Transcription
Oh, [Music] you so. Or heads for prayer. Fathered heaven, we thank you so much for the privilege of being here today to study your Holy Word. And as we study about the base crime of amalgamation, which led to the flood, we ask for the guidance of your Holy Spirit. Giving, give us, Lord, a willingness to obey your word. We thank you for hearing our prayer, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
We want to begin our study today at Genesis chapter 6 and verse 5. Genesis chapter 6 and verse 5. Here we find a description of the mental attitude of those who lived before the worldwide flood in Noah's day. It tells us there in this very well-known verse, "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." This sounds pretty much like a world where most minds were identified with evil.
Now, notice Genesis chapter 6 and verses 11 and 12 on the aftermath or the result of this condition of the corruption of the minds of those who lived before the flood. It says in verse 11, "The earth also was corrupt before the Lord, and the earth was filled with violence." So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. So we see that every intent of the heart of man was only evil continually, and as a result, the Bible tells us that the earth was filled with violence.
Now, the question is, what led to this situation in the world? In other words, what led to the thought of man, of the heart of man, being only evil continually, and what led to the corruption of the earth? Genesis chapter 6 has the answer to this question. We find in Genesis 6, verses 1 through 4, an explanation of the cause for this deplorable condition in the earth. We're going to begin at Genesis chapter 6 and verse 1.
"Now it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose." And now notice immediately after saying that the sons of God entered to the daughters of men, we're told, "And the Lord said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be 120 years.'" And then it comes back to speak about the sons of God and the daughters of men in verse 4. It says, "There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."
So very clearly, what led to this wicked condition referred to in Genesis 6 and verse 5 was what we find in the first four verses: the sons of God entering into the daughters of men. Now, the expression "entering into the daughters of men" means to have sexual relations. It's a technical term in the Old Testament that means to have sexual relations. And so, basically, what Genesis 6:1-4 is telling us is that the sexual connection or the intermarriages between the sons of God and the daughters of men is what led the human race to be in this condition where every intent of the thoughts of the heart was only evil continually, which led to the corruption of the earth and the filling of the earth with violence. In other words, this wickedness resulted from the amalgamation of the sons of God with the daughters of men.
Now, of course, the question comes up: Who were the sons of God? And who were the daughters of men? Allow me to tell you. First of all, the Jewish tradition, which is not always reliable, by the way, as well as some contemporary scholars, believe that the sons of God were actually fallen angels, and the daughters of men were human women. And so these fallen angels went in and had sexual relations with these human women, and the result was a hybrid, a combination of fallen angel and human. And they say that these are the giants that are spoken of in Genesis chapter 6.
Now, I want to tell you that I do not believe in this interpretation. I believe that there is a better interpretation within its context, and it harmonizes with the beliefs of most of the older Bible commentators. Now, allow me to give you several reasons why I do not believe that the sons of God were fallen angels, and I do not believe that we can say that they actually cross-bred with human women.
First of all, the argument that the giants came from this relationship does not hold water when you study and read carefully Genesis chapter 6 and verse 4. Let's notice Genesis 6 and verse 4 once again, and you'll see that the giants existed before the sons of God men went into the daughters of men. It says there in verse 4, "There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men." Were there giants before the sons of God came into the daughters of men? Absolutely. So the giants, the Nephilim, by the way, Hebrew, were not the result of the crossbreeding between fallen angels and human women.
The second reason is because the word Nephilim, which is translated "giants" here, actually is used also to describe the inhabitants of Canaan, the giants in Canaan. Have you ever read about the giants in Canaan in Numbers chapter 13? The word Nephilim is used. Now, all of the giants before the flood died in the flood. So where did the Nephilim in the promised land come from? Are you understanding what I'm saying? Giants simply means individuals that lived in the land of Canaan who were renowned for their wickedness, just like before the flood.
Furthermore, we know that angels do not crossbreed. Jesus said that angels do not marry and are not given in marriage. And so Jesus is explicit that angels cannot have sexual relations with human beings. But there are other reasons why we must understand that the sons of God are not fallen angels. The daughters of men, yes, are human women. We're going to notice, but the sons of God are not angels.
