Evidence for the existence of the Nephilim goes beyond the biblical record. The story of Lamech, found in the Genesis Apocryphon, relates how Lamech had been away from home on a long journey. When he finally came back, he discovered to his chagrin, that his wife, Bat-Enosh (sometimes spelled as "Bit- Enosh," i.e. the daughter of Enosh) had given birth to a baby boy in his absence. He was sure that the child had not been sired by him, and what is more, the child bore no resemblance to him or to anyone else in the family. Adding to the mystery was the fact that the boy was extremely beautiful, and when he opened his eyes he lighted up the whole house. "I have begotten a strange son," said Lamech, "...his nature is different and he is not like us, and his eyes are as the rays of the sun, and his countenance is glorious. And it seems to be that he is not sprung from me but from the Angels..." (1)

Lamech did what most husbands would have done: he reproached his wife for infidelity. Bat-Enosh, however, swore by all that was sacred that Lamech himself must have fathered the child. She had not known any other man, not a stranger and note this--not a Watcher or Heavenly Being.

How enlightening for our study! Who were these Watchers or Heavenly Beings? According to the Book of Daniel they were fallen angels (Daniel 4:13,17, 23).

Here is the statement made by Bat-Enosh as it reads in the Lamech Scroll:

"My lord and kinsman, remember my delicate feelings. How (ever), the occasion is indeed alarming, and my soul (is writhing) in it's sheath. I will tell you everything truly."

Then she saw how perturbed her husband was, and decided to repress her passion and indignation a little:

"My lord and kinsman, (I will ignore) delicate feelings and swear to you by the Holy (and) Great One, the Sovereign of heaven (and earth) that this seed came from you, conception was by you, and this fruit was planted by you and not by some stranger or any of the Watchers or heavenly beings. (Have done with) this troubled and marred expression and this gloomy mood. I am telling you the truth." (2)

Lamech by this time must have begun to realize that the child born could have been conceived by one of these Watchers or Heavenly Beings. If so, his child belonged to the Nephilim.

MYSTERY OF NOAH'S BIRTH

Not completely sure as to what to believe, Lamech sought the advice of his father on the matter. Methuselah listened attentively as Lamech revealed this strange story, then promised his son that he would seek the advice of his father, the wise and godly Enoch. Since the family's reputation was at stake, something had to be done.

Enoch, whose name meant "the intelligent" or "the learned," sensed the meaning of what had happened. He sent Methuselah home with the disturbing news that the Earth would soon be visited by a terrible catastrophe and judgment. It was clear that corruption had taken place, and that the human race had become tainted. God would soon be moving in judgment, and human flesh would perish. And as for this little boy, whose birth remained a mystery, he should be raised by Lamech, and should be called Noah. What is more, little Noah had been specially chosen by God to survive this coming judgment, and would be the progenitor of the new inhabitants of planet Earth.

Despite the mystery surrounding his birth, Noah could not be one of the Nephilim, as we shall see in a later chapter. There is no doubt, however, that the unusual circumstances of his birth convinced Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech and Bat-Enosh that strange things were happening on the Earth.

The Genesis Apocryphon is not the only extrabiblical documentation. Numerous other documents indicate the existence of the Nephilim. I do not place these documents on par with Scripture, nevertheless they seem to corroborate Scripture. My sole purpose for introducing them is simply to state that they exist and that they share common features with the Scriptures. My task is similar to that of Montaigne: "Gentlemen, all I have done is make a bouquet from flowers already picked, adding nothing but the string to tie them together." (3)

One such document is the Book of Enoch. This is a composite volume, and, although not know in Europe until the 18th Century, it was a veritable best-seller in the days of Christ. In the centuries immediately preceding and following the coming of Christ, this book was widely read and discussed, and its impact was tremendous. Without question it is the most notable apocalyptical work outside the canonical Scriptures. R. H. Charles, an outstanding authority in this field tells us that, "the influence of 1 Enoch on the New Testament has been greater than that of all the other apocryphal and pseudoepigraphical books put together."

