THE BOOK OF AMOS

Lesson 4, Chapter 2 continued

As we continue with Amos chapter 2 today, I want to take a moment to look back on, and review, that final section of last week’s lesson as it concerns the matter of morality and the existence of a divine law code. This issue is woven throughout the Book of Amos, as it was throughout our study on the Book of Hosea. I suppose bringing this issue up yet again might be met by some who are listening to this with eye-rolls and droopy eye lids. I’ll warn you in advance, we’ll not finish with it today, nor will we abandon the subject as we work our way through several of the Minor Prophets because the topic of morality as meaning obedience to the Mosaic Covenant is always deeply embedded in their inspired words. If there is one, single overriding cause behind the weakening of the Christian Church and of Judaism, and of the loss of moral direction within our world’s societies…with Western societies leading the way…it is this: we have intentionally ignored and even discarded the only universal moral law code that has ever been given to mankind: The Law of Moses. Until this is resolved and God’s moral law code is reinstituted as foundational to the Church, Synagogue, and our societies…to the demise of centuries of manmade religious doctrines that are contrary to God’s written laws and commands, the downward spiral of world events and the chaos we are enveloped in, will only intensify.

I am going to take a moment to quote to you excerpts of a recent article written by Ben Shapiro that addresses this matter from a slightly different angle. It is titled: “The Death of Eternal Truths and the New Paganism”.

Last week, Pope Benedict XVI died at the age of 95… His life was marked by adherence to a belief in an eternal truth above all. As he stated in a 2008 meeting with Catholic educators at the Catholic University of America, "Truth means more than knowledge: knowing the truth leads us to discover the good… [W]e observe, with distress, the notion of freedom being distorted. Freedom is not an opting out. It is an opting in — a participation in Being itself. Hence authentic freedom can never be attained by turning away from God."….

There is a truth; that truth must be pursued; the only substitute for truth is falsehood. Human beings have sussed out eternal truths over the course of millennia, and to discard those truths in favor of subjectivism is crippling. Those eternal truths are rooted in the belief that God made us in His image; that He granted us roles and responsibilities; and that true freedom lies in making choices within the boundaries of those roles and responsibilities…What happens when we discard those truths? Disaster strikes. First, we lose belief in something Higher; then we lose belief in ourselves. We are seeing the consequences of this two-step process before us in real time….

Civilizationally, the loss of inherited wisdom and traditional values has resulted in new, ersatz gods to worship…As the West loses its links with traditional wisdom, it breaks loose of its philosophical moorings. The consequences will be dire unless those moorings are reinforced. And they can only be reinforced by those who have the courage to defend eternal truths — not merely hide behind the tolerance of pluralism, a repository for the cowardice of conservatives who correctly stand with free speech but incorrectly think that stance sufficient to win the day.

In the end, either the truth will win out, or it will be destroyed. As Pope Benedict XVI told the Bishops of the United States in 2012, "The Church in the United States is called, in season and out of season, to proclaim a Gospel which not only proposes unchanging moral truths but proposes them precisely as the key to human happiness and social prospering." Defenders of traditional values of all stripes are called to the same quest.

Now; the question that I set before us all, today, is the same one that God’s biblical Prophets proposed: where does truth come from? If it is from God, then who is it intended for? Is it only for Israel, or perhaps those from anywhere and everywhere who worship the God of Israel? Or, is it for every human individual to follow…every individual that has ever, or will ever, live? The Book of Amos opens by demonstrating that since Yehoveh is God over all nations and not just Israel, then logically His moral code applies to all mankind equally regardless of where they may reside, what ethnicity they possess, what language they speak, or any of the many human cultural differences and variations among ourselves that may exist. While the truth is set down for us to know, it comes from only one source… the Bible. The moral laws that form the basis of that truth, which is given to us in the form of a divinely constructed written code that sets boundaries around human behavior on earth… that code comes from only one source, the Law of Moses that is contained within that same Bible.

With that fundamental understanding in mind…an understanding that is deeply controversial within Christianity but ought not to be…let us resume our study of Amos chapter 2.