Now, let me go through those reasons here very quickly. First of all, we have the immediate context. The immediate context of Genesis 6 is found in Genesis 4 and 5. In Genesis 4, we have the genealogy of Seth, the son of Adam. In Genesis chapter 5, we have the genealogy of Cain, the wicked Cain. And then in Genesis 6:1-4, we have the sons of God and the daughters of men. Obviously, the sons of God are the descendants of Seth. The daughters of men are those who belong to the genealogy of Cain. And by the way, there are three women mentioned in the genealogy of Cain, which is very significant. We're going to notice as we study along. So the immediate context indicates that the sons of God are the descendants of Seth, and the daughters of men are the descendants of the lineage of Cain.
Another reason why we believe that the sons of God are actually the righteous, holy line of Seth, whereas the daughters of men represent the wicked descendants of the lineage of Cain, is because Genesis is the story of the battle between two seeds. We have the seed of the serpent, which are the followers of Satan, and the seed of the woman. We have Cain, we have Abel, we have the builders of the Tower of Babel, Abraham, you have Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, Esau, Joseph, his brothers, and all of these are human beings. In other words, we have a righteous seed and a wicked seed. And so the sons of God and the daughters of men must fit within this seed idea in the book of Genesis. And so the immediate context shows that the sons of God are the lineage of Seth, the daughters of men are the lineage of Cain. The wider context of Genesis shows that there are two seeds: the seed of the righteous and the seed of the wicked, which fits very well with this idea in Genesis 6.
But then, of course, we have the broadest context in Scripture. When the Bible speaks about the sons of God, it is not always referring to angels. In fact, let's notice in the New Testament, John chapter 1 and verses 12 and 13. John chapter 1 and verses 12 and 13, who the sons of God are. And we're talking here spiritually. It says there in John chapter 1 and verse 12, the following: "But as many as received Him, that is, received Jesus, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe on His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of whom? Of God." This text is telling us that to be a child of God means to have been born again into God's family, like the lineage of Seth.
Now, notice also what we find in the book of Romans chapter 8 and verse 14 on who the sons of God are. Romans chapter 8 and verse 14. Here the Apostle Paul says this: Romans 8 and verse 14, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are what? The sons of God." So, are the sons of God the righteous or the wicked? They're the righteous who have been born again. The daughters of men are those who were born according to the flesh, but they belong to the lineage of Cain. In other words, they belong to the wicked seed, the regenerated, the unconverted. Are you understanding what I'm saying?
And so, very clearly, for all of these reasons, we know that the sons of God were actually not angels. Let me review. Number one, we noticed that there were giants before the sons of God went into the daughters of men. Number two, we noticed that there were giants in Canaan, and all of the giants before the flood were destroyed in the flood, and the ones in Canaan were not hybrids of angels versus humans; they were human beings. Three, Jesus says that angels are not married, nor are they given in marriage. Number four, the immediate context shows that the sons of God are the righteous lineage of Seth, whereas the daughters of men are those women from the genealogy of Cain. Number five, the wider context of Genesis shows that the battle is between a righteous seed and a wicked seed all throughout Genesis. Number six, the widest context of Scripture shows that the sons of God are those who have been born again into Christ's kingdom.
Now, I find it interesting that Bible scholars many centuries ago usually believed that the sons of God were actually the righteous, whereas the daughters of men were the descendants of the wicked. Now, I'd like to give you just a couple of examples of this. The first one is from Martin Luther. Have you ever heard of Martin Luther? By the way, I could read you from Zwingli, I could read you from John Calvin, I could read you even from some Roman Catholic scholars that say the same thing. But this is what Martin Luther said: "The true meaning of the passage, that is, Genesis 6:1-4, is that Moses designates as sons of God those people, people who had the promise of the blessed seed, in other words, the lineage of the righteous."
I also have a statement from that great Bible commentary, or Ellen White, in the journal *Signs of the Times* for February 20, 1879. She's even more explicit than Martin Luther and some of the other reformers. She says this: "Faith was one of more noble stature than Cain or Abel, and resembled Adam more than did any of his other sons. The descendants of Seth separated themselves from the wicked descendants of Cain." To get that once again: "The descendants of Seth separated themselves from the wicked descendants of Cain." "They cherished the knowledge of God, while the ungodly race of Cain had no respect for God and His sacred commandments. But when men multiplied upon the earth, the children of Seth saw that the daughters of the descendants of Cain were very beautiful." Is that interesting, or what? "And they departed from God and displeased Him." Who displeased Him? According to this, the sons of God, the descendants of the lineage of Seth. She said they departed from God and displeased Him by taking wives, as they chose, of the idolatrous race of Cain.
