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2009
The return of the Nephilim?
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Published: 6 June 2009(GMT+10)
This week’s feedback comes from Francois P. in South Africa and relates to
the supposed reappearance of the Nephilim from Genesis 6.
Gary Bates has researched this issue and replies.
Hi, I have been watching a preacher, Chuck Missler, speaking on GODTV. He spoke
specifically about the Nephilim in Genesis 6. With the Nephilim coming
up when Joshua enters the Promised Land and again at the time when David killed
Goliath. He then came up with statements that connect the Nephilim with the
whole alien craze.
I have read part of Alien Intrusion by Gary Bates.
Question: Where [do] you stand theologically about what Chuck Missler is teaching
and the ministry of Chuck Missler?
Thanks
Dear Francois,
Thank you for your email. I am always reticent to reply when asked for opinions
on other Christian’s work as such comments have a habit of finding their way
into cyberspace and can even be modified and taken out of context to discredit us
by our philosophical enemies. However, as we have decided to use this as a web feedback
my comments are now on public record and can be verified.
Having put that caveat in though, I must say that I have found Dr Missler’s
work on the UFO phenomenon very useful and I have referenced his own book on the
subject a number of times in my own book (Alien
Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution Connection). I also met him last
year in Western Australia and we got on very well. I cannot comment on the other
areas of his ministry as I have not investigated them sufficiently enough.
While I believe we would agree on most things in this area, including the view that
fallen angels are masquerading as alien entities (there are a range of articles
in our UFOs/aliens Q & A section of our website
to explore on this subject), I would have a different view from his contention that
the Nephilim in Genesis 6 reappear after the Flood.
There are several views on who were the sons of God in Genesis 6 and the resultant
offspring between the sons of God and the daughters of men (the Nephilim). I do
not intend to fully explain or dissect all differing views for the purpose of this
answer. But you can
read a PDF extract here from the appendix of my book for a full treatise
on who these entities possibly are. (Readers note: please fully read the PDF before
contacting CMI if you require further clarification on this subject.) Also, there
is a section in the latest
Creation Answers Book that deals with this subject. The four common
views are:
- It refers specifically to “fallen” angels.
- It represents the “godly” descendants of Seth, one of Adam’s children.
- They were kings or rulers who were described as “gods.”
- They were human beings possessed by demonic fallen angels.
Dr Missler’s view and my personal view is that the ‘sons of God’
referred to in Genesis 6 were fallen angels that cohabited with human women. The
resultant offspring were called the Nephilim. (Please note that this is my
view only and others are entitled to their own views on this, which may well be
different). Some also believe that an additional reason for the great Flood was
to rid the earth of this fallen group of beings (Nephilim (נְּפִלִים)
comes from the root word naphal (נָפָל).
Nephilim literally means “fallen ones”). For the purposes of
this discussion, we will presume Dr Missler’s view that the sons of God are
fallen angels to be correct (which is also the traditional rabbinical Jewish historical
view). Because if so, it still has theological problems when it comes to the reappearance
of the Nephilim.
Do the Nephilim actually reappear in Scripture?
Now let’s turn specifically to your question about the Nephilim reappearing
in the Promised Land. (From
Alien Intrusion: UFOs and the Evolution Connection). Prior to entering
and doing battle with its inhabitants, Moses sent 12 spies, one from each of the
12 tribes of Israel, on a reconnaissance mission. On their return, in Numbers 13:
28 and 29, the spies commented that:
“ … the people be strong that dwell in the land,
and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak
there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live
in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan
(Authorized Version).
The passage reads:
“And 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. And there we saw
the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants [Nephilim]: and we
were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight’”
(Numbers. 13:32–33, Authorized Version, emphasis added).
Goliath could not be related to the pre-Flood Nephilim as they were all destroyed
Please note that modern translations have left the word Nephilim untranslated
being unsure of its meaning.
The descendants of Anak (the Anakim/Anakites) were obviously a group of large people.
However, in verse 28 the spies also reported that many of the other people in the
land were “strong”. There are several other passages that refer to the
Anakim as a powerful group of people (Deuteronomy 9:2, for example), but verse 33
in Numbers 13 is the only passage that suggests any Anakite relationship to the
Nephilim. Once again, it should be remembered that these Anakim were descendants
of post-Flood people. They could not be descended from the pre-Flood Nephilim.
Chapter 10 of Genesis records the “Table of Nations”; that is, the descendants
of Noah’s sons, and there is no mention of Anak or the Nephilim, post-Flood.
A lying report
It should be noted that the spies brought back a bad, or “evil” (Hebrew
dibbah, “to slander, whisper, or defame”) report. That report
included a parenthetic insertion that the large people known as the sons of Anak
were descended from the Nephilim. The NIV simply puts it as:
“We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of
Anak come from the Nephilim) …” (Numbers. 13:33).
Of the 12 spies, only Joshua and Caleb, trusting God, were keen to enter and take
possession of the land
At first reading, this may seem like a factual account, but it is part of the quoted
false report of the spies. Of the 12 spies, only Joshua and Caleb, trusting God,
were keen to enter and take possession of the land; the other 10 did not want to.
Because of the false report, the whole nation was too terrified to enter the Promised
Land, and they turned against Moses for bringing them there. God responded:
“The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people
treat me with contempt? … I will strike them down with a plague and destroy
them” (Num. 14:11–12).
How can we be sure that it was a false report? To start with, God intended to strike
down all of the people with a plague for their unbelief, but Moses interceded on
their behalf. However, there were some that were not going to be spared—those
who brought the report. Numbers 14:36–37 says:
“Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who
returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report
of the land, those very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by
the plague before the Lord” (New King James Version).
A Goliath/Nephilim connection?
Many who believe that the account in Numbers was a reappearance of the Nephilim
also use this to try to explain that Goliath must have been one of these “giant
Nephilim”. This is a commonly raised view. There is no need to resort
to such fanciful ideas. Right now, all over the world there are very large people,
and some tribal groups such as those in the Pacific island nations are known for
their size. And I repeat once again that he could not be related to the pre-Flood
Nephilim as they were all destroyed.
It is my view that the Nephilim did not and will not, reappear again at all.
And I also do not believe that these entities will reappear in the last days either.
If the fallen angel view of the sons of God is correct, then Jude 6–7 could
be adequately used to show that they cannot reoffend. Those angels that were capable
of cohabitation with women have been imprisoned in hell (Tartarus), as the Scripture
says, so that they cannot reoffend. Jude 6–7 says:
“And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority
but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting
chains for judgment on the great Day. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah
and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion.
They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire”
[emphasis added].
For some reading this it might be the first time that that you have heard of such
explanations, which can be quite disturbing. Genesis 6 is a highly controversial
area and much has not been included in this brief answer, which only deals with
the (non) reappearance of the Nephilim in Numbers 13. Therefore we have now
placed the relevant section of my book
dealing with the sons of God on our website. It’s about 13 pages long
so it is easily digestible. I would encourage you to investigate and read this thoroughly
as the four different views on this passage are discussed. Please keep in mind that
these are just my personal views and others in the ministry may also hold different
positions.
Kind regards.
Gary Bates
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