Answers to Giant Questions: How Understanding the Biblical Nephilim Will Enlarge Your Faith

by T.J. Steadman

Adam, the pre-eminent man, the son of God, was the ruler of the world, and responsible for its care under God. This made Adam in effect priest, prophet and king; not merely “chief gardener.” It was an enviable position. And there might have been someone in that Garden who resented being “named” by a mortal.

It is therefore unsurprising that Lamech became so proud and arrogant. The sudden technological explosion evident in Genesis 4 at the time of Lamech’s sons, according to the text of Genesis 6:1-2 was a result of the appearance on Earth of the fallen angels. It can be reasonably deduced that Lamech had made some arrangement with the angels, and the dowry appears to have been kingship, protection (the threat of divine vengeance from the angels) for Lamech and knowledge of technology for his sons.

The idea of God “taking” Enoch is indicative of reassignment of function for Enoch. That is why “he was not.” It means he became inaccessible to mankind. He had entered the presence of God, where he would have another role to play in the abode of the divine on earth, in Eden. This role, as it is explained by Jude, was a prophetic one. Jude 14-15 “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

The author of Hebrews reminds us that mankind is judged for sin not many times over, nor even during his lifetime, but after death: Hebrews 9:27-28 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

The entities that Nebuchadnezzar refers to in the book of Daniel are the same kind credited with the origins of human civilization according to Babylonian tradition. They were the territorial spirits that watched over kingdoms or city-states. In fact, if we consider the Aramaic-speaking background for the composition of the Genesis 1-11 narrative, it is entirely plausible that there is an intentional play on the verbal connection between “cities” and “watchers” that highlights the connection between the line of Cain and the fallen “sons of God.” This would indicate all the more strongly that the Babylonian boast of having established the first cities was linked to the Biblical conception of evil.

Genesis 4:17-18a “And Cain had relations with his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he [Enoch] builded a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son. [The name “Enoch” does not appear in the original at this point.] And unto Enoch was born Irad...” Technically, once Enoch is mentioned in verse 17, he becomes the new subject of the following verb, meaning that it was not Cain who built the city, but Enoch. And since Enoch built the city, it was named after Enoch’s son, not Cain’s. Therefore, the name of the city was not Enoch, but Irad. “Irad” is transliterated from the Hebrew `Iyrad, meaning “city of dominion” (from `iyr, “city” or “watcher” and radah, “dominion”). Sounds a lot like Eridu! And as the center of Mesopotamian kingship, that city – which predates Babylon by centuries – became Nimrod’s capital.

Reading Genesis 11:1-9 between the verses of Genesis 10:10 and 10:11 helps to make it quite clear that Nimrod became known as “the Assyrian,” immediately following Babel. This fact will be important later.

Event number one was, of course, the Fall, where the serpent robbed God’s image-bearers of their good standing with God by introducing sin. Adam bears full responsibility for his sin (and so do we for ours, by extension), but certainly, the sin did not occur until it was instigated by the serpent. The second fall was, as we have seen, the fall of the angels, who taught illicit arts to humans and had forbidden unions with women, resulting in the Nephilim and their defilement and destruction of the human race. The third and final event was the fall of civilization, demonstrated not in the building of a city but in the desire of the humans to exceed their divine mandate.

In the 39th year of his reign, he failed the test, and kingship was taken from him. True healing comes from Yahweh.

When we remember that his name became “The Assyrian” as evidenced in Genesis 10, Isaiah 23 and Micah 5, we can now see some startling revelations from the prophet Ezekiel, which will draw Job’s obscure statement into sharp focus.

This is especially noteworthy when we consider that traditionally, the timing of the Deluge was believed to be the exact same day upon which the Pleiades were known to set (to become no longer visible, below the horizon for 40 days) on the 17th day of Marḥeshwan.[liv] But even more interesting is how Orion fits into the picture. This constellation went by certain names in different cultures.

In Habakkuk’s prayer, he recounts the Exodus and the triumphant march of Yahweh from the south (Egypt) up into Canaan via Edom and Moab, represented by the borders of Midian (Teman and Paran). And Habakkuk speaks of plague and pestilence accompanying Yahweh like some sort of entourage, a concept common in the ancient world.[lix] This makes a lot more sense when we remember that God has lesser gods (`elohiym) subservient to Him, and that in ancient Canaan, there were gods venerated by the indigenous inhabitants of the land, who went by the names of Resheph and Deber; literally Plague and Pestilence. These two lesser gods, according to Habakkuk, were called upon by Yahweh to serve His purposes in delivering Israel into their land.

