Is Luke 17 referring to Genesis 6?
In Luke 17, Luke quotes Jesus saying:
Luke 17:26-30 ESV
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
There are those who say that "They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage" is a reference to the sons of God from Genesis 6, and there are those who reject that notion. Those who reject it sometimes say that this passage is simply a description of how people will be doing normal things and the end times will come out of nowhere. They have reason to believe this because Matthew's version of this seems to lean in that direction.
Matthew 24:36-39
But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
However, there are some issues with that exegesis. The most obvious being that the days of Noah and the flood and Lot and the destruction of Sodom were anything but normal situations, and it makes no sense to emphasize how people were doing normal things and didn't see it coming when we know for a fact that in both cases people were doing very evil things to an extent that incurred a type of God's wrath rarely seen anywhere else. If Jesus wanted to make a case for how something would hit a normal situation out of nowhere he has lots of options, but the great flood and Sodom are not on that list. Second temple period texts, such as Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus and the Dead Sea Scrolls, tell us that everyone knew the flood was coming. It didn't arrive unanticipated. The exact moment of impact, however, was not known. In that way, we can see the similarity between the situations that Jesus is presenting in Matthew. We all know the end times are coming, we just don't know when exactly. Still, we anticipate it. In fact, Jesus tells us to be ready. Still, this does not mean that the days of Noah in this passage represent normal times. The days of Noah were days of great evil and wickedness.
It is also clear that Matthew and Luke are driving at very different points from what Jesus was saying. Luke makes the statement that Jesus' second coming will come like the judgment that came on the world through the flood and on Sodom with fire from above. Matthew seems to be pointing out how no one will see it coming when it hits. Matthew doesn't mention Lot, no comparison is made between the two, and he starts out with the point that no one knows when the end will come. So basing Luke's meaning on Matthew's isn't very logical, despite the fact that they are both quoting Jesus. I believe that Jesus said what both Matthew and Luke claim he did, but it is clear that they are coming at it from very different angles.
So why do we see these strong examples of judgment for things that seem perfectly normal in Luke 17? As previously stated, we already know that those weren't normal times. They were quite dark.
Genesis 6:5-7
The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”"
Genesis 18:20
Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,
So clearly something else must be going on in this passage. It wouldn't use two of humanity's darkest times as examples of normality struck by surprise.
But this passage clearly describes the days of Noah to the days of Lot as being "likewise" situations. So what is the connection if not surprise? What do the destruction of the world with the flood and the destruction of Sodom have to do with each other? 2nd Peter and Jude actually make similar comparisons, and their perspectives give us insight into the relationship between the two events.
2 Peter 2:4-6 ESV
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
The context of this passage in 2nd Peter is the topic of sexual immorality, and in this context, Peter uses the judgment of the angels who sinned and the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah as examples of God's judgment on those who commit horrific sexual sin. Notice the poetic contrast between destruction by water and destruction by fire that burns the cities to ashes, just like the passage in Luke.
Jude 1:6-7 ESV
And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
Jude says this in the context of men who "defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties." He shows that sexual immorality and punishment are what connect the story of the angels who left their proper dwelling and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. We know Jude and Peter are talking about the same angels because their punishments are described the same (which is a reference to 1 Enoch), they are both compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, and they both involve sexual impurity. This leads us to believe that this connection was a known concept since both of them are not attempting to explain that situation but rather reference them as examples for their points. This explains why they don't bother to tell you what sexually impure act the angels actually committed when they left their abode, they assume you know. Peter just says they sinned and Jude just refers to them as the angels who left their proper dwelling. They are, of course, referring to Genesis 6 (There were GIANTS in those days).
If these narratives are truly linked conceptually in the minds of the ancient Jews, we should expect to see this literary approach in extra biblical sources as well. Of course, this is in fact the case. 3 Maccabees compares and contrasts the judgement the antediluvian world with Sodom just as Jude and Peter do.
3 Maccabees 2:4-5
You destroyed those who in the past committed injustice, among whom were even giants who trusted in their strength and boldness, whom you destroyed by bringing upon them a boundless flood. 5 You consumed with fire and sulphur the men of Sodom who acted arrogantly, who were notorious for their vices; and you made them an example to those who should come afterward.
The similarities between this passage and those of Peter and Jude are obvious, but they too aren't alone. I'll give one more example from Jewish literature.
The Wisdom of Sirach 16:7-11
He was not propitiated for the ancient giants who revolted in their might.
He did not spare the neighbors of Lot, whom he loathed on account of their insolence.
He showed no pity for a nation devoted to destruction, for those destroyed in their sins;
The Wisdom of Sirach also connects the flood narrative of Genesis 6 and the Sodom narrative of Genesis 19, at this point just a piece of the pattern. Once more, these two narratives show up next to each other and just like 3 Maccabees it is as specific as mentioning the giants, yet again pointing us back to Genesis 6.
Genesis 6:4-6
When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
Genesis 6 mentions the sons of God (angels) having children with human women. It specifically says "they took as their wives any they chose". Jesus and Luke, like Peter and Jude, assume you have this context, and more (1 Enoch, Jubilees and other classic Second Temple-period texts). He says that in "the days of Noah" those who were "eating and drinking and marrying" were destroyed by the flood, and then he compares that to the destruction of Sodom just like Jude and Peter do, using the poetic contrast of destruction by water and fire for the same category of sin. So if people already eat, drink, and marry now then what will be different about those things when Jesus returns? There seem to be three most likely options:
- Just like in the days of Noah and Lot, wickedness will run so deep that eating, drinking, and marrying will be done so in evil ways
- Just like in the days of Noah and Lot, angelic sexual perversion will return
- Or both
Since the angelic sexual perversion is the most unique attribute of both situations and that is the way Jude and Peter treat them, it stands to reason that that would be the point being made (especially since there are plenty of other examples of evil times). But technically an argument could be made for any of the three options. That is until you consider Daniel 2:43.
Daniel 2:43 specifically says that in the end times "they will combine with one another in the seed of men". After describing the king's prophetic dream, Daniel explains it. It is in that description that he specifically says that the Iron mixing with the Clay is a symbol of how "they" will combine with the seed of "men". You can read more on this passage here:
Seth Vandebrooke
Daniel makes it quite clear that the end-times involve the mixing of something greater than man with the seed of man. It's Genesis 6 all over again, certainly with differences. When Jesus said it would be like the days of Noah, he wasn't joking. The days of Noah were a count down; a ticking clock. The destruction of the world awaited and the Nephilim were one of the many catalysts. Isn't it interesting that the Nephilim narrative finds its way from cover to cover, bringing about destruction? But if there is anything we should take away form the days of Noah it's that God will always protect those who seek Him. So as Peter encourages us:
2 Peter 3:14-15
Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, 15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation;