The Shocking History of the Nephilim in the Bible

Most professors who are Christians that teach comparative mythology believe that they all share a common origin. And you want to know what that origin is? Genesis chapter 6. Turn with me to Genesis chapter 6, and let's read the first four verses. Follow along with me as I read it.

"Now it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the Earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful, gorgeous lockouts, and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the Lord said, 'My spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh, yet his days shall be 120 years.' There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."

Now, this has got to be one of the most interesting passages of scripture in the entire Bible, but it's also one of the most controversial. Now, up until the 3rd century AD, there was no controversy. Everyone believed that the phrase "the sons of God" referred to angels, because they followed sound hermeneutical principles to interpret this passage of scripture.

You see, one of the fundamental principles of hermeneutics is that scripture interprets scripture. Which means, if you're studying an obscure verse, you need to look at it in the context of other verses. You don't just study it outside of the other verses. Or if you have an unusual phrase or an unusual word in a verse you're studying, you need to look at how that word is used in other verses to determine its meaning. Does that make sense? Everyone with me? That's probably the number one rule of hermeneutics. Everyone knows what hermeneutics is, right? It's a science and art of how to interpret the scriptures properly. But anyways, now the phrase "sons of God" is used only five times in the Old Testament: once here in Genesis chapter 6:2, three times in the Book of Job, and once in the Book of Daniel. And every time it's used in the Old Testament, it refers to angels. Every time. No exceptions.

So, if we follow sound hermeneutical principles, we have to conclude that the phrase "sons of God" refers to angels in this case. It refers to fallen angels, because angels were never created to marry or to have sex. So, for an angel to do this, they had to rebel against God. And the only ones that would have done this are the ones who had already rebelled, the angels that had followed Lucifer when he rebelled.

So, what this passage of scripture is saying is that the sons of God, which are fallen angels, noticed how beautiful the daughters of men were, and they had sex with them, producing a hybrid race. And that was the accepted interpretation of Genesis 6:1-4 until the 3rd century AD, when Julius Africanus came on the scene. You see, the idea that angels could manifest themselves in our world and have sex with mortal women seemed far-fetched to him. So, he came up with an alternative theory, an alternative interpretation. He totally disregarded hermeneutical principles and he proposed the theory that the sons of God were the descendants of Seth, and the daughters of men were the descendants of Cain. Seth represents the godly line, and Cain represents the ungodly line. So, the godly descendants of Seth married the ungodly descendants of Cain, and that was their sin, and that's why God caused the flood, that's why he judged the world.

Now, people, that's ridiculous. But now you know where the theory comes from. It comes from Julius Africanus. In fact, I like you to check me out. And if you want to check me out, so you don't just think that I'm making this stuff up, go to a library. You'll find a 38-volume set on the Early Church Fathers. And in the sixth volume, which is the Ante-Nicene Fathers, which means it was before the Nicene Creed, you'll find in volume 6, page 131, what it has to say about Julius Africanus. He is the first one who proposed this alternative theory in the year around 260 AD. Always before that, and we're talking about the Jews, all the way back to the first temple period, taught that the sons of God were angels. But he thought that was too far-fetched.

So, let me read what he says. He says, "When men multiplied on the earth, the angels of heaven came together with the daughters of men." In some copies, I found "the sons of God." In other words, in some of the copies, it was translated as angels, and some of the copies, it was translated as sons of God. Then he goes further. "What is meant by the spirit?" Okay, we're not going to stick with literal interpretation. We're going to say this is what the spirit meant. We're going to make this allegorical. "What is meant by the spirit? In my opinion." Why does he say "in my opinion"? Because no one had ever proposed this. The early church, the Old Testament Jews, everyone interpreted it the way that I'm interpreting it. But in his opinion, he says, "What is meant by the spirit? In my opinion, the descendants of Seth are called the sons of God on account of the righteous men and patriarchs who have sprung from him, even down to the Savior himself. But that the descendants of Cain are named the seed of men, as having nothing divine in them, on account of the wickedness of their race and the inequality of their nature, being a mixed people."

Now, you can continue reading that, but basically, he's a racist. And what he says is, they didn't stick with their own race of people, and they kind of joined with others, became mongrels. And this is what this is talking about, and God was against them mixing. But now you know where that theory comes from. It comes from Sextus Julius Africanus. But it wasn't until Augustine that this became the prevalent view, or interpretation, if you will.

Now, once Augustine accepted this theory that the sons of God referred to Seth's descendants, it became the standard interpretation of the Catholic Church. You've got to go back and read some of the things that Augustine wrote. But anyways, I'm getting off here. What you need to understand is, once Augustine accepted Julius Africanus' theory, then it seems like the Catholic Church has followed suit, and then a lot of the Protestants did too, because Augustine was a hero. In fact, it's about 50/50 today in Protestant circles. Some believe that the phrase "sons of God" refers to Seth's descendants, and some believe that it refers to angels or fallen angels.

To me, it's a no-brainer. You either apply true hermeneutical principles and you allow God's word to interpret itself, or you ignore hermeneutical principles and you come up with your own theory, which has no biblical basis. This is what Julius Africanus did. But people, I can't do that. So, I'm convinced that the phrase "sons of God" refers to angels, no ifs, ands, or buts. And these angels left their natural habitation and they had sex with mortal women, which created a super race of people known as the Nephilim, which we're going to talk about when we get to verse four. But first, let's look at verse number three.

So, turn with me, if you would, to verse three, Genesis chapter 6. It says, "And the Lord said, 'My spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh, yet his days shall be 120 years.'" Now, I want you to underline the word "strive." It says, "My spirit shall not strive with man forever." Now, the word "strive" is translated from the Hebrew word *duwn*, and it can mean one of two things. It can mean, number one, to judge, or it can mean, number two, to plead with. In this context, it means to plead with.

So, what God is saying in this verse is that His Spirit won't continue to plead with man to repent forever. In other words, there's a limit as to how far God will go. And so, after warning them, he gave man a deadline. They had 120 years to get their act together. Man had 120 years to repent before he brought judgment upon the Earth. 120 years before the flood occurred.

So, now we have a timetable. Noah was 600 years old when the flood came. We know that because of Genesis 7, number 6, it specifically tells us that. So, most theologians believe, and I do as well, that Noah was 480 when God informed him that he was going to destroy every living thing upon the Earth, with the exception of Noah's family, and also the animals that he took with him upon the ark. But there was a 120-year grace period for men to repent, and of course, they didn't repent. So, the flood came and it wiped them all out.

Now, let's look at verse number four. Just follow along with me as I read this. "There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."

Now, I want you to underline the word "giants." It says, "There were giants on the earth." The word "giants" is translated from the Hebrew word *nephil*. Now, actually, that's singular. So, it's plural here. So, it's actually the Hebrew word *Nephilim*. Now, *nephil* means "fallen one." Fallen one. The plural of *nephil* is *Nephilim*, and it means "fallen ones." So, *nephil* is singular, *Nephilim* is plural. In other words, there's more than one.

Now, let me explain the etymology of the word *nephil*, so you'll understand what it means when it says "fallen ones." *Nephil* is derived from the verb *naphal*, which means "to fall." It rhymes, so it's easy to remember. *Naphal* means "to fall." So, a *nephil* is one who has fallen, hence the name "fallen ones," *Nephilim*.

Now, verse four tells us that the *Nephilim* were the offspring of fallen angels and mortal women. In other words, they were half angel, half man. In fact, if you want to get technical, they were half fallen angel, half man. Look at verse four again. "There were giants, the Hebrew word *Nephilim*, there were *Nephilim* on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bore children to them."

Now, people, I can't make it any clearer than that. Either you believe the Bible, or you don't. If you don't believe the Bible, if that's something that's beyond, uh, your ability to to understand or your ability to to believe, then you're a liberal. And that's what liberals are in theology. They don't believe in the supernatural. They don't believe in the spiritual. Everything has a natural cause behind them. So, when they study the Bible, they don't allow the Bible to interpret itself. They have to come up with theories to make sense of it, and everything is allegorical.

But I'll be honest with you, there were no liberals with Old Testament Jews. There were no liberals at the time of Jesus, except for the Sadducees. They were kind of the start of the liberals. But in the early church, there were no liberals. They allowed the Bible to interpret itself. So, I can't make it any clearer than that. There were giants, or *Nephilim*, on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.

Now, look at the last part of verse number four. Let's read that. "There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."

Now, I want you to underline the phrase "Mighty Men." "Mighty Men" is translated from the Hebrew word *gibbor*, and it literally means "heroes." In fact, notice how the NIV translates this verse: "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days." See, the NIV is taking it literally. "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old." What do they mean "of old"? Of the old world, the world before the flood. So, they were the heroes of old, men of renown.