This would have dire consequences for Israel later under the fist of the cruel Haman, the son of Hammedatha, who was fathered by Agag before Samuel finally executed the Amalekite king.

God tells us repeatedly in the Word that there is no human effort that can merit His favor, and that is why nothing made by man can honor Him. When David selected those stones, he was choosing the providence of God over the work of his own two hands.

Bashan, or Bathan in the Canaanite language, also means, “place of the serpent” (the serpent is called Lotan). That region is actually home to a large, curiously snake-shaped mound covered in funerary monuments, located in close proximity to the megalithic Gilgal Refaim (“Wheel of the Giants”).[lxxvii]

The Watcher came to nothing. So did the Mighty. And the Petition that was to be brought before God was denied because it came out of falsehood. That, right there, is the story that 1 Enoch presents centuries later in expanded form as the Book of the Watchers, chapters 6-16. The author of Genesis 38 was concealing a retelling of the Sin of the Watchers long before the 2nd Temple writers made their own. Matthew, a devout Israelite, missed no opportunity to reveal that in an ironic twist, the same forbidden knowledge they taught would be used against them to secure the line of the Messiah. He too would appear as an improper birth but bring light to the world. And that is a concept that Matthew really strove to bring home.

“Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz” translates to “Enclosed Walls the father of High, and High the father of One of the Prince’s People, and One of the Prince’s People the father of Enchanter, and Enchanter the father of Clothed, and Clothed the father of Strength And Speed.” This actually overlays really well with Nimrod, the originator of the Rephaim kings. We have high enclosed walls (the Tower of Babel), one of the prince’s people (“prince” is a name used by the prophet Daniel to refer to the sons of God or Watchers), the “enchanter” referring to the traditions of Nimrod’s use of the occult, and his transformation, the Biblical metaphor for deification or glorification (to be “clothed”), and finally the characteristics of that transformation. Not only that, but Boaz is actually called a gibbowr in the Bible (Ruth 2:1). Please note, as has been mentioned earlier, gibbowr can have other meanings besides “giant,” and Boaz was certainly not a giant!). Gibbowr is the same term applied to Nimrod. So, we are reminded of the problem that the Messiah must deal with – the legacy of the giants.

Others remain exclusively the domain of the Father, such as His being all-knowing, ever-present and all-powerful.

But Jesus Christ uniquely combines all of the attributes of the Father with all of the attributes of mankind.

The Adamic Covenant taught us that man’s original purpose was to be co-rulers under God; stewards with Him of the world God created for His glory. We as human stewards needed only to listen and obey. This Covenant, when followed, would ensure that holiness was preserved in the domain that God shared with us and that abominations like the Nephilim could never happen.

The Noahic Covenant gave us an understanding of the importance of human identity and the sacred nature of God’s image that is reflected in us. It gave us a way to protect that sanctity: God’s justice by human hands. This Covenant provided the tools for dealing with the recurring problem of the giants.

The Abrahamic Covenant showed us that faith is what pleases God and guarantees the inheritance of His promises. It showed that we participate in communion with a holy God (and therefore with His family) by believing in Him and recognizing His sovereignty. This Covenant then is a guarantee of a vict...

The Davidic Covenant introduced a fervent loyalty and devotion to God that saw the eradication of the giants and promised that the descendant of David would ultimately create the dwelling of God. Now in the New Covenant the seed of David would be...

Where the “sons of God” and the giants had morally corrupted humanity, Jesus overcame them by obedience to the Father in His humanity, providing the model for us to emulate. He is the perfect Man.

Where the Rephaim spirits were ascribed the power of healing and resurrection, Jesus showed that He alone has the power to bring genuine everlasting life and health to humanity. He is the Resurrection and the Life.

Where the Rephaim had the ability to travel between the realms of death and mortal life, only Christ has the power to transcend all realms and bring us into the presence of the ho...

Where the Rephaim had a kingship on earth that was passed to someone else at death, Christ owns and bestows a dominion that will never pass away. He is King of Kin...

Where the Nephilim were “mighty men of old, men of renown,” Christ has proved that His might is greater even in His humanity, His Name endures longer as the Creator Incarnate, and His fame is greater and m...

Where the Rephaim and their descendants claimed authority by virtue of divine ancestry, God Himself ascribes sonship status to allegiant believers in Christ Jesus. He is our...

Where the Leviathan had brought forth giants from the realm of the dead, the waters of the Abyss, Jesus Christ provides the “living water,...

Where Nimrod’s followers invited the sons of God to empower and control them, transforming them into inhuman abominations, Jesus achieved the opposite. Jesus sent His own Spirit to empower, embolden and transform believers to become more like the people ...

