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An EVIL report about Canaan, but not false concerning the GIANTS – Numbers 13-14

giant 4“They brought up an evil report of the land” (Num. 13:32)

The term “evil report” is a translation from the Hebrew word dibbah (Strong’s 1681) and apart from “evil report” it could mean whispering, defamation, slander, infamy or unfavourable saying. The word does not necessarily mean incorrect/false report even if it could be translated as such (or a report including half truths), but at least it is a negative description about something.

Moses asked a group of his men to investigate the land of Canaan and he gave them instructions how to go about it. Among other things he wanted to know whether the people in Canaan were strong or weak and their number. He also asked them to bring back some fruit of the land.

Num. 13:17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: 18And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; 19And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; 20And what the land is, whether it befat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.21So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath. 22And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)23And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs. 24The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.25And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. 26And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. 27And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. 28Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.29The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.30And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 31But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 32And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the GIANTS: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

Notice above that Caleb is described as being able to still the people of Israel and  encouraged them to go up against the Canaanites because they would certainly be able to be successful despite the children of Anak. Caleb is not the one bringing up an evil  report back to Moses, but the other men, who went with him, did. We can read “But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 32 And THEY brought up an evil report of the land”. What is at focus here is the incorrect claim that the Israelites would not be able to conquer the people in Canaan because of their strength. The claim that their defeat would be inevitable was the exact opposite of the message that God wanted to give his people.

The people (the sons of Anak) were described as huge giants, and in comparison the Israelites felt like grasshoppers. The fact that two men carried one cluster of grapes is also an indication of that the sons of Anak were indeed huge people who needed large amounts of food (and preferably genetically modified in order to enlarge it). Why else mention this cluster of grapes and the information that two men carried it between the two of them with help of a stick?

The people of Israel unfortunately believed the evil report, and this is why Caleb and Joshua were highly disappointed (they even rent their clothes) and instead tried to tell the people about the good land that Canaan indeed was, and that God would give it to them as long as they did not rebel against him or feared the current inhabitants:

Num. 14:6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.8 If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.

However, the people of Israel did not listen to Caleb and Joshua and instead the two men were attacked. The people provoked the Lord by not believing in his consistent promises about the land, which they really should have considering the many miracles that God performed among them:

Num. 14:10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.11 And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?

The inhabitants of Canaan, and other nations, had already heard about the God of Israel, and the many miracles that he did among his people so their arrival was expected. The Israelites did not always obey their God despite of the many miracles, but Moses communicated with God and the Israelites got another chance.

God spoke well of Caleb and described him as a servant who obeyed him fully:

Num. 14:12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.13 And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;)14 And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou Lord art among this people, that thou Lord art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.15 Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying,16 Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,18 The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.19 Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.20 And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word:21 But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.22 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;23 Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it:24 But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went;and his seed shall possess it.25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwelt in the valley.)

The problem was again the slander which the spying men (not Caleb and Joshua) made about the land and which made the people of Israel murmur against their God. Those men who brought up the evil report about the land died by a plague:  

 30 Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.31 —36 And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,37 Even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord.38 But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still.

nephilimExamples of giants

Here you can read bout the giants before and after the flood. Examples of references in the Bible:

Amos 2:9 Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

Deu 2:10 The Emim lived there in days gone by, a great and plentiful people, and tall as the Anakim 11 they are reckoned to be giants (rephaim), they too, like the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim.

Deu 2:20 That also is accounted a land of Rephaim: Rephaim dwelt therein aforetime; but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim 21 a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead

Deu 3:11 For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbah of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man. (15 feet! – or 9 feet depending on if you use the standard cubit or lower forearm cubit) 4,6 meter or 2,7 meter

Deu 9:2 a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard it said, Who can stand before the sons of Anak?

False report:

Pro 25:10 Lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy H1681 turn not away.

Lucifer, the morning star, who is Satan and the devil – Isaiah 14:12

satan“And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven” Luke 10:18

Satan in the New Testament is a translation from the Greek masculine noun Σατανᾶς (Satanas, Strong’s 2567) corresponding to Σατάν (Satan, 4566). He is understood as the accuser, i.e. the devil and an adversary (one who opposes someone in purpose or act). He is the name given to the prince of evil spirits who  encourages people to sin and incites apostasy from God. He is also believed to be in control of his demons (spirits of fallen angels) who can take possession of people and inflict them with diseases. Satan will be overcome on Christ’s return from heaven and bound with chains for a thousand years. When this time has passed he will walk the earth yet again, but will eventually be given over to eternal punishment. According to Blueletterbible Satan is used 27 times in the KJV (Strong’s 7854).

