We know that in each of the three falls of Genesis 3-6, humankind seizes dominion before God is prepared to grant it to them.

1. Adam seizes of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. As elsewhere in Scripture, the “knowledge of good and evil” refers to the wisdom to rule. This is why their “eyes were opened.” Eyes are the instrument of judgment, and Adam and Eve seize the prerogative to rule- so that they attempt to make their own royal garments afterwards.

2. After Cain slays Abel (symbolically, a threshold sacrifice) he goes forth and builds a city. Instead of trusting in God’s mark on his forehead, he builds his own city of refuge.

3. The Sethites give their daughters in marriage to fallen angels. The issues surrounding this passage are complex, but my understanding is that this was a marriage alliance intended to secure a seat on the heavenly council. Adam and Eve sought to be “as gods” (this refers, as in Psalm 82 and elsewhere, to the divine council), as did the sons of Seth. They attempted to marry into it.

But what’s often missed is that there is, in fact, a double seizure of dominion in each of these falls. Humankind tries to seize dominion through partnering with the Devil, but the Devil and his angels also try to seize dominion by controlling man: the one to whom dominion naturally belongs.

1. This is clearly the case in Genesis 3. The traditional (and best) explanation is that Satan is upset that God intends for man to eventually grow up and exercise dominion over angels. In response, Satan comes and attempts to deceive mankind into serving him, so that he can exercise dominion through man over the cosmos.

2. Sin (which refers to the Serpent, as also in Romans 7) is crouching at Cain’s door, seeking dominion over him. Cain bows before the Serpent in following his instruction.

3. Most clearly, we have it in Genesis 6. The son of God “saw” that the daughters of Adam were “good.” This is an allusion to Genesis 3, where Eve saw that the tree of kingship was good. As in Genesis 3, this refers to “good for exercising rule.” A marriage alliance with the sons of Seth will secure dominion over the last portion of the world that the fallen angels did not yet rule, since they already controlled the Cainite civilization. The phrase is also used this way in Genesis 12, where Pharaoh saw that Sarai was good. Abram is a prince. Pharaoh did not merely consider Sarai physically attractive, but also wanted to strengthen Egyptian hegemony over the Near East through a marriage alliance with this important prince.