Now, let's go back to Genesis chapter 6 and verse 2. There are several other things that I wanted to focus on in this fascinating passage. Genesis chapter 6 and verse 2. It says there that the sons of God saw. Did it get there? Is there something in these women that caught the eye of the sons of God? It says that "the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose." Is there something about the daughters of men that appealed to the eyes of the sons of God? Yes.
Let me ask you this: Do you think that there were also daughters of God? Listen, if there are sons of God, there are daughters of God. If there are sons of God, if, by the way, if there are also the daughters of men, there are also what? Sons of men. Are you offending? What am I saying? Now, my question is this: Why did the sons of God think that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they didn't think that the daughters of God were beautiful? Are you with me tonight or not? Obviously, there was something external in the daughters of men that the sons of God saw that they did not see in the daughters of God, because there were daughters of God, no doubt, because the holy line continued all the way through the days of Noah. And so they saw something in the daughters of men that they did not see in the daughters of God. There was something external. It says they saw that they were beautiful. In other words, the daughters of men were real eye-catchers.
Of course, the big question is, what was it that caught the eye? Now, allow me to say this: Over 75 times in the book of Genesis, the meaning of a name is underlined. In Genesis, the meanings of names are of critical importance. I'll give you some examples. You have, for example, Adam saying, "She shall be called Woman, because she was taken from Man." You have also the name Eve, mother of all living, it's explained. You have the name Babel, which means what? Interpreted in Genesis, it says confusion. You have Peniel, which means what? The face of God, where Jacob meets God face to face and he survives. You have the name Yahweh-Jireh, which means the Lord will provide, in the story of the sacrifice of Isaac. You have the name Bethel, which means house of God. You have the name Jacob, which means supplanter, and then it's changed to Israel, Prince of God. Sarah, Sarai, Abraham, Abram, time after time after time in Genesis, names are very significant.
Now, where do we have to go in order to understand who these daughters of men were? Listen, folks, we have to go back to the genealogy of Cain. Do you know why we can't go back to the genealogy of Seth? Because there are no women in the genealogy of Seth. And we're talking about the daughters of men, not sons of God. Daughters were men. By the way, do you know that in Genesis 11, we also have the sons of men? You know, sons of men were just as wicked as the daughters of men. Only in Genesis 6, the emphasis is that the sons of God, the righteous, started intermarrying with the wicked descendants of Cain. In Genesis, the emphasis is that their male counterparts, the sons of men, were the ones who built the Tower of Babel. And by the way, there's a very close connection between the two groups, because in Genesis 6, it says that these were men of renown, and in Genesis 11, the identical Hebrew expression is used where the builders say, "Let us make for ourselves a name." And so you have a clear connection between Genesis 6 and Genesis 11. Genesis 6, you have the daughters of men. In Genesis chapter 11, you have the sons of men. In Genesis chapter 6, you have the sons of God, and of course, the sons of God should have remained distinct and different, but they actually had sexual relations and intermarried with the daughters of men, who are the women that are found in the genealogy of Cain.
Now, let me ask you this: Do you think it might just be important for us to examine the meaning of the names of the three women in the genealogy of Cain? Remember, the sons of God saw something in the, in the daughters of men that they did not see in the daughters of God. Is there a, well, these are really good lookers. Why did they see that in the daughters of men and not in the daughters of God? There must have been some external reason. Are you with me or not?
Now, let's examine the names of the women in the genealogy of Cain. The first of them is in Genesis chapter 4 and verse 19. If you'll go with me there, Genesis chapter 4 and verse 19. It's speaking here about Lamech, and we find the following words: Genesis 4, verse 19, "Then Lamech took for himself two wives." By the way, Lamech is the first polygamist that we know about in Scripture, or bigamist at least. "The name of the one was Adah." Let's stop there with the word Adah. Adah in Hebrew, that word is used elsewhere in the Old Testament, but not as a proper name. It is used as a noun and as a verb. The identical Hebrew word. Do you know how it's translated? "To deck with jewels" or "to ornament." Hello. Why would Adah? Because to deck with jewels. By the way, let's notice in the Old Testament other occurrences of this word.
Notice Exodus chapter 33, the great apostasy of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai. You remember when they worshiped the golden calf? Exodus chapter 33. And I want to begin reading at verse 1. "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, "To your descendants I will give it." And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites and the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey."' For I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people." What did God say about them? They were what? A stiff-necked people. You know what stiff-necked means? Oh, hard-hearted, unconverted, is what it means.
