*This is part 3 of a 4-part series comparing some of my favorite movies to actual events that are shared in the Bible.
CITY OF ANGELS
This film was released in the late 90s and was a huge success at the box office. It’s a romantic fantasy film in which the main character is Seth (Nicholas Cage), an angel who is tasked with watching over humans in Los Angeles with his companion Cassiel (Andre Braugher), and guiding them into the afterlife when they die. Seth eventually falls in love with Maggie (Meg Ryan), a human surgeon, and reveals himself to her. He decides to become human through a process known as “falling.” Now mortal, he finds Maggie and she learns that he gave up being an angel for her. They consummate their relationship, and everything is perfect, until Maggie has a bike accident that kills her. The movie ends with Seth accepting his new human limitations and learning to appreciate life. When I first saw this movie, my initial thoughts were of sadness at Seth’s situation. But then I began to wonder if this wild idea was even possible. Well, there’s a precedent. Sorta.
Following the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 and the genealogy of Adam in Genesis 5, we find an interesting narrative at the beginning of Genesis 6. People were multiplying on the earth, and some of these people were very beautiful women. The “sons of God” noticed these women and decided to take them for wives. From these unions nephilim were born.
“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 6:4
As in Job 1:6, we see the phrase “sons of God” used here and it likely refers to fallen angels. Daughters of man refers to human women. So, fallen angels were having intercourse with human women, and the result was the creation of the nephilim, a race of giant, mighty, angel-men warriors. These unique beings are mentioned in a couple other places in the Bible (e.g. Numbers 13 and Ezekiel 32). Though it’s not quite as romantic as the story in City of Angels, it’s nonetheless an interesting account of human and angel interaction.
One thing the movie did get right was the depiction of the unseen protection that angels offer us daily. As the Bible tells us, God sends his angels to protect us and keep us (Psalm 91:11). Not sure if my angels look like Nicholas Cage or Andre Braugher, but I’m very thankful for their very real presence.