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Richard ‘Aharon’ Chaimberlin, Litt.D. |
PRIOR
TO THE GREAT FLOOD, Genesis 6:1 tells us that “men began to multiply upon the
face of the land…” With life spans of several hun-dred
years, (see Gene-sis 5), it is easily conceivable that a woman could and would
have many dozens of children in the course of a lifetime. The large number of
births, combined with a low death rate (because of huge life spans) would have
translated into a huge population growth rate during the years prior to the
Great Flood. Planet Earth also had near idyllic climate throughout most of the
world, with better living conditions. The fossil record shows us that tropical
vegetation and animals once thrived in Antarctica. There may have been billions
of people living on this planet before the Flood.
I would also expect that there was an explosion
of knowledge, because people could go on learning for hundreds of years,
building up a huge accumulation of knowledge. The people weren’t ignorant
savages carrying women by their hair back to the caves, as some cartoonists
might have you believe. Civilization was very advanced. However, with an
idyllic living environment, there would have been less incentive to develop
modern technology. The combination of high living standards and long life spans
might have caused mankind to feel a smug self-sufficiency and even pride, with
little thought of their Creator.
Genesis 6:2 tells us that “the sons of Elohim
(God) saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took wives for themselves,
whomever they chose.” This was not pleasing to YHWH, who said, “My Spirit shall
not strive with man forever …nevertheless, his days shall be 120 years.” The
“120 years” has a dual meaning. At the end of this period, the Great Flood
came. Also, life spans after the Flood were significantly reduced, to about 120
years. Later yet, the Psalmist wrote, “As for the days of our life, they contain
threescore and ten (70) years, or if due to strength, 80 years.”
[1]
Hundreds of years ago, the average life span had sunk far below the “threescore
and ten (70 years).” Modern medicine has brought the average life span back up
to where it was 3,000 years ago!
The result of the sexual unions between the
“sons of God” and the “daughters of men” were the Nephilim
(“giants”—literally “fallen ones”), who were born to the women. “Those were the
mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.”[2]
These unions were not unions of ordinary men with women, as can be seen by the
extraordinary results.
The term “sons of God” is also used in Job
2:1, when “the sons of God (Elohim) came to present themselves before YHWH, and
Satan also came among them to present himself before YHWH.” The sons of God
were also present at the Creation of the world, when “the morning stars
sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.”
[3]
These “sons of God” were obviously not ordinary men, because we men hadn’t even
been “invented” yet. The “sons of God” who married the daughters of men (Gen.
6:2) were fallen angels. (The angels of heaven [God] neither marry nor are
given in marriage: Matthew 22:30.) Job also mentioned that the “morning stars
sang together” at Creation. The morning stars were also angelic beings. One of
the ambitions of HaSatan is to “raise my throne above the stars of God…
I will make myself like the Most High.” [4]
According to Revelations 12:4, the great
red dragon (Satan) “swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and threw
them to the earth.” This is a reference to the rebellion led by HaSatan and his
angels against God. The result was that “the great dragon was thrown down, the
serpent of old, who is called Satan… and his angels with him.”
[5]
The resultant offspring of the fallen
angels of Genesis 6 with the “daughters of men" was a different type of being,
called in Hebrew the Nephilim, literally the “fallen ones,” but called “giants”
in the KJV Bible. They were in fact giants, but the KJV Bible gives an
incorrect translation of the word “Nephilim.” These Nephilim may have been the
origin of the various ancient mythologies, with their many giant gods. These
ancient mythologies may have had an actual basis in fact, not fantasy.
The Nephilim were wicked, and mankind also
became defiled and evil. “YHWH saw that the wickedness of man was great on the
earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only wickedness
continually.” [6]
HaShem made the decision to “bring a flood
of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath (ruakh) of life from under heaven. Everything that is on
the earth shall perish.” [7]
At the time that Noah warned about water coming down from the sky, it must have
seemed preposterous to the people. Up until that time, it had never rained before!
“But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the
ground.” [8]
The Flood destroyed all life that was upon
the surface of the earth. The Nephilim were also destroyed. Contrary to popular
Christian theory, the fallen angels are not the “demons” of today. According to
Jude 6, “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own
habitation, (God) has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness until the
judgment of the great day.” If the fallen angels are being held in chains, they
obviously are not the spirits that enslave so many today. It is the disembodied
spirits of the Nephilim (who died in the Great Flood) that are the “demons” of
today. The fallen angels already have bodies and don’t seek any other bodies
to inhabit. However, the Nephilim lost their bodies in the Flood, and are
constantly seeking bodies to inhabit. They also have a nasty habit of trying to
destroy the bodies that they do inhabit, and then seek other bodies to
inhabit.
