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59 In addition to the angels of God, however, the Bible also depicts the revolt of a major cherub, whose name was Lucifer, whom God cast down to the ground (see Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezek.28:12-19). Jesus Christ declared, “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven” (Luke 10:18). Job records, “‘yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight” (Job 15:15). Angels are also called “stars” in the Scriptures (Rev.1:20; Job 38:7). In the book of Revelation, we read that when Satan was cast out of heaven, “his angels were cast out with him” (Rev.12:9), and that “his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth” (verse 4). Thus as many as one third of the angels apparently followed the archangel Lucifer in his rebellion, against God, and were cast to the earth along with him! This could number in the scores or hundreds of millions. These became known as “fallen angels,” the “angels that sinned,” who “kept not their first estate’ (Jude 6; II Pet.2:4). They are now reserved for their final judgment at the end of the age (same verses). Some of these angels were disobedient during the time of Noah, leading mankind into gross sin before the Flood, bringing upon the earth the cataclysm of universal judgment (I Peter 3:18-20). Some of these wicked angels actually cohabited with human women, giving rise to offspring known as “Nephilim,” or “giants” of ancient times. This amazing story is alluded to and described in the book of Genesis where we read that “the sons of God [a term for angels in the Old Testament -- see Job 38:7] saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose” (Gen.6:1-2). The account goes on, “And there were giants in the earth in those days” (v.4). These were the Nephilim, which in Hebrew means “the fallen ones.” They were a cross-breed of angels and mankind, a form of life God had never intended and forbad. This was one of the major sins before the Flood which lead to divine wrath, 14 passage: This is a difficult passage, and various modes of interpreting it have been proposed. 1. An opinion extensively adopted is, that the ‘sons of God’ denote angels, ‘daughters of men,’ women generally; and that the transaction referred to was, that the angels who had been appointed to guard Eden and perambulate the world, becoming enamoured with women, mingled familiarly in their society, and cohabited with them. This view is of great antiquity, having been entertained, according to Josephus, in the later ages of the Jewish Church, and eagerly adopted by Justin, Athenagoras, Clemens Alexandrinus, Tertullian, and Lactantius .. .” The Septuagint version of the Old Testament, translated into Greek about 250 years before Christ, during the time of the second Temple, translates Genesis 6:2 as follows: “the angels of God, having seen the daughters of men, that they were beautiful, took to themselves wives of all whom they chose.” intervention and destruction. Says the Jameson, Fausset and Brown Critical, Experimental Commentary about this The Companion Bible says about this verse: