Fourth in a Series, Reviewing Chapter Three of PE
Chapter Three of Pandemonium's Engine (PE), titled The Folly of Synthetic Life: Genetic Tampering, Ancient and Modern, compares contemporary work in creating life forms with the state of affairs that existed before Noah's flood.
A number of the essays in PE refer to Genesis 6:1-5, and believe it describes a time on earth when dark angels left their assigned realm to remake man in their image. These verses are:
1. And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2. That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
5. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Many Christians see this passage as describing how the line of Seth was overcome by the descendants of Cain. On Seth's side of the family were fair daughters; on Cain's side were aggressive men, or men who did not care about the finer points of marriage but only saw the superficial qualities of those they chose for mates. Since Cain's population outnumbered Seth's, they got the upper hand until finally God had to start afresh with only Noah and his family for prototypes. Noah was just and perfect in his generations (Gen 6:9).
There are other Christians, including the PE authors, who disagree with this interpretation. They point out that the term, sons of God, (vs 2) is the same as in Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. The dark angels were sons of God who allied with Satan. These were the ones who took wives from men's daughters.
It has been pointed out (I cannot recall where) that surely Cain had some good-looking daughters, too, and the fact that man's wickedness was so exceedingly great that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually so that the world had to be drowned, would seem to indicate more than the usual demonic intervention. Also, what about the giants who were born, the men of renown?
Of course, giants are occasionally found on earth even today, and were in Bible times following the great flood, so the men of renown were more than merely very large people; they were unusually evil as well, or — not fully human? However, if you hold that it was a matter of Seth vs. Cain, I am not trying to change your mind. I only wanted to make clear how the PE authors view Genesis 6 and often refer to it as they explain how the current tampering with the genome is history repeating itself, except the work today is done in labs and on computers.
Chapter Three's author, Gary Stearman, holds that there was demonic seed in Goliath's stature and in the Anakim spied by Joshua and Caleb, for example, but I would not go along with that idea. Why would God destroy the earth if He did not afterward put a stop to the demonic invasion into the human genetic structure? On the other hand, we can think of instances in the Word that indicate God at times permits evil to be reintroduced or to repeat such as when the Amalekites were not annihiilated by Saul and centuries later made a new attempt on destroying the Jews through Haman the Agagite, the line preserved by Saul's leniency. Did God permit new intrusions by evil angels after the flood? Some say He did. Or, is it possible that some genetic tampering might take place through demonic possession that could actually alter physical traits? Many things we do not know.
Stearman also cites Matthew 24:36-39 as a proof text for the modern recurrence of genetic manipulation.
36. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Likening the final generation on earth to the time before the flood seems only to link them as similar types of disasters — worldwide and cathartic, and taking the evil populace by surprise; however, it may be something to think about.
Chapter 3 begins,
In mid-May (2010), the world was rocked by the news that new life been synthesized in a laboratory. Word came from the laboratories of the J.Craig Venter Institute (JVCI) that their computers had combined the four proteins necessary to produce an entirely new life form. Reaction ranged form jubilation to dread. Some saw exciting prospects in the healing of disease and the extension of human life. Others envisioned a horrifying chain of missteps, ending in the creation of a hitherto-unnamed disease that could spread to all humanity. Worse than that, some saw the JCVI project as the forerunner of human hybridization similar to that being used to create genetically-modified grain and fruit crops.
On searching for more information about the Human Genome Project I found it was a 13-year project coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. I can understand the NIH connection, but why the DOE?
You may also want to check out the J. Craig Venter Institute online. You can view a portion of the May 2010 press conference where Craig Venter announces the FIRST SELF-REPLICATING SYNTHETIC BACTERIAL CELL here.
More about Gary Stearman is on his website, Prophecy in the News.