RE-READ AMOS CHAPTER 2:6 – end

This oracle against Israel is the 8th and final of the 8 oracles of judgment set against certain named nations that are described as completely rebellious against God. The first 6 were pagan gentile nations, the final 2 were about God’s chosen and set-apart people, Israel, that currently was a divided nation. One Israelite nation (kingdom) called Judah, the other Israelite nation (kingdom) called Ephraim or alternately Ephraim/Israel. Three general categories of Israel’s unfaithfulness are listed: social injustice, sexual immorality and impurity, and profane and perverted worship of Yehoveh including their religious rituals. We’ve already discussed the first 2 categories. The 3rd category… perverted worship of God… is all the worse because social injustice is also employed in this worship observance. What is described in verse 8 is akin to our robbing someone, and then thinking it righteous and good to take 10% of the stolen money and putting it in the collection plate at Church.

In verse 8, the Israelites are accused of using clothes “taken in pledge” to lie down on in front of every altar. The clothes taken in pledge regard the custom of the wealthy who lend money to the poor. Quite literally the outer garment of the poor was sometimes taken as collateral for a short- term loan (because that garment was all they had of value). While of itself this practice is not considered as sin or immoral, the Law of Moses does set down clear boundaries on how this can operate.

CJB Exodus 22:25-26 25 If you take your neighbor's coat as collateral, you are to restore it to him by sundown, 26 because it is his only garment- he needs it to wrap his body; what else does he have in which to sleep? Moreover, if he cries out to me, I will listen; because I am compassionate.

This Amos passage continues to highlight that all the crimes listed against God contained within the 8 oracles of judgment, regardless of which nation committed them, specifically violates one or another of the Laws of Moses. The other matter contained within this same complaint is that those wealthy few who are immorally holding onto those garments of the poor as collateral are using them to set before altars to Yehoveh. What makes it all the more egregious is that these altars they are using for worship are all illegitimate altars…they shouldn’t even exist since the Law of Moses only allows a single altar and place for sacrifice: the altar at the Temple in Jerusalem.

The next matter (still in verse 8) concerns drinking wine at the temple of their God. First, the temple of worship is not the Temple in Jerusalem, it’s about other temples that were erected in Ephraim/Israel. Second, this isn’t speaking about the libation portion of every sacrificial offering that nearly always included the requirement of wine, it is speaking about the drinking bouts and drunkenness that was typical at the altars and temples of pagan gods…but now incorporated into Ephraim/Israel’s perverted worship of Yehoveh, God of Israel. Further, the accused use the money they gain from fines for petty crimes or even loans being paid back late, to buy this wine. The notion of fines, here, is in the same notion as our idea of fines, today. That is, they are penalties for various infractions of law or contract terms. However, biblically speaking, the Law of Moses did not condone the idea of fines as penalties. Rather the idea was of reparations and restitution to make a victim whole; not as a means of enriching local governments and lining the pockets of the already wealthy. There are numerous case examples called out in the Law of Moses about this matter of reparations; here are two of them:

CJB Exodus 21:18-19 18 "If two people fight, and one hits the other with a stone or with his fist, and the injured party doesn't die but is confined to his bed; 19 then, if he recovers enough to be able to walk around outside, even if with a cane, the attacker will be free of liability, except to compensate him for his loss of time and take responsibility for his care until his recovery is complete.

CJB Exodus 21:28-32 28 "If an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox is to be stoned and its flesh not eaten, but the owner of the ox will have no further liability. 29 However, if the ox was in the habit of goring in the past, and the owner was warned but did not confine it, so that it ended up killing a man or a woman; then the ox is to be stoned, and its owner too is to be put to death. 30 However, a ransom may be imposed on him; and the death penalty will be commuted if he pays the amount imposed. 31 If the ox gores a son or daughter, the same rule applies. 32 If the ox gores a male or female slave, its owner must give their master twelve ounces of silver; and the ox is to be stoned to death.

Again: NOT fines, but rather restitution or reparations to the victim.

Let’s move on to verse 9. Here begins a historical retrospective on what it is that makes Israel, Israel. It begins with something that is actually rather intriguing when we back away and examine it for what it actually suggests.

CJB Amos 2:9 9 "I destroyed the Emori before them; though tall as cedars and strong as oaks, I destroyed their fruit above and their root below.

Emori is Hebrew for Amorite; a people group who are said to be “tall as cedars and strong as oaks”. While it might not seem so on the surface, if we take this for what it is telling us it opens an uncomfortable controversy that the Church has alternately wrestled with and then avoided like the plague ever since the formation of a gentile dominated Church happened in Rome in the 4th century A.D. Here’s the issue in the context of Amos 2:9: why are the Amorites singled out? Were the Amorites REALLY tall as cedars and strong as oaks”, or was this a gross exaggeration? And if they were merely unusually tall and strong, why do we find this specifically identified as a general characteristic of the Amorites who God found only worthy of destruction? What does their size have to do with anything? Now let’s go to another level: what, exactly, was the bone that God had to pick with the Amorites? This is actually no trivial matter and it deserves some attention. The first place we hear of this determination by God to severely punish the Amorites was in Genesis, in the form of a prophecy.