The question is then if Satan is the same as Lucifer, which is an expression found in Is. 14:12 and is a latin translation of the Hebrew word heylel (Strong’s 1966) – used once in the Bible. The expression “Lucifer, Son of the morning” (KJV) is the translation from heylel ben Shachar (Strong’s 1966, 1121, 7837). The English translation Lucifer derives from the Latin term lucem ferre, which holds the meaning of light-bearer, the shining one, the morning-star, and apart from a good description of Satan (before he fell) it is a close connection to the king of Babylon based on the passage in Isaiah. The unnamed King of Babylon in chapter 14 is condemned in a prophetic vision and is called the “morning star” (Venus is “wandering star” visible at dawn). It could be a description of an attempt to usurp kingly power, like the failed regency of Belshazzar. Much like Satan, who did the same thing (see Ezekiel below).

Unlike the English expression, the Latin words were not used exclusively to describe this particular person in Is. 14:12. Jerome’s latin translation in the Vulgate is not in error, and he did not use capital letters in the expression (thus not rendering it a personal name). The Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Old Testament) renders the same expression ἑωσφόρος (heōsphoros) which could be translated “bringer of dawn”, which is not too far off from Jerome’s result.

If the bringer of light spoken about (lucem ferre) is not Satan, who is he, and why does the description of him sound like the background of Satan? The king of Babylon did not fall from heaven, but he seems to be compared to a shiny bring being falling from heaven.

Is. 14:11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! (how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of THE PIT.16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

“The sons of God” below are angels (see article) and Satan came together with them to approach the Lord God. If Satan is the same as Lucifer, it makes sense that he might have this type of conversation with God. This conversation proves that Satan is a real being, and not an abstract principle such as “sin”.

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?9 Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.12 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. See also Job 2. 

More examples from the old testament that Satan can be a real person:

1 Chron. 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

Ps. 109:6 Let thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.

Zech. 3:1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2 And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

But the same Hebrew word can also be used as a principle against God or a “Satanic” (God-hating) being who acts on behalf of Satan:

2 Sa. 19:22 And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?

1 Ki. 5:4 But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.

1 Ki. 11:14 And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king’s seed in Edom.—23 And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah — 25 And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

This reminds us of the New Testament idea that there are many antichrists but also a specific person/being called antichrist who will appear in the last time. An antichrist is a deceiver, and the highest form of deception is someone who acts against God – such as objecting to Jesus being the Christ and the Messiah (God in flesh). Satan is against Christ, so he is the antichrist.

1 John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

2 John 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

nephilim3

We also have the famous passage in Ez. 28, which is addressed to the prince/king of Tyrus, with a parallel to Satan who had a similar problem with pride and subsequent defeat and disaster. We can read about someone who has a heart which is lifted up (against God) because of his riches, someone claiming to be God, someone who is perfect in beauty, someone who is extraordinary BRIGHT (repeated several times), someone who shall be brought down to the pit, someone who has been in the garden of Eden covered in precious stones, someone who is a cherub (an angel) and created so by God, someone who was on the holy mountain of God, walking on stones of fire, someone who was perfect in his ways until iniquity was found in him, someone who is cast to the ground by God due to his sin, someone who has corrupted his wisdom due to his beautiful brightness, etc. Clearly this is not the prince of Tyrus, but a comparison can be made when it comes to pride and corruption – and it is also forming a prophesy.

Ez. 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:—5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:6 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;7 Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.8 They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.9 Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee—12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 

The book of the secrets of Enoch (or Slavonic Enoch or 2 Enoch)

The book of Enoch (referred to in the Bible, so of high value) describes the look of the bright angels, and how one angel in particular is thrown out of heaven together with his subordinate angels. The reason for this ordeal is due to this angel’s proud attempt to be equal to God. We can recognize the description from the Bible, where it is describing Satan.

29:2 And from the rock I cut off a great fire, and from the fire I created the orders of the incorporeal ten troops of angels, and their weapons are fiery and their raiment a burning flame, and I commanded that each one should stand in his order.3 And one from out the order of angels, having turned away with the order that was under him, conceived an impossible thought, to place his throne higher than the clouds above the earth, that he might become equal in rank to my power.4 And I threw him out from the height with his angels, and he was flying in the air continuously above the bottomless.