Now, what this is implying is that these *Nephilim* were superior creatures physically. They truly were giants. And I'll explain how we know that in a little bit. But because they were half angel and half man, they were bigger, stronger, quicker, faster, and more agile than mortal men. And more wicked, because they were half fallen angel. And that explains why a person who's possessed by demons has supernatural strength.

Look back at verse four, and I want you to notice the clause "and also afterward" in the middle of the verse. Here's what it says: "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward." Do you see that clause? Now, that clause should be placed at the end of the sentence, not where it is. Yeah, you see, when you're translating it, you can either translate this and place it at the beginning of this verse, or close to the beginning, or you can place it at the end of the verse, and it should have been placed at the end of the sentence. But before I explain why, let me explain why it's placed where it was.

First of all, placing it towards the beginning of the verse seems to be the logical place when you translate the verse from the original Hebrew, and you don't take the Bible literally. In other words, you don't believe in the supernatural. But different manuscripts have placed it closer to the end. In fact, the most trusted manuscripts place it at the end of the verse. Secondly, when the Israelites came into the Promised Land, we're told that there were giants living there, and they referred to those giants as *Nephilim*.

Turn with me, if you would, to the Book of Numbers 13:33, and I'll show you what I'm talking about. And as you're turning there, let me kind of tell you what Numbers 13:33 is all about. Moses wrote the first four books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers. Actually, the first five: Deuteronomy. Numbers and Deuteronomy. Now, Moses is writing this, and when you get to Numbers, he's kind of numbering the children of Israel, but he's also talking about coming to the promised land. So, they're getting ready to go into the promised land, and they send these spies out. Well, these spies go in, and they see what a wonderful land it is that God is giving them. But then they notice that there's some giants there. And this is what is written.

Now that you know it, let's let's read verse number 33, Genesis or Numbers chapter 13. Here's what it says: "There we saw the giants, the descendants of Anak. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we were like grasshoppers in their eyes." Now, the word "giants" is translated from the Hebrew word *Nephilim*. So, it appears as if the *Nephilim* survived the flood. And that's why in Genesis chapter 6, verse number four, the people who were translating it, even though the better manuscripts placed it at the end of the sentence, they decided not to do that. They placed it where they did, at the start or the beginning of the verse. And the reason they did that was to give the impression that some of the *Nephilim* survived the flood, and that's why there were giants in the Promised Land at the time of Moses, at the time of Joshua, when they went into to to, uh, scout the land or to spy on the land. They came back and they said, "Guess what? There's *Nephilim* in there." Yeah.

Now, let me explain why I believe that that clause should have been placed at the end of the sentence. In other words, like this: Look at the screen. "The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them, they were the heroes of old, men of renown, and also afterward." Can you see how this totally changes the meaning? It's telling us that the *Nephilim* were heroes before the flood, because they were giants, and they became legends after the flood. In other words, they were men of renown in their own time, but they became legends after the flood. That's what this clause is saying when it's placed at the end of the verse. Look at that verse again, and you see what I'm saying.

"The *Nephilim* were on the earth in those days when the sons of God, which are angels, went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown, and also afterward." In other words, they were heroes and men of renown after the flood. After the flood, they became legends. So, why did they refer to the sons of Anak as *Nephilim* in the Book of Numbers? Does anyone know why? Well, I'll tell you why. It's because after, after the flood, the word *Nephilim* became a figure of speech. The sons of Anak were giants, they were tall, 9, 10 feet tall. I mean, think about this. David and Goliath. Goliath was huge. And guess what? They would have referred to him as a *Nephilim* because that's a figure of speech. That's why they refer to him as that. Because they were huge. And the *Nephilim* were legends. They were myths. And all of them were superior physically. They were bigger, they were faster, they were quicker, they were more agile, and they were heroes. And after the flood, they became legends. So, that word *Nephilim* became a figure of speech after the flood, referring to anyone that was bigger, faster, quicker.

We know that because the flood destroyed every man, woman, and child, including the offspring of the fallen angels and mortal women. Listen to me. No one, including the *Nephilim*, survived the flood, with the exception of Noah's family. Look at Genesis 6, verse number 7, and I will prove it to you. Prove it to you. Notice what it says: "And the Lord said, 'I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the Earth.'" In other words, every human on the face of the Earth, I'm going to wipe out. Now, some of you might be saying, "Well, Allan, this is every human. We know that *Nephilim* were half angel, half man, so maybe this isn't referring to them." Well, let's keep reading. Notice what it says: "Yes, and I will destroy every living thing." I will destroy every living thing. Not, not most of the living things, not some of the living things, not the majority of the living things. I will destroy every living thing. Then he goes further: "All the people." And they were considered to be a hybrid race, but they would have been considered people. "All the people, the large animals," in case you think they're an animal now, "the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky." Why even the birds of the sky? Because Genesis tells us this flood even, even, uh, covered the highest peak of the tallest mountain on the Earth. So, there was no land for the birds to actually come down and be able to rest. And because the flood took so long to get to the top before it began to recede, the birds became exhausted, and they fell into the water, and they drowned. God destroyed every living creature.

But, but stories about the *Nephilim* did survive the flood. People didn't survive, but stories about the *Nephilim* did. And that's what Genesis 6:4 is saying. And that's also why mythological stories from every corner of the world are so similar. If you study mythology, you'll find that they all tell similar stories of gods with the little "g" having sex with human women and producing offspring that became heroes, men of renown, legends. As an example, Hercules was the offspring of Zeus and a human world, a human woman. Perseus was the offspring of Zeus and an immortal woman. Balor was the offspring of Odin, the Norse god, and a human woman. Frigg. Romulus and Remus, how many of you know who Romulus and Remus were? They were the twins that founded Rome, right? Yeah, you knew that, right? They were the offspring of the god Mars and the human woman Rhea Silvia. That also explains why their gods were so promiscuous and evil. When you study mythology, man, let me tell you something, their gods were very promiscuous and very evil. And that explains it. You see, the stories of the *Nephilim* that existed before the flood were passed on by Noah's sons after the flood.

In fact, there is a whole field of study called comparative mythology. How many of you have ever taken a comparative mythology class? Well, if you ever get a chance, take one by a Christian, because it would be one of the most interesting classes you ever take. Let me explain what comparative mythology is. In fact, if you were looking in a college textbook or a, a college syllabus, and they were explaining what the class is all about, this is how it would define it: "Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures, an attempt to identify the similarities and the common origin." In other words, you study all of these mythologies from different cultures, and why you do that is because you want to see how similar they are, and then when you see how similar they are, you want to see if you can find a common origin. Yeah, that's what comparative mythology is. And what they found is that almost every culture has a myth about a universal flood where only one family survived.

I have several books on mythology because I took some mythology classes and enjoyed it. But here is the Dictionary of Mythology. If you would like to look this up, feel free to do this on page 379. It's talking about the flood, and it's talking about all the different cultures that have this myth that there was a worldwide flood and only one family survived. Now, this is what it says. I'm at that age where I need reading glasses. When I bring notes up, size 18 font for me to read with glasses. But anyways, "Many cultures have myths relating to the flood or the deluge sent to eliminate the human race, usually with an advanced warning to enable a few to survive to repopulate the Earth." And then it begins to show you, and it gives you a few of the people or cultures that believed in this and passed this down. All of these different cultures have this one common story. Whatever their god was, they brought judgment upon the world, there was this great flood, and only one family survived. Yeah, yeah.

And almost every culture has myths involving gods with the little "g" sleeping with mortal women and producing children that were half god and half human. Now, we know that they weren't gods. What were they? Fallen angels. But when the story goes, I mean, they're talking about these spiritual beings that lived in the spiritual world, but they could manifest themselves in this physical world, and they had sex with human women, and they produced this hybrid race of people that were superior in size, speed, agility, and all of these different characteristics that we value, and they became legends. And because of these similarities, most professors who are Christians that teach comparative mythology believe that they all share a common origin. And you want to know what that origin is? Genesis chapter 6. Genesis chapter 6.

Now, this morning, we're going to discuss the subject of demons, because I know that when you start talking about fallen angels having sex with human women and creating a super race of people known as the *Nephilim*, it raises a lot of questions, especially about the supernatural dark side. Am I right? In fact, let me do a little impromptu survey, if you don't mind. How many of you had never heard of the *Nephilim* until two weeks ago? Just raise your hand. Yeah, most of you. How many of you had never heard of fallen angels having sex with human women? Just raise your hands. Yeah. Never even heard of that. Had you? You didn't even know that was in the Bible. So, when I started teaching on this, did it raise a lot of questions, especially about demons and fallen angels? Well, if it didn't, it should have. We should have inquisitive minds. So, when we're reading something, we should be asking, "What does this really mean?" So, when you were reading through the Book of Genesis and you got to the first five verses, you should have been saying, "What in the world is this talking about?" And then, when you found out, it should have raised questions about fallen angels and demons.

