APOCRYPHA/ALIEN-GOSPEL: FACT OR FICTION? – 6

1 – What is the Alien Gospel?
2 – Invasion by the Forces of Darkness
3 – Invasion by the Forces of Light? UFOs? Hybrids/Giants?
4 – Apocryphal Works: Old and New
5 – Reverse-Engineering/Embellishment of Artistic Works
6 – “As the Days of Noah. . . Seed of the Woman”
7 – Staying on Track
8 – Where to Draw the Line
APPENDIX 1: “Mingle themselves with seed of men” (Daniel 2:43)
APPENDIX 2: Why the Book of Enoch was not written by Enoch

APPENDIX 3: What’s wrong with the Book of Jasher
APPENDIX 4: How Canon Scripture Differs from Apocryphal Literature

6 – “As the Days of Noah. . . Seed of the Woman

Another Scripture, used frequently in support of the “alien gospel”, is Matthew 24:37-39 (also Luke 17:26-29).

But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

This intriguing Scripture is part of Jesus’ many-faceted answer to the disciples’ original question, “When will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (24:3) Eventually, Jesus tells them, “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” (24:36)

Then He goes on to explain in verses 37-39 that the majority of Earth’s inhabitants certainly would not know the “day and hour”; in fact, they won’t even realize that the Day of the Lord is about to come (in spite of all the signs, warnings, and indications). So this covers only one facet of resemblance to the pre-Flood world; Jesus did not intend to say that every feature of that ancient world (such as the activities of the “men of renown”) would be repeated in the days prior to the Second Coming.

The following quotes exemplify what scholars generally understand regarding the interpretation of these Scriptures:

[Luke] 17:26-29 Eating and drinking is not a description of specific evils in the days of Noah and Lot. It means, rather, that life went on as normal, and people were caught unprepared. (from ESV Study Bible, pg. 1993)

[Matthew] 24:37 as the days of Noah were. Jesus’ emphasis here is not so much on the extreme wickedness of Noah’s day (Gen 6:5), but on the people’s preoccupation with mundane matters of everyday life (“eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage” – v. 38), when judgment fell suddenly. They had received warnings, in the form of Noah’s preaching (2 Pet 2:5) – and the ark itself, which was a testimony to the judgment that was to come. But they were unconcerned about such matters and therefore were swept away unexpectedly in the midst of their daily activities. (from The MacArthur Study Bible, pg. 1440)

So here we have a case where too much can be read into a Scripture. These verses about the pre-Flood days were meant to point out that mankind would be unaware of the soon-coming End of the present historical Age. But there is a tendency to stretch the application.

For example, the phrase “marrying and giving in marriage” is taken to mean that demon angels will mate with humans. But it is doubtful that the phrase was meant to convey anything more than the fact that people will be oblivious to what is coming as they carry on with their normal activities prior to Christ’s return.

This tendency to read more into a Scripture than what is really there is a common pitfall that crops up in this difficult business of interpretation. On the other side of the coin, there is the problem of glossing over passages and not getting the full meaning out of them. So, to interpret accurately, one must, first of all, shelve his or her pre-set ideas; then ask the questions: should less be read into a passage of Scripture? or more read into it? or should it be taken at face value?

Another Scripture that tends to get the too-much-read-into-it treatment is Genesis 3:15 – “And I will put enmity between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” This Scripture looks forward to the arrival of the woman’s “Seed” – Jesus Christ – who conquered Death and Satan, who could only “bruise His heel”, that is, afflict Him physically through the Crucifixion. But Christ has bruised the Devil’s “head” by taking away his right to hold dominion in the earth. This general interpretation is probably about as much as should be understood from this Scripture.

Nevertheless, there is much speculation about it – that the Devil also has a physical “seed”. Well maybe. But since there are no corroborating Scriptures, then it is better probably to understand that it refers to the spiritual “seed” of Satan – his negative influence in the earth. In John 8:44 Jesus spoke to his detractors, saying, “You are of your father the devil”. The Pharisees who were opposing Him were the spiritual “seed” of Satan, not any kind of physical “seed”.

Jesus Himself was the physical “seed” of David, it is true, but also the spiritual “seed” of God by the Immaculate Conception. And Christ’s descendants are not His physical “seed” but His spiritual “seed”. “When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed [his spiritual offspring]… He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many.” (Isaiah 53:10-11)

The Pharisees tried to claim that because they were “Abraham’s seed”, his physical descendants, they “were never in bondage”. But Jesus told them, “If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.” (John 8:33,39 – KJV) Elsewhere, Jesus states that those who were related to Him physically by virtue of their physical descent from the Hebrew patriarchs had no special claim on God’s favor. “And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness.” (Matthew 8:11-12)

Evidently, in the way God sees it, such things as bloodlines, racial inheritance, elder child’s right of inheritance – these things that mean so much in our world – tend to interfere with how things operate in the spiritual realm. God prefers to play down earthly relationships so that we might focus more on spiritual realities.

Anyway, all that to say, there seems little basis for the “alien gospel” idea that Genesis 3:15 provides evidence that a physical “seed” of wickedness became ingrained into human DNA before the Flood (and that it might be happening again now, or in the near future). The kind of “seed” meant in that Scripture are those who “inherit” the spiritual mantle of good or evil, of God or the Devil.

(NEXT)  7 – Staying on Track

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