CJB Genesis 15:13-16 13 ADONAI said to Avram, "Know this for certain: your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs. They will be slaves and held in oppression there four hundred years. 14 But I will also judge that nation, the one that makes them slaves. Afterwards, they will leave with many possessions. 15 As for you, you will join your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 Only in the fourth generation will your descendants come back here, because only then will the Emori be ripe for punishment."

What, exactly, had the Amorites done to be the target of God’s punishment? It’s not stated. Why the wait to punish them? It’s unclear. Next we see the Amorites listed as one of several people groups that operated within various parts of Canaan, all marked by God for destruction because the danger they posed to Israel was that their perverted worship practices would rub-off on God’s chosen and lead them astray.

CJB Deuteronomy 20:17-18 17 Rather you must destroy them completely- the Hitti, the Emori, the Kena'ani, the P'rizi, the Hivi and the Y'vusi- as ADONAI your God has ordered you; 18 so that they won't teach you to follow their abominable practices, which they do for their gods, thus causing you to sin against ADONAI your God.

Later, we read of Joshua encountering the Amorites and deeply fearing them.

CJB Joshua 7:7 7 Y'hoshua said, "Oh, Adonai ELOHIM! Why did you take the trouble to bring this people across the Yarden if you meant to hand us over to the Emori and have us perish? We should have been satisfied to live on the other side of the Yarden!

So, another question gets raised. Why is Joshua so certain that should the Israelites face-off against the Amorites that Israel will lose and be destroyed? Earlier in the Torah, we find an interesting passage that concerns the 12 spies that were sent out to scout the land of Canaan before Moses and Joshua led Israel to enter it. This narrative appears in Numbers 13. The bottom line is that while some of the spies spoke of how the land is so very good and worth the taking, another group of the spies said this:

CJB Numbers 13:31-33 31 But the men who had gone with him said, "We can't attack those people, because they are stronger than we are"; 32 and they spread a negative report about the land they had reconnoitered for the people of Isra'el by saying, "The land we passed through in order to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. All the people we saw there were giant! 33 We saw the N'filim, the descendants of 'Anak, who was from the N'filim; to ourselves we looked like grasshoppers by comparison, and we looked that way to them too!"

What we find is that these spies say that the Land of Canaan is full of giants. Is their description accurate? Does it reflect reality? Or is it merely hyperbole because they wanted to avoid battle? Further, we get these cryptic words that the huge men they claimed to have seen were associated with something called the Nephilim. It seems that some element of the Amorites was also connected with the Nephilim and this may have had much to do with why God wanted the Amorites destroyed. So, there is a deep mystery here that needs to be explored, perhaps solved, and now is as good a time as any to pause and do just that.

We’re now going to detour from our study of Amos for a time to delve into these Nephilim and these giant men…including Amorites… that were said to be tall as cedars. This exploration will continue past today and at least into the next lesson. I open this can of worms because it has much to do with properly understanding not only certain strange statements made in both the Old and New Testaments…statements that are real head-scratchers and seem at first glance to belong to folklore rather than to biblical truth…but also in order to peel back the layers of historical Hebrew context that forms the background for the many biblical writings that we place so much trust in as truth. I’ll start with a premise that can (admittedly) be a bit challenging to wrap our minds around, but I assure you it can be grasped by, and it is crucial for, every truth seeker and Bible student to understand. It is that every writer of the Bible wrote and interpreted God and His commands, and also the world events they either witnessed or prophesied about, through the lens of their own historical cultural understanding, traditions, and norms. That is, the biblical writers formed their ideas and sentences and chose certain words because subconsciously they believed that the world operated a certain way, which they took for granted. And it was assumed that the hearer or reader of their writings would be of the same culture as the writer; therefore, the readers would, of course, hold the same cultural viewpoints. These were viewpoints that needed no explanation because they were self-evident and/or their particular culture held these viewpoints as immutable and as embedded beliefs that had long ago been settled. Let me give you an illustration of what I mean.

