UFO-ALIEN
ABDUCTION PHENOMENON

[Illustration] Giant Humanoid Footprints in Cretaceous Rock These impressions made in a once soft mud, now lithofied, are among the many such discoveries found in various places of the world, including an area near Mount Whitney in California and near White Sands, New Mexico. Shown above are footprints excavated from the Paluxy River Bed near Glen Rose, Texas. Their tremendous size reminds us of the Biblical statement that "There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown" (Genesis 6:4). (Illustrations are available in the printed version).

Copyright 2000. No portion of this booklet may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without written permission from the author.

PREFACE

In the book of Genesis we read that all people of the Earth are descended from a single human couple, namely Adam and Eve. Even though the Biblical account states this unequivocally most people living today do not take it seriously. Interesting enough, although, there is in the Biblical account one curious exception to this fact which is usually glossed over. Genesis also indicates, clearly and undeniably, that a second strain was added to the human gene pool - a strain not of a human order but from a heavenly source. We find in the sixth chapter of Genesis, immediately before the description of the Flood, a startling detail of this invasive strain. The account is capsulated in a mere four verse statement but is so profound and strikingly different from the rest of the creation narrative that it has been a source of great difficulty for translators and theologians. The infamous episode involving the "sons of God" reads like a piece of fossil paganism that escaped the careful editing of later generations of devout Jewish scribes. It could have happily smoldered as a problem of Biblical exegesis were it an isolated instance. Yet the same strange belief of a bygone period when beings from heaven descended to take human brides, is found not only in this obscure passage of Scripture, but present in the well-known Greek myths and traditions about the amorous adventures of their gods. Just as well, affairs between mortals and beings from another world feature frequently in the tales, folklore and traditions of many cultures around the world. Modern science has no explanation for such stories which are, in the present day, classified among paranormal phenomena. Many of the world's legends evidence a profound parallel to the UFO-Alien Abduction stories of our own time. These stories often involve some kind of sexual encounter with the aliens, a fact which resound with a strange similarity to the mixed marriages between the "sons of God" and the daughters of men in the Bible.

From the Bible we understand that angels were originally created to be ministering spirits. Just as well, it is clear from the Biblical account, and an abundance of extra-Biblical evidence from various cultural traditions around the world, that some of these members of the heavenly host, early on, broke rank and set out to be "gods" in their own right, and become vexations to mankind as agents of deception and iniquity. Compared, in grandeur, to the angels above, man down on Earth is but a worm, yet it is apparent from Scripture that man was elected before the angels were created and that angels were created to serve man. It furthermore appears that a third of the angels would not tolerate such a relatively light task due to one potential flaw in their divine character - pride. That the Son of God took the image and nature of man rather than the higher form and attribute of angels is a most profound element in the Divine economy and revelation.

Angels presuppose man because they were created to be ministering spirits. Angels are perhaps the most misunderstood beings in God's order of creation. In a very real sense, we do not understand angels most simply because we do not understand God. There is a certain symbiotic relationship between man and angels. Angels serve or hinder man depending upon whether they are benign or malignant. Although they are by nature incorporeal creatures, angels, however, do have the power to take on human, or humanoid, form respectively, or other forms evidently as well. In reality there is a far greater degree of similarity between men and angels than there are differences. These two orders of created beings differ primarily in their purpose, power, and finite attributes. Man was created to glorify God, while angels were created to be ministering spirits; Man has procreative power, angels have supernatural power; the form of man is corporeal, the form of angels is incorporeal although they can manifest in physical form. Both orders of creatures possess intellect, emotion, and will. There are other similarities, as well, between angels and men. Equally significant is the fact that the Bible tells us that fallen angels, by taking wives, have procreated, and, by the same token, fallen man has, through the occult, attained to supernatural powers. Both orders of beings have thus illegally crossed the limits of their established domains.

The crises in the western world today is a direct result of its ambiguity regarding truth, authority, and credibility. If the "grass roots scholar" sees something unusual and comes forth publicly and makes a profound statement, no one listens. Yet if a "learned" man with an advanced degree, or a renowned world class figure, proclaims the same news everyone listens. Because these are "lettered" and "reputable" people with "credentials" they are the "voices of authority" for the truth. Nowadays just about everyone respects, and believes, authoritative, accredited people. The modern world doesn't don't care as much about truth as it does about "respectability" and public recognition. There is little regard for how one knows (epistemological awareness) or whether or not they really have the truth. Thus the western world listens to the "high priests" of scientific inquiry, not with hearts that love, seek, recognize, and embrace the truth, but with ears that respect only "authority." The advertising industry has used this "Madison avenue approach" for years with great efficiency to promote consumer goods. If a product is good enough for an Olympic gold medalist, it is good enough for you. Endorsement has come to mean truth and "Accreditation" today has become a built-in filter for having truth, all of which is eagerly consumed by the public, in spite of blatant flaws in the personal characters of many of these champions. As a result ours has become a culture of educated fools. The Lord said "out of the mouth of babes..." cometh wisdom (Psalm 8:2; Matthew 11:25; 21:16; Luke 10:21). The Lord of heaven reveals the truth unto babes and withholds it from the wise. As this whole matter bears on the UFO phenomenon there has usually been no regard for the documented case, for instance, of the student Mexican pilot who claims he has seen a UFO while flying over a cornfield, but when a rocket scientist makes the incredible claim that he has found a potato sized meteorite from Mars containing fossilized life forms the matter becomes a major media sensation. As well, an enormous amount of money is eventually tied into such things. Certainly much of what the public thinks is influenced by this.

God is in the business of revealing Himself not hiding Himself. It is not the obscurity of revelation that renders man blind and hostile to the truth of God, it is human sin and perversity. Finite reality cannot be understood apart from the recognition of the triune God. Apart from this we have only a fractured understanding. The triune God is not obscure, neither is He hidden in nature, He is manifest in creation (Romans 1:20). Observational theology includes those sources by which we can know God's self disclosure. Valid sources include creation (Psalm 19:1), man, i.e., the prophets (Hebrews 1:11), and the Scripture itself (II Timothy 3:15-17); invalid sources, by the same token, include such things as the ouija board, animal intestines, spiritism, messages from the "space brothers" and so on. The former came from the breath of God, the latter from the pit. The supreme revelation of God, of course, is Jesus Christ. The principle of correspondence tells us that creation is analogous to God, in other words God is reflected in creation, and what goes on in creation can only be understood in terms of the Trinitarian God.

There is a practical side to every legitimate theological issue; there are many who have their own theological models of reality, yet these models often cannot be demonstrated from Scripture. In other words, they are so abstract they cannot produce observable evidence. An example is the supposed "gap theory" of Genesis chapter 1 which is a nineteenth century innovation designed to accommodate the doctrine of uniformitarianism. However this compounded idea cannot be supported biblically. Now when we look at the models of angelic intervention in creation we see a biblical reveal that is support by observable evidence which fits the Biblical context. The problem usually arises when "arm chair theologists." are less concerned with the truth than in "proving" and maintaining their own long held doctrinal positions and "schools". The Bible is never in error, but our understanding of it often is. We must understand the Bible not with "asegesis" (the proclamation of one's own opinion, that is to say that there is no explanation apart from one's own personal opinion), nor with "eisegesis" (reading into the text what is obviously not there, or to read into the text from seemingly convincing prior external presuppositions), but with exegesis (let God speak) where the meaning, whether clear or hidden, is deciphered from the text itself and in corroboration with other Biblical passages. In other words we are to explain the Word from the Word.

With the exception of the Chapter entitled "Biblical Orthodoxy" which was added as part of this revised and expanded edition for the year 2000, the chapters of this book were originally written as separate papers over a period of two years. Each chapter therefore represents a somewhat different profile or portrait of the problem, with some duplication in detail. by this it is hoped that the reader will in a fuller sense grasp the significance of the problem of spiritual warfare as revealed in Scripture, especially in its greater magnitude at the higher level, and how this bears on our own world and affects each one of us. The secret to success in any military campaign is a knowledge of the enemy, a true knowledge of the enemy, and, by all means, an adequate preparation (Ephesians 6:10-18).

When people talk about UFO's, alien abductions, and so on, they are, more likely than not, reflecting on the reality, not just the imagination. When the true similarity between angels and men becomes understood, then it will become apparent, how entirely credible as literal historic fact the mystical account recorded in the first four verses of the sixth chapter of Genesis actually is. It is in the Bible alone, no where else, in which we will find the ultimate answer to this greatest and strangest mystery of our time, the UFO-Alien Abduction phenomenon.

J. Timothy Unruh
Sheridan California
June 30, 2000

One of the great mysteries of life is the issue of human suffering. Why does God allow "innocent" people to suffer? Why are there wars? Why is there starvation? Why is there disease, terrible storms, human violence, animal violence, etc., and on and on and on. There is an innate sense in every one of us that none of this is really "normal," and that there is a profound cause behind this condition of the world, other people, and, of course, even our own selves. For, in reality, most of the battles of which we are daily engaged involve our own nature. The prophet Jeremiah wrote: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" - Jeremiah 17:9 Paul the apostle wrote: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God," - Romans 3:23. The Bible not only reveals the true nature and cause of this agony in the human condition but also sheds light on how it was brought about; first through angelic agency, then through human agency, namely in our first parents, Adam and Eve. The problem of "pain and anguish," be it bodily, emotional, or spiritual suffering, is such a difficult question for man in general, and even to some extent for the Bible believer who himself actually holds the oracles of God, that if there were any "weapons" of consequence against the Christian faith in the arsenal of the atheist this issue would likely be the big gun. All true science and history, if rightly understood, support the fact of God. The evidence is so strong that, as the Bible says: "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God" -Psalm 14:1. The infidel faces death in sheer terror because he knows there is a God to whom He is accountable and with whom he has not been reconciled. Most atheists, therefore, without any objective evidence on which to base their faith in "no God," must resort finally to philosophical objections. This problem of suffering is the greatest of these. How can God permit such things if He is so good? The Bible clearly indicates the origin of human suffering as residing in sin. Sin is the transgression of man against the unity of God's Holy, just, and good moral legislation (Romans 7:12).

The doctrine about the mystery lying in the origin and history of sin and its specific malignity, does not preclude the profound view accepted by many theologians, of which is presented in the following. Theology, of course, is that edifice of finite human understanding constructed of the raw materials mined out of the sacred quarry of Divine revelation, the Bible. Regenerate man is called to diligently search the Scriptures to "see if these things be so" (Acts 17:11) and to build his understanding upon that foundation.

Almost all of what we know about the ultimate origin of sin, even before Eden, is found within two somewhat obscure but significant passages of Scripture, namely Ezekiel 28, and Isaiah 14. Many other passages allude to it but perhaps none so evidently as these two. Our "speculations" are thus based primarily upon these two portions of Scripture, and a few others of lesser extent which relate to this subject. According to a rather commonly propounded view, the angels, before their fall, had received a revelation of the future incarnation of the Son of God. This theory has its finest foundation in the supposition, otherwise not generally held, that the incarnate Word, who according to the Apostle Paul is the head of all principalities and powers and the first-born among all creatures, was from the very beginning predestined in God's plan for the universe to be the head and king of the angels, and as such was to have been the source of supernatural grace and glory for them, too. In treating of the mystery of the incarnation, the speculative merits of this hypothesis will be discussed.

Presently, the plausibility of this view may be assumed. Then the consequence would necessarily follow that the angels had to adore, as their God, the Son of man thus presented to them in human form. Moreover in the bearer of human nature, in a man, they were obliged to acknowledge and revere the source of the grace and glory intended for them, just as those among them who remained loyal had later, according to the Apostle, to adore the first-born upon His entrance into the world.

Of course, this was potentially a great humiliation for the angels. Elevated as they were by nature high above man, they had nevertheless to behold him so markedly preferred to them that human nature was raised above their own in dignity. They had to acknowledge that in spite of their sublime natural perfections they had no claim to the divine sonship, and that they could be members of God's household only as strangers who had been received with gracious condescension. Besides, they had to rest content that the only-begotten of God, who willed to communicate His divine dignity to them as the first-born of all creatures, did not take up His abode among them, but erected the throne of His grace in human nature which was so far beneath theirs, and would speed forth the rays of His divine glory to them from that lower stratum. More, they had to thank God for having united Himself so intimately to mankind, for having located the sun of grace there, and for having singled it out as the central point of the universe.

Can the sin of the angels be more naturally explained, and the malice of their insurrection more profoundly represented, than in this hypothesis? If an angel, especially the most brilliant of them all, Lucifer, became absorbed in the contemplation of his glorious nature seeing himself as "the light" rather than a light bearer, and conceived the idea that God preferred human nature to this lofty nature, and even made him dependent on a man for his own highest and noblest prerogative, must he not have held himself scorned by God, must not his natural exaltation have turned to grievously wounded pride, must he not have been wroth that God had passed his nature by, must he not have burned with envy of the favored human race, and above all must he not have been consumed with ungovernable hatred against the Son of man, to whom he had to pay homage, whom he was bid to adore? We need not assert, as some theologians do, that Lucifer in his pride went so far as to claim the hypostatic union for himself. Such a supposition is contrary to all likelihood; he would have had to give up his own personality, whereas pride is wholly immersed in one's own conceit. If, as Scripture indicates, Lucifer craved in his insane rashness to be like the Most High and to set up an empire of his own against Him, the simplest explanation is to be found in his resentment at the thought that any created nature, and especially human nature, should be exalted above him and that he should be made subject to it. Wrath at the exaltation of human nature, and at the fancied slight to his own, seems to have been the original form of his pride, which also included envy of men who had been preferred to himself and of their head, the Son of man, and rebellion against God who had contrived this arrangement so hateful to him.

This theory so proposed by the theologians, who place the angel's sin in envy of man, can be accounted for only on this hypothesis. For at his creation man otherwise had received no attribute or privilege capable of arousing the angel's envy other than possibly his unique power to reproduce which is merely an attribute man shares with yet lower creatures. Whether in the order of nature or in the order of grace; nothing could have provoked such fierce resentment except the fact that a member of the human race had been appointed for elevation to the dignity of hypostatic union with the Son of God, and hence to headship and kingship over the angels. This view, although not worked out in detail, can well be regarded as lending positive support to the theory advanced.

If such revelation of the incarnation of the Word furnished the impetus to rebellion against God for Lucifer and his angels, who preferred to subject themselves to one of their own kind in a war against God rather than submit to a man, even though He were really God, then sin takes on a new, more terrible and appalling character of malice than we have heretofore found. Since this pride and this hatred toward God were occasioned by opposition to the most sublime mystery of divine love, we have here a doubly unfathomable hell of venomous malice. The will of the rebel does not merely aim at wrenching itself free from God's dominion; it strives formally and primarily to slay, to destroy the Son of God in his mortal, human nature, in the conviction that only thus can redress be gained for the affront at which it recoils. The most monstrous and the blackest of all crimes, and at the same time the most inconceivable of all, deicide, resulted inevitably from the angel's rebellion, and accounts for the frightful malignity manifested in its purpose.

This appalling "mystery of iniquity" considered in its origin becomes, in turn, a beacon which serves to throw light on the entire subsequent course of sin. It permits us to peer into the depths of hate with which the devil pursues man. Satan persecutes man not only because man is destined to succeed to the glory which he himself has lost, but much more because man is a member of the body of God's Son. He persecutes mankind on account of its head and federal representative, and in turn persecutes the latter because He has joined himself to men as their head. He does not rest or halt until he has likewise destroyed the human race, until he has set up his reign, the reign of death on Earth, until he has treacherously enticed men to pay homage to him instead of to the Lord's Anointed, to adore him, to bring him offerings, offerings of death, of ignominy, and deepest degradation. More fiercely still does he persecute the human race in the person of those who, after Christ's incarnation, join his colors, and who seek to destroy the empire of hell in themselves and in others; and since it was a woman, a mere human being, who as mother of the God-man was to become, in a very real sense, "Queen of the Angels," hell's hate had to turn especially against this woman, as well as against her entire progeny.

Do not the awful atrocities of heathendom, particularly the human sacrifices, and the cult of fool vice in its most unnatural forms, as also the systematic attack against Christianity with all the weapons of falsehood and calumny, thus find their fullest explanation? The passions of men would never, at least on such an enormous scale, lead them to rage so ferociously against themselves, and to attack the most exalted ornament of their race; they can be brought to such a pass only by the craftiness and deceit of him who envies them. But in giving heed to his promptings they can, and actually do, arrive at such extremities that once the incarnation of the Son of God is laid before them, and the command to adore Him as their God, their King, and the source of their happiness is issued to them, they too break into fury, rise up against their heavenly King with superhuman malice, vaunt themselves above Him, and seek to destroy Him together with His kingdom. Thus in their day the Jews joined in with the devil's schemes for the murder of God and allowed themselves to be used as the devil's tools. Through the centuries since, hell's agents have been continuing their venomous subversion in desperation as the incarnate Christ is now beyond their clutches, they hound His mystical body with diabolical frenzy.

The scandal which the mystery of the God-man is to the fallen angels and the men who follow them results in their refusal to accept God's truth with the love and reverence due to His Word, and in their rejection of faith in the proper sense of "voluntary" belief. But unbelief that repudiates belief for the sole reason that its object arouses resentment, does not diminish culpability; it increases culpability, it lays bare the full range of the malice involved in persecuting the good that is proposed for belief. Unbelief can partially excuse only where some uncertainty creeps in. Since the revelation of this mystery does not force itself upon men with the same clarity as it does upon the angels, especially when men are deluded by the powers of hell, men's guilt and malice never come up to the guilt and malice of the angels. Yet men can share in the malice of the devils to a high degree; in point of fact, modern unbelief is largely a demonic unbelief.

At any rate, the conclusion cannot be escaped that the mystery of iniquity has in the course of time taken shape as formal hatred and conflict against the mystery of the Incarnation, and hence that the abyss of its malice can be grasped only in terms of this mystery. Since the malice which it occasioned is essentially more heinous than any other, and we cannot readily suppose that the prince of darkness in establishing his kingdom would neglect to lay its foundations on the bedrock of evil, what is more natural than the assumption that from the very outset he would have wished to set up his kingdom in direct opposition to the kingdom of the Son of God made man?

In whatever way we propose this whole theory about the origin and history of sin it is offered only for what it is worth, as a serious theological opinion that is not strictly deducible from the data of revelation, but that has a strong intrinsic probability. In whatever manner sin first became manifest among the host of heaven, we know for certain from Biblical revelation that it came from that realm, and the mystery of iniquity descended from the angels to men, and through it that mystery has been transmitted to the whole of the human race with disastrous consequences. Throughout history Satan and his "new world order" have been trying to keep men from seeing Christ and coming into union with Him and establishing the Kingdom of God on Earth.

This chapter has been adapted primarily from a portion of the work
The Mysteries of Christianity, by Matthias Joseph Scheeben, 1951.

One of the most fascinating topics to be found in our study of the Bible is that of its record regarding the early Earth, that first great era in the history of our world, sometimes referred to as the antediluvian age. It is an age shrouded in mystery and wonder, an age pertaining not only to a lost world but an age separated from us in time by a great dividing epoch of catastrophic world changing events. It is an account of that world of human glory and depravity, and demonic intervention; a world which was totally destroyed in the great judgment of the Flood several thousand years ago, a flood which left our world vastly and permanently different. Even though the evidence of this great event is abundant in the traditions of many cultures around the world and confirmed in many of the disciplines, the only direct information that we have of this early period in the Earth's history is found in the first few chapters of the book of Genesis and a few other relatively brief references scattered throughout the rest of Scripture.

Because portions of this subject and related matters touch upon issues of demonology it has been objected that "we should focus our attention on Christ not on the Devil." Yet, among things, such an objection would tend to perpetuate the somewhat obscure understanding of this important passage of Scripture. Furthermore, if our victory as believers is to be complete, it is incumbent upon us to study all of the Scriptures, for as in any military engagement a knowledge of the enemy is necessary. That we will be engaged with this enemy is of a certainty pointed out most graphically by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:10-18. Finally, our Lord Himself exhorts us to study the details of that early age, the likes of which will be repeated shortly before His second coming. Thus, if any ask whether this question is worth laboring, we can but reply that all of Scripture is given to us by the love and wisdom of God and it must be of essential value and importance to accurately understand it if we are to know the full counsel of His revelation.

Two days before the crucifixion of Christ, His disciples asked Him, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3) His reply pointed to a number of "signs," all of which together would occur in that generation which would see the signs, and which would be the sign they had requested. These signs were climaxed with the prophetic warning, "But as the days of Noe were, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be, For as in the days that were before the Flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the Ark, and knew not until the Flood came and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matthew 24:37-39). Thus did Jesus not only verify the historicity of antediluvian culture and the great Flood, and remind us of the relationship between wickedness and judgment, but He also encouraged us to study closely the characteristics of the days before the Flood, because these would also characterize the days just before His return.