For one thing, the book of Enoch gave to the world the concept of a pre-existent Messiah, and by so doing prepared the way for Christian doctrine. It was from this same book that the Manual of Discipline (found at Qumran) received its solar calendar. What is more, this book became so influential that it became an exemplar and a catalyst for the burgeoning apocalyptic literature of the time. Indeed, it can be claimed, that the Book of Enoch was one of the most important apocalyptic books ever written.

Tertullian and some of the other Church Fathers considered it of such import that they included it as part of the sacred canon of Scripture. Jude 14 is a direct quote from Enoch 1:9, 5:4, and 27:2. There is also in the Book of Enoch a doctrine that one finds nowhere else. Other authors tell us that each nation has its sar or parton, and that of Israel was Michael, or sometimes God Himself. However, in the Book of Enoch we are told that "God was Israel's shepherd till the last years of the Kingdom of Judah; then in disgust He turned them over, not to their own guardian, but to the sarim of the Gentiles." (4)

An amazing book! Such a doctrine prefigures and predicts the "times of the Gentiles" mentioned in the Bible. Yet, of all mysteries, this book remained neglected for more than 1,800 years, and continues to remain neglected, and even shunned, in the 20th Century.

ENOCH

Who was this Enoch, whose name is attached to the book? Enoch is mentioned in the Scriptures, but we are told little about him. Just four verses in all--two in the Old Testament, and two in the New. That little, however, is sufficient to distinguish him as one of the outstanding men of all times. He is listed as the seventh of the ten patriarchs between Adam and Noah. He was the father of Methuselah, the man holding the world's record for longevity. Interestingly, Enoch became a believer and started "walking with God" after his son was born. Soon he became known for his exceptional piety and godliness. The most remarkable fact of all is that he did not die. "Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." He is one of the only two men mentioned in the Bible who were translated to Heaven without tasting death.

In the Book of Enoch other significant facts are given about this patriarch. It claims that Enoch will return to Earth at the end of time, and that he will be one of the two martyrs (or witnesses) slain on the streets of Jerusalem.

The Book of Yasher adds still more detail. It tells how Enoch would periodically withdraw himself from earthly company, and visit the ten heavens. He would then return to Earth with a divine luster on his face, just as Moses emerged from the presence of God on Mt. Sinai, and knew not that his face shone. Such was the regard in which Enoch was held by some of the Jewish mystics that they referred to him as "the lesser Yahweh"-- a title bordering on the blasphemous.

In the book of Jude (verses 14-15), we are told of a prophecy Enoch made concerning the coming of the Lord. This may well be the oldest literary statement in existence. In it, Enoch predicts:

"Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him."

It is obvious that Jude had access to the Book of Enoch, and he did not hesitate to quote from it.

Most scholars claim that the Book of Enoch could not have been written by the Enoch of the Bible. Because of this, the book is labeled a pseudoepigrapha. What happened, they suggest, is that a much later author compiled the work--probably around the 2nd Century B.C.--and used a number of different sources. The author then added the name of the biblical Enoch. In this way, he was assured of the book's acceptance! Whether or not this was so, is not our present concern. But even if it were true, it is obvious that the compiler of the book must have used ancient sources that were at his disposal. He was not so much the author as the compiler or redactor of the book. What could be more honest, more modest, than for a compiler to attach to his book not his own name but that of his oldest source. And who older than Enoch?

AN ANCIENT ASTRONAUT

Enoch obviously had access to knowledge and information completely beyond the reach of mortal man at that stage in man's development. Some of this knowledge Enoch couches in terminology that is allegorical and symbolical, and its meaning frequently escapes us. However, beneath the abstruse verbal descriptions there is some amazing data. The fact that it is conveyed in imaginative and allegorical terminology should not be allowed to detract from its basic accuracy.

The important question in considering the Book of Enoch is whether it contains any reference to the strange and bizarre event recorded in Genesis 6? Does it have anything to say about the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" coming together in sexual union? Yes it does, many times. It contributes a number of details not found in the Genesis record. But none of these facts contradict in any way what is told us in Genesis. Instead, they elaborate on the facts already given. What, then, is this additional information?

One item of interest is Enoch's account of a visit to the "fifth heaven," where he saw giants with their "faces withered, and the silence of their mouth perpetual." Enoch calls them the "Grogori" or "fallen angels," who broke their vows, married the daughters of men, and "befouled the earth with their deeds." He also mentions that "giants were born and marvelous big men and great enmity."

THE WATCHERS

Significantly, the Book of Enoch (like the Genesis Apocryphon) refers to these "sons of God" as Watchers. A term, as already noted, found in the Book of Daniel. (5) Why this particular word should be used, we are not told; possibly because part of their function was to keep vigil. R.H.C. Charles, who translates the word "watchers" as "the angels, the children of heaven," obviously believed they referred to one and the same beings.

The Book of Enoch alleges that two hundred of these Watchers descended to Earth in the days of Jared (Genesis 5:18), and some of them are given names. The worst one of all is called Azazel. The name occurs in other Jewish documents, like the Apocalypse of Abraham. Azazel is accused of having "scattered over the earth the secrets of heaven and hath rebelled against the Mighty One." His name is also found in ancient Jewish ritual concerning the Day of Atonement. On that day, the iniquities of the people of Israel were laid on the scapegoat, and then the scapegoat was driven away "to Azazel, to the wilderness" (Leviticus 16). Azazel was a demon who inhabited a region in the Judean wilderness.

There is an interesting aside on Azazel in a brilliant essay by Dr. Jacob Z. Lauterbach explaining certain "stray references to the activity of Satan on Yom Kippur." The ritual of that day, said Lauterbach, sought to negate Satan's efforts in three ways: The Azazel sacrifice to appease him; the smoke of the incense to drive him away; and the white robes of the High Priest, so different from his usual vestments, a disguise to mislead him. (6)

In the Book of Jubilees a different reason is given as to why the Watchers came to Earth. It was in order "to instruct the children of men and to bring about justice and equity on the Earth." However, the story ends in the same way: instead of instigating justice and equity, they lusted after the women of Earth, and merited the full judgment of God.

SECRETS OF THE COSMETIC TRADE

According to the Book of Enoch, these Watchers instructed the people of Earth in many studies, including the use of charms and enchantments, the arts of magic, and the secrets of the cosmetic trade. And the Book of Jubilees adds to the list, "a medical herbal" which Noah wrote down at the dictation of the angels.

It is interesting how the early Church Fathers used some of these details for preaching purposes and moralistic instruction. Foremost among these was Tertullian, and certainly one of the most original. He asks with astringent irony why should the angels have to instruct the women of Earth in the cosmetic arts? Surely, if they had succeeded in charming angels without any cosmetic aids, it were an easy matter to charm men!

ASTROLOGY, WEAPONS, ET AL

Another study in which the Watchers instructed earthlings was astrology, with all its concomitant evils. And last but not least, they instructed men how to fashion weapons of destruction, particularly swords, knives and shields. Comyns Beumont deduces that they also made ammunition, and even explosives. (7)

The Book of Enoch confirms the Book of Genesis to the letter when it states:

"There arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways." (8)

Things got so bad on planet Earth, according to the Book of Enoch, that the archangels of heaven--Michael, Uriel and Gabriel-- reported the matter to the Most High God:

The whole earth has been filled with blood and unrighteousness. And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended; and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are wrought upon the earth.

CLASSIFIED MATERIAL

God was moved to anger at these Watchers, because of the horrible practices that they had introduced upon the Earth. And there was something else: God was angry at the fact that they had disclosed certain secrets, and were teaching them to their sons, the Nephilim. We are not told exactly what these secrets were, except that they were "eternal secrets" which men of Earth were striving to learn, and which God did not intend for fallen man to discover.