Not verse 5. For the Lord, oh, by the way, let me read verse 4. It says, "And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his adah." Identical word: "ornament." What did they do when God said they were unconverted? They took off their ornaments. Notice verse 5. "For the Lord had said to Moses, 'Say to the children of Israel, "You are a stiff-necked people. I could cut up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your adah, your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you."' So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their adah from Mount Horeb." What did they take off as a sign of conversion? As a sign that they realized that they were stiff-necked people? They took off their ornaments. Do you know that this word Adah is constantly used in the Old Testament to refer to Israel in apostasy, wearing ornaments and wearing jewelry?
Let's notice several other instances. Notice Jeremiah chapter 4 and verse 30. Jeremiah chapter 4 and verse 30. The same word, Adah. And notice what it says by speaking about the destruction of Israel for their sin. And by the way, this chapter is also speaking about the destruction of the world. It says, "And when you are plundered, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, though you adorn yourself with adah of gold, with ornaments of gold, though you enlarge your eyes with paint, in vain you will make yourself fair; your lovers will despise you; they will seek your life." Once again, let me ask you, are ornaments connected with apostasy from God? They most certainly are.
Notice also what we find in the Book of Ezekiel chapter 23 and verse 40. Ezekiel chapter 20 and verse 40. It says here in this verse, "Furthermore, you sent for men to come from afar to whom a messenger was sent, and there they came. And what did Israel do to impress them? And you washed yourself for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with adah, once again, with ornaments." What is Israel trying to do here? She's trying to impress the foreign nations, the apostate men from foreign nations. And so she paints her eyes and she puts on these adahs, or adornments. Let's read one more. Hosea chapter 2 and verse 13. Hosea chapter 2 and verse 13. Here we find a very important verse, because it closely links the idea of using ornaments with apostasy. It says here in the book of Hosea chapter 2 and verse 13 the following: "I will punish her for the days of the Baals to which she burned incense. She decked, by the way, the word here, Adah, is decked. She kept herself with her earrings and jewelry and went after her lovers, but she, but Me, she forgot, says the Lord."
So, let me ask you, what does the name Adah mean? It means to deck yourself with jewelry, or it means to adorn yourself. Is that significant when we study about the daughters of men? Absolutely, because it gives us the characteristic of at least one of these women who were of the apostate line of Cain. I'm sure you're wondering about the meaning of the other.
Well, the next name, according to Genesis chapter 4 and verse 19, is Zillah. Now, the word Zillah can come possibly from two different Hebrew words, because you have vowels that are added, and the consonants are the same in Hebrew for these two words. So the vowels are the ones that change. And so it can mean one or two things. It can either mean "shadow," or it can mean "to tingle" or "to quiver." Now, that's a funny name, "to tingle" or "to quiver." Well, allow me to say that this word is used constantly in the Old Testament to describe musical instruments. It is used to describe, for example, cymbals. And bells. Is it just possible that the reason why the name Zillah is given to this woman, which means to quiver or it means to tingle, that perhaps music is being emphasized here, because these women were involved with a lot of music and dancing? I believe that the connection with music is interesting. And by the way, if you go throughout the Old Testament, you'll find that dancing, with the exception of David, is usually presented in a very negative light. It's also connected with apostasy. For example, when Israel was at the foot of Mount Sinai and they were worshiping the golden calf, there was lots of music, and what were they doing? They were dancing. If you go to Isaiah chapter 3, it speaks about the, the women of Israel that are decked from the top of their heads to the bottom of their feet. You can read in verse 16 through 18. I mean, there's not a part of the body that they didn't cover with something. And it says that they go and they, you know, they mark the step with their feet, in other words, they dance. And of course, you know what happened with John the Baptist when Herodias' daughter came and danced for the king? The result was the death of John the Baptist. And so I'm just wondering whether perhaps the reason why the name Zillah means to tingle or to quiver, and it's connected with musical instruments, that perhaps we might have some aspect having to do with dancing that was not absolutely clear.
