The Nephilim
Ever since I was a young boy mythology and the supernatural have always been very fascinating to me. I always loved hearing stories about ancient heroes and the tremendous deeds they performed with great might and strength. As I grew older I obviously became aware that these stories were not actually true and were in fact just legends passed down throughout the years. However, I have always wondered how these stories came about and if their origins contained any truth to them.
While reading through the book of Genesis I stumbled across something that I believe may be the answer to how these stories of powerful heroes and men of renown came about. While only briefly mentioned in Genesis chapter six, the Nephilim could be the source of how these amazing stories came about. These mysterious creatures that are only mentioned in the bible a handful of times have aroused much debate and grabbed the attention of Bible scholars and secular scholars alike. These debates even go back into the New Testament times when people started asking the question of just how did these “Men of renown” and “Heroes of old” come to be?
The words used to describe these creatures that roamed the Earth in ancient times described men that had tremendous strength and unusual power that the average man didn’t. It is also stated that these offspring of the “Sons of God” and the “Daughters of men” committed evil deeds and led many people astray from the Lord and corrupted them. It is obvious that the stories of these men would get passed down generation after generation so it is easy to see how some of the myths we still know of today could have very well been influenced by the Nephilim.
Now as the Nephilim became an increasingly debated topic during the fifth century AD the church had accepted the view that fallen angels had come down to the Earth and mated with human women for hundreds of years. However critics like Celsus and Julian the Apostate used this angel belief to attack the Christian faith and attempted to portray it as foolish to others. In response to this, the theory of the Sethite explanation came about as an attempt to disprove any belief about the mating between angels and humans. Important figures like
Augustine embraced this Sethite theory which allowed this view to progress into the Middle Ages and many still believe it to this day. The Sethite view claims that the angel interpretation is inaccurate, and instead that these angels were called watchers and were in charge of watching and reporting human activity and did not mate with them. This then raises the question of how these Nephilim came about without angels mating with women. To answer the question of who the Sons of God are we must look at how the serpent deceived Eve then Adam.
After their sin God tells the serpent “I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel. Genesis 3:15 (NKJV) This is God acknowledging that Satan had begun a war with Him and His people. He responded by stating that Lucifer would struggle until the end of time in order to contend with the truth which will be revealed through the seed of the Adam and Eve. As Abel was the firstborn this meant that he was the one to start this righteous line of men.
After learning about this fate Satan began to plot on how to quickly to destroy the seed that God said would end up being his ultimate demise. He corrupted the mind of Abel’s brother Cain and caused him to commit the first murder in history, seemingly disproving what God had said. However, God knew of Lucifer’s evil plan and had a solution ready. After the death of Abel it is written that Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed”.
Genesis 4:25 (NKJV) This seed of Seth can then be traced through Biblical history starting with Seth to Noah, Abraham to David, and eventually to Jesus Christ. The truth was revealed in Christ so that the whole world can hear the good news of the Gospel. This whole story can then interpret the meaning of the sons of God as the children that came down from Seth who were carrying the seed of truth. So when the scripture proclaims that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair, and took them for wives, it is implying that the holy bloodline was being perverted.
By taking the daughters of men, they did not remain faithful to only mating with those who believed in God. It is by the miracle of God’s work the holy line was kept from dissipating while Satan worked relentlessly to destroy the seed. Since the offspring of Seth were kept alive, Christ fulfilled the promise of a Messiah that God said He would send unto all the world. When looking at the Nephilim with the Sethitic genetic line view, it is believed that they were the mixed blood lines of the two different genetic lines that came down from Adam and Eve through Cain and Seth.
Many believe that this is possible since it is likely for mutations to occur when mating between closely related people happen. This view is taught in many churches to this day as many are uncomfortable with the thought of angels mating with humans and would rather have an alternative to believe in. However, even though this story might be easier to accept that does not always mean that it is right.
Works Cited
- NIV Bible. London: Hodder ; Stoughton, 2000. Print.