Things deteriorated rapidly, and soon the Nephilim were practicing the most repulsive and revolting behavior. They began to "devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood." This cannibalism shocked even the depraved citizens of Earth, to the extent that they brought accusation against the Watchers.

Enoch is instructed by the Most High to deliver this warning to the Watchers:

"Enoch, thou scribe of righteousness, go, declare to the watchers of heaven, who have left the high heaven, the holy eternal place, and have defiled themselves with women, and have done as the children of earth do, and have taken unto themselves wives: 'Ye have wrought great destruction on the earth: And ye shall have no peace nor forgiveness of sin.'"

These same Watchers in turn approached Enoch to mediate on their behalf, and to write out a petition in their favor. God, however, rejects the petition and Enoch is summoned to speak to the Watchers again:

"Go, say to the Watchers of heaven, who have sent thee to intercede for them: 'Ye should intercede for men, and not men for you. Wherefore have ye left high, holy and eternal heaven, and lain with women and defiled yourselves with the daughters of men, and taken wives unto yourselves and done like the child of earth and begotten giants as sons. And although ye were holy, spiritual living and eternal life, you have defiled yourselves with the blood of women, and have begotten children with the blood of flesh, have lusted after flesh and blood as those who do die and perish.'"

And as for the giants or Nephilim produced by them:

"The giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon the earth...Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are born from men and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin... And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth...And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them...thus shall they destroy until the day of the consummation, the great judgment in which the age shall be consummated over the Watchers and the godless, yea, shall be wholly consummated. And now as to the Watchers... say to them therefore: 'Ye have no peace.'"

Such was the message given to Enoch, who transmitted it to the Watchers and their progeny on Earth.

The next question is: How was this information preserved for us? How did the succeeding generation learn these facts? The Book of Enoch supplies the answer:

"And now, my son Methuselah, I tell thee everything and write it down for thee: I have revealed everything to thee, and handed thee the books which have to do with all these things. My son Methuselah, preserve the books that come from thy father's hand and hand them on to the coming generations of the world."

Enoch was also given a message to deliver to Noah, telling him that the whole Earth was to be destroyed. He was also to instruct Noah in the way of escape, so that his seed be preserved for all generations.

Unquestionably, the Book of Enoch confirms the biblical record that the Earth was defiled and polluted by the incursion of extraterrestrial beings, and particularly by their shameful behavior with the "daughters of men." And as in the Book of Genesis, so in the Book of Enoch, God is incensed with this sexual coupling between celestial and terrestrial beings, and begins to move in an act of terrible judgment. "And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth" (Genesis 6:7).

THE SONS OF JARED

Other books, like The Book of Jubilee add a few more details to this awesome story. It reveals the date when these heavenly Watchers descended to Earth--461 Annus Mundi, a date which Bishop Usher would interpret as 3543 B.C. It also notes that these Watchers were specifically associated with Jared, the fifth in line from Adam.

Interestingly, there is an American organization called "The Sons of Jared." Their publication is called, "The Jaredite Advocate." The aim of this group, as far as one is able to understand is to declare war on all the descendants of the Watchers--including notorious kings and dictators, who have tyrannized mankind. A sort of celestial Mafia!

Regarding this association with Jared, the Book of Jubilees tells us:

"And in the second week of the tenth jubilee of Mahalelel took unto him a wife Dinah, the daughter of Barakel, the daughter of his brother's brother and she bore him a son in the sixth year and he called his name Jared for in his days the angels of the Lord descended on the earth, those so named the Watchers." (9)

OTHER ANCIENT DOCUMENTS

Another minor source of data is the Zadokite Document. This was discovered about a half century ago in the attic of an old synagogue in Cairo and is thought to be related to the Dead Sea Scrolls. This document also refers to the descent of the Watchers, and to their giant offspring:

"Because they walked in the stubbornness of their hearts, the Watchers of heaven fell, yea, they were caught thereby because they kept not the commandments of God. So too their sons whose bodies were as mountains. They also fell." (10)

The Apocalypse of Baruch is another ancient document which confirms the story of the fallen angels. Written in Syriac, it adds this new concept to the story of the fallen angels: that the source of the corruption was the sinfulness of mankind. It was human sin that caused the angels to fall.