But the third one is, besides Adah, the third name is found in Genesis 4 and verse 22. Genesis chapter 4 and verse 22. We have the name of the third daughter of men. It says there, "And as for Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain." And then it says, "an instructor of every craftsman of brass and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was whom? Was Naamah." Now, I'm not going to read the text. I'm just going to give you a couple of examples. This word is used to describe the physical beauty of the lovers in the book *Song of Solomon*. Actually, the Hebrew word means "to be sweet," "to be lovely," "to be beautiful." Does this connect with Genesis chapter 6, where it says that the daughters of men were beautiful? Absolutely. And by the way, it's very interesting that this word is used several times in the Old Testament to describe external physical beauty, not internal beauty, but external beauty. And so you have these three names of the daughters of men in the genealogy of Cain. You have one that means "to be decked with jewels," "ornament." You have the other which means "to quiver," and it has to do with musical instruments. And you have the other one which means "to be lovely" or "delightful" or "beautiful."
What is it that attracted the eyes of the sons of God, then, is my question? It must have been the external appearance of the women in the lineage of Cain. By the way, in Genesis 6, verse 2, where it says that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, that's the very word that is used to describe Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11 and verse 2, where it says that David looked out from the porch of the palace, and he saw Bathsheba, and she was very beautiful. Of course, she was naked, according to Scripture.
Now, if I find it interesting, the Jewish tradition, even though they have wrong who the sons of God are, they caught this point. I want to read you two statements that are found in the Jewish writings, primarily of the intertestamental period, the period between the Old and New Testament. The first one is from the *Targum of Reuben*, chapter 5 and verses 5 to 7. This is what they say: "Free therefore, O my children, command your wives and your daughters that they adorn not their heads and faces, notice that, they adorn not their heads and faces, to deceive the mind, because every woman who uses these wiles has been reserved for eternal punishment. For thus they allured the watchers who were before the flood." How did they allure the watchers before the flood? By adorning their heads and their what? Their faces. According to this.
The other statement is from the *Targum of Pseudo-Jonathan*, chapter 6 and verses 1 and 2. This is really interesting. It says, "And it came to pass when the sons of men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and beautiful daughters were born to them, that the sons of the great ones saw that the daughters of men were beautiful." Now, notice this. I read once again, "that the sons of the great ones saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, with eyes painted and hair curled, walking in nakedness of flesh." It kind of reminds you of Bathsheba. So we're talking about pornography at this period of time, moral corruption. How did it all start before the flood? In a sense. "And they conceived lustful thoughts, and they took wives of all whom they chose."
Folks, what is it that attracted the sons of God? It was the artificial beauty, both according to Scripture, the meaning of the names, as well as Jewish tradition. It was the external appearance, the artificial beauty of these women who adorned themselves on the outside. And you say, "Well, how do you know that?" Let me ask you, does it say that the sons of God looked at the daughters of God? Do you think all of the daughters of God were ugly? Why did they look at the daughters of God? There must have been something externally what different. But you know what happens? You know, the daughters of God, when they saw that the sons of God were going after the daughters of men, they said, "We've got to keep up." And so they started adorning themselves. You say, "How do you know that?" Listen, because when the flood came, there were only four couples left, which means that the daughters of God should have started doing the same thing. And as a result of it, the whole human race was what? Was corrupted before the Lord. Do you understand the reason for the flood? It was because the sons of God, they took the initiative, the converted ones took the initiative to join with the women of the world because of their external characteristics. And the result of this amalgamation was the corruption of the human race. Every intent of the thoughts of the heart of man was only evil continually. The problem of adornment was a pre-flood problem. The problem of the world coming in among God's people is not only a contemporary problem; it is a problem that existed before the flood, and it actually led ultimately to the flood. By the way, the church joining the world never converts the world; it always converts the church to the world. And that's exactly what was happening here before the flood. The church was converted to the world. And by the way, God called Noah to rebuke the world. He was a preacher of righteousness. Second Peter chapter 2 and verse 5 says. In fact, in Hebrews 11:7, it says he condemned the world. Do you suppose that he condemned this intermingling of the sons of God with the daughters of men? Do you think that Noah had anything to say about being attracted by this external appearance on the part of the sons of God? No doubt, because the Bible says that this is the main reason that led to the right, that led to the flood.
Now, I'd like to ask the question: Is the flood a type of what's going to happen at the end of time? Yes. Jesus said in Matthew 24, "As it was in the days of Noah, so also shall be the coming of the Son of Man." Is it just possible that before the second coming, Christians are going to do the same thing that the sons of God did before the flood? That they're going to be attracted by the lures of the world, by the tinsel and glare of the world, of worldly women, or worldly men, and as a result, link up with worldly people, and in this way dwindle the number of true Christians on planet Earth? "As it was in the days of Noah, so also shall be the coming of the Son of Man." Has God given a message to His people to present to the world to warn the world about this? Yes. Do you know where it's found? It's found in the three angels' messages of Revelation chapter 14. "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come." By the way, do you know in the Day of Atonement, the Israelites were supposed to attire themselves in a very simple way? And we are now in the Day of Atonement. And that angel says, "Worship Him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the fountains of waters." And then it calls God's people to "Come out of Babylon," and says that those who do not come out of Babylon will end up worshiping the beast, His image, and receiving the mark, and as a result, will be lost.