31:4 The devil is the evil spirit of the lower places, as a fugitive he made Sotona from the heavens as his name was Satanail (Satan), thus he became different from the angels, (but his nature) did not change (his) intelligence as far as (his) understanding of righteous and sinful (things).5 And he understood his condemnation and the sin which he had sinned before, therefore he conceived thought against Adam, in such form he entered and seduced Eva (Eve), but did not touch Adam. 

The book of Enoch (or 1 Enoch, or Ethiopian Enoch)

86:1 And again I saw with mine eyes as I slept, Again I looked attentively, while sleeping, and I saw the heaven above, and surveyed heaven above. and behold a star fell from heaven, 2. And behold a single star fell from heaven. and it arose and eat and pastured amongst those oxen.—3 And again I saw in the vision, and looked towards the heaven, and behold I saw many stars descend and cast themselves down from heaven to that first star, and they became bulls amongst those cattle and pastured with them

88:1 And I saw one of those four who had come forth first, and he seized that first star which had fallen from the heaven and bound it hand and foot and cast it into an abyss: now that abyss was narrow and deep, and horrible and dark.

Lucifer is referred to as the morning star, Venus, which is one of the seven wandering stars (and not part of a star constellation). Enoch explains that the future for those independent stars will not be very bright:

1 Enoch 21:1. And I proceeded to where things were chaotic. 2. And I saw there something horrible: I saw neither a heaven above nor a firmly founded earth, but a place chaotic and horrible. 3. And there I saw seven stars of the heaven bound together in it, like great mountains and burning with fire. 4. Then I said: ‘For what sin are they bound, and on what account have they been cast in hither?’ 5. Then said Uriel, one of the holy angels, who was with me, and was chief over them, and said: ‘Enoch, why dost thou ask, and why art thou eager for the truth? 6. These are of the number of the stars of heaven, which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and are bound here till ten thousand years, the time entailed by their sins, are consummated.’  

Jude 13:13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

Origen interpreted such passages as being about manifestations of the devil, and so did  Tertullian. Calvin and Luther, on the other hand, did not – which maybe is not surprising considering the multitudes of new doctrines they have invented.

Jesus is the morning star 

Jesus is also called the morning star, because he is our true permanent bright LIGHT, and he will never lose his brightness the way Satan did. In the new Jerusalem there will not a need for the sun since the lamb (Jesus Christ) will be our light.

The mention of the morning star in the Bible:

Job 38:4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.—7 When the morning stars (boqer Strong’s 1242 + kowkab Strong’s 3556) sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

2 Pet. 1:15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Rev. 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.28 And I will give him the morning star.

Rev. 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Why are both Satan and Jesus Christ both resembling a morning star? Satan seems to have been the brightest of angels before his fall, and he has been chasing the son of God ever since the first pages of the Bible, where we can read about God’s prophesy “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15).

We can also read about the seed in Daniel which seems to be saying that in the last days seeds will be mixed inappropriately just like they were (due to the fallen angels) prior to the flood (described both in the book of Enoch and the book of Jasher, both books mentioned in the Bible) and which caused God to let the whole earth be covered with water. The next time the earth will be affected by fire.

Dan. 2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

Scientists are already now making advanced experimentations with mixing of seeds/sperms. (If you want to read more about the situation with the disastrous mixing of animals before the flood, you can read more in the previously mentioned books.)

satan-i-kampThe beast in the bottomless pit – who was, is not and yet is

Something else that will happen during the same time is something extraordinary. Someone called Apollyon is presently trapped in the bottomless pit. This place has not yet been discovered during a hike or on the way to work, but some Christians (like Stephen Quayle) believe this pit is situated in Antarctica. Apollyon is believed to have multiple names, and one speculation is Nimrod. (In order to not go down the rabbit hole and make this article too long, I will leave it at that.) Apollyon is described as both a beast and an angel, and also a king and leader of the below described “locusts”.

Rev. 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.— 11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

Rev. 11:And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.— 7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

Rev. 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

Rev. 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Satan in the New Testament

We can read about the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience in Eph. 2:2, the devil disputing with Michael about the body of Moses (Jude 1:9) and most importantly the dragon of the Book of Revelation “who is called the devil and Satan” (Revelation 12:9; 20:2).

Matt. 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Matt. 12:26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

Mark 3:23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satancast out Satan? — 26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

Matt. 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Mark. 8:33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.

Mark 1:13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.

Mark 4:15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

Luke 13:16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

Luke 12:3 Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.

Luke 22:31 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:

John 13:27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.

Acts 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

Acts 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Rom 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

1 Cor. 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

1 Cor. 7:5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

2 Cor. 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

2 Cor. 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

2 Cor. 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

1 Thess. 2:18 Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.

2 Thess. 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders

2 Tim. 1:20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

1 Tim. 5:15 For some are already turned aside after Satan.

Rev. 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.—13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.—24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

Rev. 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Rev. 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Rev. 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Freemasonry?

The Taxil hoax is named after Léo Taxil (1854–1907) who claimed that the freemason Albert Pike promoted the idea that Lucifer was God and in opposition to the evil god Adonai. Freemasonry Disclosed,  1897:

“With frightening cynicism, the miserable person we shall not name here [Taxil] declared before an assembly especially convened for him that for twelve years he had prepared and carried out to the end the most sacrilegious of hoaxes. We have always been careful to publish special articles concerning Palladism and Diana Vaughan. We are now giving in this issue a complete list of these articles, which can now be considered as not having existed.”

Who are the SONS OF GOD and the NEPHILIM?

The sons of God – Bene Elohim = angels

The term “the sons of God” is a translation from the Hebrew Bene Elohim  Sons of Elohim. This term can be found 4 times in the Bible and it’s always referred to ANGELS and never about man. This is enough to end all arguments that “the Sons of God” might mean anything else. Two other valid arguments for the angel translation might be 1) also other old religious books support this alternative, and 2) the old church fathers the first 300 years AD also supported it.

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when THE SONS OF GOD came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

Job 2:1 Again there was a day when THE SONS OF GOD came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.

Job 38:Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.—When the morning stars sang together, and all THE SONS OF GOD shouted for joy?

Gen 6:1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2That THE SONS OF GOD saw the daughters of MEN that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 4There were GIANTS in the earth in those days; and ALSO AFTER THAT, WHEN THE SONS OF GOD CAME IN UNTO THE DAUGHTERS OF MEN, AND BARE CHILDREN TO THEM, THE SAME BECAME MIGHTY MEN which were of old, men of renown. 5And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Why are we to understand the term “Bene Elohim” as angels in 3 verses but not in the 4th verse? It also makes sense to refer to created beings (that could only include angels and Adam) as “sons of God”.  So we know based on scripture that the SONS OF GOD came in unto the DAUGHTERS OF MEN and the daughters of men bore children to the sons of God. There is no mention of daughters of God or sons of men, so it’s clear that the males in the passage were of angelic origin and the female were of human origin. We can also understand from scripture that this union produced GIANTS! Human beings don’t produce giants so how do we account for these giants unless we accept what is written in Genesis 6? Moreover, the giants seem to be a major reason for the need of a global flood. In mentioning them, we are also told that “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”. Imagine that! Every thought was evil! Something extraordinary must have happened in order to reach this state of mind among all the people, and we have the answer right before our eyes in Gen. 6. Fallen angels came down to earth and caused these events to unfold.

The events recorded in Genesis 6 were understood by the ancient rabbinical sources, as well as the Septuagint, as referring to fallen angels procreating weird hybrid offspring with human women – known as the nephilim. The same goes for the early church fathers. These bizarre events are also mentioned in legends of ancient cultures, like the ancient Greeks, the Egyptians, the Hindus, the South Sea Islanders, the American Indians, as well as in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The book of Enoch which is referred to in the Bible (and the book of Jubilees, the book of Jasher, and other lost books) also describes the mix of angels and human beings, and even though this book is not canonized, it takes more faith to believe that the events in this book are NOT true – for no other reason than to save a certain doctrine.

nephilim 5Problems with the Sethite View

There is a claim that the passage in Genesis 6 refers to a failure to keep the faithful lines of Seth separated from the line of Cain. If the text was intended to contrast the sons of Seth and the daughters of Cain, why doesn’t it say so? It would have been very easy to describe the union as “the sons of Cain and the daughters of Seth“, but it says “sons of GOD” and “daughters of MEN” for a reason and we can understand the text exactly as it says. Why the resulting offspring (between ordinary human beings) is called the “Nephilim” is left without an explanation. Were not both Cain’s and Seth’s descendants of the same couple (Adam and Eve) and made up by the same type of genes? There is absolutely no reason for trying to keep the lines of Seth and Cain separate (actually the opposite since this would narrow down the gene pool), and there is no evidence for that all the descendants of Seth had a tendency to be godly, or that all the descendants of Cain had a tendency to be ungodly. Also, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were FAIR and they chose wives among them. Were all female descendants of Seth unattractive?

One objection to the idea of angels and human beings intermarrying each other, is due to Jesus words “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Matt. 22:30). But Jesus is talking about after the resurrection, and he doesn’t mention what angels might do on earth. We already know that angels on earth can go for walks, eat, rest and talk, among other things. Abraham had a visit from angels in Genesis 17:1-20 and Genesis 18:1-16, and they behaved very much like human beings. It’s hard to imagine how angels appear in heaven but we know that the angelic encounters people have had on earth have always been in relation to male angels (or at least they appeared as such), so earthly angels can transform into what looks like human beings in male form. The men (old and young) in Sodom didn’t have a problem to identify the angels visiting Lot as being of the male gender. As I said earlier, we know that angels on earth can eat, and this might suggest that they might have saliva and all the inner organs necessary for digesting food. Why then wouldn’t they also be able to reproduce? Does it specifically say they can’t?

Mixing seeds?

There is an interesting verse in Daniel which can make us ponder about the last days which will resemble the days of Noah. We already know that there are plenty of experiments made concerning mixing seeds from different animals which are not from the same species, and in Daniel we can read about mixed seeds between men and animals (?), but not through “cleaving one to another”. So maybe this is done in a lab? We can only speculate, but it’s good to be prepared.

Daniel 2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves WITH THE SEED OF MEN: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

The future will resemble what happened before the flood.

Luk 17:26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so also it will be in the days of the Son of Man

References about the sons of God in the New Testament nephilim 3

Peter’s and Jude’s comments below establish the time of the fall of these angels to the days of the Flood. What other sins could they have in mind but angels procreating with female human beings?:

2 Peter 2:4-5 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell [Tartarus], 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

Jude 6,7 And the angels which KEPET NOT THEIR FIRST ESTATE, but LEFT THEIR 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, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

1/3 of the angels are told to have followed Satan in his rebellion against God and believed to have been cast down on earth. That probably entails several thousand angels. Some of them seem to have made the decision to marry human beings and to produce children with them. How are we to understand the statement “going after strange flesh”, if not i relation to angels going after human flesh which would be totally unnatural for them? This seems to be exactly what Jude is talking about, and which confirms what we can read in Gen. 6. Maybe mixing with human beings was thought as a way for the Satanic angels to prevent the promised seed of the Messiah. We can only speculate why some angels (some sources say about 200 who landed on the mountain of Hermon) chose to take the step to intermix with human.

Lost books

Both the book of Enoch and the book of Jasher are referred to in the Bible, and it’s more likely that the content is for the most part trustworthy than NOT trustworthy. These books describe the sons of God as angels, and so does the book of the Jubilees and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Jasher 4:18 And their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice, and the sons of men in those days took from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals.

Enoch 10:6 Uriel is told to“heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.

3 Maccabees 2:4  You destroyed those who in the past committed injustice, among whom were even giants who trusted in their strength and boldness, who you destroyed by bringing on them a boundless flood.

How could there be giants such as Goliath after the flood?

Nephiyl; a giant, feller, cast down, be judged, fugitive, thrown down, fallen, an abortion [Strong’s]

“There were Nephilim in the earth in those days, and also after that…”

In the OT we can read about God’s instructions to wipe out all people of certain tribes in the land of Canaan. Could it be that some of Noah’s sons married women who had a gene pool problem due to the mixture of angels and men prior to the flood? We can only speculate, but at least we know that some very tall people were living on earth also after the flood.

There are many names for these giants, and it’s hard to know exactly how these tribes intermarried each other and to which extent the offspring was affected by abnormalities when it comes to height. Nephilim, Rephaim, Anakim, Emim, Zuzim, Zamzumim, Horim, Zophim, Caphtorim, Gammadim, Seirim and Shedim. It seems further like God commanded the israelites to conquer and completely wipe out these unique giant tribes, which was a command that they did not totally adhere to. Their refusal to obey had the effect that they (offspring of the giants) continued to cause much violence and murder.