So, let's talk about demons this morning. Well, believe it or not, the word "demons" is not in the Bible. At least not in the King James Version. It's in the, it's in the New American Standard and the NIV, but it is not in the King James Version. Now, really, that's an erroneous claim. And let me explain why I say that. People, the Bible was written originally in Greek and in Hebrew. The New Testament was written in Greek, the Old Testament was written in Hebrew. So, many times you'll have a person come up and say, "Well, that word's not even in the Bible." I'll give you a good example. I've had people come up to me, "You don't believe in the Rapture?" And they'll say, "Well, the word 'rapture' is not even in the Bible." And I look at them and say, "Yes, it is." They look at me kind of confused. They say, "Where is it?" It's in the Book of First Thessalonians. It's the Greek word *harpazo*. *Harpazo* means to snatch up or to or to catch up in the air. And literally, that's what it means. And so, when we translate it, we didn't translate it as "rapture," we translated as "caught up in the air to meet the Lord." Yeah, but that word "rapture" is there. We could have used the word "rapture" when we translated it.

So, when I say that the word "demons" is not in the Bible, and then I clarify myself and I say, "Well, it's not in the King James Version, it's in the NIV and it's in the New American Standard," I really shouldn't say that. And I'll tell you why. The word "demons" is in the original Greek and Hebrew. We just maybe don't translate it as "demons." So, we find other terms. And let me list some of the other terms we find. We find the term "unclean spirit," "evil spirit," "devils," "seducing spirit," "foul spirit," and "familiar spirit." And those terms are used quite frequently in the Bible. In fact, "evil spirit" is used 13 times. "Unclean spirit" is used 22 times. "Devils" plural is used numerous times, especially by Jesus. In fact, let me give you an example. Look at Luke chapter 13, verse number 32. Here's what Jesus said: "And he said unto them, 'Go ye and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils and do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.'" *Abalos*, yeah, but it should have been translated as "demons." And I do and I do cures today and tomorrow on the third day I shall be perfected. So, that word is used numerous times by Jesus. "Seducing spirit" is used once. "Foul spirit" is used twice. "Familiar spirit" is used 15 times in the Bible. And all of these terms are referring to what we call demons.

But what are demons? Does anyone know? Anyone? Well, there are three theories as to what demons are. The first theory is that demons are fallen angels. The second theory is that demons are the disembodied spirits of a pre-Adamic race. Now, if you remember, there are those that believe that the, the creation story in the Book of Genesis chapter 1 is actually a recreation story. They believe that there is a gap between verse 1 and verse 2 in Genesis chapter 1. What they believe in is known as the gap theory. And I'm not going to go into that. If you weren't here when I was teaching through the Book of Genesis, you don't know what I'm talking about. But you can go back and listen to that sermon. That is the third sermon in my series on the Book of Genesis. So, go back and listen to that. But that is the second theory. The third theory is that demons are the disembodied spirits of the *Nephilim* that were killed during the flood, or who died during the flood.

Now, which one of these theories is right? Well, the, the first theory is certainly the most popular. If you were to take a, a survey, most people would say that demons are fallen angels. In fact, let's do that. How many of you believe that demons are fallen angels? All right, that's quite a few of you. How many of you really believe that, but you're afraid to a, to raise your hand because you're afraid you might be wrong? How many of you are not going to raise your hand no matter what I say? Yeah, that would be me. Yeah. Well, most people believe that demons are fallen angels. But that seems to contradict what the scriptures say. You see, Jesus taught that demons are disembodied spirits.

Turn to Matthew 12:43-45, and I'll show you what I'm talking about. And as you're turning there, let me say this: Jesus taught more on demons than anyone else. In fact, I could probably spend at least three months teaching on demons from Jesus' perspective. But I'm not going to do that. I do want to show you that Jesus taught that demonic spirits are disembodied spirits. So, look at Matthew 12:43-45. Notice what it says: "When an evil spirit," in Greek, that is demons, "when when a demon comes out of a man," in other words, is cast out of him, "it goes through arid places seeking rest, but it does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house.'" That word "house" is very important. If I were you, what I would do is I would turn to this passage of scripture in your Bible. I would come down to this verse, and I would underline the word "house." I would put it in parentheses and I would put an asterisk there and say, "This is important." All right. Then it says, "I will return to the house I left." In other words, the house I was cast out of. "When it arrives, it finds the house." What, what house? The house that the demonic spirit was cast out of, unoccupied, swept clean, and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits." That word "spirits" is referring to demons, "more wicked than itself." Why? Because it wasn't powerful enough to keep from being cast out. That's why it wants to find more demons that are more powerful or more wicked than it, because it doesn't want to be cast out again. Let's keep going. "Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they go in and live there." Where's "there"? The house that it was cast out of, because it was empty, it had been cleaned, it had been swept out. So, we get seven more demons, and it goes back to the house, and that's where it lives. Now, notice this very important, and the final condition of that man, the man that the demon was cast out of, the house that it was cast out of, is worse than the first.

Now, notice that when an evil spirit comes out of a man, it's homeless. You see, demons want to use people's bodies as a home. Why? Because they don't have a home. They don't have a body. They are disembodied spirits. You see, your spirit has a home, and that home is your body. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 1-3, and I'll show you what I'm talking about. If you don't understand this, you don't understand what Jesus was teaching about demons. Notice what it says: "For we know that when this earthly tent we live in," I don't know about you, but if you go to where I live, there's not a tent pitched on the land that I live in. I live in a house. But this is not talking about where I live. This is talking about my earthly body. Says, "For you know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down," in other words, when this earthly tent dies. Now, let's keep reading. "That is because," now he's clarifying, "that is when we die and leave this earthly body." So, right now, this earthly tent is my earthly body. It's where my spirit lives. Does that make sense? My soul, my spirit lives in my body. Now, you recognize me because of my body. But the real Allan Nolan is not this. You can cut off my hands, and I'm still Allan Nolan. You can cut off my arms, as long as I don't bleed to death, and I'm still Allan Nolan. You can cut off all my legs, and I'm still Allan Nolan. You can shave my head, which is pretty close to what it is now, I'm still Allan Nolan. This body is where I live. And it says, "that is when we die and leave this earthly body, we will have a house in heaven." Now, this is not talking about our mansion. Yes, we're going to have a mansion there that we live in, but it's not talking about that. It's talking about an earthly body. How do I know that? We'll keep reading. "An eternal body." See that? "We will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself, and not by human hands." "We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing, for we will put on heavenly bodies. We will not be spirits without bodies. We will not be disembodied spirits." So, when I die, my physical body is going to go into the earth, and I'm going to have my spirit's going to leave, but it's going to have a spiritual body. That's why when I'm teaching and I tell you, we will have all five of our senses. We'll still be able to see, we'll still be able to hear, we'll be able to taste, we'll be able to smell, we'll be able to feel. We can do all of those things because we're going to have a spiritual body. Why is our physical body going to be resurrected one day? Because we were created to live in a three-dimensional world, and we're going to come back with Jesus to live on this Earth during the millennium. So, our physical body is going to be resurrected and reunited. So, even that spiritual body is going to put on another physical body. But he wants you to know that when you die, you will not be a disembodied spirit.

But here's what I want you to notice. When you read this, the first thing that you see is your physical body is actually a home for your spirit. But demons don't have a home. In other words, they don't have a body. That's why demons seek to possess people. They need a home, a body to live in. And that's what Jesus was saying. "When an evil spirit," or a demon, "leaves a man," is cast out of that man, "it goes through an arid place, and it knows, 'I need a body.' It's uncomfortable. It's a disembodied spirit. It goes back to that home, that body, and it sees that it's clean, it's been swept out." Why? Because that demon had been cast out. But it goes, "Oh, if I go back in, I can get cast out again." So, he gets seven more, wicked than itself, and it goes back and it says, "That man's condition is worse than the first." Why? Because it came back seeking a home, a body to live in. But my point is this: According to Jesus, demons are disembodied spirits. Which means that demons are not and cannot be fallen angels. Which means that demons are not and cannot be fallen angels. Why? In other words, how do I know that? I know that because angels are not disembodied spirits. Angels have a celestial body, and they can also manifest themselves at times in a terrestrial body, in other words, a physical body. And I proved that to you several weeks ago when we talked about fallen angels having sex with human women. Even God has told us in the Book of Hebrews that we ought to entertain strangers, because many of you have entertained strangers, and they were actually angels, and you were unaware of that. Yeah. So, if demons are disembodied spirits, they can't be fallen angels, because angels have bodies.