Now, let's take a closer look at this. God is going to have a warning message for the world, just like Noah did. People are going to have to present a politically incorrect message to those who are blending with the world, who are adopting the methods of the world, the lifestyle of the world, the dress of the world, the adornment of the world, the evangelistic methods of the world, the music of the world, if you please. All of this was involved before the flood. Is God going to have a group of people that are not going to fall for this? Yes. And here's where things get very interesting. Do you know how these men are described in Revelation chapter 14 and verses 4 and 5? Go with me there to Revelation 14, verses 4 and 5. These are those who will be alive when the world is destroyed. They will survive the destruction of the world, like Noah and his family survived the destruction at the time of the flood. Revelation chapter 14. And I'd like to read verses 4 and 5. They're known as the 144,000. We studied these before in the seminar. 144,000. And notice the interesting thing about them. It says, "These are the ones who were not what? Defiled with women, for they are what? Virgins." Did the sons of God defile themselves with the daughters of men before the flood? Is God going to have a group of individuals in the end time that will not blend with women? By the way, it says "women." It's not saying that they weren't married; it's saying that they're not having adulterous relationships with the apostate churches. How are those apostate churches garbed? By the way, go with me to Revelation chapter 17. Revelation chapter 17. It says that they did not become defiled with women. They're virgins. They're like before the flood, you know, they were not attracted by, by the, the worldliness of the culture. Notice Revelation chapter 17 and verse 4, speaking about this apostate woman. By the way, she has daughters also. It says there in verse 4, "The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with what? Gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication." Are these apostate churches going to be garbed very similarly to the daughters of men before the flood? Yes. Is God going to have a group of people that do not become defiled with these, just like Noah and his family? Absolutely. Yes.
By the way, this is the reason why God says in 2 Corinthians, "Be not unequally yoked with what? Be not unevenly yoked with unbelievers." But it has become very common for the church today to import the practices and the culture of the world, the music of the world, as long as it's christened, the adornment of the world, the fashion of the world, the evangelistic methods of the world. If you please, it seems like everything is invading the Christian church. Is God going to have a group of individuals who are faithful and say, "We're going to keep dressed, we're going to keep music, we're going to keep entertainment, if you want to call it that, we're going to keep all of this only Christian, and we're not going to blend with these, these things in the world"? I pray to God that we will have those kinds of people.
By the way, this issue is also the issue of adornment is also addressed in the New Testament. Go with me to 1 Peter chapter 3 and verses 3 through 5. Some people say, "Well, this is Old Testament. You know, I find it interesting people think anything that demands a change or a sacrifice was for the Jews, the Sabbath for the Jews, time for the Jews, unclean foods for the Jews, modesty for the Jews. Anything that demands a change in the life that leads us to live differently than the world, people say that that was for the Jews, as if God expects less from us than He expected from Israel." Notice what we find in 2 Peter chapter 3, not 2 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 3 and let's read verses 1 and following. It says here, "Likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that in itself is politically incorrect. Then even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. Do not let your adornment," all right, you know what the word there is? It's the word *cosmos*. *Cosmos*. You know what *cosmos* translates? World. By the way, it's the word we get the word "cosmetics" from, because you were wondering. It says, "Do not let your adornment be merely an..." The New King James is "merely." They add that. That the original doesn't say "merely." He "merely" indicates that you can have it as long as you have the other. It's no assets in italics in the New King James, and in the King James, really, it says, "Do not let your adornment be outward arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel; rather, let it be the what? The hidden person of the heart." What is the adornment that God looks upon positively? The adornment of the what? Of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. Not all for the dawning, but what? Inward adorning.
Not of what? The Apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verses 9 and 10. 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verses 9 and 10. The Apostle Paul has the same counsel that we just read in Peter. Once again, 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verses 9 and 10. The Apostle Paul says this: "I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting." That's verse 8. "In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in what? In modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness, with what? With good works." Once again, the adorning should not be external; it should be what? It should be internal.
Allow me to say a few things about Christ. Do you know that the whole Old Testament sanctuary was a symbol of Jesus? You remember John says, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." He was talking about the temple of His what? About the temple of His body. Did Jesus have any external physical attraction that people were drawn towards? By the way, do you have any physical description of Christ in the Gospels? Let's say, what color hair did He have? Color eyes? His height? Visually? No physical description of Christ in the Gospels. But do you know what description there is? There's abundant description of His character. What He was like. How He loved and was kind and was at peace, had joy. All of the character qualities of Jesus shine forth from the Gospels. And it says in Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 2, "For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground; there is no comeliness that we should desire Him." What if Jesus is trying to teach us? He's trying to teach us that our adornment should not be what? External. Our adornment should be eternal. That's internal. It should be an eternal. By the way, also, that should be the thing that attracts people to us, not the outside. Because, folks, I dare to say that many of those who decorate themselves outside are trying to cover up a problem inside. How beautiful it is to see a woman who has natural beauty and just has a kind, loving spirit. How beautiful it is to see men that way also. Do you know that the Hebrew sanctuary outside was a pretty ugly building? It was made of badger skins, according to Exodus 26:14. Have you ever seen a badger? Brown. But way you looked inside the sanctuary, oh, there was gold and the silver and the precious fabric and the precious stones were inside the sanctuary. Outside. And that's the way Jesus was. His beauty was not outside; His beauty was inside and shone outward. By the way, does the Apostle Paul say that we are temples of the Holy Spirit? Yes. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 19 and 20 says, "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? You are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify whom? Glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." Are we to glorify God with our body? Absolutely.
Now, why did I call this presentation "The Base Crime of Amalgamation"? Well, because before the flood, the sons of God amalgamated, or had illicit relationships, with the daughters of men. But there's another reason. You see, Ellen White has a quotation where she talks about the main reason for the flood, and this statement has been misunderstood. People have accused Ellen White of saying that Ellen White believed that before the flood, there was crossbreeding between human beings and animals. Allow me to read how she describes it. This is found in the book *Spirit of Prophecy*, Volume 4, page 18, page 69. She says, "But if there was one sin above another which called for the destruction of the race by the flood, if there was one sin that destroyed the world by a flood," she says, "it was the base crime of amalgamation of man and beast." Knows he doesn't say of man with beast. She says, "of man and beast, man with man, and beast with beasts, which defaced the image of God." Let me ask you, the blending of the righteous with the unrighteous, does this deface the image of God? Oh, does it lead to the loss of everybody before the flood except eight? It says, "which defaced the image of God and caused confusion everywhere. God purposed to destroy by a flood that powerful, long-lived race that had corrupted their ways before Him." She calls, in other words, the blending or the amalgamation of man and beast the base crime of amalgamation. And those who accuse Ellen White, they say, "A base crime cannot be a sexual relationship between a man and a woman. That's too strong an expression to be describing a sexual relationship between a man and a woman." So it must be that when Ellen White says "amalgamation of man and beast," she means amalgamation of man with beast. The fact is that Ellen White only uses one other time the expression "base crime." Do you suppose we should allow Ellen White to interpret Ellen White? Absolutely. Do we have to do the same with Ellen White as we do with the Bible? The only other time that she uses the expression "base crime" to describe something is when Potiphar's wife tried to entice Joseph to have sex with her. She calls that a base crime. So, is a base crime in the mind of Ellen White crossing a believer with an apostate? Yes. Fact, let me read you that statement. Volume 1, *Spirit of Prophecy*, page 131. She says, speaking of Joseph, "He would not be persuaded to deviate from the path of righteousness and trample upon God's law by the inducements or threats. And when he was accused, and a base crime was falsely laid to his charge, he did not sink in despair." So let Ellen White interpret Ellen White. She says when she says that there was amalgamation of man, she means of righteous with unrighteous, and beast. The other was probably crossbreeding of animals.
Now, allow me, in the few seconds that we have left, to give you some principles of how we're supposed to choose the right attire. First of all, it should be clean. Secondly, orderly and neat. Third, simple and not extravagant. Fourth, modest, that means not revealing too much. Five, economical, not cheap, economical. Six, durable. Seven, helpful, not too tight, protect us from cold and heat. Eight, tasteful. Nine, appropriate to the occasion. And ten, it should bring honor and glory to God. [Music]