NEPHILIM AND
DEMONS with DR. MIRIAM BRAND AND NEHEMIA GORDON
Dr. Brand’ website: http://understandingsin.com/
This topic is based on the download
from this site:
I have gone through my notes and
added some of my opinions to the above material. Enjoy
This information
is found in the Book of Enoch an extra Biblical writing. It is not considered
to be biblical but can help us understand who and what the “Watchers” in
Genesis 6.1-4 may be. The passage in Gen 6.1-4 may be the most difficult to
understand. The Bible has very little information on this subject so our
conclusions are basically inconclusive. There are many varied opinions on what
it means. Because the Bible itself has little information we must tread
lightly.
The word for
the watchers is often used in Hebrew to mean angels. It is translated “sons of
God” in most English translations. It therefore can have a connotation as meaning
“gods”. In the Book of Enoch the writing is attempting to answer the question
of evil in this world and how it got here.
There are
various Jewish traditions and reasoning that try to explain this.
Some believe
they were judges in the Exodus who overstepped their boundaries and were
punished. The terms “mighty men of old” and “men of renown” are confusing
passages because the Bible has little to say about the issue.
The word Nephilim
means “fallen ones” or giants. In the passage they bear children with men who
become the men of renown. In the ancient context they had some “divine” in them
but they are not gods—they are mere humans.
Some think
the “mighty men of old” and “men of renown” are somehow connected with the
characters written about in Greek Mythology. Some of the Greek characters were
half men and animal or had supernatural god like powers. The scriptures are not
clear. Jewish traditions attempt to answer the text:
The passage
of Gen 6.1-4 comes between the birth of Noah’s sons and the flood. The Lord
sees the wickedness of men. Some suggest it was here that wickedness begins. In
Jeremiah 17.9, however, it says: “The heart is deceitful above all things: who
can know it?” This indicates that man has a tendency to choose evil over good.
Another way
of looking at Gen 6.1-4 is that the watchers are spiritual beings created by
God who came to earth and “made it” with women! Thus creating a half god-half
man creature—sounds very much like Greek Mythology doesn’t it?
Watchers
also has meanings of guardians, ear, or angels. Jewish tradition says it means “awake
ones” as if they are always on watch never sleeping. Like angels always awake
and watching.
Here are
three Jewish traditions:
- A bunch of angels plot to have children with humans. The plot is discovered by God and they are punished.
- Angels come to earth and have sex with women and teach mankind to make weapons of war. The combination of weapons (iron working) and sex make a great combination of violence and lust that leads to sin.
- Angels mix with humans and teach dark magic and give man forbidden knowledge of things.
Enoch is
seeing the watchers as being the source of evil in the world. The watchers
children are half man half angel and when they die their body decays but the
spirits continue to wreak havoc and evil on the earth. They, in effect become
demonic spirits.
In ancient
Jewish traditions many things can be considered evil such as medicines and
magic which always seem to go together. This is what we might call witchcraft
today.
In the Book
of Enoch the watchers want Enoch to appear in the court of heaven on their
behalf—to be their lawyer and represent their complaint against God because of
the failure of these angels to obey and do their jobs as they were created.
They got side tracked with the daughters of men.
This opens a
whole new subject of sin and punishment in traditional Jewish thinking. You can
repent but still suffer some sort of punishment as when David repented of his
sin with Bathsheba. God forgave him but he and Bathsheba’s son still died.
Yet in
Ezekiel repentance can even wipe out punishment. The ancient mind always sees
sin as being punished no matter what. The Bible, in my opinion, leaves it open
both ways for a reason. Some sins must be punished even when the perpetrator
repents. The deed was done the harm cannot be taken away.
Yet when it
comes to repentance unto God and Yeshua much is forgiven spiritually, but the
sin may have harmed us and left a mark on us forever. There is always a merciful
and just result with God the Bible seems to be saying.
In the Bible
only two angels are called by name; Gabriel and Michael. Some will therefore
argue there are no female angels. In Jewish tradition and the new age there are
many angels with both female and male names. In some cults they are referred to
as “spirit guides”.