A series of booklets called The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, purporting to come from the twelve sons of Jacob, (11) also refer to the fallen angels. They contain nothing like the detail of the Book of Enoch, but they do make an interesting statement: the women of Earth were the prime movers in alluring and enticing the angels. In this they agree with the Apocalypse of Baruch. They also introduce a brand new element, suggesting that the act in which the angels and the women participated was more psychological than physical:

"Thus they allured the Watchmen before the flood, for as these continually beheld them, they lusted after them and conceived the act in their mind; for they changed themselves into the shape of men and appeared to them when they were with their husbands; and the women, lusting in their minds after their forms, gave birth to giants." (12)

It appears from this Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs that the "lusting" and the "conceiving" were in the mind. Nonetheless, the results were physical enough--they gave birth to giants!

Jewish documents are not the only ones which refer to fallen angels. The Koran contains brief reference to two angels, Harut and Maru who came to Earth. Their fall takes place when a beautiful woman appears before them. The angels had been warned in advance that there were three things they were not to do: admit existence of other gods; murder; drink intoxicants. It was precisely these three things that the charming woman demanded, if the angels were to enjoy her favors. Finally the angels agreed to drink wine--as the least of the three sins--and their paramour granted their desires.

FOLKLORE AND FABLES

Another source of information is the abundance of myths, legends, folklore and fables that speak of "giants" upon the Earth in ancient times, and how there was sexual union between demi-gods from Heaven and women from Earth. Many scholars believe that myths emerged from a kernel of historical fact. According to Andrew Tomas, mythology and folklore are "thought- fossils depicting the story of vanished cultures in symbols and allegories." If this is so, do we find anything in myths and legends resembling the bizarre event of Genesis 6? There are indeed numerous such traditions among many nations.

Most people are acquainted with the mythologies of ancient Greece and Rome. The gods or semi-gods in these traditions go under different names, but their behavior has a common denominator. Whether these gods are called Zeus or Jupiter, Poseidon or Neptune, Aphrodite or Venus, Eros or Cupid...their sex orgies, promiscuities, cruelties and violence are all of the same cloth. And so are their offspring.

The Genesis story, according to Tom Horner, corresponds precisely to the Age of the Heroes in ancient Greece. These heroes were also "spawned by divine fathers and human mothers. One of them was Hercules." (14)

The story of Zeus also is well known. Promotheus was aware of the secret that Zeus had no control over his lusts, and aware also of the names of the women whom he would seduce. Because of this and other reasons, Zeus planned for Promotheus to be chained in the Caucasius, where an eagle would feed on his liver each day. But each night his liver would be renewed. In this way, the torture of Promotheus was endless. Eventually however, he and Zeus were reconciled. But cruelty was not the only distinctive of Zeus. There seemed to be no boundaries or limits to his lust, and numerous women were seduced by him, including Thetis, Europa, Leda, Metis and Dione. Emile Gaverluk says:

"Zeus' amorous victories illustrate the. actions of uncontrolled spirit-beings lusting after human flesh. The whole story of Greek mythology is an expanded version of that astonishing verse in the Bible: 'The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and took them wives of all they chose.' (Genesis 6.-2)...The mythology of the past is a startling revelation of the uncontrolled behavior of both spirit-beings and rebellious man." (15)

But the mythologies of Greece and Rome are not the only ones that relate such strange events. Erich Von Daniken has supplied us with a wealth of samples from around the world. (16) We admit that his speculative outbursts frequently outmatch his theological soundness, nevertheless we are indebted to him for bringing to our attention many incontrovertible facts which others had left buried and undisturbed.

Ancient Sumerian records tell of gods descending from the stars and fertilizing their ancestors. This interbreeding of gods from heaven and women from earth is supposed to have produced the first men upon earth.