When the Bible tells us that giants were on earth “also after that” in Gen. 6, I don’t believe that even more sons of God came down to earth yet again to repeat the same actions which had led to that the previous sons of God were severely punished. This would definitely cause more risks to humanity – the very same that caused the mayhem before the flood. I rather believe that one or more of the wives of Noah’s sons carried the defected genes which might produce giants, which means that only some of Noah’s sons descendants inherited these genes. It looks like it was Ham’s lineage which was affected considering the names of Ham’s sons – especially his son Canaan. We recognize the same names in those tribes that God requested Israel to completely wipe out.

Gen. 10:5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.7 And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.11 Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,12 And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,14 And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.15 And Canaan begat Sidon his first born, and Heth,16 And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite,17 And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,18 And the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.

Gen 14:5 And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emins in Shaveh Kiriathaim

Amos 2:9 Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

Num. 13:32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

Deu 2:10 The Emim lived there in days gone by, a great and plentiful people, and tall as the Anakim 11 they are reckoned to be giants (rephaim), they too, like the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim.

Deu 2:20 That also is accounted a land of Rephaim: Rephaim dwelt therein aforetime; but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim 21 a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakim; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead

Deu 3:11 For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbah of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man. (15 feet! – or 9 feet depending on if you use the standard cubit or lower forearm cubit) 4,6 meter or 2,7 meter

Deu 9:2 a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard it said, Who can stand before the sons of Anak?

Jos 11:21 At that time Joshua came and cut off the Anakim from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anah, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel. Joshua completely destroyed them with their cities. 22 There were none of the Anakim left in the land of the sons of Israel; only some remained in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod.

Jos 12:4 and the border of Og king of Bashan, of the remnant of the Rephaim, who dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, 5 and ruled in mount Hermon, and in Salcah, and in all Bashan, unto the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and half Gilead, even unto the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

2 Sa 21:16 And Ishbibenob, who was of the sons of Rapha the giant, the weight of his spear being threehundred bronze shekels in weight, and was girded with a new sword, even he said to strike David.—18 And it happened after this that the battle was again in Gob of the Philistines. Then Sibbechaithe Hushathite struck Saph, who was among the sons of Rapha. 19 And again the battle was in Gob with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite struck one of Goliath the Gittite, and the wood of his spear was like a weaver’s beam. 20 And again the battle was in Gath, and there was a man of stature, and the fingers of his hands were six, and the fingers of his feet six, twenty four in number. And he also had been born to Rapha 21 And he cursed Israel; and Jonathan, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, struck him. 22 These four here born to Rapha the giant in Gath. And they fell by the hand of David, by the hand of his servants.

1 Sa 17:4 And a champion (iysh habaniym…man between two camps referring to half man half angel descendancy) came out from the armies of the Philistines, Goliath was his name, from Gath; his height was six cubits and a span. 5 And a bronze helmet was on his head, and he was clothed with scaled body armor; and the weight of the armor was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 And a covering of bronze was on his legs, and a javelin of bronze between his shoulders. 7 And the wood of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and the blade of his spear weighed sixhundred shekels of iron. And the shield bearer went before him 

1 Chron. 20:6 And yet again there was war at Gath, where was a man of great stature, whose fingers and toes were four and twenty, six on each hand, and sixon each foot and HE ALSO WAS THE SON OF A GIANT.

A similar word for “nephilim” is found in the below verse where it concerns dead philistine warriors:

Ezekiel 32:27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen (naphal) of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

nephilim 4Elongated skulls

I’ve included some pictures of individuals with elongated heads in this article, and this too seems to be a feature for some people who lived during those days, and maybe particularly giants? Or perhaps this trait only concerned giants? On top of this, some accounts tell us that another feature might be 6 fingers and 6 toes, as well as a double row of teeth. Some people might want to explain the elongated skulls that have been found by suggesting that it’s due to head binding, but this wouldn’t explain why the skulls that have been found are also much larger. Head bindings doesn’t cause the head to grow in volume. We do know that head binding did occur within some tribes in the old age, and the question is why this was popular? Could it be that elongated heads were considered to be an admirable feature because of the famous gods, demigods and some of the early pharaohs who happened to have this particular feature? The Greek mythology, and other stories tell us about various gods who were giants and who never seem to grow old and die (eventually they did), but these individuals who were labelled gods, titans, etc were likely in reference to people who lived before the flood, or just after the flood.

nephilim 2