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In this Interruption we are going to consider the Nephilim.
Immediate responses from readers of this blog could be…
- Duh, what’s a Nephilim?
- Has Pastor Grant been walking around in the third heaven too much recently?
- Nephilim are strange characters referred to as “sons of God” or “fallen ones” or “giants” or “fallen angels” in passages likes Genesis 6:1-4, Ezekiel 32:27, Numbers 13:33, 1 Peter 2:4-8, Jude 6, Deuteronomy 1:28, and Job 1:6.
I doubt anyone came up with answer #3. I had to look up all the passages too!
Nephilim are mentioned in Genesis 6…
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown (v. 4, NASB1995).
Scholars have debated the exact meaning of “Nephilim” probably since the Bible was written. But two recent articles – one in Christianity Today and another in Biblical Archeological Review bring up the topic yet again.
When I read about a difficult subject, I look for scholars to give clarity…
The Christianity Today article starts with the author saying…
Enter the Nephilim. They may be the most peculiar creatures in the Bible, and we are not even sure what they really are.
HHHHMMMHHM.
Perhaps the esteemed Biblical Archeological Review can explain…
In Genesis 6, sandwiched between the genealogies of Adam’s descendants and the tale of Noah’s flood, are a few enigmatic verses about the Nephilim that leave many of us scratching our heads and wondering what’s it’s all about.
HHHHMMMHHM and HHHHMMMHHM. Note: this is the first double HHHHMMMHHM in the history of this blog!
If Christianity Today and Biblical Archeological Review are confused, what can we, the astute readers of Interruptions, conclude?
A lot.
- Stories of this nature affirm the legitimacy of Biblical accounts of antiquity. If the Bible was written as fanciful myths – why write about Nephilim to confuse matters?
- The Bible has a consistent pattern of describing forces of supernatural evil as opponents of God’s purposes. Ephesians says that our battle is not against flesh and blood, James writes that we should submit to God and resist the devil, and 1 Peter says that the devil prowls about like a roaring lion seeking to devour us.
- Stories like the Nephilim should remind us that our struggle is not merely a human struggle. That the entirety of Creation is involved in the battle of good and evil. Spiritual warfare is real, and the intensity is growing in the latter days.
Obscure matters can confuse and intrigue but also inspire.
The Word of God isn’t simplistic.
Scripture doesn’t hide anything and often reveals in the more cryptic passages that the creation of God and His workings of history are more intricate than what we can imagine.
We can be confident that the Nephilim, fallen angels, the demonic, along with saints, apostles, and ourselves – will all stand before the Throne of Judgment where everything will be revealed.
Amen!