What are the Nephilim?

One of the most controversial topics of the Bible is the topic of the Nephilim.  Who are they and what are they?  They are not talked about in most Sunday sermons. Most sermons deal with knowing Jesus and the Gospels, how to walk with God and live a godly life, repenting of our sins and how we are saved by grace and our belief in Jesus Christ.  Bringing Christians together to learn the Word of God, and for praise and worship of our heavenly Creator is paramount in our beliefs, but it is also important for us Christians to also continue to dig deep in our Bible and also learn biblical prophecy.  

Hebrews 6:1-2

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.

I believe we our living in the last days and as Christians we need to be awake to what is happening in our world today that is going to set the scenario for the Antichrist.  One way to understand what is happening is by looking at our past in biblical scripture.  God has given us the Bible to understand our past, present, and future. While there are many extra-biblical texts, for the sake of this post I will only make reference to the Bible.  Although the Book of Enoch is quoted by many scholars and researchers, and is considered an important book to understand the thoughts of Judaism at that time, it and the Book of Giants are not considered inspired works and when used in discussion or writings can sometimes lead to a very heated debate as to why someone would be using those works in their research.

Let us start in Genesis 6: 6-8 (KJV)

6 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

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.

3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4 There were giants (Nephilim) 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.

5 And 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.

6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7 And 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.

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

First, we have to look at the "sons of God" and understand who they were.  The Hebrew word for "sons of God" is Bene elohim. This phrase is not only used in Genesis, but also used in Job 1:6, 2:1, and 38:7 in reference to spiritual beings, or angels in the OT.  It is never used to describe man.  

Job 1:6

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

Job 2: 2 King James Version (KJV)

2 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.

Job 38:7 King James Version (KJV)

7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

There is much debate as to whether or not the "sons of God" are actually angels. Some researchers believe that the "sons of God" refer to the Sethite line because they say that angels are not able to reproduce referring to Matthew 22:30.

Matthew 22:30
30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

I believe when Jesus spoke, He was referring to the angels in heaven only, not the fallen angels.  This can be seen in scripture in Jude 1 and again in 2 Peter. We can see in both these scriptures that it is the angels that left "their first estate", not men.  We also known from scripture that angels are able to change their appearance, eat, drink, and have supernatural abilities to wipe out entire armies. In 2 Peter specifically, it is showing us an account of what happened in Genesis and what was believed at the time of its writing.

Jude 1:5-8

5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

6 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.

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.

8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

2 Peter 2:4-5

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;

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;

In Genesis 6:4, the offspring of the fallen angels and the daughters of men were the Nephilim, or giants.  In the Old Testament in the Septuagint version (Greek translation) the word Nephilim means gigantes (earth born men of great stature), or giants in English. If we look at the word in Hebrew for Nephilim (plural), the word Nephil means fallen one.  

In the Old Testament, the word Nephilim only occurs one other time in Numbers 13:33.

Numbers 13:33
33 And there we saw the giants (Nephilim), 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.

There is an ancient war that has been raging since the beginning of time and it will not end until Satan and his minions are thrown into the lake of fire after the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Nephilim are part of that war when the fallen angels left their first estate and mated with human women corrupting the genes of man.  It was Satan's plan to stop the Messiah from being born.  It is easy to understand why God sent the flood of Noah to wipe out the corrupted race and to start over. 

Genesis 3:13-15 (KJV)

13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

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

Disclosure: The thoughts and opinions in this post are my own and may not reflect those of others.  Affiliate links may be used in this post and blog.