My approach
is to not get too carried away with any teaching or doctrine that is ambiguous or
inconclusive in the Bible. It often will lead us into deception and false
teachings. Allow the Bible to interpret itself. We can use history and other
outside sources as long as they all agree without ambiguity. In the case of the
Nephilim and giants the witness of the Bible and outside information do not
witness or support one another. So tread lightly on this type of subject.
The Book of
Enoch is attempting to explain wickedness and sin in a way that makes sense to
their time. To explain things they did not understand.
The
narrative in Enoch is something like this: “You went and had children with
mortals. You are immortal but humans are moral and need to have children to
continue through the generations. You were not supposed to have children—you were
not created that way. You are spiritual beings and don’t need wives. You
watchers messed up by having children with humans.”
This caused
the giants to be born—mutations. When these died they became evil spirits. The
children of this unholy union are what we today call demons, the thinking goes.
In Jewish culture they are called “mamzers” which means bastards. In effect,
these children were bastard children whom became the evil demonic spirits of today.
The evil spirits are the “souls” of the dead bastards.
Frankly this
is all merely speculation on a topic not explained in the Bible. The Bible, the
word of God, says none of this. This is all culled from Jewish traditions and
modern day speculation.
Evil spirits
are a fact in our time and in Enoch’s time. Enoch is making an attempt to
explain how and why these things are happening. The Bible even mentions the
Book of Enoch and other extra scriptural books. Does that mean we should
believe everything in them? I don’t think so. The Bible must be the final arbiter
on any subject. If we try to go further we are opening ourselves up to
deceptions.
The Bible
has plenty of references to evil spirits for us to learn about what they are
and how they operate.
In the Book
of Revelation it says six times that the whole world has been deceived by
Satan. We can protect ourselves from deception by being very careful about what
we believe. Allow the written word to guide you and not hours of speculative
talk and teachings.
To wrap this
up, the books in the Hebrew Bible are all written prior to the final prophet of
Malachi. The Hebrew Bible contains:
- The Torah or law of Moses – Genesis through Deuteronomy.
- Nevi’im or spokesmen—Prophets. Joshua through Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve.
- Kethuvim or Writings—Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentation, Ecclesiastics, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and 1st and 2nd Chronicles. The Ketuvim are believed to have been written under divine inspiration, but with one level less authority than that of prophecy.
The New
Testament is the other Christian part of the Bible. It as we know, contains the
teachings and life of Yeshua, events that occurred after His death and
resurrection, and letters from His disciple. Through various tests and councils
the books of the New Testament became canonized as we know it today. The New
Testament is based upon the writings in the Hebrew or Old Testament which
Yeshua followed. In reality they are one book—not two.
Our final
authority must come from the writings in the Hebrew Bible and the New
Testament. They must agree together from searching the written scriptures
within these pages. Anything else should be taken with a “grain of salt” stored
away in your memory, but not as absolute truths. Only through confirmation and
allowing the Bible to interpret itself can we discern truth. The rest is “maybe.”
Until
Messiah comes and teaches us we will disagree on many issues. Some
disagreements are minor and can be agreed to disagree with. Others may require
a “you go your way and I’ll go mine” resolution for the sake of unity for the
assembly within which you are community.
Paul and
Barnabas had a sharp disagreement on whether or not they should take Mark with
them on a journey in Acts 15:36-41. This disagreement between them caused them
to depart on their separate ways. Never again in Acts does it mention Paul and
Barnabas together.
Sometimes it
is necessary to separate from other believers for a reason. Both went their
ways and continued to preach the gospel. Separate peacefully and continue on if
the situation warrants it.
The topic of
the Nephilim and Demons is such a topic. We just aren’t sure about what this obscure
passage means. If God wanted us to spend a lot of time on the subject I think
He would have provided more coverage in the Bible. We each must decide on our
own on these types of subjects.
Try to allow
the written word in the Bible lead you to truth or caution.
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