In modern America, a writer of a book or an article, or even a common person having an everyday conversation, might talk about voting. Exactly what voting is, what it means, where the concept of voting originated, why voting was even made part of our system of governing, and how it generally worked is not included in the discussion because it is considered common knowledge; no need to explain it. We merely utter the word “voting” and a common mental picture between the writer and reader is formed, and we move on. Voting is but one of the many aspects of our American culture and life that, even if we don’t correctly understand the technical nuances of the voting process, we feel like we sufficiently do so we don’t seek information or input about it, nor do we challenge the notion of its existence in any way…it just is. The writers of the Bible were the same concerning matters of their own culture…some things just were. Our challenge as modern Believers is to discover what those ancient Hebrew cultural mindsets were, and to try to unearth those unspoken (but deeply believed) thoughts and background understandings that bound them together as a society of Hebrews, because whatever they intended those words that they wrote down to communicate is how we are to understand them, otherwise we find ourselves misunderstanding what is meant, which can only lead to misapplication of biblical principles or even to entirely incorrect knowledge of the basic definitions of the biblical principles themselves.

In this exploration I’m going to rely heavily on the writings of Amar Annus that concerns how Mesopotamian societies far more ancient than Israel had the ideas of certain historical events embedded into their traditions, and also how we find those same ideas appearing in the traditions of Israelite society at a later time. I’m also going to lean on the work of Dr. Michael Heiser who deals primarily with ancient Hebrew recorded thought concerning traditions and beliefs and where they came from. There are other writers I’ve researched to add other dimensions to this discussion, but Annus and Heiser form perhaps the bulk of my understanding as their works, taken together, are the most articulate and thorough; and (I assess) they are among the more intellectually honest and least prone to doctrinal influences that can (and usually do) obfuscate the biblical facts, dismiss the difficult and upsetting passages, and muddy the waters of proper interpretation. What this exploration is going to revolve around is gaining an understanding that leads back in time to a little-known group of creatures that the ancients called the Watchers. The Watchers are mentioned in extra-biblical Hebrew works, none more prominent than 1Enoch. I want to say at the outset that I make no claim that these creatures necessarily existed, nor if they did that the traditions and beliefs handed down about them and their offspring are fully accurate. Rather I’m saying that the Hebrew people of the many biblical eras believed these traditions…as did folks of other cultures much more ancient than Israel’s… as did most or all of the Old and New Testament writers because such beliefs were inherent to their culture. This reality ought not be terribly difficult for us to accept. After all, virtually all the writers of the Tanakh (the Old Testament) accepted as undeniable fact that there were multiple gods in existence because this, too, was inherent not only in their cultural traditions, but in virtually all cultural traditions. So, when there is mention of “other gods” in the Bible, as far as the biblical writers were concerned they were stating objective reality. They were incorrect, of course, but it was what they sincerely believed and thought was so. Therefore, the threads of these beliefs were deeply embedded in their thoughts, some of which went on to show up in Holy Scripture.

A good starting point is Genesis 6:1 – 4.

CJB Genesis 6:1-4 In time, when men began to multiply on earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were attractive; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 ADONAI said, "My Spirit will not live in human beings forever, for they too are flesh; therefore their life span is to be 120 years." 4 The N'filim were on the earth in those days, and also afterwards, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; these were the ancient heroes, men of renown.

Were we to continue reading, we would see that immediately the Flood story begins. So, the Flood (and the reasons for it) had to do with that written in Genesis 6:1-4. Let me be clear what I’m saying: these verses I read are but a preamble…perhaps an introduction…to the Flood story. The Flood happened in order to deal with the problem that is spoken of in the first 4 verses of Genesis chapter 6.

To begin to untangle this topic and hopefully to restore understanding, we must discover what and who these “sons of God” were that came into the daughters of men. To put it frankly, this is saying that these sons of God had sexual relations with some beautiful daughters of men, and children were born from it. In fact, some of these offspring became ancient heroes and were highly renowned…for something that isn’t really stated. So, the immediate question is: were these sons of God heavenly beings or were they merely humans just like those daughters of men they mated with? Ever since the 4th century the Christian Church has decided that these sons of God are human men of the line of people emanating from Seth, Adam and Even’s son who was born after their older son Abel was murdered by his brother Cain. This so-called Sethite Theological principle has no biblical evidence whatsoever to back it up. Nothing in Scripture says that Seth was not to have a wife nor that those descendants of Seth were to have no marriage with those people coming from the lines of Cain or Abel. Further, when it comes to the actual biblical usage of the term “son of God” as indicating an actual human being, it always had to do with a King of Israel. Prior to the era of Israel’s kings, it was meant in a different context. The reference was to heavenly beings… what we could loosely call angels. Here are some examples of this use taken from a few Bible excerpts.

