who had once been disobedient when the patience of God was waiting in Noah’s days, while the ark was being constructed, in which a few people, that is, eight souls, were carried safely through the water.”​—1 Peter 3:18-20.

Since the disobedience of these spirits is linked with the time of Noah, they must be the angelic sons of God who left their original dwelling place in the heavens and took up living as husbands with women. (Genesis 6:1-4)