From time to time, an interesting topic of scripture arises that fires up the imagination. It is usually a red herring but we all enjoy a tale of the fantastic and look for it, believing there are secret things in the bible if we will only read between the lines.
These legends show up in the lore of false gods such as Zeus and his half god son Hercules.
Such is the tale of the Nephilim. The supposed giant offspring of angels and human women.
Let’s start by looking at Genesis Chapter 6 to see just what is being said here.
When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.
Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 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 6:1-4
As you can see, from a superficial reading of the text if you are looking for the mating of angels and humans, you can find it here. But we really should take another look to discover what is going on here.
What is the story of the opening chapters of the book of Genesis? It is the story of the fall of man and his rebellion against God. It is not the story of how God’s creation crossed the line and fallen angels seeded a race of super-humans.
First, lets go back a couple of chapters to discover why the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever.”
To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord. -Genesis 4:26
At first glance it might appear that people are doing a good thing when they are calling on the name of the Lord. However, the Hebrew bears out that the people were actually blaspheming the Lord’s name. This is not just using God’s name as a curse word, but is a form of active rebellion.
True blasphemy is when we dishonor the Lord by going against His will and command. Many of us call ourselves by the name of the Lord, but the way we live is very different from what we live out.
I believe what we find at the beginning of Genesis is a people who oppose God. Jesus taught us that the last days would be similar to the days of Noah. He describes a time when very few will follow Him and instead oppose Him. We are seeing this very thing today.
For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. -Matthew 24:37-39
Sons of God and Daughters of Men
The term sons of God referrers to those that follow the Lord and walk in His ways. While the term does show up in Job as Satan presents himself before God, it is more often used to describe those that belong to the Lord.
When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. -Deuteronomy 32:8
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.-Matthew 5:9
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God -Romans 8:14
See the pattern? What is being described is something we still experience today. There are those that choose the Lord and His ways and there are those who do not. But there is something more dangerous going on here. Notice that the “sons of God” find the “daughters of men” attractive. This is another problem that shows up many times in scripture and we fight with this even today.
Jesus calls this the doctrine of Balaam. It is the doctrine of teaching that Satan uses to defile God’s people. Briefly, Balaam taught King Balak how to cause God’s judgement to fall on God’s people. Though mixing and mingling God’s people with the people of the enemy though sexual immorality and idol worship. Let’s face it. An attractive ungodly person can draw a Godly person away from the path of righteousness causing the next generation to move away from God.
The Nephilim
The term Nephilim is defined in the Strong’s concordance entry #5303 as nphil {nef-eel’}; from naphal; properly, a feller, i.e. A bully or tyrant — giant.
While Nephilim can refer to a giant. It can also refer to a tyrant, an oppressive ruler. In context, this makes more sense. As God is rejected among people tyrannical and oppressive governments and leaders rise up. We see it happening today.
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.
These tyrants were also men with great names, great kingdoms. Men of renown refers to the greatness of their names. Just as after the flood Nimrod rose up as a great hunter. What did he hunt? People. But, that is for another article.
By the way, we should notice that the Nephilim were in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. If the Nephilim were the result of angelic seeding, how is it that giants/tyrants were before said seeding? Just a point.
Also, they turned up in Numbers 13:33 in the land of Israel. So apparently the flood was ineffective for destroying the Nephilim. There have been and still are giant humans. Some are isolated medical conditions such as glandular problems. Others are the extreme of human potential just as those of small stature like the pygmies.
The Conclusion of the Matter
I will agree that it is much more exciting to imagine angels breeding with humans thereby creating a race of super giants. It is the stuff of graphic novels and anime and let’s face it. It sells.
However, the story of Genesis is that of the Lord creating man in His own image. Man made the choice to rebel against the word of God and do what was right in his own sight. The story develops and we see that as great populations arose in the pre-flood world, godly people mixed with ungodly people to create a mostly ungodly world that the Lord would no longer contend with. He would not tolerate their evil hearts.
As this wickedness grew, it became oppressive, tyrannical and totalitarian, much like what we are beginning to see today. This in turn caused the Lord to be grieved that He even created man. But, in His justice there was grace and mercy. He showed this grace to Noah by allowing the ark to be built, saving a remnant as He pored out judgement on mankind.
Finally, we face the same choice today. As Jesus warned us, we will see the same thing happening in the last days. Man will turn from the Lord and follow his own law. This will bring enslavement and an oppressive government and a final false king. The Lord will have the victory, but not until man’s cup is full.