The first great age of human history was brought to its climax and culmination in the days of Noah. The sin-disease, which began so innocuously when Eve was tempted to doubt the word of God, which then began to show its true ugliness of character in the life of Cain, and which came to maturity in the godless civilization developed by his descendants, finally descended into such a terrible morass of wickedness and corruption that even the most fertile imagination is defied in its attempt to grasp the magnitude, and of which a full disclosure would, without doubt, utterly shock the Christian's sensibilities to behold. The record notes that even our very Creator Himself was dismayed and grieved to the core of His being that He had ever made man upon the Earth. Only a global bath of exceedingly turbid water unleashed from the windows of heaven and from the bowels of the Earth could purge and cleanse the fevered and festered world. The word of God clearly and unequivocally declares that the characteristics of those awful and tragic days, strange as they may seem, are nevertheless to be repeated in the last days of this present age. As a correlation between Genesis 6:1-4 and Matthew 24:37-39, as well as correlations between other pertinent passages, will show, it is clearly evident that in the times of both cases corruption and violence exist side by side with luxury, refinement and high culture. Such minglings apparently incongruous have not been infrequent in postdiluvian times. It is thus urgently important, from the standpoint of both understanding past history and seeking guidance for the future, that we understand the events which took place in the days of Noah.

As we can see from Scripture, and as pointed out by our Lord Himself, the sixth chapter of Genesis contains an important message for us regarding the days of Noah, a description of momentous interest and importance to us: for our Lord has declared that a similar epoch of worldliness will at length exhaust the forbearance of God toward the present dwellers upon the Earth, and cause Him to come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire; to plead with all flesh by fire and by His sword (Isaiah 66:15-16). It becomes, therefore, an obvious duty to consider the progress of wickedness and corruption among the antediluvians, so far as it has pleased God to inform us of it; to acquaint ourselves not merely with the sowing but also with the watering, the growth, and the ripening, of that hideous crop against which the gleaming sickle of the Almighty at length flashed forth from heaven; to note the various incentives to evil as they successively appeared, and to observe the particular influence of each upon the rapidly decomposing masses of society. For by so doing we shall arm ourselves against the errors and temptations which are daily multiplying around us, and be able to discern the threatening signs of our own times. (Matthew 24:37-39; Romans 15:4; I Corinthians 10:11; II Timothy 3:16-17; I John 5:13)

When men multiplied on the face of the Earth in that primeval age, as in our own time, so also did the diffusion and intensification of sin. For every form of evil which exists in thinly populated locales will also be found, but in greater degree, where men have multiplied; where there are countless vices peculiar to crowded districts. Consequently, if they are numerous, men support each other in rebellion, and are prone to become far more daring and defiant of God. Among ourselves the strongholds of rationalism and atheism are always to be found in large cities. As the families of the Earth increase in number, so also does civilization, learning, and technology. Given the longevity of the antediluvians, coupled with their immense accumulation of knowledge, experience, and skill, their civilization must have advanced to an almost inconceivable degree. One recorded specimen of antediluvian industry was the Ark built singly through the labor, and under the superintendence, of a lone godly Sethite, Noah, guided by God, along with his modest family. Sad and instructive was the long past amalgamation of the Cainites (descendants of Cain, the murderer son of Adam and Eve who slew his brother Abel) and Sethites (descendants of Seth, the godly son whom Adam and Eve bore after the death of Abel) in a society of leisure disposed to wickedness. Abject indulgence, self gratification and depraved human glory seemed to be the residual ungodly religion of the day. A wastefully indulgent life of vanity and a disregard for the institution of the family in the careless giving away of their children in frivolous marriages set the stage for the appalling escalation of evil shortly to follow. No true worshippers of Jehovah were to be found, save in the single family of Noah, a small remnant connected with the line of the promised Seed.

Then, in the days of Noah, a new and startling event burst upon the world, and fearfully accelerated the already rapid progress of evil, leading to such a tidal wave of violence and wickedness over the Earth that there was no longer any remedy but utter destruction. For such, our text in Genesis reads as follows:

"And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown" (Genesis 6:1-4).

This passage contains a detail that is often either ignored, disputed, or outright rejected - that of literal physical giants on the Earth. Here we have the record of what evidently constitutes the first great outbreak of demonic "genetic engineering" through the demonic abduction of women, the result of which was humanoid gigantism. The second outbreak occurred "also after that" sometime before Israel arrived in the land of Canaan. For there they encountered the Nephalim or "fallen ones." The pre-Flood outbreak had been, of course, brought to an abrupt end by the world wide judgment of the Flood. During the time of David, who faced off Goliath, God, through Israel, brought the post-Flood outbreak to an end. A thousand years after the time of David demonic intervention occurred again, this time in the form of human corporal possession which waxed rampant, at the time of Christ. Finally, in our own time we again see evident trademarks of demonic activity, by the fallen "sons of God," of a different legion, most probably in the likes of the "UFO" and "alien abduction" phenomenon of recent years.

As the record clearly indicates, the offspring of the unions between the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" were progeny of the most grotesque sort, being "giants in the earth," the same being "mighty men which were of old, men of renown," monsters not only in size but also monsters in wickedness, and they always, without exception, were disposed to thwart the purposes of God (Genesis 6: 1, 2, 4). In the minds of many readers, the first reaction to this passage is such that, in spite of its obvious and clear intent, its incredulity begs for an alternate interpretation. The standard interpretation of the liberals is to think of the fairy tales of antiquity, the legends of ogres and dragons, and the myths of the gods consorting with men - and then to dismiss the entire story as legend and superstition, but a careful examination of the passage will elicit a far deeper meaning.

Often the biases and presuppositions we bring into a matter prevent our understanding and acceptance of its face value and patient meaning. Modern Christians have often attempted to make this passage in Genesis more palatable intellectually by explaining the "sons of God" as Sethites and the "daughters of men" as Cainites, with their union representing the breaking down of the wall of separation between believers and unbelievers. Another interpretation which avoids the supernaturalistic implications is that the phrase "sons of God" referred to kings and nobles, in which case the commingling so described is merely an account of royalty marrying commoners. This passage is not the first to be met with a naturalistic attitude as such. The miraculous parting of the deep waters at the Red Sea, in which God provided a way of escape for the Israelites fleeing Egypt during the Exodus has been liberally explained as an event whereby "a shallow swampy flood plain was drained during an unusually low tide accompanied by a particularly strong hot dry desert wind which dried off the land, thus permitting the Israelites to walk on dry ground at the shallow extremity of the Sea of Reeds."

Yet the account in Exodus describes something startlingly different; a miraculous and dramatic division of waters where "the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left" (Exodus 14:21-22). In our present age the "scientifically impossible" is most often rejected outright anyway. In another case, unusually large and powerful animals, referred to as the behemoth and the leviathan, are described in Job 40:15-24 and 41:1-34. In the past they have been reckoned by Bible commentators to be descriptions of the hippopotamus or whale, yet neither of these creatures even closely fits the careful description of the beasts given in this passage of Scripture.

It was only fairly recently realized that the behemoth and leviathan were large land animals, namely dinosaurs. Since the science of dinosaurs in our age is a fairly recent paleontological development, dating back only to the middle of the last century, most of the early writers of which our present commentaries are derived had no knowledge of these creatures preserved in the fossil graveyards of the Earth. Had they taken God's word at face value and studied the descriptions of Job more carefully our knowledge and science of dinosaurs might very well have come at a much earlier time. Even the literal interpretation of the vast longevity of the antediluvians, who lived to such great age of nearly a thousand years instead of being cut off at three score and ten, as in our age, is most often brought into question if not rejected outright by some theologians and Bible students.

Regarding Genesis 6:1-4, none of the naturalistic interpretations, however, explain why the progeny of such unions would be "giants" or why they would lead to universal corruption and violence. Although Scripture does teach that believers should not wed unbelievers (II Corinthians 6:14; I Corinthians 7:39), there is no intimation that this particular sin is unforgivable or necessarily more productive of general moral deterioration than other sins. Regardless of intellectual difficulties, it is clear that something most remarkable, beyond the normal and natural, is described in Genesis 6:1-4.

The first matter of understanding regarding this amazing portion of Scripture, beyond its plain contextual intent, turns quite obviously to the Hebrew meaning of the phrase "sons of God" (bene elohim). In the New Testament, of course, the term son of God is used with reference to all who have been born again through personal faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:12; Romans 8:14; etc.), and the concept of a spiritual relationship of believers to God as analogous to that of children to a father is also found in the Old Testament (Psalm 73:15; Hosea 1:10; Deuteronomy 32:5; Exodus 4:22; Isaiah 43:6). However, none of these examples use the same phrase as Genesis 6:2, 4; furthermore, in each case the meaning is not really parallel to the meaning given in Genesis.

Neither the descendants of Seth nor true believers of any sort have been previously referred to in Genesis as sons of God in any kind of spiritual sense and, except for Adam himself, they could not have been sons of God in a physical sense. In context, such a meaning would be strained, to say the least, in the absence of any kind of explanation. When we are told that "men" began to multiply on the face of the Earth, and that the sons of God saw the daughters of "men," in each case the human race is clearly signified, in other words the descendants of Cain and Seth alike. Hence the "sons of God" are plainly distinguished from the generations of Adam. The only obvious and natural meaning without such clarification is that these beings were sons of God, rather than of men, because they have been created, not born. Such a description, of course, would apply only to Adam (Luke 3:38) and to the angels, whom God had directly created (Psalm 148:2, 5: Psalm 104:4; Colossians 1:16).

The actual expression "sons of God," bene elohim, occurs explicitly three other times, all in the very ancient book of Job (1:6; 2:1; 38:7), and in each case the term refers indisputably to angelic beings. These are the beings whom, apparently, were created sometime during the first half of the creation week, probably on the first day (Genesis 2:1; Job 38:4-7; Luke 2:13). Twice in the beginning of the book of Job we read of the sons of God presenting themselves before Him at stated times, and Satan also comes with them as being himself a son of God, though a disobedient, fallen, and rebellious one. In Job 38:7 the morning stars are represented as singing together, and the sons of God as shouting for joy, over the creation of our Earth. There are, as well, implicit references to these sons of God in a number of other passages. There is no doubt that, in these passages, the meaning also applies exclusively to the angels. A very similar form bar elohim is used in Daniel 3:25, and refers either to an angel or to a theophany. The term "sons of the mighty" (bene elim) is used in Psalm 29:1 and also Psalm 89:6, and again refers to angels.

The sons of Elohim the mighty Creator are confined to those creatures made directly by the Divine hand, and not born of other beings of their own order. Hence, in Luke's genealogy of our Lord, Adam is called a son of God (Luke 3:38), and, so also Christ is said to give to them that receive Him power to become the sons of God (John 1:12). For these are born again of the Spirit of God as to their inner man even in the present life. This is only possible with man since he is delivered from the penalty of death and brought into newness of life through a substitutionary atonement, unlike the angels which, on the other hand, have been fixed in their position as angels of grace, or damnation, the latter hopelessly lost in their state of perdition.

At the resurrection those of mankind who are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, who is Christ, will in their glorified physical bodies, be clothed with a spiritual body, a building of God (II Corinthians 5:1); so that they will then be in every respect equal to the angels, being altogether a new creation (Luke 20:36). Thus all reasonable doubt, insofar as the context, language, and plain exegesis of Genesis 6:1-4 is concerned is removed regarding the intent of the writer to convey the concept of angels, fallen angels no less, acting in opposition to God's will. This also was the meaning placed on the passage by the Greek translators of the Septuagint, by Josephus, by the writer of the ancient apocryphal book of Enoch, and by all the other ancient Jewish interpreters and the earliest Christian writers. It is apparent that the first Christian writers to depart from this understanding and suggest the Sethite interpretation were Chrysostom and Augustine. Even an appeal to some of the later "fathers" of our present millenium who abandoned the orthodox view of Genesis 6:1-4 because it is "refuted by its own absurdity" must themselves then answer their own patient frivolity of contending that the "giants" were merely individuals of the same race who were "slightly larger and stronger, and more evil," than the rest of the people.

By the same token they must also answer why the world at Noah's time was "divided" into Sethites and Cainites, which in reality we know it was not. Furthermore, those who would interject the Christian Church into the Old Testament economy to justify the "sons of God" as being simply believers, thus mortal men, distracts the issue from one of a direct Biblical exegesis to other grounds which are much the obscure, if not outright fallacious. These men, in spite of their greatness in doctrine and theory, were still humanly fallible and capable of missing important elements of Biblical truth in their doctrines. In our own time this opposing view has been widely propagated by C. I. Scofield in the notes of his famous reference Bible. To apply the term "sons of God" as such to mere men is to stretch the matter beyond a reasonable limit, for it can only refer to those sons of God involved in a second and deeper apostasy of those fallen ones from on high.

Only a portion of the angels who originally fell with Lucifer committed this atrocity. These chose to leave their own world and, having broken through God's limits into another, to go after "strange flesh" (Jude 6, 7) and to exercise an unlawful influence over the human race. These more devious rebels in particular are no longer found among the spirits of darkness which now haunt the air. They no longer retain their position as principalities and powers of the world, or even their liberty; but may be identified with the imprisoned criminals of whom Peter tells us that, after they had sinned, God dashed them down at once to His lowest dungeons as an instant punishment of their impious outrage, and to deprive them forever of the power of producing further confusion of this particular sort. "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" (II Peter 2:4). Jude 6 also mentions their present condition in similar terms, and the context of either passage indicates with sufficient clarity the nature of their sin. The demon-possessed men and their progeny, along with all the other godless inhabitants of the antediluvian world perished in the waters of the Flood. These waters are now the waters of the present day vast oceans. It is apparent that those former inhabitants are referred to in connection with the final judgment when "the sea gave up the dead which were in it" (Revelation 20:13).

Since all who thus sinned were imprisoned in hell (II Peter 2:4; Jude 6) and, as it is evident, are probably "the spirits in prison which once were disobedient when the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah" (I Peter 3:19, 20), and to whom Christ went in the Spirit after His death to proclaim His ultimate victory over their evil purposes. There are, although, yet other fallen angels who were not bound, who still remain at large (Ephesians 6:12). That angels have appeared to men in bodies of such a nature that they could not only be seen but even touched as the selfsame Scripture declares, rumors have persisted over the millennia that, as well, certain demons continue to attempt and effect the ancient crime. That such has been so generally affirmed it would be impudent to deny it. That Paul had such thought in his mind when he bade the woman to worship with covered head "on account of the angels" (I Corinthians 11:10) is, to say the least, within the limits of possibility. We ourselves, being distanced in time from the ancients, or of Paul, who were much closer in time to the origins of these traditions and who still retained a fresh historical memory of these events, tend to find them incredible in our own time.

Perhaps the most common of objections to the obvious meaning of the "sons of God" as representing angels, apart from the supernaturalistic overtones, is, for those who do not reject the idea of angels, that it would be impossible for angels to have sexual relations with human women and to father children by them, because they are "strictly spiritual beings" who, unlike humans, "have no form." However, this objection presupposes more about angelic abilities than we know. Whenever angels have appeared visibly to men, as recorded on numerous occasions in the Bible, they have appeared in the physical bodies of men. Those who met with Abraham, for example, could not only be touched but they actually dined with him (Genesis 18:8) and, later, appeared to the inhabitants of Sodom in such perfectly manlike form that the Sodomites attempted to take these "men" for homosexual purposes. The writer of Hebrews also makes a pointed comment that, on various occasions, some "have entertained angels unawares" (Hebrews 13:2). The Lord Jesus indeed said that "in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven" (Matthew 22:30).

However, this is not equivalent to saying that angels are "sexless," since people who share in the resurrection will surely retain their own personal identity whether male or female. It should be remembered that Christ Himself, even though in a glorified state after His resurrection, was still recognizable to His disciples, and others, in His masculine gender. Furthermore, angels are always described, when they appear, as "men," and the pronoun "he" is always used in reference to them. Thus angels have the power to assume human form in the fullest sense, although the Holy angels never opted to exploit this power to their own advantage, as did the demons. When Jesus said that the angels of God in heaven do not marry, this does not necessarily mean that those who have been cast out of heaven were incapable of doing so, or committing some form of sexual act. It clearly was not of God's design or intention that angels mix in such a way with human women, but these wicked angels were not concerned with obedience to God's will. It was probably precisely for the purpose of attempting to thwart God's will that this particular battalion of the "sons of God" engaged in this illegal invasion of the bodies of the daughters of men. The activities of these fallen angels was not only a patent counterfeit of the unique conception by the Holy Spirit, Who through the virgin Mary gave birth to the God-man Jesus, but an attempt in desperation to fatally pollute the human race, and in particular those people through whom the promised Seed was to come, and thus to destroy that Seed.

By a profound principle of genetic science, discovered only recently, the blood line, or type, is determined through the male, or father, and thus the blood of Christ was technically, and truly, not tainted by the curse of Adam as it is in the rest of humanity, since Jesus did not have an earthly father. The same sinless blood was poured out at Calvary for all whom are redeemed in Christ. No other death could have accomplished the substitutionary atonement and the propitiation of His righteousness unto us. In the same principle, but in a design which was diametrically opposed to the purpose of God and in almost inconceivable malignity, Satan through his cohorts began to infest humanity with hybrid offspring of an appalling characteristic, bearing cursed blood. This heinous deed by the fallen league thus becomes all the more diabolical. Satan had not forgotten God's prophesy that a promised Seed of the woman would one day destroy him. He had planted his own spiritual seed in Cain and his descendants, but God had preserved the line of the true seed through Seth.

When Noah was born and Lamech was led to prophesy that "comfort" concerning the Curse would come through him (Genesis 5:29), Satan and his angels must have reckoned that their opportunities for victory in this cosmic conflict were in jeopardy. Desiring, if possible, to completely corrupt mankind before the promised Seed could accomplish Satan's defeat, it is evident that they opted to utilize the marvelous power of procreation, which God had authorized and given only to the human family, and to exert their own power to corrupt it to their own illicit advantage. In the days of Noah, men were rapidly multiplying on the Earth, and by implanting their own "seed" in humanity these malignant beings might be able to enlist in only one generation a vast multitude as allies against God. It was an ingenious way to effectively contaminate and make filthy the entire human race so that God's seed, Messiah, could not come to offer eternal salvation. So these "sons of God" saw the daughters of men and "took them wives (or, literally 'women') of all which they chose." With the demoniacal ungodliness of the antediluvians in general, coupled with the irruption of the Serpent's seed directly into large numbers of the human race, and then with the thrusting forth of hordes of the monstrous offspring of these unlawful unions, conditions in the world became finally intolerable even to a God of compassion and long-suffering. Thus, such a scenario made the necessity of the catastrophic judgment of the Flood all the more sensible and necessary.

Another objection to the bene elohim, or sons of God, actually being angels is the contextual assumption that they actually have male reproductive systems, which leads to the even graver question of the nature of the progeny that would result from their sexual intercourse with human women. Fallen angels have no possibility of salvation, but fallen men and women do have at least this possibility. What, then, would be the case with "people" who were half-angel, half-men? It is a situation that is so grotesque that it would seem extremely doubtful that God would have allowed it to happen at all, even if it were physiologically a realistic possibility. Yet, as already indicated, it would do violence to the actual text of the passage if we were to make it merely mean that the sons of Seth began to marry the daughters of Cain. If this were the meaning, why did not the writer simply say so, and thus avoid all the confusion? Furthermore, why the Giants, and why the universal violence? The sons of Seth were surely not all Godly men; so why should they be called sons of God? It should be remembered that they all perished in the flood. Adam had many sons in addition to Cain and Seth; were they spiritual "sons of God" too? Not very likely, at this period of history.

Furthermore, why stress only the union of godly men with ungodly women? What about the "daughters of God"? Were they being married to "sons of men"? The naturalistic interpretation is so forced and awkward that it seems to do disservice to the doctrine of Divine inspiration to suppose that this is what the writer meant to say. He surely meant to convey to his readers the idea that, in those days of Noah, such an awful irruption of abnormality and wickedness burst forth on the Earth that it could only be explained by a demoniacally supernatural cause. The apparent dilemma of the theologically paradoxical and grotesque nature of the progeny of such unions is resolved when one realizes that these children, even though true human children of truly human fathers and mothers, were all possessed and controlled by evil spirits. That is, these fallen angelic "sons of God" accomplished their purposes by something equivalent to demon possession, indwelling, or taking on, the bodies of human men, and then also taking, or "possessing" the bodies of the women as well. The men whose bodies they possessed were evidently thereby made so attractive to the careless and rebellious women of the age that they could take over and use any of the women they chose. The seductive beauty of the women, probably enhanced by various artificial cosmetics and allurements developed by that time, was itself sufficient to induce men to constant obsession with sex, assuring a maximum rapidity of multiplication of the population.
Thus, the "sons of God" controlled not only the men whose bodies they had acquired for their own exploitation, but also the women they took to themselves in this way, and then all the children they bore - veritable children of the damned. I Kings 22:19-23 and Psalm 82:1-8 sheds some light on the fate of these progeny in that unlike their demonic progenitors they die an earthly death. The "sons of God," et. al., were warned that if they proceed with the evil which God condemns, and withhold their powers on behalf of the needy and afflicted, they shall "die like Adam (men), and fall like one of the princes." Now if the children of Adam were the persons addressed, it would be superfluous to warn them as such, for their death would be a matter of course; hence it is quite evident, again, that these are "sons of Elohim," not of Adam.

