongly proved that the sons of God in Genesis 6 were fallen angels. Thus, after much study, I was fully convinced that the sons of God in Genesis 6 were fallen angels.
The fallen angels committed fornication with strange persons, setting up an example which was followed by Sodom and Gomorrah. At this point we need to read carefully Jude 6 and 7. "And angels who did not keep their own principality, but abandoned their own dwelling place, He has kept in eternal bonds under gloom for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who in like manner with these gave themselves over to fornication and went after other flesh, are set forth as an example, undergoing the penalty of eternal fire." When Peter and Jude wrote about the degradation, they wrote with the facts recorded in Genesis as a background. In verse 6, Jude says that the angels did not keep their principality. Principality here means the angels' domain or rule, referring to the sphere of their rule. What is the principality or sphere of the angels? According to Ephesians 2:2 and 6:12, their principality is the air. God's dwelling place is the third heaven, man's dwelling place is the earth, and Satan's and his angels' dwelling place is the air. When Jude 6 says that the angels did not keep their principality, but left their own habitation, it means that they left the air, came down to the earth, and entered into illegal marriages with human beings. God has reserved these fallen angels under darkness in everlasting chains unto the judgment of the great day.
When did these angels leave their principality? When did the fallen angels leave the air of their principality and descend to the earth and do something which caused God to reserve them in chains unto the judgment of the great day? They must have done something very serious in order for God to take such an action. When did this happen? It must have been during the time mentioned in Genesis 6.
The word "as" in Jude 7 indicates that verse 7 is a continuation of verse 6. Because the subject of this sentence is not only Sodom and Gomorrah, but also "the cities around them," we need a comma after the word "them." Thus, Sodom, Gomorrah, and the cities round about them are the subject of the sentence. The predicate is "are set forth." Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them are set forth for an example. Between the subject and the predicate we have the modifier "in like manner with these gave themselves over to fornication and went after other flesh." To whom does "these" refer? It refers to the fallen angels mentioned in the previous verse. What does "in like manner" mean? It means in the manner of going "after other flesh." The fallen angels went after human flesh. Sodom, Gomorrah, and the cities about them also went "after other flesh." This means that these cities followed the example of the fallen angels. They did not invent that kind of fornication, but followed the fallen angels who invented it. Sodom, Gomorrah, and the other cities were followers; the angels were inventors.
At this point I must say a word especially to the young people. Marriage is a holy thing. God instituted marriage in order to maintain the human race which He created for His purpose. No one should consider the matter of marriage in a loose way. We all must approach it as a most holy thing. Hebrews 13:4 advises us to respect marriage as being holy. There is a strict principle regarding marriage—the principle of one husband for one wife. God has ordained this holy principle in order to keep the human race in a proper condition for the fulfillment of His purpose. However, at the time of man's third fall, the subtle enemy came in to break the holy principle of human marriage by his fallen angels taking human bodies to marry human females. This violated the principle of marriage that protected the purity of the human race. This illegal marriage of fallen angels with the human race not only broke the principle of marriage, but polluted the human race. What was the devil's intention in doing this? His intention was not only to corrupt the human race, but also to pollute it to such an extent that it became a mixture of humanity and fallen spirits. The angels, the fallen ones, set up such an example of breaking the principle of marriage. Sodom, Gomorrah, and the cities about them followed this example, breaking the governing principle ordained by God.
Now we can understand why God determined to flood the human race and condemn them all to death. God decided to do this because the human race had become a mixture. Now we can also understand why God burned Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding cities. When, as a young man, I read about the flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the slaughter of the Canaanites, I did not agree with God. I said, "Isn't God a God of love? How could a God of love do such a thing? How could a God of love flood people, burn their cities, and slaughter the Canaanites at the hand of the Israelites?" I said to God, "God, You were not fair. Don't You think that the Israelites were sinful too? Why did You destroy all the Canaanites? How can You say that You are a God of love?" Eventually, God said to me, "Child, haven't you seen that before the flood the human race had become a mixture? I couldn't keep such a mixed race on this earth. I had to eliminate it. Don't you see that among the Canaanites there were the Nephilim, proving that the Canaanites were no longer a pure human race, but had become mixed with the fallen angels? I had to exterminate them." At that time I bowed myself and said, "Lord, You are God. I worship You. You did rightly."
If you read Jude 6 and 7, you will see that the fallen angels invented illegal marriage, breaking the governing principle of marriage ordained by God, and going "after other flesh", after human beings. That invention set an example which was followed by Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding cities. In like manner to those angels, those cities committed fornication and pursued "other flesh." At a certain time there were some angels that had fallen to such an extent that God intervened to judge them. When did this happen? We must apply it to Genesis 6.