Now, let me take this a step further, because that's not the only proof. The Book of Jude and Second Peter tell us that the fallen angels who left their natural habitation and had sex with the daughters of men are being kept in chains until the day of judgment. Turn to Second Peter chapter 2, verses 4-5, and you'll see what I'm talking about. Says, "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment." Now, when did God do this? Immediately when they fa? No. How do you know that? Because I keep reading, and I take this verse in context. Notice what it says: "For God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment." When did he do this? Well, let's keep reading. "If he did not spare the ancient world," what is the ancient world? The world before the flood. Keep reading. "When he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others." So, what he's saying is, and the reason he had to bring that flood, if you remember, is because these angels, fallen angels, had sex with the daughters of men, and they created the super race of people known as the *Nephilim*, and they were wicked, and they were the heroes of the people, and everyone became wicked, and God said, "I've got to destroy them." And the reason Noah was saved is because he was a godly man, and his genetics, his line, was not tainted. And so, he's the only one that survived. But when it talks about these angels being put in dungeons, it tells us the time frame: this ancient world. Those fallen angels that left their natural habitation.

Jude talks further about this. Look at Jude 1:6. Notice what it says: "And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for the judgment of the great Day." Where have you heard that word before? Genesis 6:1-4. Why did these, these sons of God, these fallen angels, leave their natural habitation? In order to have sex with the daughters of men. So, that's what he's referring to. "And the angels who 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." Even as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh. If I were you, I would underline that. I would put it in parentheses, maybe highlight it. I'd put a little asterisk by it and I would say, "Study this out," especially according to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse number 39, because every creature is given a certain type of flesh, and that's what it's talking about in 1 Corinthians 15:39. But those of Sodom and Gomorrah went after strange flesh. They had sex with other men and women with women. But here's what's interesting: that phrase "strange flesh" here is actually talking about something else. Study that out. It's very interesting. But let me keep going. "Our set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire."

Now, this doesn't mean that all of the fallen angels are in chains right now, or in a dungeon in hell waiting for the great day of judgment. Doesn't mean that, because you actually have two groups of fallen angels. You have those that are bound in chains, and you have those that are free. Those that are bound in chains are the ones that left their natural habitation and had sex with human women. Those that are free rebelled with Satan, but they didn't leave their natural habitation. Paul refers to these free angels, or fallen angels, in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 12. Go ahead and turn there, if you don't mind, and follow along with me as I read this: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood." Some of you are having such a tough time in your life. Can I be honest with you? Wake up and smell the coffee. Your struggle is not with flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Now, notice where these four things dwell. Let's keep reading. "In the heavenly realms." People, that's their natural habitation. But these are different classes of fallen angels. And that's what Paul is saying. Those that dwell in the heavenly realm and did not leave their their, uh, natural habitation, they did not come to this three-dimensional world and have sex, strange flesh, with women, daughters of men. And who are these? They are the ones who did not leave the heavenly realm. They did not leave their natural habitation. They are rulers, they are authorities, they are powers of the dark world, and they are spiritual forces of evil. But there is no biblical evidence whatsoever that these fallen angels have ever possessed a person. None. Why? They already have a body, a celestial body. These fallen angels that did not leave their natural habitation, but are still in the spiritual realm, are still in the spiritual dimension, uh, uh, dimension, they work against God's plan, and they use demons to fulfill their purposes.

The second theory, that demons are the disembodied spirits of a pre-Adamic race, is pure speculation. We really don't have any scriptures to support it, so it's difficult to prove. It might be true, but there's no supporting evidence to hang your hat on. It's just a theory. The third theory, that demons are the disembodied spirits of the *Nephilim* who were destroyed in the flood, not only has scriptural support as we study the teachings of Jesus, but it was also the accepted view among the Jews at the time of Jesus Christ. You see, the Jews believed that when the *Nephilim* were killed in the flood, their half-angel, half-human souls, spirits, lived on, just like ours did. And that's what demons are. They're the disembodied spirits of the *Nephilim*. In fact, all of the Jews at Jesus' time believed this. It's true. In fact, the most common Hebrew word for demon at the time of Christ was *Tzelem Neal*. *Tzelem Neal* is a compound word that simply means, it's made up of more than one word. In this case, it's made up of two words. The first word is *Tzelem*, which means "one who is dead or buried." The second word is *Nefal*. Now, remember, *nephil* is the is singular for *Nephilim*. *Nefal* is singular, *Nephilim* is plural. Now, when you combine these two words, *Tzelem* and *Neal*, it literally means "dead *nephil*." So, the common word for demons at the time of Christ was "dead *Nephilim*." Did you know that? Everyone that was a Jew that lived in Israel at the time of Jesus referred to demons as *Tzelem Neal*, dead *Nephilim*. And that's what the Jews believed at the time of Jesus. They believed that demons were the disembodied spirits of the *Nephilim* that were destroyed in the flood.

Now, let me go a little bit deeper and explain why the Jews believed that at the time of Jesus. How many of you have heard of The Book of Enoch? I mean, you've never heard of The Book of Enoch? What if you, of you have never heard of The Book of Enoch? This is The Book of Enoch. The Book of Enoch was a very popular book during the time of Jesus, and two of our New Testament books actually refer to The Book of Enoch. The Book of Jude does, and the Book of Second Peter. And The Book of Enoch specifically states that demons are the disembodied spirits of the *Nephilim*. In fact, let me read chapter 15 in The Book of Enoch. Follow along with me as I read it. In fact, if you wanted to, you could buy this Book of Enoch, you could turn to the 15th chapter, and you could just follow along with me as I read this, because this is actually where I got it. The Book of Enoch. Here's what it says: Verse one: "And he," talking about God, "answered and said to me," who is me, Enoch? "And I heard his voice. This is what he said to Enoch: 'Fear not, Enoch, thou righteous man, ascribe of righteousness, approach hither and hear my voice, and go say to the Watchers of Heaven.'" Now, here's in this, here's what's interesting. Daniel referred to the angels as what? Watchers. Why? Why did Daniel refer to angels as Watchers? He referred to angels as Watchers because they live in the spiritual, in the spiritual dimension. They live in the spiritual realm, and we live in the physical realm. We live in this three-dimensional world. We can't see into the spiritual realm, but they can see into the physical realm. So, they watch us. Those angels are watching us right now. If you could look into the spiritual realm, you would see angels all around this room, but you can't see them. They can see you, though. And that's why Daniel refers to them as Watchers. Enoch is referring to them as Watchers. So, he says, "Go, Enoch, and say to the Watchers of Heaven, angels who have sent thee to..."

intercede for them. Why would these angels want Enoch to intercede for them? Because they're fallen angels. So they're asking Enoch, who is a righteous man, "Would you intercede for us?"

And God says, "You go tell them this: 'You should intercede for men, and not men for you. There's no hope for you.'"

Then he goes further, and this is what Enoch is supposed to tell them: "Wherefore have you left the high, holy, and eternal heaven and lay with women, and defiled yourself with the daughters of men, and taken to yourselves wives, and done like the children of Earth, and begotten giants as your sons?"

What's this referring to? Genesis 6:1-4. The fallen angels left their natural habitation. They came to the Earth. They saw that the daughters of men were very beautiful, and they took them. That's a sexual euphemism, and they had children called the Nephilim. This is what verse three, chapter 15 of the Book of Enoch says.

Let's keep reading. Verse four: "And though you were holy," and he's talking to these fallen angels, "and though you were holy, spiritual, living the eternal life, you have defiled yourself with the blood of women, and have begotten children with the blood of flesh, and as the children of men have lusted after flesh and blood, as those also do who die and perish."

Verse five: "Therefore I have given them," who's them? Man. "Wives also, that they might impregnate them and beget children by them, that thus nothing might be wanting to them on the earth." Because when Adam and Eve were first created, they were the only two, and the way that they were going to populate the Earth is through having sex and children. Angels are not that way. They are created beings. They were never designed to reproduce.

Keep reading. Verse six: "But you," talking to fallen angels, "were formerly no longer are you this, but were formerly spiritual, living the eternal life, and immortal for all generations of the world. And therefore I have not appointed wives for you. For as for the spiritual ones of the heaven, in heaven is their dwelling." In other words, that's their natural habitation, the spiritual realm.

Verse eight: "And now the giants who are produced from the spirits and flesh, who are the Nephilim, who are the giants, the ones that are produced from spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling." Wow.

Let's keep reading. It gets even better. Verse nine: "Now we're going to find out the origin from the Book of Enoch, the origin of demons. Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies." Whose body? The Nephilim's. "Because when they died," that's the spirit of the Nephilim. And then it goes further, "because they are born from men and from the holy watchers." In other words, fallen angels. So these giants are from what? They're from men and from angels. And then it goes further, "That is their beginning and their primal origin."

So what's the origin of demons? The Nephilim, those who were born of fallen angels and men. Then it goes further, "They shall be evil spirits upon the earth, and evil spirits shall they be called." Wow.

Let's keep reading. Verse ten: "As for the spirits of heaven, in heaven shall be their dwelling. But as for the spirits of the earth, the spirits of the Nephilim, which were born upon the earth, the fallen angels were not born upon the earth, but their offspring was the Nephilim. But as for the spirits of the earth, which were born upon the earth, on the earth shall be their dwelling." They do not dwell in the heavenly realm. They dwell on this Earth.

Let's keep reading. "And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, to battle, and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble. They take no food, but nevertheless hunger and thirst, and they cause offenses."

Verse twelve: "And the spirits shall rise up against the children of men, and against the women, because they have proceeded from them." In other words, these demons hate you because they are not like you. You have an eternal spirit. If you're born again, your spirit will go to heaven when you die. If you're not born again, when you die, your spirit will go to hell. You never burn up in hell. Then one day, your body will be resurrected, reunited with your soul. You'll stand before God at the white, great white throne judgment, and then you'll be thrown into the Lake of Fire. And you still won't perish for all eternity. You will be in the Lake of Fire, but it was never prepared for man. It was always prepared for the devil and his angels. But the demons hate you, according to the Book of Enoch.

Now let me explain something about the Book of Enoch. It was very, very popular during the time of Jesus. Very, very popular. And because of that, everyone believed that demons, at the time of Jesus, every Jew, not the pagans, the Jews, they believed that demons were the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim.

Now let me explain something about the Book of Enoch. It belongs to a group of books known as the pseudepigrapha. Has anyone ever heard of the pseudepigrapha? Most of you have not heard of the pseudepigrapha. All right. The pseudepigrapha is a collection of books that claim to be written by well-known biblical characters, but they really weren't. They are pseudepigrapha books. You see, the word pseudepigrapha is a compound word that simply means it's made up of one word, more than one word. In this case, it's made up of two words. It's made up of the Greek word *pseudes*, which means false, and the Greek word *epigraph*, which means to ascribe. Now, when you combine these two words, it literally means to falsely ascribe, or in other words, to falsely attribute to someone. So the pseudepigrapha is a collection of books that are falsely attributed to well-known biblical characters. So the real Enoch did not write this book. The Enoch that walked with God before the flood and then was no more, that was raptured, that was taken up to heaven, he did not write this book, but this book is attributed to him. Does that make sense?

Now, every once in a while, I'll have someone come up to me who's been doing some studying, and they'll find out that there are certain people that believe that the pseudepigrapha should have been included in the Bible. So they'll come up to me and they'll say, "Why weren't the books in the pseudepigrapha included in the Bible?" And I always look at them and say, "Are you kidding?" No, I don't really say that. I say, "Well, think about it. Every book in the Bible is inspired by God and is inherent. What do we mean by inherent? It's without error. So if you've got a book that claims to be written by someone famous in the Bible, but it really isn't, people, that's a false claim. That alone disqualifies it from being in the Bible." And that's why these, these books, books are not included in our Bible.

Now, I do have to say this. The Book of Enoch is included in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and some in northern, northern Africa. All right, but for the most part, it's not included in our Bible. But that doesn't mean that there are not some truths in some of these books. As an example, this is a history book. It's a very good history book. I would recommend it to anyone. It's "The Christian History of the Constitution." I don't believe that the Constitution is evolving and changing. We want a good conservative Supreme Court justice, don't we? And every Christian said yes. All non-Christians say no. But anyways, that's "The Christian History of the Constitution."

Now, here's what's interesting. That book is not inspired by God and is not inherent. So I can't take for granted that everything in it is 100% true or 100% accurate. In fact, I'm sure that some of the things that are written in this book are wrong. But at the same time, there's still a lot of truth in it. So I can get some good information from it, right? And the same thing holds true for many of the pseudepigrapha books. They might not be inspired by God or inherent, but it doesn't mean that there isn't some truth in them. And there must be some truth in the Book of Enoch because two books in the Bible actually quote from it. They don't just refer to the Book of Enoch, they quote from the Book of Enoch. Yeah, the book of Second Peter and the Book of Jude both quote from the Book of Enoch. Does that make sense?

Now, whether or not demons are the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim doesn't really matter. What matters is that demons are real. They existed in Christ's day, and they still exist today. Now, let me explain why I do believe that they are the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim. Because every Jew believed that, and because Jesus taught so much on demons, and he corrected the wrong beliefs of the Jews in his time. Jesus never did correct the thought. He never did say, "You have been taught that demons are Nephilim, but I say unto you..." And it would have been very easy. Jesus never did that. Interesting, isn't it? But it really doesn't matter. Come up to me, and we can get in a debate, and we can talk about these three theories, and they're really the basic three theories that all scholars believe. There might be some wild things out there, but those are the three that Christian scholars discuss and they debate. That doesn't really matter which one is right. What really matters is that demons are real. They existed in Jesus' day, and they still exist today.

So let me give you some facts about demons. If you're taking notes, get ready to write. First of all, demons vary in wickedness and in power. Turn with me, if you would, to the Book of Matthew 12, verse number 4, and I'll show you what I'm talking about. "Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there." That's their home. Now, what's the home? That person's body. Why do they seek a body? Because they're disembodied spirits. And so that person is worse off than before. "That will be the experience of this evil generation." So some demons are more wicked than others. Jesus was teaching that it says that the demon that's cast out, it goes through an air, dry place, says, "Man, let's go back." Oh, it's still empty. In other words, that person's not a believer. The demon was cast out, but he hasn't filled himself with the Holy Spirit. Jesus is not living inside of him. So when he goes back, he goes, "I was cast out. I need some more backup." So he gets seven demons more wicked than himself. But what it says is that, what this is telling us is, some demons are more wicked than others.

Now look at Mark chapter 9, verses 28-29. "And when he was coming into the house, his disciples asked him privately, 'Why could we not cast him out?'" What was he talking about? This demon. "And he said unto them, 'This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting.'" In other words, some demons are more powerful than other demons. Does that make sense?

Secondly, demons seek to oppress and entice people to sin, and if possible, to possess a person. Turn with me, if you would, to the book of 1st Samuel 16:14. I'm going to use an Old Testament scripture because I want you to understand this is not just a New Testament phenomenon. There were demonic spirits in the Old Testament too. I literally heard one pastor say this one time, "Well, you won't find demons in the Old Testament. You only find them in the New Testament. It's a New Testament phenomenon." Oh, good Lord, read your Bible. Anyways, notice what it says: "But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him." Now, that word "troubled" actually means oppressed him. But here's what throws people: it says "from the Lord." Now, here's what you need to understand. If you're a Christian, then God has a hedge of protection around you. You're under his umbrella of protection, even in the Old Testament. So when Saul was first anointed to be king, he was under the, he was under the umbrella of God's protection. But when he began to sin, and he did the things God told him not to do, especially when he went to a necromancer, God pulled back, and he was no longer in oppression. And so now this evil spirit comes. And the reason it says "from the Lord" is because the Jews perceived it like this: "Man, everything's under God's hands." But if he pulls his protection back, and that evil spirit, it's as well as coming from the Lord. But it didn't mean the Lord sent him. It simply meant that the Lord pulled back his protection, left him unarmed, and that's what that is saying.

Now look at James chapter 1, verse number 14, because I want you to see that demons seek to oppress and entice people to sin, and if possible, to possess a person. Notice what it says: "Says, 'But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust.'" We can't even blame demons, you know, when we're drawn away to sin. It's because we have lust inside of us. It's that Adamic nature. There's certain things we want. We don't all want the same things. Some people want power, others don't. Some people want money, others don't. Some people want all types of sexual satisfaction, others don't. But here's what it says: "Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust." But notice this, "and enticed." Who does the enticing? Demons. And if you want to be more specific, familiar spirits, which is mentioned 15 times in the Bible. Familiar spirits are those spirits that actually, because they live, and they're kind of eternal, not kind of, they're eternal. They've been around ever since the Nephilim, and they've stayed with your family. They know all the weaknesses in your gen, in your genetics. They know everything about you. They know what you lust for and desire, and therefore they know what to entice you with.

Now let me explain what opens the door to demonic possession because demons do seek to possess bodies. Why? Because they're disembodied spirits. So let me explain what opens the door to demonic possession. Number one, the worship of other gods and idols. Turn to Deuteronomy chapter 32, verse number 17. This is a very important verse. If you've never read this verse, you need to highlight it in your Bible because it explains what happens when you worship other gods. This is why the children of Israel were commanded never to serve other gods. Notice what it says: "They sacrificed unto devils," that means demons, "not to God (big G), not to Yahweh, to gods (little G, plural), whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not." So I want you to notice, God's word says they sacrificed to demons, but then it went further and referred to them as gods, little G. So these gods are demons. In India, they have all of these gods, and they sacrificed to these gods. What are these gods? These gods are demons. Remember, with the Nephilim, they uh, walked this Earth. But what's interesting is when these angels came down, and we look at mythology, they thought the Nephilim were the go, were the sons of these gods. So here's what's interesting. When you worship other gods, you're worshiping demons, and that opens the door to demonic activity and possession.

Number two, involvement in occultism. Turn to Deuteronomy 18:10-12. Says, "For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering, and do not let your people practice fortune-telling or use sorcery or interpret omens or engage in witchcraft or cast spells or or function as mediums or psychics or call forth spirits of the dead. Don't do those things. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord." Why? Those are demons. "It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you."

Number three, drugs. Yeah, it opens the door to demons and demonic activity. Turn to Galatians 5:20. This is the list of the works of the flesh. Notice what it says. I'm just reading a few of these: "idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies." But you see that word "witchcraft"? That's translated from the Greek word *pharmakeia*. We get our word pharmacy from it. What it actually means is mind-altering drugs. One of the things that the pagans did is they got high, and one of the reasons they got high was to worship their gods, and they would open themselves up, and that allowed these demons to come in and possess them. Yeah.

Now, I've need, I've used a phrase that every one of you need to understand when it comes to demons and demonic activity, and it's the phrase "opening the door." You see, what we don't want to do is open the door to demons or demonic activity. But what do I mean by that? What do I mean by "opening the door"? Well, turn to Genesis 4:7. And let's find out. This is God speaking to Cain. Here's what he told him: "You will be accepted if you do what is right, but if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out. Sin is crouching at the door. Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you, but you must subdue it and be its master."

Now, as you can see, sin is lying at the door. It's crouching, and it's just waiting for you to open the door. In other words, it's waiting for an invitation to come in. And that's what we mean by opening the door. It's when we do something that gives demons the liberty to enter our life, something that's seen as an open invitation to come in. Remember, your body is a home to your spirit, and demons want to come in through the door, but unless you open the door, they can't come in.

Now, as I said, we can do that in one of several ways: worshiping other gods or idols, that's an invitation. Getting involved in some type of occultism, that's an invitation. Drugs, that's an invitation. These are the three most common ways of opening the doors to demons and demonic activity. But there are others: pornography, you're not going to like this, gambling. And the more you open the door, the more access they have to your life, the more they're able to entrap you, and the greater access they have to you. Let me just say this: almost every addiction has a link to demonic activity.

"Now it came to pass when the men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful, and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. And the Lord said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh, yet his days shall be 120 years.' There were giants," we translate as giants, actually it should read, "There were Nephilim on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."

Now, to be honest with you, this is one of the most interesting passages of scripture in the entire Bible, if not the most interesting. That's why we're going to take our time and we're going to just kind of go through this and look at some of the details. Now, as you can clearly see, verses 1-4 is an explanation of how and why the people became so wicked. You might not have picked that up as you're just browsing through this, but as we go into detail, you're going to be able to see why the people were so wicked and how they were classified as being wicked. In essence, what was taking place is intermarriage between the sons of God and the daughters of men created a super race of people. That super race of people is referred to as the Nephilim in your Bible. It probably says "Giants." If you can look that word up, you'll find out that it's Nephilim. Now, once you understand who the Nephilim are, you understand why the people were so wicked. In fact, we'll look more at that next week. But anyways, then in verses 5 through 8, we're told why God had to destroy the super race of people and everyone else on the earth, with the exception of Noah's family.

So let's look at the first four verses in chapter 6, starting with verses 1 and 2. Here's verses 1 and 2: "Now it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful, and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose."

Now, if you read chapter 5, you know that all of the descendants of Adam who lived before the flood lived very long lives. Adam lived to be 930. Yeah, Seth lived to the age of 912. Enos lived to be 95. Cainan lived to be 9910. Mahalaleel, he didn't live as long, he lived to be 895. Jared lived to be 962 years old. Enoch was raptured at the very young age of 365. Look at verses 23 and 24 in chapter 5. "Altogether Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, he was walking with God, and then he was gone." Why? Because God took him away. In other words, he was raptured. Methuselah lived to be 9669. We use that today in our figure of speech, "He's as old as Methuselah." I wish Lamech lived to be 777, and Noah was one of Lamech's sons. So when you look at how long the descendants of Adam lived before the flood, there's no telling how many children they had. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if each one of them had hundreds of children, who had hundreds of children, who had hundreds of children. But no one really knows how many children each one had. All we really know is that the population multiplied.

Look back at verse number one. Here we are in Galatians chapter 6. "Now it came to pass when men began to multiply," not when men were added, "they began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them." So you had this population explosion. Now, verse number two tells us that their daughters were very beautiful, and people, that comes as no surprise. Why? Because when you consider genetics, you realize that the further you go down the line in the genealogy of Adam and Eve, the greater chance you have, or the greater the possibility of having mutations. Yeah, but these descendants were very close to Adam and Eve genetically speaking. Now, Adam and Eve were perfect specimens before the fall. So you know that their children were not just beautiful, they were gorgeous, and their children were beautiful, and their children were beautiful. But the further you go down the line, well, look what you have before you. Yeah, I was never created to be bald. I was never created to be fat. These things that are growing on my body from being out there, that was never meant to be. But here I am. Yeah, people, it's chic.

Verse two tells us that the sons of God took notice of how beautiful these women were, and they had sex with them. Look back at verses one and two, and then we'll focus on verse two. Notice what it says: "Now it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful, and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose."

Now, this sounds like, if you read this translation, and probably the translation that you read, that the sons of God married the daughters of men. But people, it doesn't mean that. And I'll tell you why I say that. The word "wives" is translated from the Hebrew word *ishah*, which refers to a woman, regardless of whether she's married or not. Yeah, it just simply means woman. And the word "took" is translated from the Hebrew word *laqach*, which is a very common verb, but when it's referring to women, it has a sexual connotation. It literally means "took" in the sense of having sex. As an example, in Genesis 34, number two, it says that Shechem took Dinah, and it means that he had sex with her, even though they weren't married. Married. Now, we know reading the context of the story that he raped her, but that's what the word is. In Genesis chapter 32, or 34, it says he took her, he raped her, he had sex with her. So all this is really saying in Genesis 6:2 is that the sons of God noticed how beautiful the daughters of men were, and they had sex with them.

So let's read verses 1 and 2 again, and we're going to replace the word "wives" with the word "women" because that's a more literal translation. And when we come to the word "took," I want you to remember it means "he had sex" or "they had sex." So notice what it says: "Now came about when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were very beautiful, and they took," there's that word again, "sexual connotation, women for themselves, whom they chose, whomever they chose." So the bottom line is this: the sons of God began having sex with the daughters of men.

Now, as you can see, the key to understanding this passage of scripture is knowing who the sons of God are. So who are the sons of God? Well, there are basically three theories. One theory says that they're fallen angels. In other words, that the angels that followed Lucifer when he rebelled, and these fallen angels left their natural habitation and they had sex with human women, creating a super race of people that the Bible refers to as Nephilim. Another theory is that they are royalty. In other words, they were leaders among their people, and they took multiple wives and had harems, and that was their sin, polygamy. The third theory says that the sons of God are the descendants of Seth. Seth represents the godly line, and Cain, the ungodly line. So the godly descendants of Seth married the ungodly descendants of Cain, and they were no longer racially pure, and that was their sin.

Now, what do I believe? Well, it really doesn't matter what I believe, and it doesn't matter what you believe. It only matters what the Bible teaches. So let's find out what the Bible has to say about the sons of God and who they are. And to do that, we need to apply hermeneutical principles. Now, hermeneutics is probably not a word that you use unless you went to seminary. You know, that's something that you'll learn when you go to seminary. Number one, if you, in your undergrad, if you know you're going to seminary and you're getting a degree in theology, you'll have to take hermeneutics 1 and 2. What's kind of interesting, when you go off to seminary, you only have to take one class of hermeneutics. I actually had two classes in hermeneutics in my undergrad and one in seminary. But anyways, what is hermeneutics? Hermeneutics is defined as the science and art of of interpreting the Bible, or I would probably add, properly interpreting the Bible. Now, it's considered a science because it has rules, and those rules can be classified into an orderly system. It's considered an art because the scholar must know what rules to apply to the text, when to apply those rules, and how to apply them. And if he doesn't know how to do that properly, then he's going to distort, distort the meaning of that verse or verses.

Now, one of the fundamental principles of hermeneutics is that scripture interprets scripture. In other words, to understand what an obscure verse means, or what an unusual phrase or word means, we have to look at it in the context of other scriptures. And that's what we mean by scripture interprets scripture. Does that make sense? So let's look at other scriptures that mention the sons of God to find out who they are. Here's what you'll find: the phrase "sons of God" is only used five times in the Old Testament. Yeah, here in Genesis chapter 6, verse number two, three times in the Book of Job, and once in the Book of Daniel. And every time it refers to angels. Every time. You can look it up for yourself, but what you're going to find is every time the phrase "sons of God" is used in the Old Testament, it always refers to angels.

Now, what about the New Testament? Well, this is where it gets interesting. If you study the genealogy of Jesus, which most of us don't, I love genealogies. You wouldn't believe what's hidden in the genealogies in the Bible. But if you study the genealogy of Jesus, you'll find out that Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph, and Luke's going to trace the genealogy of Jesus through Mary. Even though Joseph's there, that was typical of them to put that as the, the husband of Mary, but he's going to trace it in a different way. So when you study the genealogy of Jesus in Luke, in fact, let's do that. Let me show you something. Turn to Luke chapter 3, verse 38. "Cainan was the son of Enos. Enos was the son of Seth. Seth was the son of Adam. Adam was," catch this, "Adam was the son of God." This is the last part of the genealogy. It actually started in verse number 23, where it says, "Joseph was the son of Eli. Eli was the son of Matthat," and then Luke traces Jesus' genealogy all the way back to Adam. But when he gets to Adam, he specifically says, "and Adam was the son of God."

Now, why in the world was Adam considered to be a son of God? Anyone know? Well, I'll tell you why. It's because Adam wasn't born. When you get home today, and you pull off your shirt, take a look at your belly button. You were born. If you're like me, you've covered it up, you can't find it anymore. My granddaughters love to pull up my shirt and search for the belly button. But anyways, you'll find you have a belly button. Adam and Eve didn't have belly buttons. Why? Adam was not born. Adam was created by the hand of God. You see, the phrase "sons of God" refers to those who are created by God rather than being born. Adam was the direct product of creation, and that's why he's called a son of God. And that's why angels are referred to as sons of God. They are created beings, and they were created by the hand of God.

Now let me show you something interesting. All right, turn to John chapter 1, verse number 12. John chapter 1 is one of the greatest chapters in the Bible. Starts off with, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." You jump down to verse number 14, and "the Word became flesh, and we beheld his glory," talking about Jesus. But notice what it says in John chapter 1, verse number 12: "But as many as received him," who's him? Jesus, "to them gave he power to become," because you're not already a son of God, but if you receive Jesus, he gives you the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. We are born, and not created. So how in the world can we be called sons of God? Well, turn to 2 Corinthians 5:17. "Therefore, if anyone be in Christ," if you covenant with him, and you're baptized into him, you become joined to him, you're one spirit. "So if anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come." You see, when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, God creates a new spirit within us. We are a new creation of God. So we can be called legitimately sons of God. Yes, I'm the son of George and Phyllis Nolan, but I'm also the Son of God because I've been born again, not of flesh, I've been regenerated. In the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead now dwells within me. So I can legitimately be called, as a new creation of God, a son of God. But, but people, this is a New Testament phenomenon. This did not happen in the Old Testament. The only ones that we referred to as the sons of God were angels. So in the Old Testament, the phrase "sons of God" refers to angels, always, no exception. In fact, I'll tell you where this uh, theory came that it was the descendants of Seth married the descendants of Cain. Actually, that didn't come about until the 4th century by a heretic. He thought it was crazy that people thought that the angels could come to this earth and have sex, even though that was the, the prevalent thought and belief, not only at the time of Jesus, but for the entire New Testament church up until the 4th century. So he came up with his own interpretation, and Augustus took over from there, and the Catholic Church accepted that, and that kind of became the predominant view. But it's only because people would, uh, refuse to believe what the Bible taught. Yeah.

So in Genesis chapter 6, the phrase "sons of God" refers to fallen angels. We know it's referring to fallen angels because God never created angels to procreate, and to do so was even further rebellion against God. Turn to Mark, Mark 12, verse number 25. "For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect, they will be like the angels in heaven." So, as I said, angels were never created to procreate. In fact, you'll never find a feminine angel in the Bible. Sorry, women, it's always masculine in the Greek. Yeah, yeah. So for angels to do this, to procreate, they had to rebel against God. And the only ones that would have done this are the ones that had already rebelled, the angels that followed Lucifer when he rebelled. So these fallen angels left their natural habitation, which is the spiritual realm, and they had sex with human women, or mortal women. And the two books in the New Testament refer to this: the Book of Jude and the Book of Second Peter. Jude quotes directly from the Book of Enoch. Turn with me, if you would, to the Book of Jude, chapter 1, verse number 6. "And the angels," can't get any clearer than that, "which kept not their first estate," in other words, in the Greek, that means proper place, "but left their own habitation," that's a very important word, underline that word, "he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."

Now, there's two things that I want you to notice in this passage of scripture. First of all, these fallen angels kept not their first estate. In other words, they didn't stay where they were supposed to, they didn't stay in their proper place, their domain, their sphere of authority. But worse than that, they left their own habitation. He's not repeating what he said for emphasis. He's saying two different things. They left their first estates, but not only that, they left their own habitation. Now, the word "habitation" is translated from the Greek word *oiketerion*, and it refers to a dwelling place that you inhabit, such as a house. But it can also refer to a person's body, because our soul inhabits our body. Do you realize when you die, your body goes in the ground, it begins to disintegrate, but your soul and your spirit go to heaven? Now, we use those two terms interchangeably because the soul cannot be separated from the spirit. Did you know the word of God, God can divide a sundering between soul and spirit? So they're two different things. The Bible tells us the soul and the spirit are two different things. But because they're always, always joined together, the Bible also uses them interchangeably. So if I, if if I'm speaking, and I say, "When you die, your spirit goes to heaven," and then a couple of minutes later, I go again, "Remember, when you die, your soul goes to heaven," I can do that because where the spirit is, the soul is, and where the soul is, the spirit is. Everyone with me? All right.

So here's what I want you to understand. Because our soul inhabits our body, this word *oiketerion* can refer to a body, not a house. It simply refers to any dwelling place that's inhabited. So in the New Testament, especially Paul, he picks up on this, and he'll always refer to the body as the *oiketerion*, this dwelling place that our soul and our spirit inhabits. Let me give you an example. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse number two, and I'll show you what I'm talking about. "For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven." How in the world can we be clothed with a house? Well, we don't talk like that. So let me just kind of explain this. Do you see the word "house"? That word "house" is translated from that same Greek word *oiketerion*, and it refers to our spiritual body. In fact, I want you to notice how the NLT translates this verse. It's a much better translation. "Now we grow weary in our present bodies and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing." You see that word "bodies"? Paul uses the word *oiketerion* because he sees the body as simply a dwelling for your soul and your spirit to inhabit.

So Jude, verse number six, tells us that these fallen angels didn't stay where they were supposed to. But not only that, it implies that they left their spiritual body and they inhabited a physical body to have sex with the daughters of men. And for that, God placed them in chains in a place called Tartarus. Which brings us to Second Peter chapter 2, verses 4 and 5. This is the second place that refers to Genesis chapter 6. Notice what it says: "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell," now that's not a good translation. If you look that up in the Greek, it's Tartarus. It's below hell. Yeah, "and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 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."

Now, notice the time period this is talking about. This is all one passage of scripture. We put the verses in there. What time period is he talking about? It's the time period right before the flood, and it's referring to angels that did not stay where they were supposed to, and they left their habitation. They, they actually inhabited a physical body in order to have sex with the daughters of men. But the bottom line is this: if you follow proper hermeneutical principles, you have to conclude that the sons of God in Genesis chapter 6, verse number two, refer to fallen angels. And these fallen angels left their proper habitation and had sex with mortal women, women, and they created a super race of people known as the Nephilim.