The fearful phenomenon of demonic "taking" and "habitation" of human bodies has often been repeated in history, though apparently never again on the global scale which Satan attempted in the days of Noah. Many such cases of demon possession are noted in the New Testament, and missionaries still testify to its common occurrence in heathen lands today. The association of extreme violence with demon possession is well noted in Mark 5:13 and Acts 19:13-16. Even in modern "Christian lands" where the influence of the Gospel has until now kept it to a minimum, this form of Satanic activity is evidently rapidly increasing. Spiritism, witchcraft, and other forms of occult belief and practice - even Satanism itself - are captivating the minds and bodies of multitudes today, especially among young people. A closely related phenomenon is the tremendous recent upsurge of interest in the "host of heaven" - in terms of astrology, the so-called "chariots of the gods" and "gods from outer space," the various unidentified flying objects, and their strange occupants.

Although scientists have pointed out many fallacious assumptions and interpretation involved in these there remains a stubborn residuum of scientifically inexplicable yet apparently well-verified phenomena attached to these highly unusual types of data, including the more recent "alien abduction" phenomenon. All of this should be a reminder to us that there does indeed exist "principalities and powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12) and that Satan is the "prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2). Evil angels as well as God's unfallen Holy angels, apparently on certain occasions have the ability both to appear in material forms of various sorts (even as "ministers of righteousness" - II Corinthians 11:15) and also to inhabit and control the bodies of human beings. Furthermore Jesus warned that, in the last days, "fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven" (Luke 21:11). It may be that this particular feature of the days of Noah is beginning to be repeated in the modern proliferation of this great complex of unexplained and spiritually intimidating occult phenomena, the purpose of which appears to be to gain direct Satanic control over the minds and bodies of hosts of human beings before Christ returns.

The children of the unlawful connections before the Flood, as recorded by Moses in Genesis 6:4, who became the "mighty men which were of old, men of renown" no doubt gave rise to the countless legends of the loves of the Gods; and no doubt the subsequent repetition of the crime after the Flood reinforced these traditions. These explain the numerous passages in the Classics, as well as in the ancient literature of other languages, in which human families are traced to a half divine origin. Doubtless many of the mighty labors accomplished by the earlier descendants of Noah, such as the pyramids of Gaza, may be considered to have sprung from reminiscences of pristine grandeur, and fragments of lore, handed down by forebears who had lived a portion of their existence in the previous age. Thus reams of mythology have been generated which is taught in public schools to this very day. Now mythology enshrines the remembrance by man of the earliest actings and teachings of these fallen angels and their hybrid offspring of super human vitality. Such had come from the heaven and became gods and they were worshipped as such. They had imparted "life" to humans, they had performed spectacular miracles, and revealed great truths, never before imagined. They had returned to the stars according to Satan's delusion but not before they left a promise to come again! Such are the themes of so many stories and beliefs around the world that the masterful counterfeit of Christian truth is startling. The Biblical account of

[Illustration] The First Approach of the Serpent to Man as Represented by Doré

The serpent who is Satan, the great liar and deceiver of the world, has vexed man from the beginning. He studies every frail inclination of fallen human nature and marks those sins which each individual is inclined to commit, and then he and his agents provide every opportunity for the gratification of that tendency toward evil. Thus he seeks whom he may destroy (I Peter 5:8) the doom of these grotesque creatures in hell as recorded in II Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 is closely paralleled in the Greek classics where Tartarus was a dark abode of woe, as far beneath Hades as Earth is below Heaven (Hom. I1. viii. 16), a description which fairly corresponds to Peter's "pits of darkness." Very significant, too, is the fact that it was thought to be the prison where Zeus hurled Cronos and the rebel Titans. The mythology of the past is a startling disclosure, albeit twisted, of the uncontrolled behavior of both spirit beings and rebellious man. The Almighty had to destroy the ancient world because it had become completely unsalvagable.

One of the most amazing facts revealed by paleontology (the study of fossilized remains of creatures which inhabited the Earth in bygone ages) is that nearly all modern animals have larger ancient counterparts. Among these have been found fossils of mammoths, large bears, giant insects, sea creatures, and huge reptiles like the dinosaurs. Along with these are occasionally found giant human footprints, suggesting that indeed, "there were giants in the earth in those days." Not only in the Bible, but in numerous other ancient books, are preserved traditions of giants. With such a uniform testimony from ancient tradition, and with paleontological evidence as well, it is a superficial sophistication which ignores the possibility that these data may contain primitive reflections of the real events and characters described historically in the Genesis record.

As to why children born of demon-controlled parents should grow into giants, a reasonable supposition can be made. The modern science of genetics has shown that there are two basic causes of variations in physical characteristics among men, namely mutations and recombinations. In the genetic system a tremendous number of factors for different characteristics exist. Some are dominant in a particular population and some are latent or recessive. These can be "recombined" in various ways to allow for an almost unlimited variation in physical features. Mutations can introduce new features formerly not present through a response to external influences whose energies effect random changes in the genetic system. It is now known that such features can be brought about by design in the case of controlled manipulation of the genes by breeders understanding enough about the genetic process to do so.

Today geneticists appear to be on the verge of breakthroughs in "genetic engineering" which would permit them to accomplish such things on a practical basis, including cloning, and gigantism. Given the intelligence and supernatural powers of angels (and demons) such a possibility in Noah's time is not only credible but all the more likely. With their power over the minds and bodies of antediluvian parents, through these secrets, the evil league of the "sons of God" could by genetic manipulation, cause their progeny to become a race of monsters.

Although our text in Genesis 6:1-4 also includes an assertion of a secondary outbreak of demonic hybridization after the Deluge, this episode was not of the magnitude and scale of the first but nevertheless equally as diabolical. As we read that there were giants "also after that," it is to be remembered that when we come to the days of the Canaanites in the Biblical account we find encounters with giants in the land when the Israelites arrived there. When they beheld these people in the new land they felt, as it seemed to themselves, like mere grasshoppers in comparison. This agrees with a passage in Numbers which mentions the sons of Anak who are said to have been known as, among other things, the Nephilim, or of the Nephilim (Numbers 13:32-33). Even though the English rendition of the word is "giants" the Hebrew form meant "the fallen ones," hence the fallen angels. The term later transferred to their offspring. The Greek rendering signifies "earth born" and was used of the Titans, or sons of Heaven and Earth - Coelis and Terra. Humanly speaking, the Nephilim in Canaan were descended from Anak, and so were also known as the Anakim. The Anakim as well as the Emims, Rephaims, and Zanzummims were all a race of giants existing in Canaan at the time of Israel's arrival. Among them were warriors of exceeding stature, including Ishbi-Benob (II Samuel 21:16), Og (Numbers 21:33; Deuteronomy 3:11); and the famous ten-foot-plus Goliath, a great champion of Gath who defied the Israelites and who was slain by David (I Samuel 17:21-29). Goliath was probably descended from the old Rephaim of whom a scattered remnant took refuge with the Philistines after their dispersion by the Ammonites (Deuteronomy 2:20, 21; II Samuel 21:22).

Tradition has it that by David's time there were only five great warrior "kings" left in the land, represented by the five stones in David's satchel (I Samuel 17:40), one of which he used to slay Goliath, while the other four stones were marked for the other remaining giants slated to be destroyed (I Samuel 17:1-54; II Samuel 21:15-22). After the time of David the giants were extinct and the Philistines were no longer such a formidable adversary to Israel. From then on the nation of Israel was beset with different problems. Interesting enough, that these beings were real and not an impossible phenomenon is confirmed by the discovery by archeologists in Palestine of human skeletons of similar stature and of roughly the same period. These people were, of course, known to Moses and it was probably he who editorially inserted the phrase "and also after that" into Noah's original record here in Genesis 6:4. Moses probably also inserted the information that these were the "mighty men of old, men of renown," men whose exploits of strength and violence had made them famous in song and fable in all nations in the ages following the Flood. To rebellious men of later times, they were revered as great heroes, hence the heroes of mythology who have their basis in historical fact; but in God's sight they were merely supra-ungodly men of violence and evil.

Before the foundation of the world God had ordained a particular people of the human race to bear the special oracles and testimony of Divine revelation. He also chose these people to be the bearers of the Chieftest of God's manifestation, Jesus Christ, who would come to redeem a people of His own from the bondage of Satan and his kingdom. It was the land of Canaan, the crossroads of three continents, into which God had led his people from Egypt to dwell in and to establish a theocracy through which the entire world would be blessed. At the time of the arrival of the Israelites into this specially "promised" land after 40 years of wilderness wanderings they found it to be already inhabited. It was these indigenous inhabitants who proved to be great adversaries to the people of God. They, of course, included the Philistines, after whom the land was later called Palestine, hence the current rival faction of the Palestinians often heard about in the news media today in association with the continued conflict in Israel. The ancient Philistines should be of interest to the student of the Bible in terms of understanding why God was so "harsh" in dealing with them. Satan himself was behind the circumstances of the Canaanites and the certain jeopardy into which they placed the Israelites. Already well known was Satan's agenda to bring the entire human race to ruin. God's particular people were targeted above all other peoples because of their unique mission. All of this makes it the more obvious why a "cleansing" of the land was necessary when Israel arrived. In spite of God's command to do so, the Israelites did not "utterly and completely drive the Canaanites from the land" (Judges 1:28; 3:5-7). The small residue of these people allowed to continue in the land was sufficient to inflict a considerable degree of tragedy upon the people of Israel. Nevertheless by the providential superintendence of God the messianic line was preserved. It is impossible to imagine what our world would be like today otherwise.

When the Israelites first arrived in the promised land they thus encountered the Nephilim, that progeny of the second recorded outbreak of demonic conceptions. In reality the population of the land was literally infested with these strange beings and their families, and as if by higher design they were "pre-planted" there, in place, waiting for the arrival of the Israelites in order that they might be a vexation to them. In consideration of the promised Seed who was to come out of the Israelites the ominous presence of the Nephilim makes all the more sense, and all the more strategic, as well, that the Israelites obey fully the command of God that the whole race of the Canaanites be totally extirpated. Some of the Biblical accounts of their destruction at the hands of the Israelite warriors are most graphic. One specific account illustrating the means whereby the Israelites were to carry out God's mandate is found in I Samuel 15:3: "Now go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass."

Such descriptions of wholesale slaughter from, of all things, the Holy Bible, often breach the sensitivities of the reader, if not his very sensibilities. Even some of our learned expositors literally squirm in the pulpit as they dare give even a brief treatment for this description of abject carnage, and it is usually delivered in a timid and almost apologizing manner, lest there be in the congregation before him a tender footed believer who might stumble at the hearing of this "harsh posture and abject atrocity" on behalf of our benevolent and loving God. Often nothing more is said than "well uh, we may not understand all of these things, but we can rest assured that God is still a just God in spite of this, and uh..." Hence the matter is usually left at that with no one really grasping the deeper significance of the passage. Indeed it is true that God, of a certainty, is consistent in His righteous integrity, judgment, and loving kindness. Yet, when the hideous and treacherous nature of the Canaanites is truly comprehended then the purpose in the movement of God and His people against these enemies, and the wholesale destruction of the same, takes on a whole new meaning, significance, and justification. The utterly ungodly identity, nature, and purpose of these exceedingly depraved murderous inhabitants becomes chillingly authentic when their origins and heredity is realized.

When Genesis 6:5 is compared with Matthew 7:11, Romans 5:7-8, I Timothy 5:25, and I Peter 3:16 a remarkable and most revealing contrast becomes evident in the essence of evil in man. Whereas Scripture concurs that there is at least some "good" in every man, even in the unbeliever, the same discloses that there has been "exceeding" evil in the nature of certain particular classes of effected individuals at various epochs in the Biblical record. In the days immediately preceding the Flood the inhabitants of the Earth are described as being "only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5). This passage discloses that there was something deeper and more profound occurring at that time than human sinfulness alone. It was once said by a famous evangelist that if God does not wipe out San Francisco he owes an apology to Sodom and Gomorra. There is, although an important distinction that needs to be brought to light here. It is evident that the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, for instance, were demon possessed and controlled, and, like those before the Flood, were characterized by "exceeding" wickedness and violence (Genesis 13:13). Violence is a well documented characteristic of demon possession (Matthew 8:28-32; Acts 19:13-16).

Noteworthy is the rather anomalous preference for "the men" (the visiting angels at Sodom) rather than the women, or Lot himself, by the sexually deviant men of the city of Sodom (Genesis 19:1-11). It is apparent in the context that the men of the city who "desired" the visiting angels over earthly men, were themselves rather odd to say the least, as if they were possessed. In other words, the peculiar preference of the men of the city for these angelic visitors betrayed something important about themselves, namely that they had some previous cardinal knowledge as adversaries of God and His Holy angels, and that they were demonically influenced or possessed. Those sexually devious "sodomites" in our own day are certainly engaged in an evil and ungodly practice that anticipates the curse of God, and they are indeed humanly sinful yet they are not necessarily possessed and controlled by demonic agents. They can still repent and believe on the Lord. It is those demonic agents which have vexed man from the beginning, and, were it not for the grace of God they would have brought mankind to complete ruin already. If it were not for the fact of demonic adversaries operating behind the scenes in these important historical episodes God would have a lot of explaining to do in His seemingly indiscriminate policy toward sinners.

What is at stake here is the categorical and consistent nature of God, and that this is upheld can be clearly seen in the careful analysis of the targets and administrations of Divine judgment. Thus the tenure of God's longsuffering toward sinful man can be directly correlated with the nature and rabidity of the perpetrators. In other words Divine judgment is always accelerated and intensified in the presence of demonic intervention, as the Flood, the fire and brimstone at Sodom and Gomorrah, and the coming judgment at the end of the age patently indicate. The leagues of fallen angels, bent on destroying humanity, are a class of creatures God has emphatically warned man to shun lest he be taken up with them and perish in the ensuing judgments. It just goes to show, it pays to avoid bad company. The fall of man in the Garden of Eden, the account of Noah's Flood, the destructions of the Canaanites with the arrival of the Israelites in the promised land, and those transactions during the time of Christ bear this out. These are facts consistent with the integrity of God and His benign superintendance over His people, as well as the nature of His revelation. Human depravity brings grief enough to the Almighty but the exceedingly heinous products of demonic activity He finds intolerable. This is consistent with the fact that God did not destroy ancient Nineva or the Roman Empire in such a fashion, and likewise our own nation today, at least so far.

The account in Genesis 6:1-8 is much deeper and pregnant with significance than the immediate problem of human ungodliness and sensuality. In and of itself, the human heart is "desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 11:33), but certainly not (normally) "only evil continually." The latter is clearly a distinct trademark of a demonic invasion, which did indeed occur prior to the Flood and which precipitated the necessity of the destruction of the world that then was, with its mutant ravaging giants. The evidences from the correlations and inferences of Scripture bear this out. "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5). "But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly" and their sin was "very grievous" (Genesis 13:13; 18:20).

Just as world conditions in the days before the Flood pre-staged that early catastrophe, so will world conditions in the last days of this age foreshadow a potentially greater catastrophe. In that age there was a tendency to regard God as merely the Creator and Benefactor rather than as the covenant God of mercy, dealing with transgressors who are appointed to destruction, and finding a ransom for them. Some of the more notable characteristics of that age which will also attend the times prior to the second coming of Christ include the following: preoccupation with physical appetites (Luke 17:27), rapid advances in technology (Genesis 4:22), grossly materialistic attitudes and interests (Luke 17:28), uniformitarian philosophies (Hebrews 11:7), inordinate devotion to pleasure and comfort (Genesis 4:21), no concern for God in either belief or conduct (II Peter 2:5), an undue prominence of the female sex, and a disregard for the primacy of the marriage relation (Matthew 24:38), rejection of the inspired Word of God (I Peter 3:20), population explosion (Genesis 6:1,11), widespread violence (Genesis 6:11,13), corruption throughout society (Genesis 6:12), preoccupation with illicit sexual activity (Genesis 4:19; 6:2), widespread words and thoughts of blasphemy (Jude 15), organized occultic and Satanic activity (Genesis 6:1-4), promulgation of systems and movements of abnormal depravity (Genesis 6:5,12), and a preponderance of extraterrestrial or trans-dimensional demonic intervention (Genesis 6:2; I Timothy 4:1).

In the case of the last effect in the previous list, it is apparent that this same basic activity of demon possession is occurring again, today, "as it was in the days of Noe," but in a somewhat varied form under the guise of "UFO's and aliens from another world" who are abducting humans and conducting genetic hybridization experiments on them against their will, in a godless deception perfectly tailored to our modern technological age. The interest and popularity of the UFO-alien enigma has become so great in the last few years that television, radio, and the printed media are rife with features about these occurrences. The whole affair is very real but, in reality, it is not what it is purported to be and is not what most people think it is. The anatomy of sin is deception and much deception is released by Satan and his cohorts into the mainstream of humanity for consumption. It is compatible with human nature to believe it. This modified variety of demonic intervention, and possession, is nothing more than a deceptive attempt by demonic advocates of a fallen angelic order to supplant the body, soul, and spirit of man as a dwelling place of God and to pervert and turn man against God, thus doing Satan's "dirty work" for him, in overturning God's created order on Earth.

The solemn fact is that the essential doctrines of the old pagan philosophers are even now subtly and widely permeating the western world, in spite of its education and scientific progress, and are captivating multitudes who would boast of intellectual superiority to the "poor heathen." For even some who would call themselves Christian today the Scriptures say "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (I Timothy 4:1). Now that much of mankind is laced with drugs, the occult, and the "new age-new world order" deception, the human race is ripe for the greatest conspiracy and deception of all time, a great "public disclosure," perfectly fitted to our time, that "we have made contact" and are being visited by "aliens from outer space."

Many who claim to have had encounters with UFO's have reported that these objects seem to be more alive and intelligent than just mechanical craft. Given that our atmosphere is literally swarming with advocates of "the prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2; 6:12) it should come as no surprise that there might be an occasional visible manifestation of such a presence. The fallen angels have shadowed humanity ever since Satan deceived our first parents in Eden. Meanwhile God's Holy angels, in even greater numbers, continue as ministering spirits on behalf of God's people (Hebrews 1:14), and signal the ultimate victory of good over evil.

[Illustrations] Drawings of "Aliens" based on Haunting Descriptions by Avowed Abductees
1. Operating Table, 2. Portrait, 3. Hand 4. Single frame from alleged government autopsy footage.

Even though the so called "extraterrestrials" may appear as "benevolent brothers" the messages derived from and through them consistently conflict with Biblical Christianity. There is nothing in the UFO phenomenon that leads to belief in the one true God. The "visitors" appear to be in tune with what has been known as "New Age" religion, including eastern mysticism, astral projection, and harmonic convergence, and so on. None of these are in harmony with Jesus Christ. They are more interested in steering us away from the one who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life," to fool mankind about Bible prophecy, and even to falsify His coming in the very era of Christ's return. All of this can be none other than preparation necessary to the events surrounding the rise of Anti-Christ.

A matter of increasing significance in our ever closer knit world culture is the attention given by the airwaves (radio and television) to the UFO activity and the "alien abduction phenomenon," as reflected by the many programs touching upon these topics. It is already evident that much of this can be directly associated with the preparatory new age mentality and the occult, if not outright demonic enterprise. The potential for confusion over these effects within the Christian community is not to be underestimated. It is known that most of those involved in the "new age" movement do not "buy off" on the theory of evolution to any reckonable degree, as even they appear to see the loop holes in this decadent philosophy. Yet, neither do adherents of this movement embrace the Biblical account of creation and Earth history.

A third "option" which has been taking increasing prominence in the cultural arena of our civilization, if not its overall "religious" characteristic, is the idea that humanity was "planted" here on Earth by aliens form outer space. More and more the "proof" of this idea is seen in the UFO and alien abduction phenomenon. The new age movement is a quiet cancer in society that began in the mid to late 1960's that has now become a well defined world and life view with its own "theology." Advocates of this movement have well prepared answers for almost any question one could ask. The vigilant Christian's only safety, counter measure, and protection against this monstrous deception is his charter, the Holy Bible. In Scripture the astute Bible student will see the intimate connection between the past and the present, for every evidence indicates we are witnessing a major repeat of a bygone epoch. It is quite possible that we will be seeing much more on these themes along with their "signs and wonders" in the years that follow, all preparatory to an ultimate judgment.

