Did Peter Believe the “Sons of God” Were Angels?

What Peter Actually Wrote

In two of his letters, the Apostle Peter references supernatural beings who sinned before the flood and were punished severely.

In 1 Peter 3:19–20, he writes:

“…he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah…”

And in 2 Peter 2:4–5:

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into Tartarus and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment…”

These aren’t vague references. They connect directly to a very old and very well-known story circulating in Jewish texts at the time—especially the Book of Enoch.

Even the word Tartarus stands out. It appears nowhere else in the Bible and isn’t part of traditional Hebrew thought. It’s a Greek term, referring to the deepest, most remote part of the underworld. In Greek mythology, it was the prison of the Titans. But by the Second Temple period, Jewish writers like those behind the Book of Enoch were using this term to describe where the fallen “Watchers”—rebellious angels—were being held for judgment.

So what was Peter referencing? And why did he use it?

The “Spirits in Prison” and Their Connection to Genesis 6

In 1 Peter 3, the spirits are said to have disobeyed “in the days of Noah.” That timing is important. It narrows down who these “spirits” were.

They weren’t simply human souls in the afterlife. Peter could’ve used a more general word if he meant that. Instead, he chose a term more often associated with supernatural beings—and then specified that they sinned during the time of Noah.

This lines up exactly with the story in Genesis 6:1–4, which tells of the “sons of God” who took human wives and had children with them. These offspring were the Nephilim—often interpreted as giants. But the Genesis account is brief and cryptic. It leaves much unsaid. The Book of Enoch fills in that backstory, describing angels descending to earth, violating their heavenly order, and being judged.

That’s the same story Peter is pointing to.

Jude Confirms the Link to Enoch

Peter wasn’t the only New Testament writer to reference this. Jude, the brother of Jesus, gets even more explicit.

In Jude 6, he writes:

“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…”

And just a few verses later, in Jude 14–15, he quotes directly from the Book of Enoch by name.

Jude connects the rebellion of these angels to sexual immorality and unnatural desire. He places them in the same category as Sodom and Gomorrah—cities judged for the same types of corruption. Jude clearly sees this story from Enoch not just as myth or metaphor, but as a real spiritual and theological anchor for understanding divine justice.

The Second Temple Jewish Worldview

To understand Peter and Jude’s language, it helps to understand their world.

In their time, the angelic interpretation of Genesis 6 wasn’t unusual—it was mainstream. The Book of Enoch, though not in the biblical canon, was highly regarded among Jews. It was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls in multiple copies, which tells us it was widely read and influential.

Writers like Philo of Alexandria and Josephus also supported this view. Philo, a Jewish philosopher living around the same time as Peter, referenced angelic beings coming to earth and fathering children. Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, outright stated that angels mated with women and produced violent giants.

This wasn’t a fringe theory. It was the dominant explanation of Genesis 6 in the Second Temple period. Peter and Jude weren’t making bold new claims—they were tapping into a well-known narrative to make a theological point.

What the Early Church Fathers Believed

That same interpretation carried over into the early Church. Christian thinkers in the first few centuries continued to affirm that Genesis 6 involved rebellious angels.

Justin Martyr (c. 160 AD) wrote that angels fell through lust and fathered the giants. Irenaeus (c. 180 AD) affirmed that God punished angels who transgressed. Tertullian, writing around 200 AD, argued that the Book of Enoch should be considered valid because Peter and Jude referenced it.

Even Origen, who leaned toward allegorical readings, supported the idea that Peter and Jude referred to real angelic beings who sinned.

It wasn’t until the fourth century and later that an alternative interpretation began to take hold—what’s now called the Sethite view. According to this reading, the “sons of God” were the descendants of Seth and the “daughters of men” were descendants of Cain. This view was partly a response to growing discomfort with supernatural interpretations and a desire for theological respectability in an increasingly Greco-Roman philosophical world.

But that later development stands in contrast to the early consensus. For the first several centuries, both Jewish and Christian interpreters saw Genesis 6 as describing a cosmic rebellion—one that deeply shaped the biblical understanding of divine justice.

Why Peter Used This Story

Peter wasn’t trying to retell Enoch’s story in detail. He was using a familiar reference to drive home a point: God judges evil, even when it comes from spiritual beings.

By invoking the angels who sinned and were punished, Peter was reminding believers that no one is beyond accountability—not even those with immense power and heavenly origin. But at the same time, Peter also points to Noah’s rescue. Just as God preserved Noah and his family through the flood, He will also deliver the faithful from the judgment that’s coming on the corrupt.

This was deeply pastoral. It was a warning to false teachers and a reassurance to the faithful. The fallen angels weren’t the focus—they were an example, a backdrop to a larger point about God’s justice and mercy.

Conclusion

Yes, Peter believed the “sons of God” in Genesis 6 were angels who sinned. So did Jude. So did virtually all Jewish writers of their era, and so did the early Church Fathers.

Their writings reflect a worldview shaped by texts like the Book of Enoch, by the Hebrew Scriptures, and by a shared understanding of cosmic order and divine judgment. When Peter spoke of spirits in prison and angels cast into Tartarus, his readers knew exactly what he meant.

This wasn’t fringe theology. It was foundational. And understanding that context helps us better appreciate what the New Testament is really saying—and how seriously it takes the justice, patience, and promises of God.