The Nephilim – Giants in the Bible

David slaying the giant Goliath — “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that..”

Numbers 13:31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 32And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

When Moses sent his spies to scout the Promised Land so the children of Israel could enter it, the spies reported seeing beings there who were giants. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that there were races of people at that time who were so large, that regular sized men appeared as “grasshoppers” before them (other references can be found in Deuteronomy 2:10-11, 2:21, and 3:11 or the story of David and Goliath for starters). And we see that when the great servant of the Lord, Joshua, was sent to conquer the Promised Land that God commands him to kill all of the men, women and children of these giant races. They were to be wiped as if any remnant of their kind would post a great danger.

So what is this all about? The Bible of course has the answers. Since the day Satan was removed from his position serving God and cast out of godly service as the first sinner and a traitor (Ezekiel 28), he has been conspiring to try and thwart God’s plan of creation and redemption for humanity. And part of his conspiracy is what caused the flood in Genesis. This conspiracy is going to play out all the way to the End of Ages and as we know will end with our King and Savior Jesus Christ being triumphant over Satan and his armies.

The Days of Noah

So let’s start with Matthew 24:26. In Matthew 24 Jesus discusses the temple in Jerusalem being destroyed while it was still under construction. This prophecy of course came true in 70 AD when Titus destroyed the temple and Israel as a nation. Everything else in Matthew 24 is discussing the period known as The Tribulation. We know this from Matthew 24:3 which states: And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

So clearly we see these are questions regarding the end times. And in Matthew 24:36 The Word says: But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Jesus explains that the times on Earth will be like the days of Noah before the flood. So now we should look to those times to see what made them unique. In Genesis chapter 6 the Bible states: 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose… 4There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

Now many people have debated whether the “sons of God” refers to angels or men. And this is precisely why we have to examine the Bible as a complete book and not just hang ideas on one verse. First of all, the Hebrew words for the “sons of God” is B’nai Ha Elohim, which would means these are Heavenly beings, giving credence to them being fallen angels. And then we see the children of these sons of God and daughters of men were “mighty men” and of “renown.” They were also “giants.” Something in their genetics made them super-sized people. And it was their fallen angelic parentage.

But again, we must keep searching the Bible to make certain of meaning. The Bible is self-confirming and one passage of Scripture can always be confirmed by another. We see the term “sons of God” next used in the book of Job. Job 2:1 states: Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.

The Hebrew term here once again is B’nai Ha Elohim. And as we know these sons of God here are clearly Angelic beings who are presenting themselves before The Lord (in Heaven). And Satan is among them (who of course is a fallen cherubim – a type of Heavenly being). So there should be no mistaking what the Hebrew term now means. The implication here is that fallen angels married human women and produced children with them. And this act was so abhorrent to The Lord that He punished them. First with the flood and then with imprisonment.

In Jude 1:6 the Bible states: And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. 1:8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

Here we see a reference to angels who left their “habitation” and are reserved in chains until Judgment Day. So which angels could these be? Clearly we should all agree that this is not a reference to Satan. Satan is not in hell. He is roaming the Earth seeking to destroy and deceive as many people as possible (see Job 2 again where the devil says he was walking “to and fro” on the Earth). The Devil and most of his fallen angels are on Earth doing spiritual warfare and will not be sent to Hell until their time of Judgment (Revelations 20). The fallen angels being referenced in Jude are the same angels who had relations with “the daughters of men” (human women). We see the immediate reference to Sodom and Gomorrha afterwards indicating sexual sin (in addition to other lascivious behaviors, the men of Sodom were sexually attracted to the male angels staying with Lot). And as for the “habitation” the angels left, it is the spiritual realm. Many scholars say this habitation refers to the fallen angels leaving Heaven, but again that would not explain why they would already be in hell under chains until Judgment Day since the fallen angels are not in Hell yet.

Looking at 1 Peter 3:19 we see more confirmation: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

So again we see there are spirits who are “in prison” meaning they are already in bondage of Hell. Hell or Sheol at this time, was the holding place for the unsaved who died and Jesus went there to make a triumph over them (Colossians 2:15). And plus, verse 20 makes it clear that the disobedience of these spirits took place at the time of Noah, right before the flood! So again, it all comes back to this time and the specific activity that caused some of the fallen angels to be put in prison before Judgment.

The book of 2 Peter gives even further confirmation: 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 2:5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 2:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; The angels who are already in Hell are again linked to Noah. Plus there is a reference to the sexual sin of Sodom and Gomorrah.

So the question at this point is: why were fallen angels doing this? And why was this such a serious offense that the offending angels were put in Hell immediately? The answer lies in Genesis 3:15.

3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he shall break thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

This amazing, beautiful verse is the first promise of a redeemer, our Messiah Jesus Christ. The Lord is telling Satan that the seed of a woman will eventually crush him. Now we know all over the Bible the lines of genealogy are described through men. The same for a seed (i.e., the seed of Abraham). But the one seed spoken of from a woman is Jesus Christ (“Behold a virgin shall conceive a son and His Name shall be Emmanuel..”). The only way we could be saved was through a virgin birth with The Lord providing the baby to a virgin woman. Jesus being both 100% man and 100% God allowed him to take all sins of humanity and save us all. So Satan, seeking to stop this plan thought of a way to corrupt it: by having fallen angels taking women and having children with them! By doing this he could ruin the lineage of the coming Messiah by making him part fallen angel. And to no surprise, the people who were becoming increasingly mixed with fallen angels were becoming increasingly evil.

The corruption was so bad the Lord states: Genesis 6:5And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
The Lord shows regret for even making any living creatures.

But Noah found Grace in the Eyes of God.

In addition to being a faithful servant to The Lord Genesis 6:9 tells us that Noah was “perfect in his generations.” As opposed to referring to his moral perfection (and Noah of course being a man, was not perfect) this phrase meant was that Noah’s lineage was 100% human. Noah did not have any Nephilim in his family line so he was able to carry on the lineage that would lead to Jesus Christ. And we see Genesis 11 goes to great detail to list the lineage going from Noah to Abraham so there is a record.

Of course Satan continued to conspire against The Lord from that point and continues today. The repeated temptation of the Israelites to worship him (in the form of other gods like Baal and Molech), tempting Christ in the wilderness and then going into Judas to provoke the conspiracy to have Christ killed. All these things fulfilled The Lord’s plan because He all along knows what is going to take place and moves all things, good and evil towards His Ultimate just and righteous Purpose. So in the end times will the Nephilim return? It’s possible. Many speculate the alien phenomena could be a “disguise” for this. But the main point for the Christian is to not be deceived by any of this. Instead, let us rejoice in knowing that no matter what the adversary attempts the ultimate victory lies with Jesus Christ our Risen Savior.