Since the 1960's, and especially since the Apollo Moon landing in 1969, the mind set of our culture, particularly among the youth and even among some "Christian" people, has been ever more preoccupied with outer space. Popular television programs like Star Trek and Babylon Five, and the increase in the number of paranormal features, bear this out. Since the influence of Erich Von Daniken in the 1970's the extraterrestrial origins of human life has become an ever more popular theme. Unless the Christian community remains abreast of this rapid development, Christians, to a large degree, may be, in a manner of speaking, "left in the dust" insofar as a certain understanding of, and remedy for, what is "up and coming" today. Noteworthy is the fact that many new age "disciples" express no surprise at the evidence that humans and dinosaurs once coexisted in our world. This evidence, of course, should already have come as no surprise to the Bible believer. With evolution found lacking and defeated, and with the Bible rejected, many are looking elsewhere, and they find no better place to look than to the stars for the source of our origins, religious inspiration, and destiny. It is most evident that a new "Goliath" has arrived, in the form of a major paradigm shift which is taking place in the minds of the masses. Even our government may soon be forced to take action with some kind of a said "disclosure." There is simply too many people being drawn into this phenomenon, either through direct involvement or indirect influence, for this to be ignored any longer. Certainly something big and decidedly evil is coming down on us in these latter days and it is becoming an inescapable obsession for many, because at the heart of this present day fascination with UFO's is the prospect of an "alien contact."

UFO-alien abduction encounter groups and "scientific congresses" are springing up all over the world today to discuss the experiences of people who have been kidnapped by "little green men" and placed on operating tables in space ships where these strange beings conduct surgical procedures on them. Many of these "witnesses" involve world class personalities. Ten years ago such reports would have been dismissed out of hand. At one recent conference hosted by a major university one reputable author expressed astonishment at the quality of stories told by literally hundreds of men and women. These people had hesitantly and reluctantly come forth to reveal their truly amazing and utterly convincing accounts of having been abducted and then examined aboard extraterrestrial spacecraft by spindly limbed, telepathic gray creatures with oversized foreheads dominated by huge, compelling, tear-shaped black eyes.

A common cry often heard among abductees about these creatures is "they are not people." Equally astounding are the similarities found again and again in these accounts and the consistency of their chilling details. These stories involve people who are well educated, well dressed, middle and upper class types who themselves wonder what is happening. The evidence of this activity has become so widespread that the burden of proof to the contrary now rests squarely on the skeptics. It is often concluded that if something is "out of sight out of mind" it is not occurring. As for this UFO - alien abduction phenomenon, nothing could be further from the truth, and it is not something that is going to go away. A sequence recently aired on national television showing alleged U.S. government technicians conducting an autopsy on strange corpses from a crashed alien space ship has captured a great deal of attention and generated much controversy. The cement binding this phenomenon to a status demanding a reckoning is the undeniable fact that, whether one believes it or not, reports of "close encounters of the fourth kind" are on the increase. Already, the voices of tormented millions world wide are heard through the media describing their previously inexplicable experiences. In the U.S. alone, experts estimate that close to one million people claim to have been abducted by aliens. These are not cases of individuals vying for attention or about individuals experiencing some unknown aspect of themselves, this has every manifestation of a real effect that has its precedent in, and is decidedly akin to that which resulted from the invasion of the "sons of God" as the Biblical record reveals in Genesis 6:1-4. There are many today who are not taking spiritual warfare seriously, if they are not outright mistaking it for something else. Unless readers recognize the patent intent of this strategic passage of Scripture the full impact of the present day crises will ever elude them.

According to a recent survey of several hundred people, who claimed to have been abducted by aliens, there were no true Bible believing Christians found among the interviewees. Thus, we find another "red-flag" indicator that this phenomenon is decidedly demonic. A single point is clear and that is, the most important issue in our day is one's own relationship with Jesus Christ and his or her preparedness for the upcoming spiritual warfare with this "new age theology" with its accompaniments and effects. Dear reader, are you a born again Christian, according to the Scripture? One of Christ's great comforts to the believer is the Biblical declaration that "...greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." -I John 4:4 All of the aforementioned conditions prevailed in the days of Noah and they are all now increasingly evident today. There is good reason, therefore, to believe that these present times, however long they may endure, are those which immediately precede the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scriptures clearly tell us that the judgment in Noah's time presaged the personal advent of Christ in judgment at the end time. The Satanic triad (the Dragon, Beast or Anti-Christ, and the False Prophet), in all its malignity is already at work to carry out the fullness of the mystery of iniquity. This is the ultimate antithesis and corruption of the Holy Triune God of creation Himself, the Father, Son (Christ), and Holy Spirit. Only God, and Him alone, through Jesus Christ can save us from the judgment to come. "For true and righteous are his judgments..." - Revelation 19:2a.

Now if we receive the word of God "with all readiness of mind," and "search the scriptures daily" to see "whether those things were so" (Acts 17:11), not "adding unto the word," nor "taking away from it" (Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:18-19), "comparing spiritual things with spiritual" (I Corinthians 2:13), "knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation," (II Peter 1:20), and knowing we follow not "cunningly devised fables" (II Peter 1:16), and most of all, realizing that there is a blessing for them that readeth, heareth, and keepeth the word of God (John 20:31; Revelation 1:3), then we shall find, as Enoch's knowledge of God's appearing some five thousand years ago showed him, that the secrets of God are ever with them that fear Him.

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."- Hebrews 11:6

Back in the 1970's a major sensation was brought about by a television show entitled "In Search of Ancient Astronauts." The source of this program watched by millions of people was the book Chariots of the Gods?, authored by Erich von Daniken. Needless to say, the presentation stimulated, shocked, excited, and even enraged, but surely did not leave any thinking person uninterested.

The television show and the book postulate that extraterrestrial intelligent life landed on Earth one or more times in the distant past intervening in the affairs of early man. According to von Daniken the evidence demonstrating this contact between beings from outer space and humans is found in the vast reservoir of Earth's unexplainable historic and prehistoric phenomena. Challenging most of the classical archeological and anthropological explanations of ancient human history, von Daniken boldly reinterpreted the artifacts, the myths, the "prehistoric" drawings, the ancient documents, the monoliths, the ruins of antiquity, and so on, as evidence indicating a time millennia ago when beings from other worlds descended to Earth making contact with earthinians and changing the course of history. Since many undoubtedly viewed the program without having read Chariots of the Gods, or its sequel, Gods from Outer Space, which expanded upon the author's original premise, many were no doubt confused by the viability of his interpretations. Regardless of the controversial nature of von Daniken's writings they have captivated a very large audience and have had an enormous influence on the thinking of many in regard to extraterrestrial life.

For the Bible believing Christian the first question that comes to mind, and appropriately so, is the issue of how such ideas square with Christianity and Bible doctrines. In other words, can believers accept these profound suggestions without doing violence to Biblical truths? Many other ideas along the lines of von Daniken have since been popularized to one degree or another since the early 1970's. It is in light of this phenomena that the following discussion seems to be in order. Even though this analysis is not intended to be exhaustive it should be sufficient to shed light on some very interesting and important distinctions between some of von Daniken's tenets and certain statements in the Bible.

The following two paragraphs, briefly quoted from Chariots of the Gods?, summarize von Daniken's basic thesis:
"Dim, as yet undefinable ages ago an unknown spaceship discovered our planet. The crew of the spaceship soon found that the Earth had all the prerequisites for intelligent life to develop. Obviously the 'man' of those times was no homo sapiens but something rather different. The spacemen artificially fertilized some female members of this species, put them into a deep sleep, so ancient legends say, and departed. Thousands of years later the space travelers returned and found scattered specimens of the genus homo sapiens. They repeated their breeding experiment several times until finally they produced a creature intelligent enough to have the rules of society imparted to it. The people of that age were still barbaric. Because there was a danger that they might retrogress and mate with animals again, the space travelers destroyed the unsuccessful specimens or took them with them to settle them on other continents. The first communities and the first skills came into being; rock faces and cave walls were painted, pottery was discovered, and the first attempts at architecture were made.

These first men had tremendous respect for the space travelers. Because they came from somewhere absolutely unknown and then returned there again, they were the 'gods' to them. For some mysterious reason the 'gods' were interested in passing on their intelligence. They took care of the creatures they bred; they wanted to protect them from corruption and preserve them from evil. They wanted to ensure that their community developed constructively. They wiped out the freaks and saw to it that the remainder received the basic requirements for a society capable of development."

Such a history seems shocking indeed to our sensibilities. Yet, it has had an inestimable influence on modern thinking. Certainly it demands investigation, especially in a Biblical light.

At the outset, von Daniken assumes the correctness of evolution and constructs his ideas around that premise. The theory of evolution, although, stands in direct contradiction to Biblical truth as well as scientific laws such as the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Thus his premise is untenable from either a Biblical or scientific perspective.

Equally important as von Daniken's underlying presupposition of evolution is his statement that the aliens interbred with the earthinians. Repulsive as it may sound, von Daniken records legend upon legend from one civilization to another whose records tell of the 'gods' interbreeding with humans. The reasonable question is where did such a universal idea come from? It came from actual historic fact!

Von Daniken is correct in some areas, i.e., that the Earth was indeed visited by beings from outer space. Furthermore, these beings did, in fact, arrive on at least two different occasions; and their visitation truly did significantly influence the course of human history, and they did interbreed with humans. These beings, however, were angels, not "aliens from outer space". The specific account involving them is recorded in the sixth chapter of Genesis.

From the account in Genesis 6:1-4 reams of mythology have been generated. The New Testament also makes note of this event in three key passages: I Peter 3:19, 20; II Peter 2:4-6; and Jude 1:6-7. The facts of the case are simple and the supporting arguments are too many and varied to detail each one in this writing, but the event may be summarized as follows:

1. Angelic beings ("sons of God") came to Earth, lustfully desiring the attractive daughters of men (Genesis 6:2).

2. They took whomever they chose as wives (Genesis 6:2).

3. This angelic intervention occurred not only before but also after the time of Noah's Flood (Genesis 6:4).

4. The offspring from these unlawful unions were physical giants (Nephalim - "fallen ones" - in the Hebrew) (Genesis 6:4).

5. The fallen angels who committed this sin were incarcerated in Tartarus where they now await judgment (II Peter 2:4 Greek).

Arrogant Goliath, who challenged David and was slain by the latter (I Samuel 17:49-51), was one of the Nephalim ("fallen ones"), a giant offspring from an unlawful union between a fallen angel, or demon, and a human. Goliath was among the second, or post-Flood, outbreaks of such giants. He stood nearly 10 feet tall.

6. Only a portion of the angels who originally fell with Lucifer committed this atrocity, since all who thus sinned were imprisoned, but there are other fallen angels who are not bound (Jude 1:6).

7. The sin of the angels was the same as that of Sodom and Gomorra; i.e., they gave themselves to fornication, specifically going after a different kind of flesh (Jude 1:7).

There are many who have fought against or tried to refute the "angelic" interpretation of Genesis 6, but the supporting lines of argument throughout the Scripture are too tightly woven to allow any other interpretation to be so reasonable. In addition to the Bible itself there are extra-Biblical evidences of giants among the historic traditions of various cultures in the world. Furthermore, there has been found confirming evidence in the fossil record of "human" giants at various places in the world in the past. Some have argued that angels have no flesh; they are spirits. Indeed they are, but from the Old Testament to the New, angels have had the ability to materialize into a variety of human forms when they were called upon to deal with mankind. The passage in Genesis 18 and 19 is a classic example. The two "men" who accompanied the Lord to visit Abraham had feet to be washed (18:4), bodies to rest (18:4), mouths and stomachs with which to eat food (18:5,8), faces (18:22), and legs on which to stand and walk (18:2,22). By the time they had traveled from Abraham to Sodom to find Lot, they still had feet - which, by the way, needed washing again (19:1,2), they were hungry enough to eat another meal (19:3), and their bodies appeared sufficiently like humans that the men of the town desired to have them for the purpose of homosexuality (19:4-5)! Yet these were angels (19:1,15); they had simply taken on a human body, which they later cast aside, for the job they were given to do. The author of Hebrews also makes a pointed comment about angels in human form: "Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: For thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Hebrews 13:1,2). One will search in vain for any indication that this ability to materialize a human form does not apply to the fallen angels as well as the good angels.

Another popular argument against the angelic view has been gleaned from verses such as Matthew 22:30, construing them to teach that angels have no sex. Such a statement is, although, never made. It is only said that they do not marry; it comments neither on their ability to marry, nor specifically on the status of fallen angels, since only the good angels are mentioned.

Dr. Scofield's note on Genesis 6:4 in the Scofield Reference Bible has caused much unfortunate misunderstanding on this passage and is replete with careless oversimplifications. His note reads as follows:

"Some hold that these 'sons of God' were the 'angels which kept not their first estate' (Jude 6). It is asserted that this title in the Old Testament is exclusively used of angels. But this is an error (Isaiah 43:6). Angels are spoken of in a sexless way. No female angels are mentioned in scripture, and we are expressly told that marriage is unknown among angels (Matthew 22.30). The uniform Hebrew and Christian interpretation has been that verse 2 marks a breaking down of the separation between the godly line of Seth and the godless line of Cain, and so the failure of the testimony to Jehovah committed to the line of Seth (Genesis 4:26). For apostasy there is no remedy but judgment (Isaiah 1:2-7, 24,25; Hebrews 6:4-8; 10:26-31). Noah, 'a preacher of righteousness,' is given 120 years, but he won no convert, and the judgment predicted by his great-grandfather fell (Jude 1:14,15; Genesis 7:11)."

Some of the mistakes in this note need to be recognized. First, the precise term "sons of God" is used only of angelic beings in the Old Testament, Isaiah 43:6 notwithstanding. It does not occur there. Adam, a direct creation of God and not a derivative creature such as through birth, is singularly referred to as a "son of God" in the genealogies of Luke (Luke 3:38). Secondly, angels are not spoken of in a sexless way; the fact that angels are consistently masculine, and never feminine, is one proof that is too obvious. Thirdly, the uniform Hebrew and Christian interpretation was not the Sethite view which Scofield claims. On the contrary, the historical interpretation of Genesis 6 was uniformly that the "sons of God" were angels until the fourth century A.D. when heresy regarding angelic beings brought about a shift to the Sethite view. Josephus and many of the early Church fathers record a consistent testimony at this point. The Sethite view, which Dr. Scofield and many others have favored, just does not hold up under a sensible analysis. The following list, for example, clearly bears this out:

1. If the Sethites were so godly, why did they choose to marry the "ungodly' Cainite women?

2. Genesis 4:26 does not state that Seth's line was godly, and Cain's ungodly (by silent implication).

3. Why did physical giants result from these spiritually "mixed" marriages?

4. Why were the giant offspring always evil?

5. Why don't evil, physical giants result today from the marriage of a saved man and an unsaved woman if they did then?

6. Why should all the Sethite men be godly and all the Cainite women be ungodly? What about the Sethite women and the Cainite men? Weren't there any?

7. God says the whole Earth was full of men's wickedness (Genesis 6:5). Where is the godly line here?

8. Why does the corruption extend to "all flesh" even including the animals if only Cainites and Sethites were involved?

9. Why does the same problem recur after the Flood when there are no Sethites and Cainites to intermingle?

10. Why are the giants not human beings, as testified by the fact that twice God says they will never be resurrected (Isaiah 26:14, Psalm 88:10), yet all human beings, both saved and lost, will be resurrected by Jesus Christ (John 5:28,29)?

The answer is clear. Genesis 6:1-4 records a unique intervention of certain fallen angels into the affairs of humanity. They intervened by inbreeding with women, and their horrendous offspring - part-angel and part-human were doomed to genetic failure and judgment. This was an attempt on the part of Satan to pollute the "seed of the woman" (Genesis 3:15) so that no conqueror could eventually come and defeat him. The elaborate plan almost succeeded, but God spared Noah, keeping him unpolluted, "perfect in his generations" (Genesis 6:9), thereby preserving the way for Jesus Christ to be the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15.

Though this most strategic aspect of Satan's agenda was foiled, the angelic interbreeding wrought havoc to this Earth. Wickedness became so widespread, even into the animal world, that God had to send the judgment of Noah's flood. The actual existence of the "mythological" figures of the satyr (goat-man) and centaur (horse-man), for example, are monstrosities which likely have an historical basis in fact. Demonic meddling in animal genetics could very well have brought about the grotesque assemblages of the "gods" that we read about in ancient mythology. When the outbreak occurred again, after the Flood, God imprisoned the wicked spirits in Tartarus and omnipotently brought the outbreak to an end.

The darkened heart of the unbeliever, nevertheless, was a ripe place for Satan and his demons to sustain the memory of these fallen angels. The angels had become gods. They were to be worshipped. They had come from the stars. They had imparted "life" to humans. They had performed spectacular miracles, and revealed great truths, never before imagined. They had returned to the stars (according to Satan's delusion), but not before they left a promise to come again! Such are the themes of so many stories and beliefs around the world that the masterful counterfeit of Christian truth is almost frightening. A perfect example of all this is recorded in Acts 14:8-13 where Paul and Barnabas are assumed by the Lycaonians to be human manifestations of their gods who had come down to do miracles. God's work was attributed to demons.

Occupied by those fallen angels not incarcerated,
the heavenly sphere stands polluted and in need of cleansing (Job 25:5).

This is the event von Daniken interprets as ancient astronauts from outer space. As was said before, he is right about beings coming from other worlds to interbreed with humans, and the legacy of mythology he records or alludes to is a most impressive display of the universality of this belief in the ancient world. His assertions, though, are at best, part truths, and they only succeed as a masterful counterfeit of the real truth of the Bible. In contrast to von Daniken's concepts the following list shows what the Bible teaches regarding such matters:

1. The aliens were fallen angels, not other men from a technically advanced civilization.

2. The forced interbreeding was evil and brought degenerating consequences. It was not beneficial for accelerating evolution.

3. The aliens were intelligent but depraved beings on a mission of destruction and opposition to God; they were not beings of superior morality who desired to impart their concept of godliness to a struggling, embryonic world.

4. The learning and wisdom which these evil angels imparted to men doubtless took many forms - art, science, architecture, etc. The revelations of these beings primarily served to elevate them into the place of receiving worship as gods. Their intervention directed men away from the true God; it was not designed to facilitate social development.

5. According to von Daniken, the aliens destroyed humans who "reverted" to such evil practices as cohabiting with animals. The fact may well be that the aliens taught men to do this by example! In any case, why should the aliens condemn and kill men for doing the same thing that they themselves did with humans?

6. Legends recorded in Chariots of the Gods? say that these ancient astronauts promised to one day return from the stars, as they came the first time...a perfect counterfeit of the second coming of Christ.

7. In preparation for their return, the gods taught men to prepare for corporeal rebirth, i.e., that their physical bodies would be awakened from death unto new life by the gods when they returned. The counterfeit of Biblical life after death and the uniqueness of Christ's power to resurrect is evident. From this demonic doctrine we understand the elaborate preparations of the Egyptians and others for restored physical life after a long death.

8. The angels evidently directed the attention of men to the stars - not as a demonstration of the glory of the true God (Psalms 19:1), but because that was their home. Specific deities became associated with certain astronomical bodies, their motions became important, and thus their influence over humans would always be remembered. Today, it is called astrology.

9. According to von Daniken, the aliens returned to the stars. According to the Bible, the aliens were imprisoned in Tartarus, in the center of the Earth, and will have no more activity until they are released for judgment after the Millennium.

10. Mythology records that the aliens came to Earth in "spaceships" of various designs: and why not? It would seem that spirit beings would not need such crafts to reach Earth, but what better way to counterfeit such Biblical events as Elijah and the fiery chariot, Isaiah's vision (Isaiah 6), Ezekiel's "air transportation" from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8), Daniel and the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7), Paul's trip to the third heaven (II Corinthians 12), John's trip to heaven (Revelation 4), and others.

In summary it must be said that von Daniken has done a good service in compiling such a long list of the world's puzzling phenomena. How accurate his facts are, how careful his translations of various texts, legends and myths are, etc. cannot be readily known, since most of his specific assertions are undocumented. Nevertheless he records a stimulating and exciting list of oddities.

From a Biblical perspective, though, the interpretations von Daniken proposes in both his books can only be regarded in one way - as a subtle and elaborate counterfeit of the truth. He has succeeded in turning the treacherous and abominable demonic activities in the days of Noah into a respectable, exciting, and intellectually feasible explanation of ancient human history. Multiplied pages of his books are filled with anti-Biblical, anti-God ideas. Sometimes they are guised in intellectual hypothesizing; sometimes they are so blatant that the God of Israel is nothing more than a loudspeaker on an electrical communications box designed by the astronauts (the Ark of the Covenant). Such teachings can only rank as "doctrines of demons" (I Timothy 4:1).

Indeed, intelligent alien beings did come to Earth from outer space. Yes, they did breed with human women. Yes, they did give birth to a new kind of offspring - not homo sapiens - but a part-angel, part-human, freak hybrid strain of giants; and yes they did change the course of mankind in this world. In the wake of their activity, they left a legacy of unrestrained wickedness so intense that people the world over seem to have effaced its horror from their history by remembering it only as fanciful mythology of bygone golden ages. For this, "...God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment" (II Peter 2:4).

This chapter has been adapted from a transcription of a radio program broadcast in
1973, entitled Spacemen or Angels, by Reverend Richard A. Steeg, B.S., M. Div.

NOTEWORTHY

It is virtually impossible to develop a proper perspective on Biblical history and prophetic events without an accurate understanding of the sixth chapter of Genesis. Neither is it possible to maintain a grasp on the depth and sheer magnitude of spiritual warfare when one approaches the issue with a deficient and errant, if not outright defiant, perspective on this obscure but strategic portion of the Lord's revelation. The sexual corruption of the human race and the resultant irruption of hybrid offspring as clearly revealed in Scripture is a real and sobering historic fact. It is not the obscurity of this revelation which presents a problem, but the misguided, partial, and unprepared minds of the many so-called Bible "experts" that continually ignore, or engage in an outright rape of, this Scriptural passage. The fact of the matter is, and Christ was unambiguous in this concern, that not only have we been previously visited by these entities, we are clearly destined to see their return in an equally, if not surpassing, vivid and profound way. Anyone who is unaware of who these visitors are leaves himself at great peril - both physically and spiritually. The reality of their intrusion into the mainstream of humanity is both fascinating and sobering, even frightening. However, in the name of Christ, as his soldiers of faith, we must have a working knowledge of our enemy, for we are told repeatedly of him and his evil nature and works. The good Lord has indeed provided this important equipping through His Word (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Regardless of the cause, the Devil and his cohorts are at present permitted to roam the Earth (I Peter 5:8). The stark fact is that they are here. Unfortunately, man, especially unregenerate man, is quite vulnerable to the deceptive conspiratorial wiles of the devil and his co-adversaries. The "wisdom" of the world system has convinced many that demons and the devil are nonsense and nonexistent. Christ Himself warned us of their presence and power, and, as well, told us that in He Himself alone do we find safety and refuge, as well as strength to face off the encounters and influences of these sinister beings.

That physical beings of an inhuman sort have walked the earth is patently demonstrated not only from Scripture but from the notable extra biblical authorities and records, world wide traditions, and an abundance of evidence from the fossil record bearing a profusion of inordinately large humanoid remains and relics world wide. Adherents of modern science, so called, have chosen to ignore these creatures because they do not fit in with the accepted paradigm, and, as well, have preferred not to retain the Redeemer in their knowledge (Romans 1:28).

The probable reason why the Bible does not elaborate on the "men of renown" in greater detail is the fact that this knowledge was already prevalent and familiar extrabiblically, and such elaboration would only constitute an unnecessary redundancy. Hence the brevity, but all-sufficiency, of the Biblical text as it stands is a practical result.

What is life? Put this question to a biologist and he responds: Ask me another. Ask a chemist and he might provide the inquirer with an obtuse mathematical equation. Ask an astronomer about the source of life and he might point to the stars. There is documented evidence that Earth has in fact been visited by beings from beyond our world. Even though this evidence is of a superior quality, it is not the kind of evidence for life among the stars that is taken seriously or sought after by public promoters and researchers who have spent countless millions of dollars in their search for extraterrestrial life. Furthermore, there is not even a qualitative consensus among scientists as to what, by definition, life truly is. In the Bible, which tells us much about life, God is clearly revealed as the giver of life. Dissenters will argue that this is not the kind of life that should be discussed. Notwithstanding, all life does indeed come from the Creator, thus it has a definite source, abode and purpose.

Probably the greatest and strangest mystery of our present time is that of UFOs ("unidentified flying objects") and related phenomena. By definition UFOs include phenomenon found among reports of aerial objects, lights, beings, or physical effects that are regarded by witnesses as anomalies because of their peculiar behavior. Included in these are the infamous "flying saucers." Certainly these phenomena present a serious challenge to our understanding. After years of studying case reports and eye-witness accounts involving these anomalous occurrences, leading researchers have admitted they have no truly adequate explanation. Since the modern era of UFO sightings began after World War II, reports of unidentified flying objects have steadily increased in numbers. Until only recently such reports were usually discounted as natural phenomena or explained away as erroneous sightings due to poor observations. Because of the enormous increase in the numbers of these reports in the past five years there has been a major shift in public awareness, interest, and opinion about these strange apparitions, so much so that even the skeptics are now left with the burden of proof for their insistence that UFOs do not exist. Rather than just being relegated to obscure and incredulous fringe groups of eccentric followers whose sanity was often questioned, the UFO phenomenon has gained such widespread popular interest that people from all walks of life and social classes are involved, including quite respectable middle and upper class professionals.

Furthermore, UFOs have reportedly been spotted by a number of our cream-of-the-crop American heroes, the astronauts. Even former presidents have filed reports. Such seemingly incredible sightings have caused many to believe that Earth is being visited by aliens from a distant planet. As a cultural reflection of this belief, theatres now abound with motion pictures carrying themes of UFOs and alien visitations, mutilations, peculiar geographical markings, strange vampire like creatures, and other paranormal topics. Television and radio is rife with entire programs and features presenting evidence of these extraordinary UFO occurrences. Meanwhile, workshops, encounter groups and major conventions are springing up in many places offering a forum for the exchange of information and for the consolation of people who have been directly or indirectly affected or victimized by these bizarre occurrences - occurrences often accompanied by terrifying consequences. This world wide fascination with UFOs and related phenomena has reached an all-time high in our present day. A UFO sighting occurs somewhere on Earth every three minutes. Recent surveys indicate that approximately half of Americans believe UFOs are real and that they represent alien space craft. Many millions claim to have seen a UFO at one time or another, and, according to a recent estimate, nearly one million Americans claim to have been abducted by aliens. It is evident that something very significant is occurring and that it is a serious problem which is not going to diminish soon. Like every other "new thing" that confronts us it certainly demands an explanation.

Since all truth, authority and power rests in the Almighty, it is clear that only the discerning Christian community, equipped with the resources of Holy Writ, has the ability to provide a systematic, sensible, and truly Biblical solution to this perplexing dilemma of UFOs and alien visitations now so widely reported. Since God created all things, it is obvious that His word must apply, either directly or indirectly, to all of life's concerns. Hence, this must include our present inquiry into this intriguing matter. It is increasingly clear that the prevalent rationalistic world views held by modern science, astronomy, politics, and other involved disciplines are not able to provide a satisfactory answer to this perplexing question. The inability of even our government to make a definitive diagnosis of the UFO phenomenon has led to a variety of hypothesis. Two interpretive models, although, dominate as a public explanation: the Naturalistic-Technologic Hypothesis, (NTH) and the Extra-Terrestrial Hypothesis (ETH). Following a brief evaluation of these two hypotheses, a third, or Biblical Hypothesis is described.

The NTH explains UFOs as being produced by natural effects or man-made objects. Until recently, this has been the predominate view in the scientific community. Natural effects may include unusual cloud formations and atmospheric phenomena, mirages, bright stars and planets, meteors, inversions, "swamp gas" and so on. Technologic effects may include satellites, rocket launchings or re-entries, airplanes or obscure and unusual aircraft, weather balloons and other types of IFOs (Identified Flying Objects), and the likes. Closer examination of these explanations, which have long been offered up as "official," have consistently betrayed very serious deficiencies. A case in point is the well documented account of an experienced pilot and survivor of many World War II missions who flew in pursuit of "an enormous metallic object" moving at great speeds and up to great heights. The object was fruitlessly chased by several other pilots as well. The war veteran died in a crash as a result of his pursuit. The public explanation given was that the pilot had been pursuing the bright planet Venus, lost consciousness at great altitude, and then perished in the crash of his plane. The fallacy of this explanation became apparent when it was pointed out that this incident occurred, during broad daylight, when Venus was so obscure that it would have required a careful search of the skies in the right area by an experienced observer with acute vision in order to see the starlike point of light.

One suggestion offered for such habits of misinformation is that of policies surrounding issues of national security and the protection of classified projects. Many nations around the world have officially or secretly engaged in serious UFO investigations at the governmental or military level, yet the United States government has consistently denied the existence or danger of UFO's and extraterrestrials. Secret government projects involving bizarre and exotic experimental technologies have often been suggested as an explanation for UFO reports. These may exist to some extent, yet even these possibilities inherently leave a trail of unanswered questions.

Hoaxes have played a part, as well, in the case lists of sightings. Of interest is the fact that many falsified photographs have been made of UFOs, and in particular, flying saucers. Some of these have been very convincing and when they are dumped into the information channels it only makes for greater difficulty in separating the wheat from the chafe. There is, although, something important to be remembered about such falsifications; whenever one finds counterfeits that in itself is a vital indication of a real and authentic original counterpart. As in any discipline, if it were not for the original there would be no idea for the derivative imitation. Anything worth an imposture is almost certain to exist in its ultimate reality as a genuine fact. This is the often overlooked principle of imitative correspondence, since imitations are inherently subsidized by the real. This is just as likely in the UFO arena as in any other pursuit. One interesting observation about UFO photographs is that there are often complaints about the poor quality of the images, that they are "always blurry and out of focus" or not well defined. Yet, at the same time, when detailed good quality high resolution photographs are obtained, the same critics contend that they are phony and staged. One just can't win!

The ETH explains UFOs as representing alien spacecraft occupied by beings conducting an exploration of our world and its life forms. There has been a dramatic shift in popular opinion in recent years from the NTH to the ETH. There are, although, serious inherent deficiencies in the ETH just as there are in the NTH. At the outset, it should be noted, there is an intimate and traceable connection between the expectation of life in outer space and the theory of evolution. Also significant is the fact that the physical structure or appearance of observed aliens is usually quite "humanoid" rather than strictly "alien." This should stand out as a conspicuous coincidence and strange effect, considering the unique adaptations of life within an alleged evolutionary construct, especially in a context cosmic in scale. Given the narrow parameters required for the development of life in outer space, coupled with the exceedingly harsh environments encountered there, there is an inherent statistical unlikelihood of any planet capable of producing life which could develop intergalactic travel. Even the distance of the nearest star to Earth would represent an 80,000-year round trip journey given our present technology. One highly respectable source reported that it is unlikely that any star within 100 light years from Earth is stable enough to support biochemical evolution. The vast distances between improbable candidates would seem to negate the possibility of extraterrestrials visiting our world from outer space. The hard fact is that recent "discoveries" of planets in space and "life" on Mars, for instance, remain unconfirmed and speculative at best, if not downright unprovable. Furthermore the number and variety of alien encounters being reported far exceeds that required for a sensible exploration of our Earth. Noteworthy is the fact that leading UFO researchers admit that there seems to be no evidence that these strange effects originate from outer space.

Even though the UFO phenomenon remains largely unexplained, it has become a well established and very credible phenomenon accompanied by very real and measurable physical effects as substantiated by a great number of reliable witnesses and investigators. The question then remains, if UFOs are not natural or technically induced illusions and if they are not extraterrestrial in origin, then what are they? A few researchers have offered up a rather vague, somewhat para-psychological, if not downright mystical suggestion that the present phenomenon is a "physical manifestation of an interdimentional paranormal consciousness that has the ability to manipulate the collective human consciousness and perception, as well as matter and energy." This suggestion, difficult to make sense of, only contributes to the problem. UFOs are characterized by their ability to violate the known laws of physics when maneuvering in the atmosphere, and they are usually very elusive. Unless they are the products of some long standing well kept technological secret, they seem to represent an intervention by unseen intelligent powers who can manipulate or transcend the laws of nature at will. The former seems incredible given the improbability of human nature, en masse, for maintaining secrets in the aggregate for any length of time. The latter possibility, although, seems much more likely based on the observed facts, and especially on what we know from Scripture. As said before, many who claim to have had encounters with UFOs have reported that these objects seem to be more alive and intelligent than just mechanical craft. Given the obvious deficiencies by which both the NTH and the ETH are plagued, we have yet another model with which to explore this problem, a solution which has been largely overlooked if not simply ignored, namely, the Biblical Hypothesis. The model demonstrated here is not only consistent with the known facts but has a sound Scriptural basis as well. Thus it becomes rather ostensible that the "aliens" are none other than the fallen angels or demons mentioned in Scripture.

As pointed out previously, one of the greatest enigmas of life is the issue of human suffering. It is, although, well known that the scriptures make an ultimate connection between suffering and original sin. It is also evident from Scriptural implications that the mystery of iniquity started with an insurrection among the ranks of the host of heaven. This iniquity was soon transferred to man at his fall in Eden. Satan had the power to intervene and modify physical reality from the beginning, hence his appearance to our first parents in the form of a serpent. It is evident that throughout history he has repeatedly demonstrated this power through his agents, those diabolical leagues of demons, who share this supernatural power to materialize in a variety of formidable apparitions and manifestations. The most atrocious historical incidence of this invasion was the earlier quoted episode of extraterrestrial or "alien" visitations to Earth as recorded in the sixth chapter of Genesis which we again quote in the following because of its importance to our understanding of this vital issue and its relevance to our present day:

"And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown." -Genesis 6:1-4

From this account as recorded in Genesis 6:1-4 we know that a great amount of ancient Babylonian, Greek, and Roman mythology have been generated, traditions of roving god-beings, lustful orgies, and promiscuous, fickle, and insatiable offspring who were hard to please. It is these same beings whose amorous propensities for members of the human race led to births of half human and half divine demonized offspring, as we saw earlier. The New Testament also makes note of this event in at least three other key passages: I Peter 3:19, 20; II Peter 2:4-6; and Jude 1:6-7. The facts of the case are simple and unequivocal and the supporting evidence is too great to deny and too varied to detail it all here, but suffice it to say, angelic, or, rather, demonic beings ("sons of God" by direct creation) did come to Earth and did "abduct" human beings and did actually interbreed with them. The vicious offspring of these unlawful cohabitations were demon possessed grotesque sub-human physical giants whose animated purpose was to thwart the plan of God and pollute the human race, hence destroy the Seed, that is, Jesus Christ. There is a wealth of extra-Biblical evidences of giants among the historic traditions of various cultures of the world. Furthermore there has been found confirming evidence in the fossil record of "human" gigantism at various places in the world of the past. The result of this genetic travesty, the hybridization of astral and terrestrial beings, was exceeding wickedness and only evil continually. Violence was so rampant that it "repented" God and "grieved him at his heart" that He had made man upon the Earth (Genesis 6:5-7). Thus the judgment of the great Flood was accelerated not only because of man's sin but because of this supra-demonic evil. This incident recorded in Genesis 6:1-4 seems to have a strange parallel and similarity to what is being reported today in the UFO-alien abduction phenomenon.

It is therefore apparent that there is a much deeper, more profound, and diabolical meaning to what is occurring in the UFO phenomena today than what is being suggested through semi-scientific explanations. The evidence is undeniable that this phenomenon is an important aspect of what the Bible discloses as spiritual warfare. Given that our atmosphere is literally swarming with advocates of "the prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2; 6:12) it should come as no surprise that there might be an occasional visible manifestation, or materialization, of such a presence and perversion of God's created order. It is increasingly evident that there is a strong connection between the UFO phenomenon and the culting of our modern world. Christian UFO researchers have noted a very high incidence of prior involvement in the occult by individuals who have been contacted or abducted by UFOs. It is also evident that UFOlogy - the fascination with UFOs and alleged space creatures - has precipitated squarely into the midst of the New Age movement of which advocates increasingly deny man's evolutionary ascension from an elementary organism in a primordial soup in favor of his supposed regal origin in the stars. Many of these people claim that "we are not alone" and that extraterrestrials have visited Earth in the past. Some even advocate that we were "planted" here and that these creatures have returned to further "cultivate" us. The "proof" of this is seen in the current alien abduction epidemic. The "aliens," which are often described as insect like creatures with almond-shaped eyes, thus engage themselves through weird nocturnal kidnappings during which they conduct crude and grotesque "examinations" and surgical procedures, often sexual in nature, and reminiscent of medieval tales of encounters with demons. Many people have, through hypnosis and other means, claimed to receive revelations or messages from extraterrestrials, the so called "space brothers." These messages typically come through occultic means such as channeling (spiritism), automatic handwriting, or other paranormal means. It is also apparent the aliens seem intent on accelerating human evolution into the "Aquarian Age" when there will be ultimate human "unification and harmony." There is, although, nothing in the UFO phenomenon that leads to belief in the one true God.

The "visitors" thus appear to be in tune with what has come to be known as New Age religion, including eastern mysticism, astral projection, and harmonic convergence, and so on. None of these are in harmony with Jesus Christ. They are more interested in steering us away from the one who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life," to fool mankind about Bible prophecy, and even to falsify His coming in the very era of Christ's return. The messages seem to be a counterfeit parallel to Christianity and their agenda seems to include, at one point, a massive evacuation or "rapture" of sorts for the "qualified" and "in tune" element, or remnant, of the population prior to a disastrous armageddon-like epoch which, in turn, is to be followed by a blissful New Age. All of this has the potential of a monstrous and unprecedented deception, of which the paradigm shift in our own day is but a preparation. The Bible tells us that the fallen angels have shadowed humanity ever since Satan deceived our first parents in Eden. Even though this fact is discounted by modern day rationalists who reject the supernatural, the Christian must not forget that the creation of the heaven and the Earth was a supernatural beginning, that the inspiration of the Word of God was a supernatural process, that the coming of Christ was a supernatural event and finally, the Christian's own personal salvation is a present and ongoing supernatural act of God in the fullest sense. It is clearly an odd contradiction, especially for the believer, to discount the supernatural quality of his or her faith. By the same token, the supernatural element of reality is a dynamic ingredient within the heinous activities of the fallen angelic host as well. It is a comfort for the believer to know that meanwhile God's Holy angels, in even greater numbers, continue to engage themselves as ministering spirits on behalf of God's people (Hebrews 1:4). The same also signal the ultimate victory of good over evil. It is thus evident that the paranormal attributes, especially of the visiting abductors, seem to correspond to those of angelic beings, particularly fallen angels or demonic agents, whose abilities to effect physical reality are already established in Scripture.

Many, if not all, of the UFO cases involve sinister activities and messages which are decidedly anti-Christian. In light of these messages it is virtually senseless to think that alleged extraterrestrials would travel millions of light years simply to teach New Age philosophy, deny Christianity, and promote the occult when there is already a preponderance of such activity already occurring in our world. The UFO apparitions appear intelligent in themselves if not controlled by some mysterious intelligence. Discerning Christians have suggested that those involved with these apparitions are not in contact with extraterrestrials but with demonic spirits intent on driving people away from Christ. It is evident that the same entities who operate in haunted houses are likely the same agents that are at work propagating the UFO and related phenomenon, with some likely technical assistance from misguided and depraved humanity, quite possibly a demon possessed segment of human collaborators. Again, considering the issue of possible intelligent life on other planets is the question of how unfallen beings, assuming that "aliens" are unfallen, could share the same universe with fallen creatures, i.e., humans, considering that the effects of original sin seem to pervade the entire universe (Roman 8:19-22).

Regarding it as too incredulous some theologians have argued that the original Hebrew rendition of Genesis 6:1-4, "doesn't allow" for actual demonic interbreeding or "marriage" with men (women). It is instead declared that the "sons of God" were godly "Sethites" who intermarried with the ungodly "Cainites" (The mere consideration of the "godly" marrying the "ungodly" is a patent practical contradiction in itself), or that angels "have no flesh," they are spirits. Yet we find that the Hebrew does allow for it, the Sethite argument does not hold up, and that angels can indeed assume human form of which a classic example is given in Genesis 18 and 19 where angels took on human form in its fullest anatomic sense and undoubtedly with complete human bodily capabilities. A popular argument which construes that angels have no sex is taken from Matthew 22:30. Such a statement, however, is never made in the passage. The verse only says that they do not marry; it comments neither on their ability to marry, nor specifically on the status of disobedient fallen angels, since only the good angels are mentioned. Genesis 6:1-4 records nothing less than a profound and startling intervention of certain fallen angels into the affairs of humanity before the flood and once more in the land of Canaan pending the arrival of the Israelites to that promised land. These had the audacity to fabricate a false "virgin birth" in the most preposterous manner imaginable. Thus we can see an historic precedent to the current alien abduction invasion in their unlawful tamperings with mortal man in these last days. "And, as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man." -Luke 17:26

Many false prophets have arisen to proclaim the imminent end of the world and their word has gone without effect. With the advent of the turn of the millennium there undoubtedly will arise a similar sensation. Yet, it is quite likely that Satan has already long effected our calendar to where even the year 2,000 is obscure. If the awe of that imminent year comes and goes without the sensation they sought it is likely that many will "go back to fishing" saying "Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation" (II Peter 3:4) for it is written, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (Matthew 24:36).

The fearful phenomenon of demonic "taking" or "abduction" and "habitation" of human bodies has been repeated many times throughout history, although never on the global scale of which Satan attempted in the days of Noah, with one possible exception, now. Just as world conditions in the days before the Flood pre-staged that early catastrophe, so will world conditions in the last days of this age foreshadow a potentially greater disaster. This would also include a preponderance of the occult and of extraterrestrial or trans-dimensional demonic intervention (Genesis 6:2; I Timothy 4:1; Revelation 9:1-11). We see clear evidences of this today in a varied form under the guise of "UFOs" and "aliens from another world" who come to deceive, kidnap and possess humans in a godless deception perfectly tailored to our modern technological age. Evidence from the Bible indicates that it is very real but, in reality, it is not what it is purported to be and is not what most people thing it is. "...in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." (I Timothy 4:1)

It is apparent that UFOs represent an intelligence that has interfaced with humanity and has assumed varied forms from the beginning. It is doubtful that these intelligences come from outer space. Giving no hint of "life" existing elsewhere, Scripture points to the centrality of the Earth in the creation account, the work of God's salvation, and in the promises of future cosmic restoration. On Earth God presents Himself in solemn covenants and Divine appearances. On Earth the Son of God became man, and on Earth stood the cross of the Redeemer. Even the physical centrality of the Earth is implicit in the creation account from the fact that God created the Earth before he created the Sun, Moon and stars. Reckoning the principle of correspondence, of which the Scripture is abundant, even the astute cosmologist must ask himself, what was the station of the Earth "revolving" around before the Sun was created days later. All of the factors surrounding the UFO and related phenomenon corresponds with warnings issued in the Bible against these very "principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in high places" who "left their own habitation." They along with their unchained cohorts have left a trail of deception and atrocity throughout history. Against these, our only reliable answer, recourse, and sanctuary is God's Holy word of truth and righteousness. His glorious Person and finished work constitute the only but all-sufficient ground of deliverance from the baleful power of supernaturalism. He is "the Way," leading out of darkness; "the Truth," protecting from error; and "the Life," delivering from death (John 14:6). In Him there is full redemption; apart from Him, unalleviated woe. According to a recent survey of several hundred people who claimed to have been abducted by aliens, there were no true Bible believing Christians found among the interviewees. Thus we find another "red-flag" indicator that this phenomenon is decidedly demonic. Dear reader, are you a born again Christian? One of Christ's great comforts to the believer is the Biblical declaration that "...greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" ( I John 4:4).

In due process Earth has proven to be unique as an abode of living creatures and a most suitable place for such inhabitants including man, as it is written: "For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain (waste), he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord and there is none else" - Isaiah 45:18. Thus the Earth is disclosed in Divine revelation to be a unique place insofar as human, animal, and plant life is concerned. It is God Himself with his angels, fixed and fallen, not "men" from another planet who represent life in outer space and which are often associated with the stars in Scripture, and who have their probable habitation among the stars (planets) and who are the visiting advocates of Earth. These beings, as examined in the light of man's definition are not even alive. The very author of life Himself does not metabolize, reproduce, or even grow. Then, of course, the ultimate visitation from that realm "not of this world" was Christ Himself who died at Calvary. Amen.

Is it a myth, is it a legend, or is it a hoax? Whatever the creature is, scores of reports have come forth from many places around the world since initial descriptions in 1995 of a mysterious creature ravaging the countryside on the island of Puerto Rico, killing small animals and making local rural dwellers and farmers uneasy. As big of a news story as this is, oddly enough one will not hear details about it from Tom Brokaw or Rush Limbaugh. Almost all of the accounts about the chupacabra have come either through the variety of specialty programs on cable television dealing with the paranormal and a few local radio and newspaper reports, or through the internet. Where ever it is being covered although, it has indeed become "big time." Mysteriously enough, however, in spite of its newsworthyness and journalistic potential, the "mainstream," clearly has not exhibited much effort to cover this unique phenomenon.

The big question everyone has been asking is, just what is the chupacabra and why its sudden rabid appearance? One fact seems consistent; the creature strikes at night and has a thirst for blood. Initially the creature was known for stalking small animals, namely goats, on farms in Puerto Rico, hence the name chupacabra, which, in Spanish, means "goat sucker." The earliest accounts of the recent outbreak, which apparently began in 1995, included details of attacks where goats were found dead, with their blood drained, apparently through peculiar puncture wounds on their necks. In scenes reminescent of cattle mutilations there have been some reports of particular organs missing from some of the victim's bodies, without any visible way for those organs to have been removed. Since initial attacks owners of animals say hundreds of chickens, rabbits, sheep, cats and dogs, and even larger animals including pigs and cattle have died in a similar manner, even when "secured" inside locked cages that seemed undisturbed. Sightings have increased with the passing months, fueling paranoia and fear.

Most witnesses of the creature, or its effects, have described it as a half-man, half-beast vampire like predator that roams the countryside terrorizing farm animals, and, indirectly, people. A description of the creature based on the fairly consistent reports by observers provides us with the following composite: "The chupacabra stands about four or five feet tall, is grayish in color with skin like that of a reptile, and spikes from the top of its head down its back, although there is no tail. It has a web-like film hanging beneath short pudgy forelegs, or arms, that end in claws, and large powerful hind legs. Ugly as a demon, it has huge bright red eyes the size of hens eggs, long fangs, and an odd long slimy pointy tongue which continually glides in and out of its mouth." This thing exhibits intelligent behavior and possesses the ability to evade detection and capture at will. Thus instances of close contact with people, so far, have been few. It is thought to dwell underneath the soil in cave-like structures, the origins and nature of which remain mysterious and obscure. The monster is also described as having wings and, in one account, "flew at two human subjects who fled for their lives." The creature reportedly "hops around like a kangaroo and exudes such a pungent sulfur-like stench that one close encounter left an individual coughing for days. It should be noted that there is nothing that would negate a variation of manifestations in the chupacabra entity.

Reactions to this recent phenomenon have varied considerably, from the resolute insistence of those who say they have actually seen the chupacabra first hand, to skeptics and reporters in the media who discount these accounts by writing and publishing falsifying and ridiculing stories against these people and their reports. It seems that some have found the human aspect of the chupacabra phenomenon even more interesting than the creature itself saying that even though this creature is fast it can never catch up with the folklore, rumors, and hoaxes that seem to rush out ahead of it. Thus chupacabras have both alarmed and amused residents in such widely scattered places as Mexico, South America, Florida, Texas, Southern California, and even Oregon, to the point of inspiring theories, satire, mugs, T-shirts, and rap songs. Regarded as a phenomenon as strange and mysterious as cattle mutilations, crop circles, UFO's, and alien abductions, the chupacabra enigma baffles authorities, especially in light of the irrefutable widespread popular accounts the phenomenon has elicited. Because of the skillfully elusive nature of the chupacabra organized parties which have gone out to search, photograph, or capture the creature, have met with limited success and have been able to produce little except for the dead animal victims albeit with their strange puncture wounds,
after which individuals in these groups usually lose interest and go back to fishing or knitting until the next inexplicable attack occurs. Most government officials and veterinarians who have followed the "official line" or policy statements, and who have refused to reveal autopsy data about the dead animals, often relegate the reports to hysteria and mischief. Some, although, have honestly conceded that they are up against something which appears to be very real yet difficult to define rationally. There are, however, a few prudent individuals who are taking the matter quite seriously. The mayor of one Puerto Rican town of 40,000 people has been paying close attention, especially since some of his constituents have lost animals. In his jurisdiction there is nothing humorous about the situation because of the widespread concern that people could be next.

Some of the theories raised to explain the Chupacabra include the idea that they represent the appearance of "living fossils," in other words prehistoric dinosaurian animals which were thought to have been long extinct but actually existing undisturbed and unnoticed in some remote or inaccessible area until modern times, and which have now migrated into populated areas for the first time. Some have suggested that the Chupacabra is a human-reptile-insect hybrid product of a highly sophisticated top secret genetic manipulation project gone awry. Another popular idea is that they are alien in origin, that is, creatures from outer space which are presently initiating a world wide mass invasion of Earth. A more sensible explanation which draws from a purely Biblical interpretation, suggests that these creatures are decidedly demonic in their origins. One strong evidence of this possibility is their uncanny ability to come and go in and out of our physical world virtually undetected. This is indeed a power repeatedly demonstrated by angelic beings as recorded in the Biblical record. In other words the chupacabra evidence themselves to be interdimensional beings which can easily evade detection by their ability to enter into and appear or exit out of and vanish from physical reality in an instant. Thus, in the Biblical context, the chupacabra represent the apparitions of transdimensional entities, or fallen angels, or, more specifically, demons.

There is also evidence that this odd manifestation of paranormal activity in our era is not unique in history. There are recorded incidences in ancient times and in medieval days, as well, of strange occurrences involving half-man half-beast like creatures ravaging the countryside at night. For the Bible student this should come as no surprise since Satan and his legions, which occupy the air in vast numbers, have supernaturally effected such diabolical invasions into human affairs ever since Adam and Eve were tempted in Eden by the apparition of Lucifer as a serpent. Much of these traditions have been memorialized in the literature and the arts through the ages, right up to our modern time. For instance, a close inspection of some of the architecture during a walk through one of the larger metropolitan districts will reveal a wealth of peculiar ornamentation embedded in the sides and roof lines of buildings. These likenesses characterized in the gargoyles and other masonry entities of ornamented buildings inescapably suggest the reality of strange and bizarre creatures of another time, if not our own. Many are stone likenesses that seem to sneer, grin, and snarl. They instill a sense of horror that may not necessarily be precisely physical or mental. Since these things are almost always above human sightlines, and because people in the cities rarely look up they are virtually unnoticed. We don't see these "architectural demons" but they "see" us as they constantly stare down at us with their evil stone faced countenances. Unless we are a conscientious churchgoer with some innate sense of their ultimate meaning we go on about our busy lives not giving a thought to the fact they are actually there. This seems most significant, being a parallel to the reality of which the Bible speaks, and that is that our own finite world is infested with powerful invisible principalities which seek our ruin (Ephesians 6:12. Our head does not know much about these creatures but our nerves do once we notice them and learn of their historical significance. So should it be when we see what Holy Writ reveals about our great mortal and immortal enemy. Many of these building details depict grotesque and frightening creatures who patient origin could be none other than the sulfurous bowels of hell itself. These features have been present in the architecture of various civilizations since ancient times.

When we encounter the word gargoyle we intuitively envision monsters, goblins, and other obscure terrors, and rightly so for the practical origins of the device is just so. The word gargoyle itself which has Latin roots means "drain" or "gutter" or "gullet" for routing rainwater from a roof. Hence on some buildings drainpipes become gargoyles, those hideous faces of fury spitting dirty water out of fanged jaws. So also does Satan and his cohorts, insane with rage, issue forth filth upon our broken world. The word gargle, which we do when we have a sore throat, has a similar etymology. Interesting enough, the term gargoyle is often incorrectly used in reference to all sculptures of grotesque beasts on buildings with medieval style motifs. When not used for drains, such creatures are more properly called chimeras. For one who is aware of the life force tradition behind these strange figures which is strong enough to carry over into their usage as architectural motifs the question become more practical: What is the interpretation and my response to them? The answer depends upon the individual. The Bible believer realizes that these images have far reaching implications dealing not only with the immoral but the immortal of which the world at large is unaware. Most simply put, these things represent entities which seek to deceive and destroy our immortal souls if not our physical bodies. Like the world wide traditions of mythological figures, a great Flood, and dragons, all of which have been confirmed in the Biblical record, the Gargoyles and chimera just as well have a sound basis in historical fact.

All of this brings us back to the chupacabra. It now seems sensibly apparent that this is yet another creature with a strong basis in historical fact and which has made a strong impression upon the human conscientiousness. In other words, the "chupacabras" as reflected in the cultural traditions world wide as manifested in their building ornamentations have evidently been here before and are arriving again in greater numbers, and perhaps as only a small part of the greater agenda of events prior to the last days.

Perhaps the biggest reason the chupacabra phenomenon is so incredible to most in our present day is that it is incompatible with our modern western rationalistic thinking. If any thing is not "scientifically possible" it is disregarded. By and large twentieth century man interprets reality psychologically and rationally but not theologically. Even among those who proclaim themselves as believers in God, they reject the supernatural beyond that basic tenant. Yet the supernatural, of which the chupacabra phenomenon appears to be but one minor element, and the supernatural aspect of angelology which is an integral part of the economy of divine revelation, is outright rejected. Just as well, the reality of the busy legions of angels, fixed and fallen, active in our world is similarly rejected. The question that should be asked of such folks is this: If one believes in God at all, why is belief in any of this, the lesser matters, such problem? Even though the Word of God came out of eastern culture and prospered in the western world, it is neither eastern or western, it is Biblical and Christian.

Today most Roman Catholics, Protestants, and Evangelicals are thinking "western," not Biblical. It is not good enough to believe in the Bible, it must be understood. Today there is too much isogesis (the reader's own notion) often instilled by the "party line" of the particular "fathers" he has been trained and versed in, rather than good exogesis (God's notion) which comes from a sensible and right division of the patent intent of Scripture. Otherwise a truly Biblical theology of demons is misunderstood. I should be remembered that Satan came to our first parents metamorphosed in the form of a serpent (Genesis 3:1-7). In the days of Noah Satan's agents breached their own realm and committed unlawful acts with human women (Genesis 6:1-4) producing offspring heinous, if not more so, as the chupacabra is perported to be. In Pharaoh's court Satan again demonstrated a clear interference with and a paranormal manipulation of physical reality in the imitations of Moses' miracles. It is thus clearly evident that demons have the ability to alter material reality and influence the behavior of their victims, and make physical appearances, even though they themselves by nature are incorporeal. Again, that fallen angels have assumed physical bodies and have interbred with humans and spawned grotesque beasts, as clearly indicated in Scripture, is a fact outright rejected by many theologians who have been heavily influenced by the rationalists. For Satan himself, the master of deception, masquerades as an angel of light (II Corinthians 11:14. When witnesses talk about cattle mutilations, crop circles, UFO's, alien abductions, and chupacabras it is most likely that they are reflecting on not just their imagination or the reality of tradition but on historical reality. Twentieth century man has a distorted view of the supernatural realm of Biblical revelation, and until this deficiency in his thinking is rectified he is going to believe a completely erroneous interpretation of such strategic events of our time.

"And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

- Revelation 9:1-3

The standard view or normal perspective today is that we are the products of evolutionary development and that if life developed here it must have developed elsewhere in the universe. It is also thought that some of these life forms dwell as intelligent beings in outer space, who themselves also having evolved but to a higher degree than ourselves are now visiting us. The increasing number of UFO sightings and alien abduction accounts along with their sentient effects in these latter days stand as compelling evidence that these are real phenomenon which leave measurable physical affects. The Bible believing Christian then might ask, is man the only creature of God? On this issue the Bible is ostensibly silent, at least insofar as biological "alien" entities are concerned. In spite of all the apparent evidence of such alien visitations there is yet to be found compelling evidence for hominoid beings from another planet. It appears very unlikely that any of the planets in our solar system harbor "life" as we know it. In fact there is no verifiable evidence for any existent planets beyond the solar system in spite of the recent media hype that extrasolar planets have been discovered by astronomers.

In the matter of origins and natural processes, the economy of the Biblical revelation is entirely different from the evolutionary viewpoint. The Scriptures tell of a first man and woman, Adam and Eve, who were literal people, who lived approximately 6,000 years ago, based on an unbroken genealogy from Adam's creation through his generations. The UFO-alien abduction phenomenon and its aspects appear to be anticipated by the Biblical prophets, not as elements of an alien invasion from another planet, but as a corollary to the irruption of transdimensional beings, or angels, fallen angels no less, from beyond our dimension, as recorded in Genesis 6:1-4. The point of the passage is not necessarily that there were giants in the earth, but that these were hybrid products designed to spoil the human race. This is the classical position of the ancient Hebrew scribes.
The reality of the UFO and related phenomenon is accompanied by a significant amount of nonsense along with deliberate and well financed disinformation from the classified community. What their agenda is remains a complicated question. The infamous autopsy video released several years ago seems to evidence of a hoax yet it was not something that was orchestrated overnight and it apparently had a significant budget. As for the motive behind such deliveries for public consumption the government is a noncoherent suspect. It appears that there are subgroups within the government at odds with each other over the matter which only complicates the interpretation of any specific motive.

For a long time there seemed to be a staunch denial that the UFO phenomenon even exists, yet at the same time in a recent flap of UFO sightings involving a giant triangular shaped "alien" space craft which appeared over Belgium, and, more recently, in a similar manifestation over Phoenix, Arizona, there were observers who suspected that these apparitions represented a covert demonstration of projection holography, a technology developed by the military to produce illusions in the battlefield to intimidate an enemy. That this capability was used specifically to exhibit alien space craft seems to indicate that there are powers that be who wish the public to believe in UFO's and aliens. Such an intimidation could be used as a strategy to control civilian populations. Furthermore, as according to some reports that have surfaced, there would be reason for the government to conceal information about contacts with alien beings because of the technological "deals" made with such beings.

The individual is, of course, nagged by the question, is there a way to know? It ostensibly comes down to an exercise in cryptography. It involves a matrix of information which is subject to the suppression and debunking of the intelligence community. The individual researcher ultimately encounters a well organized, well financed, disinformation campaign specifically disposed to confuse and debunk the UFO phenomenon. This has continued for some time. All of this has made the UFO-alien issue a controversial arena, attended by both skeptics and adherents. To understand the problem, the whole matter must be placed into the background and fabric of a world view. The classic Biblical position, as stated in Genesis 6:1-4, and carefully investigated, thought out and defended, results in a decisive breakthrough in our understanding, especially for the Christian. The Word of God offers the only consistent time tested explanation for the whole issue. The UFO's are "devils," yes, but it runs much deeper than just that, as we have seen and shall see. We must remember, that God is independent of and transcendent over our finite universe, and is the Creator and Sustainer of our Space-Matter-Time continuum. Otherwise, apart from this necessary theistic context a people perisheth for lack of knowledge. (Proverbs 1:7; 2:6; 13:16; 14:18; 29:18).

One of the most strategic and far reaching passages of the Bible, in terms of one's understanding of the workings of God through the ages, is, paradoxically, one of the most obscure and mysterious. The obscurity of Genesis 6:1-4 is not owing to any difficulty inherent within the passage itself, but because of confusion wrought from other influences. This passage has, perhaps more than any other, been the victim of a heavy overburden of biases and preconceived notions that have been brought into it. It should also be noted that no truly scholarly product has ever accomplished a workable and consistent solution apart from that which is represented in the compilation presented here, this writer's work being merely a summary of essence.

For those of us who still hold to the supernatural inspiration, inerrancy, trustworthiness, and ultimate authority of God's revealed Word, we also realize that God intended His Word to be understood by ordinary people, not just by scholarly specialists in science or theology. Life is bigger than pedigree or logic. When it comes to the philosophy of life, scholarship and science are not the all that counts. It is as true today as it was in the days of Christ, that "... the common people heard him gladly" (Mark 12:37). If it be a question of physics, or chemistry, or mathematics, or of mechanics, there scientists may speak with some authority. However, when the matter is a question of revelation, or spirituality, or of morality, the common people are no less competent as judges as are the products of the schools. After all, in the great crises, history has frequently shown that the common people were a safer depository of trust.

As believers we are seekers of the truth of God and in the process we are directed by His Word to compare Scripture with Scripture interpreting Scripture in the light of Scripture, and Searching the Scripture to see if these things be so. It is in this context that we examine a most strategic passage of Divine revelation. Unfortunately many are distracted in their approach to Scripture by other influences including modern day rationalism and higher criticism. Much of this bleeds off from the influences of modern science, so called, which requires everything to be explained in non-supernatural terms. Often this leads to the injection into Scripture of subtle requirements, including that requirement which says Scripture must be interpreted naturalistically. Such ideas have consequences. As a consequence, an understanding, or misunderstanding, ensues which has an entirely different set of presuppositions than the orthodox approach to theology. Such has been the characteristic of liberal theology for some time. The consequence of this habit is a revelation of which we receive only a partial understanding and a Bible that is seriously eroded in its power and effectiveness to change and transform lives, and to sanctify and edify the saints. This effect poses an ever present danger, and a hindrance to one's attaining a truly systematic understanding of God's most Holy and sacred Word.

