Giants and Fallen Angels … Part I

The first time I read about the controversial subject of giants on earth I just assumed they were like the fables in Greek mythology. But I was wrong. Through further study, including the Holy Scriptures, I found out there was much more to it than just a myth.

During the Summer Olympics that were held in Greece a few years ago, I remember seeing on ABC Sports some of the national antiquities preserved in museums; real physical objects made of iron and stone that Greece claimed were from the original ancient Olympic games dating back a couple thousand years or so.

Some of the items shown were claimed to have been used back then by the athletes … huge shot put balls so heavy that it would be impossible for the normal athletic man to throw; an iron javelin about 20 feet long with a 4 or 5 inch diameter shaft which would have been too heavy and too large for the average man's hand to grip. I also remember seeing what looked like a really big sledge hammer with a short handle that was supposed to be used in a throwing contest, but it weighed 50 or 60 pounds, hardly the normal hammer throwing instrument.

After careful study, I am of the opinion that these Olympic items could have only been used by the type of men the Bible calls in Genesis 6:4 … "mighty men of old, men of renown." I therefore conclude that Greek mythology could be based on stories of these giants or "Nephilim" in Hebrew as they are called in Numbers 13:33 that Israel had to contend with. Of course in Greek mythology, the stories were exaggerated to the point where they became gods like Zeus and Apollo.

One of the first stories children learn in the Bible is about David and Goliath found in 1st Samuel 17:4-51. Although the calculation used for the length of a cubit varies, most manuscripts show this giant to have been nine feet, nine inches tall. The shaft of his spear was compared to a weaver's beam; his spear was 21 feet long and weighed 37 pounds. His armor is estimated to have weighted just under 300 pounds.

The size of Goliath and the weight of his weapons of war as given in the Bible correspond exactly to the size and weight of the preserved Olympic antiquities in Greece. So, if I am to accept what is recorded in the Bible as accurate; shouldn't I also conclude that giants played in the ancient Olympic Games several thousand years ago?

The question now becomes … who were these giants?

To find the answer to this question, I decided to go to the original Word of God, the … "Torah" … the Jewish Bible. I wanted to compare what it said with two that I use; the K.J.V. and the Amplified Bible.

Genesis 6:1-2 in the Torah reads … "Man began to increase on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them. The sons of God saw that the daughters of man were good, and they took themselves wives from whomever they chose."

Notice the clear distinction given between "sons of God" and "the daughters of man." The meaning of the daughters of man is obvious. Even I can understand that. But who are the sons of God?

In the Mechon Mamre English Version of the "Torah" … there are footnotes explaining the meanings given for some of the original Hebrew words and phrases.

The phrase … sons of God … in verse 2 above had this reference: "These were the fallen angels" … (See note on Genesis 6:4 below.)

Continuing in the Torah … Genesis 6:4 … "The titans were on the earth in those days and also later. The sons of God had come to the daughters of man and had fathered them. The titans were the mightiest ones who ever existed, men of renown."

Note: the Torah's reference on verse 4 stated, "The word … titans … is Nefilim in Hebrew, meaning literally … fallen ones. They were called this because they were the sons of the fallen angels. See Numbers 13:33."

(Numbers 13:33 is the report from ten of the twelve spies relating to an order given by the Lord, to send one man from each of the twelve tribes into the land of Canaan, to search and spy it out.)

Numbers 13:33 from the Torah … "While we were there, we saw the titans. They were sons of the giant, who descended from the original titans. We felt like tiny grasshoppers! That's all that we were in their eyes."

Compare Numbers 13:33 in the Amplified … "There we saw the Nephilim [giants], the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."

Both … the Jewish Bible (Torah) and the Christian Bible (Amplified) plainly teach that there were a race of giants on earth that came from a union between the fallen angels and the daughters of men. The Nephilim (the giants) were not the fallen angels. They were the offspring, the children born from this union.

This is why even the King James Bible states in Genesis 6:4 … "There 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 they bore children to them, the same (the children) became mighty men which were of old, men of renown."

The children became the giants of Greek mythology, and "also after that" which I believe included the giant named Goliath that David killed.

And now the big question … but how is this possible?

May I try and explain using Scripture?

Many people say that it would be impossible for the fallen angels to mate with human women and produce children since they are in a different realm … meaning the spiritual realm vs. the natural realm. On the surface that looks right. But let's look a little deeper.

I want to look at three things in this two part study …

1.) The manifestation of God … physically.
2.) The manifestation of Angels … physically.
3.) What are demons and where did they come from?

I want to start in Genesis 17 … When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am the Almighty God … I will make my covenant with thee." Abram fell on his face and God talked with him, saying … "Behold, my covenant is with thee … neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham."

In chapter 17, it's recorded that the LORD … "appeared" … to Abraham. (The LORD being Jehovah, the self existent or eternal God.) In the original Hebrew, the word for appeared is … "raah" … which means to see literally; and is implied to behold, to gaze upon, to show self.

How much time Abraham had with God is unknown, the scripture is silent on that point; but it must have been long enough for Abraham to recognize Him again the next time the Lord came calling. Notice what he does in chapter 18.

Genesis 18 … "The LORD appeared unto him as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day … he lifted up his eyes and looked, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them and bowed himself toward the ground and said … My Lord … "

Abraham is sitting in the door of his tent when two angels and the LORD (Jehovah) appear before him. Whenever God as the (Angel of the Lord) or angels themselves appear in scripture they always appear in the form of man. I believe that when the Angel of the Lord appeared, it was always a manifestation of Jesus … because after Jesus is born of Mary, the Angel of the Lord never again appears in Scripture.

So … in both of these encounters, did Abraham really see God and the two angels manifested physically or was it only with his spiritual eyes in the form of a vision?

Let's read on … Abraham gives them water to wash and refresh themselves and then sets food before them … "and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat." The Bible makes one point real clear about these three visitors that looked like physical men with the words … "and they did eat."

How did they do that? Aren't angels supposed to be in a different realm than man? These angels washed like men, rested under the tree like men would have; they even ate the food given them like men. To the natural mind the physiological process of angels eating material food is incomprehensible.

Therefore the only plausible explanation of how this could happen is that angels can and do operate as men in this natural realm the same as we can. The following scripture seems to be in agreement with this …

Hebrews 13:2 … "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

The Amplified says it this way … "Do not forget or neglect or refuse to extend hospitality to strangers … for through it some have entertained angels without knowing it."

In Part II … we will discuss more on this, including fallen angels.

To be continued …


Comments welcome.