CJB Job 1:6 It happened one day that the sons of God came to serve ADONAI, and among them came the Adversary

CJB Job 38:1-7 Then ADONAI answered Iyov out of the storm: 2 "Who is this, darkening my plans with his ignorant words? 3 Stand up like a man, and brace yourself; I will ask questions; and you, give the answers! 4 "Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. 5 Do you know who determined its dimensions or who stretched the measuring line across it? 6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, 7 when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

CJB Psalm 82:1-8 A psalm of Asaf: Elohim [God] stands in the divine assembly; there with the elohim [judges], he judges: 2 "How long will you go on judging unfairly, favoring the wicked? (Selah) 3 Give justice to the weak and fatherless! Uphold the rights of the wretched and poor! 4 Rescue the destitute and needy; deliver them from the power of the wicked!" 5 They don't know, they don't understand, they wander about in darkness; meanwhile, all the foundations of the earth are being undermined. 6 "My decree is: 'You are elohim [gods, judges], sons of the Most High all of you. 7 Nevertheless, you will die like mortals; like any prince, you will fall.'" 8 Rise up, Elohim, and judge the earth; for all the nations are yours.

Notice the words “you are elohim”, “sons of the Most High”. Then, we learn that these sons of the Most High are cursed to “die like mortals”. Obviously, these beings were not supposed to die, but because of something they did wrong, they were cursed with death. Clearly it is heavenly beings that are being described. Thus, in Genesis 6:1 -4, what is being addressed is that these sons of elohim are heavenly beings… some type of angel or angel-like creature…and their nature and substance is set in contrast to the daughters of men who are human beings. It was heavenly beings who came to earth and had sexual relations with human women, the offspring of which was some type of hybrid being that no longer properly fit in either the heavenly or the earthly sphere. This joining of angel and human was a violation of Natural Law. In the Law of Moses, improper joining is defined as illicit mixing. That is, two different types are not to be mixed together. Thus, we see biblical commandments against two types of thread being used to make a garment: one type coming from animals (wool), and the other type coming from plants (linen). We also see that two different types of seed are not to be planted next to one another on the chance that their roots might become entangled and thus joined together. There are other illicit mixings that in the New Testament are sometimes referred to as “unequal yoking”. These heavenly beings of Genesis crossed a boundary that was never to be crossed. The heavenly realm got mixed with the human/physical realm when these heavenly beings came into human women and produced offspring. Now a perverted hybrid was formed…and it was often powerful, large, and evil.

Other parts of the Bible speak about this catastrophic event in different ways; even the Apostle Peter brings it up.

CJB 2 Peter 2:1-9 But among the people there were also false prophets, just as there will be false teachers among you. Under false pretenses they will introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and thus bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 Many will follow their debaucheries; and because of them, the true Way will be maligned. 3 In their greed they will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their punishment, decreed long ago, is not idle; their destruction is not asleep! 4 For God did not spare the angels who sinned; on the contrary, he put them in gloomy dungeons lower than Sh'ol to be held for judgment. 5 And he did not spare the ancient world; on the contrary, he preserved Noach, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, and brought the Flood upon a world of ungodly people. 6 And he condemned the cities of S'dom and 'Amora, reducing them to ashes and ruin, as a warning to those in the future who would live ungodly lives; 7 but he rescued Lot, a righteous man who was distressed by the debauchery of those unprincipled people; 8 for the wicked deeds which that righteous man saw and heard, as he lived among them, tormented his righteous heart day after day. 9 So the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and how to hold the wicked until the Day of Judgment while continuing to punish them,

Notice how Peter speaks of “the angels who sinned”, and how God put them in gloomy dungeons ON EARTH (more precisely, someplace even lower in the ground than the grave). Who are these angels who sinned that Peter speaks of? Is this merely a collection of angels who, individually and over long time spans, each committed various offenses that resulted in their imprisonment? Not likely. Peter’s “angels who sinned” can be none other than those sons of God we read about in Genesis 6. And notice how immediately Peter follows that comment with the Flood story, just as does Genesis 6. The connection is remarkable.