The Book of Enoch also verifies what I have
said regarding the Nephilim. The Book of Enoch is an ancient book that was
translated from the ancient Ethiopic language of Geez (a Semitic language) into
English in 1821. Some of it is pretty weird, and I don’t consider it to be part
of the sacred canon of Scripture. It nonetheless does contain some useful
information to verify and shed some light on Scripture, much as the writings of
Josephus have done. Let me quote from Enoch:
Now the giants, who have been born of
spirit and of flesh, shall call upon the earth evil spirits, and on earth shall
be their habitation. Evil spirits shall proceed from their flesh, because they
were created from above… Evil spirits shall they be upon the earth, and the
spirits of the wicked shall they be called. The habitation of the spirits of
heaven shall be in heaven, but upon the earth shall be the habitation of the
terrestrial spirits, who were born in earth. The spirits of the giants shall be
like clouds, which shall oppress, corrupt, fall, contend, and bruise upon the
earth… those spirits shall rise up against the sons of men, and against women,
for they come forth (from them) during the days of slaughter and destruction.” Enoch 15
It is interesting to note that Jude 14
makes reference to the Book of Enoch. This is one of those books that the Bible
makes reference to, but is not in the canonized Scripture. The reasons are
sometimes language. (Judaism only accepted books written in Hebrew or Aramaic
as being Scripture.) Sometimes, perhaps, they may simply have been lost! Some
others, such as the Book of Jasher, referred to in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel
1:18, have been “rediscovered.” They might not be the actual lost books; they
could just be very clever forgeries. These are interesting books, perhaps equivalent
to other good religious books of today. They have some interesting information,
which can also sometimes be found in Talmud and other Jewish writings and
Midrash, but should not be considered part of the sacred canon of Scripture.
The Scriptures make it clear that the Great Flood was a judgment upon the earth for the wickedness and violence that was upon the earth. There was also a “gene pool” problem as a result of the relations that were occurring between the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men.”
The problems continued even after the flood. In Numbers 13:33, the spies reported seeing men of immense size, and reported to Moses, “And there we saw the giants (Nephilim—literally, “fallen ones”), 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.” Perhaps Goliath the giant was also a descendant of the Nephilim, which would account for his immense size, which was six cubits and a span,[9] about 10 feet tall. There were other giants at Gath.[10] I suspect that there was a gene pool problem in Canaan, which is perhaps the reason for the rather extreme commandment to destroy the inhabitants of Canaan. Thereafter, there is no further mention of giants, so I would assume that this “gene pool” problem was finally taken care of.
So what difference does it make to us today
as to the origin of demons? Perhaps it doesn’t make a huge difference to most
of us. However, for those involved in exorcism, or for those who know people
who are demon-possessed or demon-oppressed, it may make a huge difference. I
believe that as times go on, we will see greater manifestations of demonic
activity. We already see much of this in popular culture, where rock icons are
promoting devil worship, suicide, murder, and other acts of mayhem. Hollywood
is also adding to the distorted imagery of Satanism and witchcraft, and making
millions while doing it. Relatively “harmless” programs like the comedy series
“Bewitched” turned millions onto the possibility of experimenting with “white”
witchcraft, which supposedly is benign, but the source is all Satanic. It
plants seeds of the occult into many who proceed to personally explore the dark
side of the supernatural.
One of the other tricks of the enemy is to
try to convince people that Satan is not real, and that the concept of demons
is fantasy. Those who have been involved in spiritual warfare know otherwise,
but it may be harder to convince the skeptics, who have been fooled into
doubting the existence of evil spirits.
Demon Possession?
It
helps to “know your enemy,” and HaSatan and his evil minions are indeed your enemy.
I for one do not believe that a genuine believer in Yeshua who has accepted the
blood of atonement can be demon-possessed. Romans 8:1 tells us that we
are “in Messiah.” Also, Colossians 1:27 tells us that the Messiah is in us!
That sounds pretty thorough. When I give a hug to my wife, my arms are wrapped
around her, so she is in a sense in me. However, at the same time she is outside
of me. Yeshua does it one better in that He is in us, and we are in Him.
Although I don’t believe it is possible for
a genuine born-again Believer to be “demon-possessed,” I do believe it is
possible for a Believer to be “demon-oppressed,” and I have witnessed
much of that. Believers often open themselves up to the occult or various bondages
which often invite demon-oppression. Many Believers are in need of deliverance
from such oppression. However, many love the chains that bind them. They have
other “gods” that are more important to them than their Creator. They worship
at the altar of the gods of entertainment, sports, materialism, sexual perversion,
alcoholism, gambling, or a host of other sins that make them more vulnerable to
demon oppression. Believers often
partake of the occult or participate in Babylonian religion,
which is often dressed up as “Christianity,” making it hard for the
Believer to “come out of Babylon” and be delivered of these unclean spirits.