Many of us fail to see that commission for what it really is – a new iteration of the Edenic Mandate – to fill and subdue the earth as God’s imagers! We need to be responsible for our fellow man and for the world around us. We need to hold human life as precious and sacred as God does. We must believe God and submit to His role as Father and Sovereign. We need to maintain a fervent passion for His Word and His promises. And we need every day to conform ourselves to the likeness of Christ. All of these things, when exhibited in our lives and laid in the hands of the Father as His tools, can restrain, prevent and even destroy the power of the enemy to take hold in our world as he once did through the Nephilim.

Now, about the five months, remember that weird thing back in chapter 5 about the goat for Azazel? And it was mentioned that goats bear offspring after a hundred and fifty days, coinciding with the time that the Floodwaters prevailed over the earth? All that was to set us up for this reality – that the affliction of the demonic powers upon mankind in the last days will bear fruit in their victims over the course of five months– or one hundred and fifty days. That is the period of time that elapsed while the Nephilim spirits were forced to abandon their homes of human flesh and to transform into their next incarnation as spirits that could empower a living host. It is the time when the “children of the goat” will be conceived and brought forth in the human race.

We’ll cut to the chase. The first stage – the devouring locust represents the fallen angels and the original Nephilim. They are associated with “seeding” the earth with the original giants, which died in the Flood. This death is represented by the laying of locust eggs in the earth, as the earth is symbolic of the underworld. The use of “devouring” to describe this form is not accidental. Hebrew tradition makes much of the fact that the Nephilim were believed to have monstrous appetites. This is borne out in the pseudepigraphical text of 1 Enoch,[76] [lxxxix] which tells that the giants devoured all the food that men could produce, before eating the animals and then turning on humanity as a food source. Eventually, they became cannibalistic, as we have seen before, and they went as far as drinking the blood of their victims. Thus, the designation “devourers” is apt here. New Testament texts influenced by this concept of fleshly greed in connection with the appetites of evil include 2 Peter 2:13, Jude 12, and Revelation 2:14-15. Incidentally, we can perhaps see in new light the reason for God sustaining Israel on manna during their wilderness sojourn – as a statement against the culture of excess that existed in the land around them.

Joel’s next phase is the swarming or multiplying locust. Here we focus once more on Babel, Nimrod and the origin of the Rephaim. From one man, Nimrod’s practices resulted in an explosion in the numbers of giants after the Flood, corrupting the world with his evil. So, we can see that the Rephaim were the “multiplying locusts” of Joel 1.

Thirdly, the hairy hoppers of Joel’s passage equate to demons. This connection is not so easy to follow, but it is legitimate. Another being known as “hairy” is the “goat demon” or sa`iyr, which we find referenced in Leviticus 17:7. But in both cases, whether we talk about the goat demons or the hoppers, the point made by the reference to hair or bristles is not that you could expect them to look hairy. Knowing that they both refer to invisible entities of evil, you can see that they refer to how they make you feel. You know when you get a chill, you feel your skin turning to goosebumps and your hair stands up on the back of your neck? It’s that feeling. When a dem...

Job’s “friend” Eliphaz the Temanite speaks of God’s judgments upon evil, and he refers to three generations of lions – the roaring lion, which is the old lion, the fierce lion being the young adult, and the young lions. They correspond to the ancient Nephilim, the post-Flood Rephaim, and the demons.

And the stout lion’s (Nimrod’s) whelps were “scattered abroad” – exactly matching what happened at Babel.

This 150-day period in Revelation 9 is in order to allow the demons to re-enter unbelieving humanity, afflicting their flesh with torment while also granting the immortality and power that sinful man has always craved. And so, even when they realize that their fate is sealed, death by their own hand becomes impossible. The demonic power within will not allow his host to abandon him, no matter what. He is committed to his task.

Possibly the child’s convulsions into fire and water were vain attempts at ending his suffering on his own terms, but the demon, threatened by the loss of its habitat, would not allow him to succeed in finding death.

If the seal of God is the deposit of the Holy Spirit, what is deposited in those that receive the seal or mark of the beast? I am proposing that it can only be the demonic spirits of the Nephilim as revealed in Revelation 9.

Those names blotted out are the people who rejected Christ and did not confess Him as LORD and Savior. Those names removed are the people who did not teach the whole counsel of Scripture, in order to mislead others into sin and apostasy. Those names never written in the Book belong to those who were never created by God. They can only be the Nephilim. Hence Revelation 21 refers to “the abominable” that are cast into the Lake of Fire: