Focus On Jerusalem

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As The Days of Noah Were

By: Chuck Missler

 

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Focus on Jerusalem is always striving to present enlightening and provocative prophecy–related material to its readers. The FOJ Library has been built to house numerous articles by various authors that I think have been inspired by the Holy Spirit. One of the foremost prophecy thinkers of our day is Chuck Missler of Koinnoia House Ministry. His books and articles on the Nephilim and the Days of Noah are interesting and timely reading. (03-14-06) In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus also likens the Last Days, not only to the days of Noah, but also makes a stark comparison to the times of Lot, and the prevailing condition that existed in Sodom. Both of these cultural debaucheries exist today, as in no other time since the days of Noah and Lot.

 

(Luke 17:26-30 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.)

 


 

As The Days of Noah Were

 

And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man."

The emergence of the "Nephilim" was what brought about the Flood of Noah. Who were they? Is the current interest in the possibility of "alien" involvements somehow of Biblical relevance?

 

The Nephilim

 

   Genesis 6 indicates that the "sons of God" (B'nai Elohim) took wives of the "daughters of men," which gave birth to the "Nephilim." What on earth was going on? The B'nai Elohim is a term that refers to angels. It occurs four times in the Old Testament and is rendered "Angels of God" in the ancient Septuagin translation. The intrusion of certain angels into the human family resulted in unnatural offspring termed Nephilim, which derives from the Hebrew naphal (to fall), or the Fallen Ones. (The Greek Septuagint renders this term gigantes, which actually means "earth-born." This is often misunderstood to mean "giants," which they also happen to have been, incidentally.)

 

Line of Seth

 

   The early church viewed the B'nai Elohim as angels up through the late fourth century: Justin, Athenagoras, Cyprian, Eusebius, et al. (also Josephus, Philo, Judeaus, and the Apochrypha regard this view). Celsus and Julian the Apostate exploited the older common belief to attack Christianity. Cyril of Alexandria, in his reply, repudiated the orthodox position. Julius Africanus (a contemporary of Origen) introduced the theory that the "sons of God" simply referred to the genealogical line of Seth, which was committed to preserving the true worship of God.

   Seemingly more appealing, the "Sethite theory" prevailed into the Medieval Church, and many still hold this view. This view, however, has several serious problems. There is no indication that the Sethites were distinguished for piety; they were not exempted from the charge of general wickedness which brought on the flood. In fact, Seth's son Enosh was the one who introduced apostasy to that world. This is masked by a mistranslation of Genesis 4:25, which should read:

 

"...then men began to profane the name of the Lord."

 

   Furthermore, when the faithful marry the unfaithful, they do not give birth to unnatural offspring! And the "daughters of men" were not differentiated with regard to the Flood. All were lost.

(Incidentally, the Nephilim didn't completely end with the flood. Genesis 6:4 mentions, "...and also after that..." We find the sons fo Anak, the Anakim, later in the Old Testament.)

 

The Reason for the Flood

 

   It was the infusion of these strange beings into the human predicament that brought on the Flood of Noah. The Flood was preceded by four generations of prophets/preachers warning of the coming judgment: Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah. It seems that this was part of Satan's stratagem to corrupt the line of Adam to prevent the fulfillment of the Messianic redemption. Noah was apparently unique in that his genealogy was still uncorrupted.

 

   The strange events which led to the flood are also alluded to in ancient mythologies.8 The legends of the Greek "titans"--partly terrestrial, partly celestial--embrace these same memories. (The Greek titan is linguistically linked to the Chaldean sheitan, and the Hebrew satan.)

 

The Angels that Sinned

 

   There is a great deal revealed in the Bible about angels. They can appear in human form, they spoke as men, took men by the hand, even ate men's food, are capable of direct physical combat, some are the principal forces behind the world powers. They don't marry (in Heaven), but apparently are (or were) capable of much mischief. The strange events of Genesis Chapter 6 are also referred to in the New Testament. Peter refers to events preceding the flood of Noah:

 

"For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment..." 2 Peter 2:4

 

(Peter uses the term tartarus, here translated as hell. This was a Greek term for "the dark abode of woe, the pit of darkness in the unseen world." Homer's Iliad portrays tartarus "as far below hades as the earth is below Heaven...")

 

Also, in Jude, it mentions them:

 

"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Jude 6 and 7.

 

   Scripture warns against meddling with the spirit world. The punishment which overtook the angels that sinned was to emphasize the serious nature of apostasy: beings of a higher order than ours have been hurled down into a dark place of confinement where they have remained for thousands of years. God has not changed His attitude toward them; time has not mitigated the seriousness of their sin. False teachers are prewritten into condemnation.

 

The "Sons of God" Return?

 

   There are many who believe that the recent "alien" involvements are also demonic and are just another precursor to the end-time. Some also believe that the Coming World Leader may boast of an "alien connection." It would be consistent from what else we can infer from Scripture. (The Restrainer of II Thessalonians 2 may be restraining far more than we have any suspicion of! When He is removed, the world is in for some astonishing surprises!)

   In the meantime, what are our weapons of protection against such things? We do, indeed, "wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Our armor is well defined in Ephesians 6:10-17.

 

 

"Mischievous Angels or Sethites?"

 

   In the above analysis we have explored the importance of understanding Genesis 6. The straightforward presentation of the text seems to clearly portray a strange union of fallen angels with women to produce a hybrid race called the "Nephilim," or fallen ones. We enumerated the reasons we accept the "angel" view and why the liberal "Sethite" view is inadequate. Far beyond simply a misunderstanding of the forthright presentation of the text, the "Sethite" view also obscures apprehension of the prophetic Scriptures.

 

Post-Flood Occurrences

 

   Regarding the Nephilim, Genesis 6:4 also includes the haunting phrase, "...and also after that...." Apparently these strange events were not confined just to the period before the Flood. We find that there seems to be some recurrence of those things which resulted in unusual "giants" appearing in subsequent periods later in the Old Testament narrative, specifically the giant-races of Canaan.

   There were a number of tribes such as the Rephaim, the Emim, the Horim, and Zamsummim, that were giants. The kingdom of Og, the King of Bashan, was the "land of the giants." Later, we also find Arba, Anak, and his seven sons (the "Anakim") also as giants, along with the famed Goliath and his four brothers.  

   When God had revealed to Abraham that the land of Canaan was to be given to him, Satan had over 400 years to plant his "mine field" of Nephilim! When Moses sent his twelve spies to reconnoiter the Land of Canaan, they came back with the report of giants in the land. (The term used was Nephilim.) Their fear of those terrifying creatures resulted in their being relegated to wandering in the wilderness for 38 years.

   When Joshua and the nation Israel later entered the land of Canaan, they were instructed to wipe out every man, woman and child of certain tribes. That strikes us as disturbingly severe. It would seem that in the Land of Canaan, there again was a "gene pool problem."

   These Rephaim, Nephilim, and others seem to have been established as an advance guard to obstruct Israel's possession of the Promised Land. Was this also a stratagem of Satan?

 

The Days of Noah

 

   Perhaps the most direct prophetic reference involving these things was the peculiar warning of our Lord Jesus Himself:

 

And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

Luke 17:26

 

What does that mean? He also warned:

 

And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.Luke 21:25,26 (emphasis added)

 

Is it possible that the UFOs - and their occupants - are part of an end-time scenario?

 

The Miry Clay of Daniel 2

 

   The famous dream of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel Chapter 2 appears to lay out all of Gentile history until God ultimately intervenes and sets up His own kingdom. The various metals which make up the image in the dream are well known to serious students of prophecy. Even our common expression, "the idol has feet of clay," comes to us from this classic passage. But what is represented by the "miry clay" in this image? It seems to be strangely mixed-but not completely-with the iron in the dream. The term "miry clay" refers to clay made from dust, a Biblical idiom which suggests death. ) When Daniel interprets this for us he makes an especially provocative allusion in verse 43:

 

And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. (Daniel 2:43)

 

   As he switches to a personal pronoun, they, "shall mingle themselves with the seed of men..." This is extremely suggestive when viewed in light of the warning of our Lord in Luke 17:26, ostensibly directing us to look more closely at Genesis 6. Just what (or who) are "mingling with the seed of men?" These would seem to refer to some beings who are not the seed of men themselves!

   Could this be a hint of a return to the mischief of Genesis 6? It staggers the mind to consider the potential significance of Daniel's passage and its implications for the future global governance. Are these "aliens" so prolific that they constitute a political constituency?

   Will there be UFO incidents as part of a carefully orchestrated program to lead us toward a political agenda? Or has it started already? Are the UFOs, and the increasingly widespread abductions, part of the preparations for this scenario?

 

UFO Abductions?

 

   There seems to be a growing concern within the psychiatric community from the strange (and far too frequent) reports from people who claim to have been "abducted" by the occupants of UFOs. These reports are too bizarre to accept, and yet too frequent-and consistent to ignore. What is particularly disturbing is the estimate from some national polls that as much as 3% of the population may be involved! Perhaps the most well-known researcher in this area is Dr. John E. Mack, who is professor of psychiatry at The Cambridge Hospital, Harvard Medical School. A contributor to over 150 articles in professional (peer-reviewed) journals and a former Pulitzer Prize winner, he certainly appears to have impressive credentials. He has been involved in almost a hundred of these cases personally, and has shocked the professional community by declaring that he believes these beings may be real and that they appear to have an agenda to develop a hybrid race!

   At a professional conference on abductions at M.I.T., Dr. Mack asked the provocative question, "If what these abductees are saying is happening to them isn't happening, then what is?"Could all this involve a return to the strange events of "the Days of Noah?"

 

 

 









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