The discount of Biblical supernaturalism has led many into serious difficulty when it comes to accepting the miraculous elements of divine revelation at their face value. By this, even the incarnation has been put at jeopardy by the questioning of some. Thus we are left with the unsolvable dilemma, did God really mean what He said. The lesson is that when men depend upon reason rather than simply accepting the Word of God by faith (Remember the Christian's, faith has substance and represents a firm conviction based on sound knowledge - from God's word we know therefore we believe), they go astray. It is highly fashionable today for most scholars and others in academia, and even some of the Christian faith to deride these scriptural reports as myths. Hence, many Bible scholars changed the traditional understanding of Genesis 6 that was based on the original Hebrew, because to them it did not seem reasonable that angels could have intercourse with women. A contributing factor to this effect is the change after the fourth century which had the intent of preventing the pagan worship of angels. This early heresy against biblical supernaturalism began in spite of an overwhelming load of Biblical and extra-biblical proofs and evidences which had established the clear meaning of this passage without any doubt, namely that there were giant offspring of the sexual associations between angels and women and that these Nephilim, translated as giants in the English Bible, existed beyond all doubt. Even still, in spite of the internal warnings in the Bible against tampering with the Word of God as given from on high (Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:19), the existence of such beings has been denied.

The problem is certainly not with the obscurity of the evidence, it is in the human mind, within the imperfect paradigms scholars maintain and use in their militation against such an overwhelming burden of evidence, a predicament which sometimes paralyzes their thinking. In our day, scholars have difficulty thinking through this passage in Genesis 6:1-4 about a mingling of two distinct orders of creatures (again, this is not a Biblical problem). Pulpiteers usually end up glossing over the passage with little remark not realizing that they have thereby overlooked a veritable gold mine of fertile material rich in meaning and application, useful for many hours of fascinating, fruitful, edifying, and God-honoring exposition. For those ancients who lived in a much earlier age than ourselves today - in a time much closer to this epoch-making most unusual, repugnant, and sinister event in question - it was a "no-brainer". It is a problem not unlike the problem Christians today have had with the geocentricity issue - that the Bible is overtly earth-centered in its cosmology: It is uncomfortable because we have been so totally conditioned against it that we are virtually incapable of seeing the real heart issue here, so we say it is preposterous. So it goes...

We are told in Scripture that all men are made of one blood (Acts 17:26). One might then ask; why are there incompatible blood types among people. When God originally made one man, Adam, he presumably had one blood type. From Adam's side, God removed a rib and made Eve. Upon seeing Eve, Adam exclaimed: "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man" (Genesis 2:23). Of interest is the fact that the record does not say "blood of my blood." This subtle exclusion in the text might allow Eve to have a different blood type, yet still be made out of one blood, namely, Adam's. Man the tripartite made in the image of God, is, in his physical makeup, bones, flesh, and blood - all three. From the genetic coding and potential for Adam's blood in these two original types derived all modern blood types by genetic variation. The life of the creature is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11). The term one blood is then synonymous with one life. That means, in part, that the lives of men are intertwined, that there is no such thing as a "self-made man" and that no part of humanity can truly live in isolation. It also signifies that men of all nations can intermarry and produce offspring. Furthermore, the believers in Christ form a nation based on God's own blood, that is, the blood of Jesus Christ.

Now, alternatively, and this is where the bigger picture of spiritual warfare enters in: when the sons of God intermarried with the daughters of men, new blood types, insidiously tainted blood types, were introduced in their offspring, hence into the genetics of man. This "new" blood and its possible variations entered the gene pool of humanity and polluted the human race almost entirely before God judged it with the Flood. Yet, it is still true that we were originally made of one blood, with the genetically important exception that now it had been adulterated. With the grave threat this represented against the promised Savior who was to come out of the human race, untainted, as the lamb of God, pure, spotless and without blemish, and even though without earthly father, this gene pool predicament represented an intolerable circumstance in which there was only one remedy, complete destruction of the world by a global catastrophe of turbid waters which indeed completely destroyed the world, save eight souls, in that "Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished (II Peter 3:6).

Thus one of the most controversial statements in the Bible is Genesis 6:1-4. However, the inspired word by the pen of Moses concerning the reference to the giants of Noah's day is not controversial within itself, but rather is controversial only in the interpretations that modern Bible expositors have supposed and proposed, and imposed onto it. In actuality the angelic reveal of the passage is no mere interpretation at all, it is what the words plainly say. The patent reveal of this passage stands unclouded until defaced beyond recognition by rationalism, liberal theology and the individual mind set against it through the collective opinions of many commentaries, rather than the Word of God as written by Moses.

Even so, there is among so called conservative and fundamental Christians a disagreement as to who the offspring of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" were. After reading similar books to this there are a few who, even though they had little difficulty with the idea of unidentified flying objects and extraterrestrial beings, have informed some authors of this substance that they cannot use their literature because of the views expressed on this one particular passage. Neither is such a problem about this author, his colleagues, or this particular "opinion" or "interpretation," but is an issue of utmost importance revolving around the right division of God's very word and its own patent reveal. It is therefore this author's humble entreat that God will indeed personally reveal this important matter to these brethren in due time that they may be led ever more fully to the truth and enjoy the blessing of a much safer walk, that they, no less, may walk with the Lord fully according to His Word. Meanwhile it is thought to be of sufficient value to devote this additional section to help relieve any remaining doubt about this important subject should such doubt persist, and why the angelic reveal of Genesis 6:1-4 as set forth in this humble treatise is relative to these last days, because Jesus Himself said, "...as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matthew 24:37).

Based on the wording of the Hebrew and Greek texts, the traditional understanding of Genesis 6:1-4 has always been that the sons of God were angels, and the giants were the offspring of these fallen spirit beings who had committed fornication with women. The following reliable sources from antiquity onward serve to confirm this understanding:

1. Among the ancient Hebrew sources which give us authoritative information on how the Jews interpreted the Old Testament, the Talmud indicated the belief that the "sons of God" mentioned in Genesis 6 were angels. The Septuagint, a translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek by seventy-two scholars in 289 B.C. reads, "...the ANGELS of God saw the daughters of men..." (Genesis 6:2). Additionally, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, a Jewish writer living in the time of Christ also referred to the "sons of God" as being angels. Many other ancient sources concur.

2. The renowned historian Josephus wrote, "... many angels of God accompanied with women, and begot sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of their own strength... these men did what resembled the acts of those whom the Grecians called giants... there was till then left the race of giants, who had bodies so large, and countenances so entirely different from other men, that they were surprising to the sight, and terrible to the hearing. The bones of these men are still shown to this very day" (Antiquities Of the Jews - Book I, Chapter 3; Book V, Chapter 2).

Josephus was commissioned by the Roman government to write the history of the Jews. It is very unlikely that he would have recorded something in his day that could not be substantiated.

3. The Ante-Nicene Fathers in commenting on Genesis 6:2 wrote that the angels fell "Into impure love of virgins, and were subjugated by the flesh ...Of these lovers of virgins therefore, were begotten those who are called giants" (Volume 2, Page 190; Volume 8, pages 85 and 273).

4. The Early Church fathers understood that the expression "sons of God" meant angels. These included Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Commodianus, Lactantius, Eusebius, Ambrose, to name a few, all held to this understanding.

Justin Martyr, who lived between 110 A.D. and 165 A.D. commented on the conditions before the Flood as based on the text in the Septuagint, "... the angels transgressed, and were captivated by love of women and begot children" (Volume 2, Page 190). Methodius, who lived between 260 A.D. and 312 A.D. said, "the devil was insolent...as also those (angels) who were enamored of fleshly charms, and had illicit intercourse with the daughters of men" (Volume 6, Page 370).

5. Martin Luther (1483-1546), German theologian and leader of the Reformation, and other contemporary ministers of the Reformation era, also taught that the Scriptures clearly indicate that before the Flood the angels who left their created order committed fornication with women and produced a race of giants.

6. The Book of Enoch, dating from the second century B.C., which is part of a collection of Jewish writings called the Pseudepigrapha and not included in the Old Testament Canon, provides an account in considerable detail of many angels who made God their enemy and who accompanied with women thereby begetting gigantic offspring which were exceeding in strength, power and wickedness. Among others, this book is of great importance for studies in the inter-testament period and furnishes valuable data for pre-Christian Jewish theology. The Book of Enoch was a well known and influential volume in the days of Christ, hence Jude's mention of it. Even though it is excluded from the canon of inspired writings, it is directly quoted from by Jude (Jude 13, 14). One can only conclude from this inspired reference that the book of Enoch was indeed a reliable source and had an endorsement from on high.

7. In 1947 near the Wadi Qumran, northwest of the Dead Sea, caves were discovered containing priceless collections of ancient scrolls which soon became known as the Dead Sea Scrolls or the Qumran Texts. Included among these writings was one known as the Genesis Apocryphon. Of significance is the fact that this ancient document, dating back to the second century B.C., and based on much older sources, mentions the Nephilim and makes reference to the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" introduced in Genesis 6. The Apocryphon also elaborates considerably on the succinct statements found in the Bible, and provides valuable insights into the way these ancient accounts were understood by the ancient Jews.

When it was discovered the Apocryphon document exhibited the effects of time, and humidity had caused its sheets to be badly stuck together. After some years of careful work the sheets were finally separated and the content deciphered and made known. When scholars finally made its content public, the document confirmed that celestial beings from the heavens had come to Earth, and moreover, it told how these beings had mated with Earth-women and had begotten giants, thus reaffirming the accuracy of the Book of Enoch, and of course, the very Bible itself.

After a reading of Scripture there is often a question from the audience as to "what does it say in the Greek?" 98% of the time when we see a word in Scripture in our authorized English translation and someone asks what the Greek word means - that is what the Greek word means. What the Greek word means is what you have in your Bible (King James). However, one should be cautious of many of the modern liberal translations which take liberty with the original Hebrew and Greek. The Bible is a marvelously harmonious and skillful product of communication engineering and it should not be tampered with.

In addition to the Hebrew and Greek understanding, there is a wealth of collaborating evidence of extraterrestrial visitors which survives in the traditions and memories of many cultures around the world. From the time of ancient Babylon, China, the Classical age to the religious beliefs of the American Indians we find accounts of unusual aerial phenomena, descriptions of giants, and visitations by unusual humanoid creatures which fit modern descriptions of extraterrestrial entities. Thus throughout the world's religious texts we find a number of common threads regarding ancient visitations of beings from the heavens and the mingling of men and "gods." Much of this information is accompanied by carvings and paintings depicting these beings. A rock painting by indigenous people of a remote area in Australia was discovered which depicted their mythical mouthless gods of creation, referred to as Vonjinda, the objects of worship by these ancient people. Characterized by large heads and oval eyes, they bear a striking resemblance to modern descriptions of aliens reported by so many avowed abductees. Thus the Genesis 6 portrayal is buried in the folklore of all the ancient cultures as a truth reduced only by the entropy of informational errors over time.

[Illustrations] Ancient "Aliens" Left: These almost contemporary looking depictions of large-headed, mouthless beings with dark oversized eyes were discovered among some ancient rock paintings in a remote region of western Australia. These images bear a haunting resemblance to present day extraterrestrials called "Grays," described so often in UFO-Alien Abduction cases. - Right.

There is a common denominator of belief in god-like beings throughout all the nations of the ancient world even though these gods were under different names. Zeus in Greece was Jupiter in Rome. Poseidon in Greece was Neptune in Rome, Artemis was Diana, Aphrodite was Venus, Eros was Cupid, Hermes was Mercury, and so on. Their antics were characterized by rampant selfishness, lust, greed, wantonness, rape, destruction, murder, and violence. These gods were difficult to please and sacrifices were offered to them not just of animals but of human beings as well. Furthermore they seem not to be governed by the same rules of behavior as mankind. Zeus' own amorous victories illustrate the actions of uncontrolled spirit-beings lusting after human flesh. They were promiscuous, fickle, and constantly involved in orgies of sex from whom are produced the strangest of offsprings. These offspring included individuals of giant size, such as Hercules, who were notorious throughout the ancient world for their awesome size, strength, power, and deeds. The mythology of the past is a startling revelation of the uncontrolled behavior of both spirit beings and rebellious man.

The whole story of Greek mythology is an expanded version of that clear, concise, and simple but profound and astonishing statement in the Bible: "The sons of God saw that the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose" (Genesis 6:2). Here is the reason why Almighty God had to destroy that ancient world. Our knowledge of that exotic antediluvian world, characterized by huge beasts and where men lived for nearly a thousand years (Job 41:1-34; Genesis 5:1-32), is limited. However, this profound statement of the Bible accompanied by the testimony of mythology tells us volumes about that world of old. This revelation of giants in Scripture gives us a true picture of what Greek mythology tries in vain to provide. Ours is an accurate account because it is divinely inspired. Mythology is the outgrowth of traditions, memories, and legends, developed around a core of truth telling of the acts of the supernatural fathers and their offspring - the perversion and corruptions in transmissions of primitive truth concerning these mighty beings. The fact that the biblical giants were partly of supernatural origin made it all the more easy for men to regard them as "gods." Most historians agree that mythology is based on ancient traditions that have at least a historical base. The hideous creatures and gods worshipped by the Greeks undoubtedly had their beginning along side the "men of renown" mentioned in Genesis 6:4.

The second recorded major outbreak of the Nephilim, although more limited in number and area, as recorded by Moses, occurred in Canaan prior to the time Israel arrived there. These required extermination at the hand of God by the sword of Israel, as the Flood had been before. This epoch which essentially ended around the time of David's confrontation with Goliath is dated only a few hundred years before the golden age of Greek culture which celebrated these beings in the classics, which things being relatively close to this earlier time in history produced fairly fresh memories of the historic antediluvian and postdiluvian economy of these monstrous hybrid beings. It is evident that the memory of these beings was still rather fresh in the human memory even at the time of Christ and the Apostles. That the "gods" had visited the earth was the initial conclusion of many upon their encounter with Paul. That this would have been the understanding given the culture and tradition of the time is clearly evident in the New Testament (Acts 12:22; 14:8-15; 28:6), this being what we, being so far removed in time, would call "mythology."

It is evident from the Book of Isaiah that, unlike ordinary mortals who will be bodily resurrected either to life or to damnation (John 5:28-29), the Nephilim are to participate in no such resurrection. Isaiah 26:14 reads: "They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise." The original Hebrew word translated "deceased" here is the word "Rephaim." The Rephaim are generally understood to be one of the branches of the Nephilim. It is also suggested by a number of scholars that demons are the disembodied souls of the Nephilim and their progeny that died in the Flood and after and that demon possession is the result of these evil spirits seeking bodies to reinhabit. According to the Book of Enoch, which is mentioned by Jude, the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim which drowned in the Flood are the "evil spirits" or demons which travel the earth and create trouble for mankind. Since they were originally earth born they will remain confined to the earth until the end of the age.

Henceforth, in the classics of the Greek and Roman empires we find our compendium of the Titans, the giants who were the offspring of the "gods" and their human wives, which we studied in our high school humanities. According to the "tales" of mythology these assisted in the building of the magnificent monuments of ancient Greece. The Bible describes these superhuman hybrids as the "mighty men which were of old, men of renown." According to numerous authors, these same "mighty men" of the golden age were the "third party" who assisted mankind in the building of the monuments of Egypt and other great wonders of the ancient world, Stonehenge, the monuments of the Americas, and the Far East, and who accelerated man's technology with their superior knowledge and intellect. It is evident that these extraterrestrials were responsible for the abrupt appearance of complex human societies and high technology that permitted ancient man to build such great structures as the pyramids that cannot be duplicated to this very day. At the same time these invasive entities propagated occult knowledge.

Iniquitous Gods of Antiquity

In their mythology Greco-Roman culture with its pantheon of gods reminds
us of the supernatural beings and their grotesque offspring mentioned in the Bible.

Our sources of information do not end here. We have yet to reconsider the abundance of exhibits in the fossil record bearing remains and impressions of humanoid figures of gigantic size. Previous mention was made in an earlier chapter of inordinately large human-like skeletal remains found in Israel. On the other side of the globe, in the new world, we find a profusion of similar effects. Human footprint impressions of unmistakable appearance, in the hard rock of the Paluxy River bed in central Texas betray the presence of humanoid creatures on the order and magnitude represented by those individuals described in the Genesis account. In 1879 a skeleton nine feet eight inches tall was unearthed from a stone burial mound at Brewersville, Indiana along with some artifacts. The find was excavated by Indiana archeologists and witnessed by scientific observers from New York and Ohio, a local physician and the owner of the property on which the mound stood. Earlier, in 1833, some soldiers digging a pit at Lompock Rancho in California, unearthed a twelve foot giant with a double row of teeth, both uppers and lowers. The Lompock giant's teeth, while unusual, were not unique, as another ancient skeleton found later on Santa Rosa Island off the California coast exhibited the same dental peculiarity. In commenting on these unconventional finds patrons of conventional science have gone so far as to write these off as "mastodon" or some other prehistoric animal. These are just a few of the many documented cases of such extraordinary remains found in North America.

The Guinness Book of World Records features a selection of remarkably tall individuals in excess of eight feet. One, Robert Wadlow, the eight-foot-eleven-inch tall son of Harold Wadlow, mayor of Alton, Illinois, died in 1940 at the age of 22 years. Others of similar height are also described. However, these are not giants in the true sense of the Biblical origin and definition. Wadlow's phenomenal growth, for instance, began at the age of two, following an operation for a double hernia. Footnotes in Guinness also show that the growth of the others resulted from such diseases as acromegaly and eunuchoidism. The limbs of such individuals are usually disproportionate to the rest of the body. Their more normal sized heads also appear relatively small. In sharp contrast to the biblical giants and their descendants, these are mostly weak and awkward, and not by any means agile and "mighty," and most die at an early age. The giants of the Bible were not the jolly characters modern tradition and stories tells us, nor were they just big people or boogey men, but were monstrous individuals of extraordinarily evil - demonic hybrids. The giants of the Bible were giants in wickedness, giants in physical power and intellect, and giants in violence. Cannibalism, bestiality, the black arts, forbidden knowledge, secret societies, and technological acumen seem to be also associated with them. The "sin against birds, wild beasts, reptiles and fish" is obscure to the modern reader. In this regard, some writers have referred to the fact it appears antediluvians ate only plants, and that this "sin" might refer to the killing and eating of animal flesh. However, it is more likely that this is a veiled reference to the giants practicing bestiality. In the Old Testament there are severe warnings against this practice in no uncertain terms and a death penalty in association with it (Exodus 22:19; Leviticus 18:23; 20:16).

Giants in the New World

In a number of journals kept by explorers of the Americas in the age of discovery mention is made describing human remains of inordinate magnitude. This fact was made known to Europeans by engravings like this one which is part of an overall display showing two men, designated at "H" who are excavating a giant sized human skeleton.

In a description in the book of Enoch, God was incensed against the fallen angels partly because they disclosed certain classified information to humans. The ancient world associated demons with special esoteric knowledge and superior intelligence, hence the word "demon" from the Greek root meaning "knowledge or "intelligence." The Scriptures also testify to the fact that demons have access to knowledge and information denied to ordinary mortals. We read in the Gospels how they recognized and acknowledged the deity of Christ when humans seemed totally blind to the fact. When the Gaderene demoniac saw Jesus, he fell down before Him and cried out, "What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most High?" (Luke 8:28). These demons recognized Jesus at the beginning of His ministry, long before His own disciples. With the same supernatural knowledge demons recognized the mission of the Apostle Paul to Philippi before the people there had any idea who Paul was. (Acts 16:17). Many present day mission organizations report of people possessed of evil spirits having superior knowledge.

It is useful to examine some of the objections that have been raised against the angelic reveal of Genesis 6 and the giant progeny described in the biblical text, and to note some of the well meaning, but, as can be demonstrated, errant interpretations that have been made from it. The samplings from Carroll, Scofield, Calvin, and Leupold mentioned in the pages that follow are of interest.

B. H. Carroll in An Interpretation of the English Bible, (Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1972), in which he refers in a prefacing remark to the angelic reveal as "poisonous" makes the following remarks: "It is conceded that in the Scriptures angels are called sons of God, but never in Genesis. The presence of 'angels' instead of 'sons of God' in some Septuagint manuscripts is not a translation of the Hebrew, but an Alexandrian interpretation substituted for the original. 'Nephilim', or giants, neither here nor in Numbers 13:33, means 'angels.'" Additionally he says this: "'Sons of God' means Sethites, or Christians, men indeed by natural generation, but also sons of God by regeneration." Finally Carroll claims to dispose this "theory" by saying that "The inviolable law of reproduction within the limits of species - 'after their kind' - forbids the unnatural interpretation of this theory." He concludes by saying, "According to our lord himself the angels are sexless, without human passion, neither marrying nor given in marriage." His assertion is based on Luke 20:35 which is a parallel passage to Matthew 22:30. His contention might stand in the mind of a reader who did not check out the all-important qualifying phrase "...as the angels of God in Heaven."