Mystery Babylonian religion is bound up in the Roman Catholic Church, and has
been carried also into most Protestant churches, which have adopted the same
holidays and Sabbaths which are found in Catholicism, rooted in Babylonian
religion.
The Great Flood & Halloween
There
are autumn ceremonies for honoring (and appeasing) the dead in nearly all
ancient cultures. This includes the Assyrians, Hindus, Persians, Chinese,
American Indians, South Sea Islanders, and of course the British Isles. It
hearkens back to the worldwide “legends” of a Great Flood, which actually
occurred over 4400 years ago. According to most ancient legends, the spirits of
those who died in the Flood would visit the living at this time of the year.
The Flood began and ended in the autumn.
According to the Rabbis, man was created on Yom T’ruah
(“Rosh HaShanah” on the Jewish calendar) which is observed on the 1st
of Tishrei. The month of Tishrei, which normally begins in late September, was
the first month of the year. However, in Exodus 12:2, the month of Abib
(Nissan), which normally begins in late March, would become the first month of
the year. However, at the time of the Great Flood, Tishrei was still the first
month of the year. Genesis 7:11 tells us that “in the second month (Cheshvan)
on the 17th day of the month, on the same day, all the fountains of
the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.”
Curiously, this was right about the time that Halloween is celebrated today,
which is the surviving Festival of the Dead. The Great Flood is the reason that
the end of October is so “bewitching.” Legends began to occur that the ghosts
of those who died in the Flood or during the past year would “haunt” the living
at this time.
Even though the Great Flood occurred as a
judgment because of sin, it was only three generations later that the heresy
and rebellion of Nimrod began, forming the foundation of the ancient Babylonian
religion, which continues to exert its influence upon the religions of today. Most
of the modern Halloween traditions come to us from the Celts. When we think
of Celtic peoples, we tend to think of Scotland and Ireland. However, the
ancient Celts (Shehlts or Kehlts)
were warlike tribes that dominated much of southern Europe and Turkey thousands
of years ago. Many of their traditions are Babylonian in origin. The Celtic
language is a branch of the Indo-European family of languages, and is still spoken
in parts of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, and even in the Canadian province
of Nova Scotia.
In 390 BCE,
[11]
Celtic warriors overran Italy, and even conquered Rome for a time. Eventually,
the Romans were able to fight back, and defeated the Celts in most of continental
Europe from 58 to 52 BCE. By 43 CE,
[12]
the Romans even conquered them in the British Isles. However, the Celts were
allowed to stay in the British Isles, under Roman rule.
The Celts carried the influence of the Babylonian
religion with them when they finally settled in Ireland, Wales, and Scotland.
However, some of the ancient Celtic religion is uniquely Celtic and can’t be
“blamed” on Babylon. This blend of traditions is responsible for many of the
Halloween traditions which children and adults still celebrate today.
The Celts worshipped many of the same gods
that the Romans and Greeks worshipped, only with different names. The Romans
and Greeks got their gods from the Babylonians. (For instance, the Babylonian
goddess Ishtar became the Celtic goddess “Easter,” which in turn is the name of
a ‘Christian’ holiday.)
The Celtic priests and teachers were known
as Druids. They were also the judges. In this way, they had almost complete
control of the people.
The Druids held an annual festival called Samhain
(pronounced Sam-win, meaning “summer’s end”). Samhain was also the name
of the Lord of the Dead. October 31st was the date chosen for the
Celtic New Year. They celebrated every wicked and evil thing, and also
worshipped the dead on this date.
Quoting The World Book Encyclopedia
(“Halloween,” Vol. 9), “On the evening of the festival… the Druids built a huge
bonfire (“bone fire”)… They burned animals, crops, and possibly humans as
sacrifices… During the celebration, people sometimes wore costumes made of
animal heads and skins. They told fortunes… by examining the animals that had
been sacrificed… Many of the customs of the Celts survived even after the
people became Christians… The people made the old pagan customs part of this
Christian holy day.”
Irish farmers on the way to the festival
honoring Samhain would stop at homes on the way and ask for food. If the food
met with their approval, they would pronounce a blessing upon the home and its
occupants. If it did not meet with their approval, they pronounced a curse on the
home and threatened the inhabitants. “Trick or Treat”!
As mentioned earlier, the Druid priests
wore costumes made from the skins of animals which had just been sacrificed. I
suspect that they didn’t smell very good, and they looked horrid. This is the
origin of Halloween costumes, many of which are disgusting. In the ancient
Druid religion, you couldn’t be too sure who was really human, or who was
really an animal. They believed that evil people were sometimes turned into
animals, especially cats, and even better, black cats. Much of the Druid
religion was basically witchcraft, so it isn’t surprising that witches are part
of the modern celebration.
In many Latin cultures, the 31st
of October is celebrated as El Noche de los Brujos (“The Night of the Witches”). At least they are
honest about the traditions of this holiday. The “holiness” dates to the year
934 CE, when the Catholic Church officially made November 1st “All
Saints Day,” and sanctified the previous evening (Oct 31).
Mixture (especially spiritual mixture) is
condemned in Scripture. When the northern tribes of Israel were taken into
captivity, pagan peoples were brought into the Land. Because these people did
not fear the Lord, “YHWH sent lions among them, which killed some of them.”
[13]
The Assyrians correctly surmised that the new inhabitants were suffering
because they weren’t worshipping the God of Israel, so they commanded Israelite
priests to be brought in to teach these pagans about YHWH. “But every nation
still made gods of its own… They also feared YHWH… and served their own gods
according to the custom of the nations from whom they had been carried.”
Mixture is also in Christianity. We are commanded
to pray to the Father (yes, in Yeshua’s name), and not to any “saint.” Today,
pagan holidays have been “christianized,” even while carrying over the same
pagan customs while giving them “Christian” meaning. We would do well to avoid
the customs of the heathens, as per God’s commandment in Deut. 18:9-13.
Nephilim and the
Ancient Gods
I believe that the
gods of ancient Greek, Roman, and Nordic “mythology” have their origins in
fact, not fiction, and correspond with true Biblical events.
The ancient “gods” tended to be giants,
such as the mysterious beings in ancient Greece called “Titans.” The Titans
were the result of the union of two fabled Greek gods: Ge (“Earth”) and Uranus
(“Sky”). The Titans were eventually defeated by Zeus, who cast them into Tarturus – a place of punishment.[14] My, my… Doesn’t that sound like much of what
we have been reading? Fallen angelic beings and earthly beings come together
and produce a race of giants. And then they are cast into Tarturus.
Jude 6 tells us, “And the angels which kept not their first abode (that is, the
fallen angels), but left their habitation, He has reserved in everlasting
chains under darkness until the Judgment of the Great Day.” Let me quote Enoch
7:
“It happened after the sons of men had multiplied in
those days, that daughters were born to them, elegant
and beautiful. And when the angels, the sons of heaven, beheld them, they
became enamored of them, saying to each other, ‘Come, let us select for
ourselves from the progeny of men, and let us beget children…’ And they
conceiving brought forth giants… These devoured all which the labor of men produced,
until it became impossible to feed them, when they turned themselves against
men, in order to devour them.”
Giants After the Flood
The entire race of
giants drowned in the Great Flood. However, we read that additional races of
giants sprang up after the Flood. Deuteronomy 3:11 tells us that King Og had a bed nine cubits long –
almost 14 feet. Goliath was “six cubits and a span” – close to ten feet tall!
The “valley of the Rephaim (giants)” in 2 Samuel 5:18
is called “the valley of the Titans” in the Septuagint.[15]
The Tanakh (O.T.) speaks of various races of giants, including the Nephilim, Rephaim, and the Anakim. So it
seems that more of that “spooky” stuff that occurred before the Flood also
happened after the Flood, whereby fallen angels were having relations with the
daughters of men. This was perhaps an attempt from HaSatan to “pollute” the human
gene pool, making it impossible for the prophesied Messiah to come.
However, we don’t encounter giants anymore
after the time of King David, which seems to indicate that these other races of
evil giants were eliminated. After the birth of Yeshua, perhaps HaSatan decided
to cease in his attempts to pollute the gene pool with more unholy progeny.
However, I suspect this kind of activity may reoccur again in the latter times.
Revelation 9:1-12 tells us that an angel is given the keys to the Bottomless
Pit, enabling the demonic creatures now in captivity to torment mankind once
again.
I wonder... Men who
go to war often have survivor's guilt, because some of their buddies didn't
survive. Holocaust survivors often experience the same guilt. Did Noach and his family experience survivor's guilt? Did they
perhaps feel that they didn't do enough to warn the people of impending
disaster?
Time is short
today. There is a day of Judgment and destruction
coming upon the world. "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at
the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah
entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood
came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the
coming of the Son of Man."
(Matthew 24:37–39)
Have you warned people? Will they listen?