The native inhabitants of Malekula, in the New Hebrides believe that the first race of men were direct descendants of the sons of heaven.

The Incas held that they were the descendants of the "sons of the Sun."

The Teutons claimed that their ancestors came with the flying Wanen.

Some of the South Sea islanders trace their ancestry to one of the gods of heaven, who visited them in an enormous gleaming egg.

The Koreans believed that a heavenly king, "Hwanin," sent his son, "Hwanung," to earth, married an earth woman who gave birth to Tangun Wanggom. It was he who was supposed to have welded all the primitive tribes together into one kingdom.

The ancient tradition Tango-Fudoki in Japan tells the story of the Island Child. The only difference here is that it was a man from earth and a maiden from heaven that came together in marriage, and spent their time together in heaven and not on earth.

From India comes the Mahabharata and other ancient Sanskrit texts, which tell of "gods" begetting children with women of earth, and how these children inherited the "supernatural" skills and learning of their fathers.

A similar mythology is found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, where we read of "watchers" from outer space coming to planet Earth, and producing giants.

An early Persian myth tells that before the coming of Zoroaster, demons had corrupted the Earth, and allied themselves with women.

When these and many other accounts, are all tied together, they amaze us by their common core. Each one refers, with slight variations, to the traffic between "the sons of God" and "the daughters of men"; to the sexual activities in which they engaged; and to the unusual and abnormal offspring they produced. A further convincing element in this string of samples, is that these myths and legends belong to people so far removed from each other by time, space and language that collaboration or conspiracy is out of the question. How then does one explain this phenomenon?

FABLE OR FACT

Could it be, that at some distant point in time these bizarre events actually did take place? Rather than being the fertile product of the imagination of primitive man, they were simply man's crude description of what actually happened? Beings from Heaven and beings from Earth did actually come together, did generate children, and did produce the Nephilim.

Later, of course, many of these myths and legends developed an overgrowth of fictional imagery and imaginative fantasy, which clung to them like moss to the mill. There can be little doubt, however, that beneath this dense overgrowth lies the plant of truth. What began history, ended up as legend.

Above all else, we are convinced that the Bible speaks of these things. The basic message of the apocryphal documents and the various mythologies find corroboration in God's Word. Spirit beings from outer space did arrive on Earth, and did produce these unnatural offspring. By this cross-breeding, man became more and more absorbed with evil and violence; the human race became tainted and corrupted; and soon the Earth was unsalvagable. These extraterrestrial being by means of genetic manipulation had succeeded in contaminating God's special creation; so much so, that their destruction, as well as that of man became a moral necessity.

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Notes:

1. R. H. C. Charles, Fragments of the Book of Noah (London: Oxford University Press).

2. Theodor H. Gaster, The Dead Sea Scriptures (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Co., Inc., 1956), p. 257.

3. Michel Eyquem de Montaign (1533-92).

4. Bernard J. Bamberger, Fallen Angels (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1952), p. 25.

5. Daniel 4:13, 17, 23.

6. Jacob Z. Lauterbach, Hebrew Union College Annual, IV, 173ff.

7. Comyns Beaumont, The Riddle of Prehistoric Britain (London: Rider & Co., Ltd.).

8. Trans. by R.H.C. Charles, (London).

9. Dr. R.H.C. Charles, The Book of Jubilees (London: A & C Black, 1902).

10. Theodore H. Gaster, The Scriptures of the Dead Sea Sect (London: Secker & Wartburg, 1957).

11. Bernard J. Bamberger, Fallen Angels (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1952), p. 27.

12. Ibid., p. 31.

13. Andrew Tomas, We Are Not The First (New York: Bantam Books, Inc., 1973).

14. Tom Hoover, Sex in the Bible (Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1974), p. 145.

15. Emil Gaverluk, Did Genesis Man Conquer Space? (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1974), p. 89.

16. Erich Von Daniken, Gods from Outer Space (New York: Bantam Books, Inc., 1972) pp. 161-162.

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