Enoch gives us the most detail about what took place in the days of Jared. It would seem the angels knew there would be consequences to their actions. Yet two hundred made the decision to do what they knew was a bad idea. One of the things I’d like to point out is that if someone asks you to take an oath, there is probably trouble ahead. While Jesus said that one day we would be like the angels and not marry or be given in marriage, he did not say we would be sex-less. Obviously they had the parts needed to procreate, so it is probable that they were experienced in this area. What was not to happen was the mixing of genes. Very specifically we are told that everything was to be after its kind. The mixing of genes or possible bio engineering is a contamination of what God created Adam to be.
Enoch 6:1 And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. 2 And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ’Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’ 3 And Sem jaza who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ 4 And they all answered him and said: ’Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing’ 6 And they were in all two hundred who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it.
7:1 And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. 2 And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells 3 Who consumed all the acquisitions of men and when men could no longer sustain them, 4 The giants turned against them and devoured mankind 5 And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another’s flesh, and drink the blood. 6 Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.
There have been several books written in recent years regarding the Nephilim. And while I have read quite a few, I think there are way too many leaps in conjecture so that we get a distorted picture. Firstly the Nephilim were the offspring of the fallen angels, they weren’t the fallen angels themselves. We can trace some things through the bible about them. Such as Og King of Bashan:
Deut 3:11 For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man. KJV
Josh 12:4 And the coast of Og king of Bashan, which was of the remnant of the giants, that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,
5 And reigned in mount Hermon, and in Salcah, and in all Bashan, unto the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon. KJV
Here we see the dwelling of some of the progeny of the fallen angels. This is after the flood so we see that there were Giants in the land that God gave to the hands of the Israelites. The Canaanites also were large people. Numbers 13:27-28. God ordered the Canaanities to be killed but that did not happen right away.
Gen 10:19 And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as thou comest to Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, unto Sodom, and Gomorrah, and Admah, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha. KJV
Deut 7:1-6 When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
2 And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:
3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.
5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
6 For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. KJV
They seem to have been decedents of Anak as well. See end notes to identify where they were all dwelling. Later the Philistines were Giants. What is interesting is that they had a particular characteristic about them; the Philistines had six digits on each hand and foot.
2 Sam 21:20-22 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.
21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him.
22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants. KJV
The Rephaim were another name for Giants (strongs number 7497).
Deut 2:10-11 The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;
11 Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims. KJV
Deut 2:20-21
20 (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;
21 A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the Lord destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead: KJV
There are more names and races of the offspring of the fallen angels, this is a small sample but we see that they lived in places where God told Abraham his decedents would dwell. The angels or watchers descended on to Mount Hermon and that is the land area where they continued to dwell.
Going backwards in time once again, some ancient writings say that the angels were sent down to teach Adam and Eve how to live after their fallen state. Whether it was that the angels were sent here to teach man or that they made that freewill decision on their own is interesting. It is stated later in Enoch what the watchers taught mankind and that God did not want mankind to know certain things. We will look at that in the future. But I want to point out Enoch 7:5.
And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another’s flesh, and drink the blood. 6 Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.
The offspring of the fallen watchers began defileing themselves with animals. The book of Jasher says:
4:18 And their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice and the sons of men in those days took from the cattle of the earth the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air and taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals.
There is something wrong with that. God says that everything was brought forth after its kind. There was not to be any mixing of species, no half men half goats. But they did mix animals and humans. Some speculate this was not physical acts of procreation with animals but bio engineering. Today bio engineering is big. We are able to do this in laboratories. One of the last signs in the image of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is the attempt to mix iron with clay, the seed of men. Now this is quite contentious as people would like to say the Nephilim are going to mix with men once again.
Dan 2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. KJV
There are some problems with that idea. Firstly the Nephilim were the offspring of the fallen angels, they’ve already been mixed in with humans repeatedly, even the Israelites. Secondly it would be more reasonable to say that angels are coming down and procreating with women on earth thereby mixing genes again, but the bible never tells us that more angels will fall or be a threat to us. Instead we read they are to minister to us, the heirs of salvation, not overtake us. Thirdly we have authority over angels and their offspring, as I pointed out in a previous blog, we, men, were made a little lower then Elohim, Psalm 8:5 so that would be a problem as well. If the chicken little theology of the Nephilim coming back and overtaking humankind is accurate then we have another problem, he who is in me is greater than they are, we could not co-exist here without a fight. I John 4:4. All the Chicken Little’s of Christianity do is to scare people into thinking they are worms and that demons, or Nephilim, or angels, are going to beat them up. Instead building people up to realize who they are would be a better thing to preach.
The Holy Spirit changes the dynamic of the entire issue. If the Holy Spirit indwells in me, then I have authority over fallen angels, and their offspring. Anyone who has been involved in deliverance ministry can attest to that. We can cast out demons, and heal the sick, just as Jesus said the works he did we should do also and greater then these. You may be wondering why I made that leap; the book of Jubilees tells us that the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim were wandering the earth after the flood. Noah besought God to get rid of them or else they would over take his family. But satan implored God not to get rid of all the disembodied spirits of the Nephimil otherwise he (satan) would not be able to exercise his will on man.
Jubilees 10:8 The chief of the spirits, Mastema, (satan) came and said “Lord Creator, let some of them remain before me, and let them listen to my voice and do all that I shall say to them; for if some of them are not left to me, I shall not be able to execute the power of my will on the sons of men, for these are for corruption and leading astray before my judgment, for great is the wickedness of the sons of men.” 9 He said, “Let one-tenth of them remain before him, and let nine-tenths of them descend into the place of condemnation.”
If you think it strange that satan is allowed to lead people astray I will point out Job. But Yahweh also uses them for his purpose as in 2 Chronicles 18:19-22 The Holy Spirit dwells inside the heirs of salvation. I cannot find anywhere in the bible where the Holy Spirit will be ripped out of me and I will once again be as an unsaved man. This may sound dramatic but if the Holy Spirit is the one alluded to in 2Thessalonians 2:7 then when he is taken out of the way I’m leaving too. If the Holy Spirit is the one constraining or holding back, then he either has to come out of me when he leaves or he has to take me with him. Since I cannot find any evidence that he is leaving me behind, to live on earth without his indwelling in me, then I have to believe the rapture of the church is when he will leave and then the lawless one will be revealed. Again I think it is a perspective of time. The trump card is the Holy Spirit. If the Nephilim want to genetically engineer humanity, without the Holy Spirit on earth, they can. While the Holy Spirit is here, I’m here, and together the church is what is holding back complete lawlessness, not human law, but God’s law. I can cast out demons, which are the disembodied sprits of the Nephilim because greater is he that is in me then he that is in the world. Mythology gives us pictures of demonic gods which some are part human and part animal. That will be another subject to explore later.
One other interesting thing to note is in the drinking of the blood. Blood rituals are quite popular among certain religious groups even today. What is it about the blood that the demons are enticing people to use in ritual worship? Is it that the life of the flesh is in the blood and demons cannot have a flesh and blood body like they want?
Lev 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.KJV
Matt 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.KJV
We can see from modern science all kinds of things that we do today to alter sickness and disease. If using a heart valve from a pig for a human can help one live longer it would be ethically right. Scientists can grow human cells on mice for the purpose of harvest. It is all new and the possibilities are endless, but according to Daniel it may not work out as scientists hope before the return of our Lord. We truly can’t go further ahead in our understanding of the Nephilim until we go further backwards in history to another civilization in Sumer; the inhabitants, the Annunaki. The reason we have to back up once again is to clear up the confusion between the Nephilim and the Annunaki. We’ll decipher this next time.
End Notes
NEPHILIM
(Gen 6:4; Num 13:33, R.V.), giants, the Hebrew word left untranslated by the Revisers, the name of one of the Canaanitish tribes. The Revisers have, however, translated the Hebrew gibborim, in Gen 6:4, "mighty men."
(from Easton's Bible Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
NEPHILIM
[NEFF ih lem] — a word of uncertain meaning (Gen 6:4; Num 13:33, NIV, NEB, NASB, RSV), translated as giants by the KJV and NKJV. Some scholars believe the Nephilim were descended from famous rulers, outstanding leaders, and mighty warriors who lived before the Flood. These men, so the theory goes, gathered great harems and were guilty of the sin of polygamy. The Nephilim were the product of these marriages. Also see GIANTS.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Nephilim research
Arguments based on etymology
A possible connection with fallen-ness may exist in the fallen warriors of Ezekiel 32:27, where a change to the Massoretic Text reading gibborim nophelim (גִּבֹּורִים נֹפְלִים "fallen mighty ones") would produce the reading gibborim nephilim.[5][6] As the text stands "And they shall not lie with the fallen mighty of the uncircumcised, which are gone down (yaradu יָרְדֽוּ) to the grave with their weapons of war:", but this could become the gibborim nephilim of the uncircumcised.[7] In Genesis 6:4 they are described as "ancient warriors, the men of renown". In Numbers 13:32-33 they are a race of giants native to Canaan. (The idea that there were giants in Canaan when the Israelites arrived is found elsewhere, for example in Amos 2:9, where Yahweh reminds the prophet that he "destroyed theAmorites before you, whose height was as the height of cedar trees").[8] The two are tied together by Genesis 6:4, "the nephilim were on the earth in those days (before the Flood), and also after," and most later compositions and translations, including the Septuagint, therefore understand the nephilim to be giants.[9]
The nature of the nephilim is complicated by the ambiguity[citation needed] of Genesis 6:4, "the sons of God joined with the daughters of humankind, who bore them children - they were the ancient warriors, the men of renown." Richard Hess in The Anchor Bible Dictionary takes it as read that the nephilim are the offspring,[10] as does P. W. Coxon in Dictionary of deities and demons in the Bible[11]
According to these texts, the fallen angels who begat the Nephilim were cast into Tartarus (Greek Enoch 20:2)[27], a place of 'total darkness'. However, Jubilees also states that God granted ten percent of the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim to remain after the flood, as demons, to try to lead the human race astray (through idolatry, the occult, etc.) until the final Judgment.
In addition to Enoch, the Book of Jubilees (7:21–25) also states that ridding the Earth of these Nephilim was one of God's purposes for flooding the Earth in Noah's time. These works describe the Nephilim as being evil giants.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan identifies the Nephilim as Shemihaza and the angels in the name list from 1 Enoch.[28] b Yoma 67, PRE22 and 1 QapGen ar ii 1 also identify the Nephilim as the angels that fell.
In the Book of Enoch he is portrayed as the leader of a band of angels called the Watchers that are consumed with lust for mortal women and become Fallen Angels.
And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin. And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.' Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. (Enoch 6:3-5)
A full listing of the leaders of the group can be found on the 1 Enoch page. Semjâzâ convinced several other Grigori to join him in fornicating with women. As a result, he and the other sinful Grigori begot giant offspring (in Genesis called Nephilim or 'fallen ones' in Hebrew) that dominated and feasted upon humans during the days of Enoch. The Watchers' other sin was to teach humans various creative arts — especially Azâzêl's, who taught the secrets of war, which brought down the wrath of God.
And to Gabriel said the Lord: 'Proceed against the biters and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and destroy [the children of fornication and] the children of the Watchers from amongst men [and cause them to go forth]: send them one against the other that they may destroy each other in battle: for length of days shall they not have. (Enoch 10:9)
Finally, the judgement of the associates of Samyaza is described.
And the Lord said unto Michael: 'Go, bind Semjâzâ and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is for ever and ever is consummated. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: 〈and〉 to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for ever. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the end of all generations. (Enoch 10:11-14)
After the destruction of the Giants, God caused the Great Flood (Noah's flood) to wipe out the humans who had become corrupted.
CANAANITES
— the descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham. Migrating from their original home, they seem to have reached the Persian Gulf, and to have there sojourned for some time. They thence "spread to the west, across the mountain chain of Lebanon to the very edge of the Mediterranean Sea, occupying all the land which later became Palestine, also to the north-west as far as the mountain chain of Taurus. This group was very numerous, and broken up into a great many peoples, as we can judge from the list of nations (Gen 10), the 'sons of Canaan.'" Six different tribes are mentioned in Ex 3:8,17; 23:23; 33:2; 34:11. In Ex 13:5 the "Perizzites" are omitted. The "Girgashites" are mentioned in addition to the foregoing in Deut 7:1; Josh 3:10.
The "Canaanites," as distinguished from the Amalekites, the Anakim, and the Rephaim, were "dwellers in the lowlands" (Num 13:29), the great plains and valleys, the richest and most important parts of Palestine. Tyre and Sidon, their famous cities, were the centres of great commercial activity; and hence the name "Canaanite" came to signify a "trader" or "merchant" (Job 41:6; Prov 31:24, lit. "Canaanites;" comp. Zeph 1:11; Ezek 17:4). The name "Canaanite" is also sometimes used to designate the non-Israelite inhabitants of the land in general (Gen 12:6; Num 21:3; Judg 1:10).
The Israelites, when they were led to the Promised Land, were commanded utterly to destroy the descendants of Canaan then possessing it (Ex 23:23; Num 33:52,53; Deut 20:16,17). This was to be done "by little and little," lest the beasts of the field should increase (Ex 23:29; Deut 7:22,23). The history of these wars of conquest is given in the Book of Joshua. The extermination of these tribes, however, was never fully carried out. Jerusalem was not taken till the time of David (2 Sam 5:6,7). In the days of Solomon bond-service was exacted from the fragments of the tribes still remaining in the land (1 Kings 9:20,21). Even after the return from captivity survivors of five of the Canaanitish tribes were still found in the land.
In the Tell-el-Amarna tablets Canaan is found under the forms of Kinakhna and Kinakhkhi. Under the name of Kanana the Canaanites appear on Egyptian monuments, wearing a coat of mail and helmet, and distinguished by the use of spear and javelin and the battle-axe. They were called Phoenicians by the Greeks and Poeni by the Romans. By race the Canaanites were Semitic. They were famous as merchants and seamen, as well as for their artistic skill. The chief object of their worship was the sun-god, who was addressed by the general name of Baal, "lord." Each locality had its special Baal, and the various local Baals were summed up under the name of Baalim, "lords."
(from Easton's Bible Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
ANAK
[A knack] (giant) - a son of Arba, who gave his name to Kirjath Arba, or Hebron (Josh 15:13-14). Anak had three sons, whose descendants were giants, the ANAKIM.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
ANAKIM
[AN uh kim] (giants) - a race of fierce giants (Deut 1:28; 2:10-11; Josh 14:12,15) descended from ANAK. So gigantic were they that the spies sent out by Moses considered themselves as mere grasshoppers compared to the Anakim (Num 13:33). Under Joshua, however, the Israelites destroyed many of the Anakim. A remnant of these giants took refuge among the Philistines.
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
ANAKIM
(long-necked), a race of giants, descendants of Arba, Josh 15:13; 21:11, dwelling in the southern part of Canaan, and particularly at Hebron, which from their progenitor received the name of "city of Arba." Anak was the name of the race rather than that of an individual. Josh 14:15. The race appears to have been divided into three tribes or families, bearing the names Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. Though the war-like appearance of the Anakim had struck the Israelites with terror in the time of Moses, Num 13:28; 9:2, they were nevertheless dispossessed by Joshua, Josh 11:21,22, and their chief city, Hebron, became the possession of Caleb. Josh 15:14; Judg 1:20. After this time they vanish from history.
(from Smith's Bible Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
REPHAIM
[REF ih yuhm] (lofty men) - the name of a race of giants and a valley in the Old Testament:
1. A race of giants who lived in Palestine before the time of Abraham (Gen 14:5; 15:20). The last survivor of the Rephaim was OG, king of Bashan (Deut 3:11). The kingdom of Og-Gilead, Bashan, and Argob-was called "the land of the giants [Rephaim]" (Deut 3:13).
2. A valley in Judah where David defeated the Philistines (2 Sam 5:17-22). Rephaim lies between Jerusalem and Bethlehem (2 Sam 23:13).
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
GIANT
Giants
men of extraordinary size or height.
1. They are first spoken of in Gen 6:4, under the name Nephilim. We are told in Gen 6:1-4, that "there were Nephilim in the earth," and that afterwards the "sons of God" mingling with the beautiful "daughters of mens produced a race of violent and insolent Gibborim (Authorized Version "mighty men").
2. The Rephalim, a name which frequently occurs. The earliest mention of them is the record of their defeat by Chedorlaomer and some allied kings at Ashteroth Karnaim. The "valley of Rephaim," 2 Sam 5:18; 1 Chron 11:15; Isa 17:5, a rich valley southwest of Jerusalem, derived its name from them. They were probably an aboriginal people of which the EMIM, ANAKIM and ZUZIM [which see] were branches. [See also GOLIATH]
(from Smith's Bible Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