Now, according to Jude, I always say chapter 1, verse 6, because there's only one chapter, and I get all these emails, so which chapter, Pastor? There's only one. So according to Jude, chapter 1, verse 6, and 2 Peter chapter 2, verses 4 and 5, God cast all of the fallen angels who left their proper habitation and had sex with mortal women into hell, more specifically, Tartarus, and he placed them in chains in darkness. But that doesn't mean that all of the fallen angels are in chains. You have two groups: those who are bound in chains in Tartarus, and those that are free. Those who are bound in chains are the ones that left their natural habitation and had sex with human women. Those that are free rebelled with Satan, but they didn't leave their natural habitation. They didn't have sex with human women. And Paul refers to them in Ephesians chapter 6, verse number 12: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." If every one of the demons that were fallen were already chained, we wouldn't be wrestling against anyone. There are two groups: those who were chained because they left their proper place and they had sex with human women, and Paul lists the different classes of fallen angels and people that are still free to operate today. In other words, they haven't been cast into Tartarus and placed in chains and darkness.

Now let me ask you a question. Why in the world would these fallen angels risk everything by not staying where they were supposed to and inhabiting a physical body to have sex with the daughters of men? Why would they do that? Think about it. They had to have known that by crossing that line, there was a good possibility that God was going to do what he did, and that he would cast them into hell. Lord, they probably didn't know about Tartarus, that they would be placed in chains and a place of torment and darkness until the judgment. So why in the world would they risk that? I know that the daughters of men were very beautiful, and let's be honest, lust is pretty powerful. You see a lot of men and women do crazy things because of lust. But was that the sole reason they risked everything to have sex with human women in order to produce offspring? Personally, I believe they had another reason for doing it. In fact, let me show you something interesting. And this is why it's important to study, study the details. You know, people sometimes they'll ask me, "What book did you get that out of?" Well, I've got almost 8,000 volumes of books in my library and about 15,000 in my ebooks in my Logos, and it just comes from research and studying and and translating from the original languages. But I want to show you something interesting. All right, jump down to verse number nine in Genesis chapter 6. Notice what it says: "These," this is the same chapter, chapter six is the chapter of the flood, "these are the generations of Noah." In other words, this is Noah's ancestry. And when did he get, where did he give that in chapter five? That's why I told you to read chapter five. "List all of the generations of Noah." In other words, his ancestry. And then it goes further: "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations." And Noah walked, walked with God. Perfect in his ge... Well, Lord, we know he wasn't perfect. He got drunk after the flood. Remember that? Read the story. It's really interesting. You know, I've started telling my grandchildren stories, and I'll get started in telling these stories in the Old Testament, and I realize this might not be appropriate for a four-year-old. So, okay, we're going to change a little bit. As she gets older, then we'll get more and more truthful. I'm not lying about it, just don't give it all, you know what I'm saying? But notice that it says Noah was perfect in his generations. Now, the word "perfect" is translated from the Hebrew word *tamim*, and in this context, it means unimpaired, without blemish, pure in the sense of healthy genes. So let's read, read verse number nine again, and I want you to notice what this is saying. "These are the generations of Noah. This is his ancestry. Noah was a just man, and healthy, unimpaired, pure, without blemish in his generations, and Noah walked with God." In other words, there were no Nephilim in his ancestry. The genetic line in his ancestry had not been tainted by fallen angels. That's what it means by perfect.

Now, this gives us a little insight as to why these fallen angels would risk incurring the wrath of God upon themselves to have sex with human women. They had a purpose for what they did. Does anyone know what that purpose is or was? Was it, was it to try and stop the Messianic seed? You see, if you go all the way back to the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were created with, and they had no sin nature. They were perfectly innocent. And God said, "You can partake of the fruit of any tree that you want, except one." Isn't it amazing that God always has something that he says, "Uh-uh, this is mine"? And here's what's interesting. Because it was their job to tend the garden, they still had to take care of the tree that produced the fruit that they weren't supposed to partake of, right? And we know the story, they eat the forbidden fruit, and then the curse comes upon them. So God gives the curse. Notice what part of the curse is. Because in the curse, and we're looking at this, going, "Why did you do that, Adam and Eve?" God gives a promise. He gives a Messianic prophecy. He gives us hope. Notice what he says in Genesis 3:15. I'll show you what I'm talking about.

about here and I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seat and her seat it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Now, this is actually a primeval prophecy of the coming Messiah. What we mean by primeval was before the flood. Before there was even the flood, God gave a prophecy of the coming Messiah. And let me explain why I say that. First of all, a woman doesn't have seed, only men. You see, the word "seed" is translated from the Hebrew word "zera," which means semen. In fact, when the Old Testament is translated from Hebrew into Greek, it's called the Septuagint, the word "sperma" was used. Our English word "sperm" is transliterated from that Greek word. So, this is clearly implying that someday a savior would be conceived supernaturally and be born of a virgin. That's what it's saying.

Secondly, I want you to notice that a personal pronoun is used in Genesis 3:15. In other words, the woman's seed is a person. Look at verse 15 again: "And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed; he [personal pronoun] shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." And because of our ungodliness today, we're all into pronouns, right? All right, Jesus used "he" and "him" as pronouns. All right, but do you see that personal pronoun, "he shall bruise your head"? "He" is the Hebrew word "hu," which is a personal pronoun, third person masculine singular, singular, not plural, which tells us that the woman's seed refers to to a singular person, a man. And that man is Jesus Christ. So, Genesis 3:15 is the very first prophecy of the coming Messiah. Someday, a man's going to be supernaturally conceived and born of a virgin. And because he's going to be born of a virgin, he wouldn't partake of the inherited sin nature of Adam's children. Yeah, he wasn't born a sinner because he was conceived of the Holy Spirit. Everyone with me?

And of course, there would be an intense hatred between this supernatural man and the serpent, which is Satan. The serpent would bruise his heel, but he would crush the serpent's head. So, in having sex with humans, the fallen angels were trying to corrupt the seed of all mankind in hope of keeping the Messiah from coming. If, if they can breed, they're going to produce a hybrid race, not just human, but fallen angel. Now, we know why they were so wicked. And if they have children, and they have children, and and pretty soon the whole human race, it's going to be tainted. And then there's not going to be someone like Noah, who was pure in his generations, healthy genes, which would stop this prophecy from happening. So, in hope of keeping the Messiah from coming, they tried to corrupt the seed of all mankind. But God stopped that with the flood, and he wiped out all of the Nephilim, while also casting those fallen angels who had sex with human women to Tartarus and placing them in chains.

Now, people, this isn't the only way that Satan tried to stop this Messianic seed. You're very familiar. Tried to do Judah tried to stop the line of David. It's why Luke traces it through Nathan, because the curse is on the other side. Yeah, King Herod, we're going to kill all the babies. Why? We've got to stop this Messianic seed. King Herod didn't know what he was doing, but he was being influenced by these demonic forces. We've got to stop this Messianic seed from coming.

Now, Jesus said in Matthew 24:37 that when the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in the days of Noah. This implies that in the last days, fallen angels are going to be leaving their first estate, their domain, their sphere of authority, and they will cross over from their dimension in hyperspace into ours in order to deceive. Now, personally, I don't believe that they will leave their habitation and try to have sex with human women. I think they know better, because when that happened, God drew a line in the sand and took every one of those fallen angels, and he cast them down into Tartarus and he placed them in chains. And I don't believe anyone wants to do that again. But they weren't cast into Tartarus for leaving their sphere of of authority. They weren't doing that for leaving their first estate. It was for leaving their own habitation and having sex with women. Therefore, I think they're going to cross the line. They're only going to go so far. But I believe they're going to come over to try and deceive. And that's what we're going to talk about next week.

But here's what I want you to see, and this is kind of a preview of next week. When the Rapture occurs, I hope it's on a Sunday morning. Lord, I hope I'm up here preaching. And I believe because you guys are great Cornerstone Stans and you love Jesus Christ, not because you're Cornerstone, it's because you love Jesus. 90% of our church is going to go. And the 10% that's sitting in the seats that were invited by their friends and family and thinking, "When's this over?" are going to go, "What in the world happened?" Now, hopefully, they had friends and family that's told them about the Rapture. But I'll tell you what, most of them will believe because I believe you're going to see more and more UFOs, and they're going to say they were abducted. And government's going to step, step in to really help to protect. Oh, yeah. But Jesus always says this when he talks about the end times, he says, "Don't be deceived."