What are the Nephilim? Part 2
We are going to tackle the second part of our question about the Nephilim this week. Did they die in the flood?
Remember, the Nephilim were descendants of fallen angels, a race of giants whose purpose was to give people the tools and the knowledge to do evil. They filled the earth with violence and corrupted the heart and imagination of man (Genesis 6:5 & 6). So much so, that God determined to destroy all flesh in Noah’s flood. The earth itself, along with God’s creation would be reborn out of water.
What happened to the Nephilim?
Did they die in the flood? I think perhaps a better question is, how they survived the flood? In the context of Genesis 6, they would have been destroyed along with all flesh. But somehow when giants make a comeback and end up dwelling in the land of Canaan. Genesis 6:4 leaves us a breadcrumb. The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward. Moses and the Holy Spirit acknowledge that somehow, they survived.
How?
Theories abound. But here are three commonly accepted ones. First, according to rabbinical tradition and Jewish lore, they somehow made it on the ark by stowing away or holding on to the side of the boat. This is a fanciful and baseless idea and should be dismissed.
Second, Nephilim genes were passed down through Noah’s daughters-in-law. The wives of Ham, Shem, and Japheth potentially had Nephilim genes. Again, I believe this to be speculative and an unnecessary attempt to explain away something spiritual with natural means.
Third, the same event transpired later in history. Fallen angels seduced other women and produced more Nephilim. This view, in my opinion is the most plausible.
Archeology provides us with some clues. There is a growing consensus that ancient structures like the Great Pyramid, Gobekli Tepe, and Chichen Itza among many others on every continent are antediluvian. They existed before the flood, and hear me out, could have been built by the Nephilim.
And their purpose was that of the tower of Babel. Building a tower that reached into the realm of the gods, they were trying to make a name for themselves and refusing God’s mandate to fill the earth (Compare Genesis 11:4 and Genesis 9:1). There is more going on here than star worship. They were trying to manufacture the circumstances of Genesis 6:1 - 4 all over again. At any rate, as people spread out over the face of the earth after the flood and after Babel, they happened upon these megalithic structures. It is possible that they learned to do what their ancestors did and that is how the Nephilim end up in the land of Canaan.
By why Canaan?
It is the land of Promise, Abraham’s inheritance. It is Israel’s inheritance. That piece of ground would become the theatre of war between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). At the heart of the conquest of Canaan is the crushing of the serpent’s head. Conflict that began with Moses and his defeat of Og, king of Bashan (Numbers 21:33 - 35, Deuteronomy 3:1 - 11), conflict carried on by the military campaigns of Joshua and Caleb (Joshua 11:21 & 22, 15:14), was eventually completed by the giant killer, David.
Goliath was not some random giant that Saul wouldn’t face, and the Israelites feared. He is the Philistines’ champion (1 Samuel 17:23 & 51). He bears the name gibbor, making it clear to the Hebrew reader that he was of the same stock as the Nephilim in Genesis 6:4. His coat of mail, was in fact scale armor, making his connection with the serpent himself even clearer. Defying the God of Israel, Goliath was a picture of Satan. David crushed Goliath’s head with a stone and then cut it off, a picture of what Christ would do to the devil on the Cross.
There is no mention of giants in Scripture after the time of David. In 2 Samuel 21:15 - 22 he and his mighty men have finished them off. And yet, we are still embroiled in the same cosmic battle. The powers of darkness will be defeated. The nations will be reclaimed. Christ the Victor has promised to build His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
We will discuss what if any relevance the Nephilim may have in the world today next week. Thank you for reading.
Remember, the Nephilim were descendants of fallen angels, a race of giants whose purpose was to give people the tools and the knowledge to do evil. They filled the earth with violence and corrupted the heart and imagination of man (Genesis 6:5 & 6). So much so, that God determined to destroy all flesh in Noah’s flood. The earth itself, along with God’s creation would be reborn out of water.
What happened to the Nephilim?
Did they die in the flood? I think perhaps a better question is, how they survived the flood? In the context of Genesis 6, they would have been destroyed along with all flesh. But somehow when giants make a comeback and end up dwelling in the land of Canaan. Genesis 6:4 leaves us a breadcrumb. The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward. Moses and the Holy Spirit acknowledge that somehow, they survived.
How?
Theories abound. But here are three commonly accepted ones. First, according to rabbinical tradition and Jewish lore, they somehow made it on the ark by stowing away or holding on to the side of the boat. This is a fanciful and baseless idea and should be dismissed.
Second, Nephilim genes were passed down through Noah’s daughters-in-law. The wives of Ham, Shem, and Japheth potentially had Nephilim genes. Again, I believe this to be speculative and an unnecessary attempt to explain away something spiritual with natural means.
Third, the same event transpired later in history. Fallen angels seduced other women and produced more Nephilim. This view, in my opinion is the most plausible.
Archeology provides us with some clues. There is a growing consensus that ancient structures like the Great Pyramid, Gobekli Tepe, and Chichen Itza among many others on every continent are antediluvian. They existed before the flood, and hear me out, could have been built by the Nephilim.
And their purpose was that of the tower of Babel. Building a tower that reached into the realm of the gods, they were trying to make a name for themselves and refusing God’s mandate to fill the earth (Compare Genesis 11:4 and Genesis 9:1). There is more going on here than star worship. They were trying to manufacture the circumstances of Genesis 6:1 - 4 all over again. At any rate, as people spread out over the face of the earth after the flood and after Babel, they happened upon these megalithic structures. It is possible that they learned to do what their ancestors did and that is how the Nephilim end up in the land of Canaan.
By why Canaan?
It is the land of Promise, Abraham’s inheritance. It is Israel’s inheritance. That piece of ground would become the theatre of war between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). At the heart of the conquest of Canaan is the crushing of the serpent’s head. Conflict that began with Moses and his defeat of Og, king of Bashan (Numbers 21:33 - 35, Deuteronomy 3:1 - 11), conflict carried on by the military campaigns of Joshua and Caleb (Joshua 11:21 & 22, 15:14), was eventually completed by the giant killer, David.
Goliath was not some random giant that Saul wouldn’t face, and the Israelites feared. He is the Philistines’ champion (1 Samuel 17:23 & 51). He bears the name gibbor, making it clear to the Hebrew reader that he was of the same stock as the Nephilim in Genesis 6:4. His coat of mail, was in fact scale armor, making his connection with the serpent himself even clearer. Defying the God of Israel, Goliath was a picture of Satan. David crushed Goliath’s head with a stone and then cut it off, a picture of what Christ would do to the devil on the Cross.
There is no mention of giants in Scripture after the time of David. In 2 Samuel 21:15 - 22 he and his mighty men have finished them off. And yet, we are still embroiled in the same cosmic battle. The powers of darkness will be defeated. The nations will be reclaimed. Christ the Victor has promised to build His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
We will discuss what if any relevance the Nephilim may have in the world today next week. Thank you for reading.
Posted in Ask Pastor Ben
Posted in Nephilim, Antediluvian, Flood, Babel, Giants, Idolatry, David, Goliath, Noah
Posted in Nephilim, Antediluvian, Flood, Babel, Giants, Idolatry, David, Goliath, Noah
Recent
Archive
2025
April
May
No Comments