Here's yet another New Testament passage to consider:

CJB Jude 1:1-6 From: Y'hudah, a slave of Yeshua the Messiah and a brother of Ya'akov To: Those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept for Yeshua the Messiah: 2 May mercy, love and shalom be yours in full measure. 3 Dear friends, I was busily at work writing to you about the salvation we share, when I found it necessary to write, urging you to keep contending earnestly for the faith which was once and for all passed on to God's people. 4 For certain individuals, the ones written about long ago as being meant for this condemnation, have wormed their way in- ungodly people who pervert God's grace into a license for debauchery and disown our only Master and Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. 5 Since you already know all this, my purpose is only to remind you that ADONAI, who once delivered the people from Egypt, later destroyed those who did not trust. 6 And the angels that did not keep within their original authority, but abandoned their proper sphere, he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for the Judgment of the Great Day.

So, Jude also writes about a topic that was well known from the most ancient past of the Hebrews; it is that there were angles that abandoned their proper sphere of existence in God’s Heaven and came down to earth, and did something horrendously wrong that Jude doesn’t specifically mention because every Hebrew already knew what it was; it was built into their culture and tradition. These heavenly beings’ proper sphere is Heaven, but in rebellion they came down to earth because they were attracted to human females. And what did God do with them? Jude says that God bound them in chains…UNTIL Judgment Day. What is interesting is that while in 2Peter virtually every English translation avoids using the word, and instead substitutes hell or dungeon or some such thing, Peter literally says they are being held captive in a place called Tartarus until the time of judgment (Tartarus is another name for the Abyss of the demons). Let me sum up what I’ve told you to this point: it had always been embedded in Israelite history about a mysterious event that changed the course of human history, and it happened before the Hebrews existed as a separate people group…even before Noah’s Flood. Angels disobeyed God, left their own sphere, came down the sphere of humanity and impregnated human women. Now, some of these (and their offspring) are imprisoned someplace on earth; a place envisioned as deep underground…the Abyss.

Let’s open this can of worms a bit more. In that passage of Genesis 6:1 – 4, we read of the Nephilim who were around during the Flood. The obvious reading of this passage is that the resultant offspring of the rebellious angel beings and the human women were something called Nephilim. This means the angels would have to have crossed-over the boundaries between Heaven and earth, donned human flesh, and then procreated with human females. While this is the plain reading, the problem is that the Church historically has not been able to stomach such a notion as angels having sex with humans, or even being capable of doing so. The Church refers to Matthew 22:30 as their source for this belief.

CJB Matthew 22:30 30 For in the Resurrection, neither men nor women will marry; rather, they will be like angels in heaven.

This Gospel passage never addresses the issue of offspring in any way; nor does it approach the idea of angels having, or not having, an ability to have sexual relations. It is believed according to most Christian traditions, but not confirmed Scripturally, that every angel is an individually, divinely created being. While true that the Bible defines the primary purpose of human marriage as procreation of our species, this in no way addresses the ability (or inability) of angelic beings to procreate if given an opportunity. Let me say outright that the ancient Hebrews would have had no issue with the notion that heavenly beings came to earth and were able to have sexual relations with human females if they so chose…regardless of the wrongness of such an act.

Further, we indeed have several examples in the Bible of angels…or some type of heavenly beings… coming to earth and having physical bodies. One or two met with Abraham and even ate a meal with him. Two quite visible angels physically grabbed hold of Lot to save him from a savage crowd in Sodom. Jacob wrestled for hours with a heavenly being in physical form. We even read that angels ministered to Yeshua. As Heiser jokingly states: “Surely this means more than angels floating around before Jesus’ face!”

Genesis 6 tells us that the Nephilim…these hybrid offspring of angels and humans… were on earth both before and after the Flood. That is, some number of them, somehow in some form or another, survived The Great Deluge. Returning to Numbers 13recall what verses 32 & 33 said:

The spies sent to scout out the Land of Canaan personally encountered these giants, called them Nephilim, and said they were descendants of Anak (the tribe of Goliath), who themselves were descended from earlier Nephilim. So, the existence and reality of the Nephilim and the way they came into being was common knowledge. Those scouts had to have known of the existence of Nephilim before Israel ever left Egypt otherwise they wouldn’t have known what they were or how to identify them. It’s just that it surprised the Israelites that at least some of them lived in the Land of Canaan and showed up having infiltrated a number of tribes that lived there. It seems that the Nephilim had especially become a dominant part of the Amorites.

We’re just touching the tip of the Watchers, and the Nephilim, iceberg. Next week we will continue our exploration of this fascinating topic and begin to incorporate information from the Book of 1Enoch, and see how this matters so much to proper biblical understanding and interpretation.

Lesson 4 Ch2