In responding to Carroll's objections let us first address his contention that angels are never called sons of God in Genesis. The Hebrew term from which we read "sons of God" in our English translation (the Authorized version or King James Bible) is bene Elohim which directly translated means sons of God which is in agreement with all the ancient scholars of Hebrew. Since the same term bene Elohim, which appears twice in Genesis 6:2-4 and three times elsewhere in the Old Testament, namely the book of Job (Job 1:6, 2:1, and 38:7), and which in all cases means "son of God", it denotes a being brought into existence by a creative act of God. In the Old Testament, only Adam and the angels fit this definition. It was not until the New Testament that the term applied to those who have become the "sons of God" by the New Birth (John 1:12; Romans 8:14-16; Galatians 4:6; I john 3:1-2). Returning back to Carroll's initial objection that angels are never called sons of God in Genesis, the objection simply has no basis in fact. Since the designation "sons of God" is used consistently in the Old Testament for angels, accordingly it is the same term used in Genesis 6:2.

Of interest is the fact that in the Old Testament terminology, angels are called sons of God while men are called servants of God whereas in the New Testament there is a reversal, angels are the servants and Christians are the sons of God. Furthermore, it seems quite evident in Scripture that heaven was made for angels as their own private personal residence, not for man, and that the ultimate destination of the saints will not be heaven but the new and perfect Earth which God will recreate (Revelation 21:1-3). In spite of NASA's manned space program the heaven was not made to be an abode for man, heaven is reserved for the angels, but as for the beings referred to in II Peter: 2:4 and Jude 6-7 they abandoned it irrevocably and forever, in "an apostasy with a vengeance." In a departure from the appointed course of nature and seeking that which is unnatural, these angels transgressed the boundaries of their own natures and limits to invade a forbidden realm of created beings of a different nature, of a different "kind." The mingling of these two orders was contrary to God's intentions and summarily led to the greatest act of judgment ever enacted by God.

Carroll's objection that some of the Septuagint manuscripts render angels rather than sons of God only reinforces the synonymity of the terms and that this interchangability was well accepted and understood. Furthermore, the objection that the term 'Nephilim', or giants, neither here nor in Numbers 13:33, means 'angels' betrays a confusion between these terms. Neither the Hebrew or the English renderings indicate that the Nephilim are angels. The Nephilim are the unnatural gigantic earthborn hybrid progeny of the sons of God (angels, fallen) and the daughters of men which were drowned in the Flood and then ostensibly wiped out later by the armies of Israel in Canaan when these beings reappeared again "after that." This is evident by a correlation between Genesis 6:4 and Numbers 13:33. Further details of these beings are given in Numbers 13:28; Deuteronomy 2:10,11; 3:11; II Samuel 21:19 and other passages, including a most interesting account and description of the giant Goliath in David's time (I Samuel 17:4-58). It must also be remembered if, as many believe, today, these giants were the result of the daughters of Cain marrying the sons of Seth, where did the giants in Canaan come from? Moses said the same conditions produced both races of giants, and it would be difficult to prove, to say the least, that there were any righteous men or women living in the land of Canaan. God Himself said that he would not have destroyed Sodom, Gomorra, and the surrounding cities if there had been ten righteous people in the entire land.

God had commanded Israel to utterly destroy them (Deuteronomy 20:17), but as so often in her history, Israel did not utterly destroy them. The Biblical account indicates that some of the Nephilim survived (Joshua 11:21-23; 13:13; 16:10; and Judges 1:28-34) and fled to the Philistines on the coast where, several centuries later, David encountered Goliath of the Philistine city of Gath, who by then was one of their military champions and who with his terribly loud voice hurled vile insults at the Israelite armies. Other historical evidence indicates that others of the giants who survived Joshua's campaigns escaped to other lands including Africa, Europe, and ultimately the Americas. One bit of evidence for the latter to this effect comes from the log of a crewman on the voyage of Ferdinand Magellain (1481?-1521) to South America. The account reads like a scene from a science fiction thriller. The record indicates that when the fleet ported at San Julian the men were greeted by a terrifying sight. A native giant appeared on the beach who was so tall that the men's heads scarcely came up to his waist, and the voice of him was like that of a bull ox. Although the giants of Joshua's time never again posed the same degree of danger to the children of Israel as a nation battles with some revengeful descendants of those who escaped to Philistia continued long afterward. Among these, of course, being the memorable showdown between Goliath and David.

Carroll's contention that the sons of God refers to "Sethites" or "Christians" is also met with certain historical and exegetical problems. A question from a previous chapter points out that those who hold to the opinion that the "sons of God" were the sons of Seth have yet to explain how children born to believers and unbelievers could produce men of renown, or men of great reputations, or giants no less, any more than children born to marriages where both are believers, or where both are unbelievers.
As we also saw previously, the ancient Hebrew scholars and the early church fathers understood the text of Genesis 6:1-4 as referring to fallen angels procreating with human women. However, in light of evidence that the worship of angels had begun within the church along with the institution of celibacy, the "angel" view of Genesis 6 began to be viewed as impacting these views. When this view came under increasing attack after the fourth century it became a source of embarrassment. Celsus and Julian the Apostate then used the traditional "angel" reveal of Scripture to attack Christianity. Julius Africanus had resorted to the now so-called Sethite interpretation as a more comfortable solution. Cyril of Alexandria also repudiated the orthodox "angel" position in favor of the "line of Seth" innovation. Chrysostom and Augustine, evidently the first Christian writers to openly advocate the Sethite interpretation, followed suit and embraced the Sethite compromise.

From the fourth century on, most Latin Christians spurned these "fables," as Augustine called them, and insisted that the fathers of the giants were necessarily mortal men. Augustine asserted that spiritual and carnal beings could not have sexual congress with each other. He also rejected the angelic theory because of his interpretation that it implied a second fall of the angels long after the fall of Adam. Moreover, Augustine rejected the angelic reveal because it attributed an objectively suprahuman origin to most evils of the antediluvian world, rather than stressing the primacy of the human will. In its practical outcome this effect is an ultimate consequence of the influence of the stoics and Plato, who stressed the spirit at the expense of the body, or, in essence, that spirit is only "good" and body is only "evil." Consequently the Sethite theory, which is ostensibly a Catholic idea, became prevalent into the middle ages. Even in our own day this influence has led to the predominant view taught among Protestant churches who find the literal "angel" view too disturbing and unpalatable. As a practical consequence of this rejection of the broader picture of supernatural influences in spiritual warfare, many theologians, pulpiteers, and church leaders in our day approach the battle almost exclusively in terms of an inordinate emphasis on mortification of sin coupled with "personal sanctification and holiness" with a subtle reliance on legalism. The practical result of all this is an exhortation toward relying on unaided inner strength and human dynamics issuing from the brute strength of the will alone. In this subtle dilemma the disciplinarian often ends up dutifully exercising a heartless rigor of self denial at the exclusion of the supernatural upbraiding of God. In effect, he brings about the crucifixion all over again. In this, the realization that the new and inward man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, is outright neglected if not overlooked entirely. The inward man of the new creature, who could never have fulfilled the letter of the law anyway, is empowered by the external enablement of the grace of God in Christ by the true knowledge of His word and the inward working of the Holy Spirit in the new heart (Ephesians 4:21-24). There is nothing inherently wrong about an exercise of the will toward godliness, the problem lies in the undue emphasis upon the will at the exclusion of the unction of God in us (I John 2:20).

As for Carroll's reference to Sethites as "Christians" this is not correct eschatologically. Believers throughout all ages and epochs have been justified by faith (Hebrews 11:1-3), and through the ages the economy in which God has dealt with his people has varied. It was prophesied that He shall give believers a place in His house and a name better than that of sons and daughters, a name that shall never be cut off (Isaiah 56:5). However, none of these believers of old had yet obtained the promise. Hence, before Christ, believers were never referred to as Christians. This is a decidedly New Testament innovation. For as it is written, "...the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch" (Acts 11:26). We the New Testament believer are given a new name, a name after Christ Himself.

At no time in history had the Sethite theory been propagated with greater impetus than in this century (20th) when Cyrus I. Scofield, a Civil War veteran and Bible scholar, published his premillennial dispensational Bible with a profusion of his notes in 1909. Included in his commentary was a single footnote on Genesis 6:2 which reads as follows:

"Some hold that these 'sons of God' were the 'angels which kept not their first estate' (Jude 6). It is asserted that the title is in the old Testament exclusively used of angels. But this is an error (see Isaiah 43:6). Angels are spoken of in a sexless way. No female angels are mentioned in Scripture, and we are expressly told that marriage is unknown among angels (Matthew 22:30). The uniform Hebrew and Christian interpretation has been that verse 2 marks the breaking down of the separation between the godly line of Seth and the godless line of Cain."

This one notation in Scofield's Bible contains three statements that are subject to serious question and are in need of careful examination:

First, his statement that the title "sons of God" used within the Old Testament context has reference to both angels and men on the other side of the cross is highly questionable. The reference in Isaiah 43:6, which reads, "I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, keep not back: bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth" is a prophesy addressed to the people of God, and it looks forward to the time when Messiah comes, and Israel looks upon the one whom they pierced, and they believe in Jesus the Christ as their Lord and Savior. Then the remnant of Israel will be called sons of God just as Christians are today, by adoption through the new birth. In other words, Isaiah 43:6 and similar passages including Exodus 4:22-23; Deuteronomy 14:1; Isaiah 45:11, 63:16; Jeremiah 31:9; and Hosea 1:10, all have reference to the Old Testament people of God, not "sons" in the same distinctive sense as previously described. There is an important difference. These verses have reference to the concept of the practical spiritual relationship of believers to God as analogous to that of children to a father, or as a metaphoric representation of the relationship between the nation Israel and God. None of these examples uses the same Hebrew phrase as we find in Genesis 6: 2, 4, or Job 1:6; 2:1; and 38:7, for that matter.

Second, the statement that angels are spoken of in a sexless way in the Bible is scripturally untenable. Angels are always referred to in the masculine gender in Scripture. The reason for this is simple, they have male characteristics. The men of Sodom (sodomites or homosexuals) who shunned Lot's daughters to get at the angels is because the angels were masculine specimens. Furthermore, the male gender of corporeal angelic apparitions is again affirmed in the classic example given in a previous chapter, in the context of Genesis 18 and 19, which indicates the unmistakable masculine nature of angels. As also implied earlier, there is no reason to think that the angels manifested to Abraham had no "male plumbing." Granted there is much we do not know about the nature, essence, powers, and capability of angels, however, we do know that they have full capacity to materialize into our world in fully human form. It is well established from Scripture that angels have the ability to incarnate, for this ability has been demonstrated as one of their God-given powers and as part of their ministry. These angels spake as men, ate meals, took people by the hand, and were capable in direct combat. In other words, they manifested themselves as humans in the fullest sense. To say that they manifest with part of their anatomy missing is a patent absurdity, and is, to say the least, totally incongruous.

In addition to their ability to manifest in fully human form angels undoubtedly have the power to manifest in any form they wish, depending upon the circumstances and historical context. In our day, as well as in earlier ages, it appears that fallen angels also have the power, disposition, and "costumery" (II Corinthians 11:14) to manifest in a variety of paranormal apparitions, including aerial phenomenon, as the incubi from many accounts from the middle ages, and in context of the preponderance of UFO and alien abduction phenomena fitting to the "space age" in our own day. These beings have the ability to "play act" their parts as creatures from other planets, so fitting to our modern day mentality and expectations. These are highly intelligent beings with an agenda to subvert man, by whatever cover and clever means are at their disposal and to spoil the human race.

Against the view that "the sons of God" refer to fallen angels Matthew 22:30 is usually cited as proof that angels don't marry. This is the hallmark objection almost always raised by advocates of the Sethite theory to establish their "airtight" case against the angelic reveal. Since angels are said to be spiritual beings and by that assumed to have no possibility of sexual and reproductive powers, Moses' words in Genesis 6:1-4 perplex many scholars. For this reason many find themselves unable to reconcile what the great Hebrew lawgiver said. Hence they give up the idea entirely. However, when the contents of this verse are carefully studied it is found that there is nothing which conflicts with what has been previously said. This passage, which is the "proof text" given by Dr. Scofield reads "...in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the ANGELS OF GOD IN HEAVEN." It is a reference by our Lord to the angels of God in heaven, those angels who had not followed Satan in his rebellion, and who had not left their first estate, or created order (Jude 6). Had our Lord left off the last two words, "in heaven," Scofield's objection would have real force, but the lord did not stop there. He added a qualifying clause about the angels: He said "as the angels of God in heaven." The last two words make all the difference in the world. The angels in heaven neither marry nor are they given in marriage, but the angels referred to in Genesis 6 as the "sons of God" were no longer in heaven: as Jude 6 clearly informs us "they left their own principality." They fell from their celestial position and came down to Earth, entering into unlawful alliance with the daughters of men. This, we are assured, is the reason why Christ modified and qualified His assertion in Matthew 22:30. The angels of God in heaven do not marry, but those who left their own principality did.

The argument that angels are sexless, as construed from Matthew 22:30, is a statement that is never made. Of the two parallel passages, Mark 12:25, and Luke 20:35, Mark seems to allude more to the eternal nature of that heavenly world inhabited by the angels, whereas Luke seems to emphasize the worthiness, eternality, and equality with the angels to be enjoyed by the saints, in that world so different from ours in which our present world notions have no place. Never do any of these verses say that angels cannot father children. It is only said that they do not marry "in heaven." The passage neither comments on their ability to marry, nor specifically on the status of fallen angels which are not concerned with obedience to God's will anyway. Only the good angels are mentioned. Again, the artists aside, angels are always referred to in the Bible as masculine, not feminine. Neither do they have wings. The winged creatures described in Ezekiel Chapter 1 are a specific class of creatures called cherubims, not specifically angels. Besides, it is rather obvious that the angels of God in heaven do not marry because there are no female angels.

As an aside, in consideration of dwelling places in the angelic economy, the understanding is fairly clear that there are three heavens - the first heaven being the aerial realm of the Earth's atmosphere with its fowl, dew, clouds, and rain of "heaven" etc., (Genesis 7:23, 27:39; Deuteronomy 11:11; Psalm 147:8); the second heaven being the realm of the Sun, Moon, and stars of the firmament (Joshua 10:13; Psalm 8:3; Nehemiah 9:23), and the third heaven being the eternal abode of God (I Corinthians 12:2) That the angels who rebelled with Lucifer were cast out of the third heaven to the second heaven ("heavenlies") and ultimately to the first heaven on Earth (Ephesians 2:2), is consistent with Scripture. Satan does not really live here on Earth, but he visits here a lot (Job 1:7). He rules from his place of authority, the heavenlies. During the great tribulation Satan will be thrown out of the second heaven. He now makes the heavens and the Earth the scene of his activity. He is the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2).

Third, the statement in the Scofield footnote that the uniform Hebrew and Christian interpretations have always been that the "sons of God" in Genesis 6:2 were the descendants of Seth simply does not hold up in light of even casual historic research. It is quite evident here that Scofield simply did not do his homework on this point. There exists not a single reference before the fifth century that presents the same explanation as put forth in the Scofield Bible. It should be given that Josephus, the seventy-two Septuagint scholars, and so many others early on, deserve the credit of knowing their own language.

It would only seem fair to recognize Dr. Scofield as an able scholar and that the Reference Bible which bears his name is a good one, which being the King James Version with the notes, the latter being perhaps 95% correct, has been used of God. It must be remembered, however, that only the scriptural text in this Bible is inspired and inerrant. It seems quite evident that the explanation of Genesis 6:2 was forced to conform to the writer's own viewpoint. This habit is not unusual with Bible commentaries. Of interest is the fact that the same men who worked on the Scofield Bible also wrote the footnotes in the Pilgrim Bible, and the primary explanation in the Pilgrim Bible is that the "sons of God" of Genesis 6:2 were fallen angels.

In consideration of others who have opposed the angelic reveal of Genesis 6:1-4, included is John Calvin. Unlike Martin Luther in this regard, John Calvin (1509-1564) the French Protestant reformer who is considered by many to be an equally shining figure in the reformation movement, discounted the value of ancient consent when he said "That ancient figment, concerning the intercourse of angels with women, is abundantly refuted by its own absurdity, and it is surprising that learned men should formerly have been fascinated by ravings so gross and prodigious." Yet, such seemingly "powerful" opinions are not always powerfully true. It must be remembered, however, the same degree of incredulity has been leveled by the infidel against the incarnation. Yet both are what the words of the Bible plainly teach and it is no less incumbent upon us to believe it. An astute reader of Calvin's commentary will detect a subtle difficulty he had in reconciling his interpretation with the facts.

In his Exposition of Genesis H. C. Leupold says: "The heathen legends about the promiscuous mingling of gods and men in mythological adventures can have no bearing upon our case." He further states, "Such an approach introduces the mythological element as well as polytheism into the Scriptures and makes the Bible a record of strange and fantastic tales and contradicts the passage of Matthew 22:30." This writer also completely misses the qualifying import of the wording of this passage in the midst of dismissing the substance because of the shadow.

This again returns us to the pivotal point of the whole matter, and that is the identity of the "sons of God" in Genesis 6; , i.e., who are they? There is no problem in identifying the "daughters of men" for this is the familiar method of designating women in the Bible. The problem lies with the "sons of God." Of the various views that have been proposed to shed light on this somewhat cryptic designation five are discussed here, namely the Preadamite theory, the Nobility theory, the Cain theory, the Sethite theory, and the Angelic reveal of which the first four are at variance to. Only the last two are still seriously considered, the popular Sehite view and the much less popular angelic reveal. These five are all given and, of necessity, critiqued in light of Scripture and relevant historical record, because many who have made a reasonable effort to study those prior four views have often come away not aware of their heretical overtones and were left more confused than edified, and so it is said that some things are just "beyond our understanding."

The Preadamite theory holds that the sin which provoked the flood was miscegenation between the Adamites made in God's image, and pre-Adamites, who were a soulless generation of beasts though in human form, the highest connecting link between the man of Genesis 1:26, and the lower animals. This view appears to be a byproduct of an attempt to harmonize the great ages of uniformitarianism and evolutionary theory with the Biblical account and has been rejected by conservative Bible scholars on those grounds.

A variation of this theory says that when God drove the disobedient Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, they settled among a people already living on the earth. According to this idea, when this people whom Moses identified as the Nephilim, began intermarrying with humans, many of the children born to them grew to abnormal heights. Problems with this view include the fact that Scripture never mentions other people living on the earth prior to Adam and Eve. If Adam and Eve's children intermarried another race so early why were their immediate progeny not corrupted, and why were there no giants and no judgment of the Flood so early on? The Scripture indicates that all men descended from common couple, namely Adam and Eve, who were our first parents. Besides all of this, only God created man in the beginning, none else.

The Nobility theory says that the sons of God were simply sons of kings, "nobles", or "magnates", or others of high rank or human status who entered into promiscuous marriages with daughters of commoners. In this case the commingling so described is merely an account of royalty marrying commoners. A similar theory tells of certain individuals, supposedly sons of these illicit relationships, who being bigger and stronger than the rest, and relying on their own might and power, exalted themselves unlawfully becoming proud and arrogant, having contempt for God and being disdainful toward lesser men, without measure, gaining a reputation as ferocious tyrants, men of great violence who separated themselves from the common rank, and before whom other men fell prostrate in fear. As well as the first theory, this Nobility theory has also been rejected by most Bible scholars because the Bible just does not refer to any such officials elsewhere and there are too many other circumstantial problems, including the fact that this theory offers no explanation why the offspring and progeny of such unions should be "giants" or why they would lead to universal corruption and violence that would call for a complete destruction of the world. Hardly anyone accepts this theory today.

The Cain theory, apparently of fairly recent innovation, teaches that gigantism (distinguished from the diseases of giantism as mentioned earlier) is the mark of Cain mentioned in Genesis 4:15. The mark of Cain was apparently either some kind of physical or reputational "tag" placed by God on Cain after he killed his brother Abel. The exact nature or appearance of the mark of Cain is not clearly indicated in Scripture. The murder of Abel by Cain was the first homicide, or murder, recorded in Scripture. Some have said the mark was on his forehead where it would be visible to all who encountered Cain thereafter, but the account does not say. However there is a vast difference between a "mark", and an entire change of physical characteristic as suggested by gigantism. The former would amount to nothing more than a textual incongruity. Whatever the mark was, it gave Cain public identity, but it certainly didn't mark him as a monster, although morally he was evidently already that.

Some have suggested that the "mark" meant that Cain was a "marked man" by his reputation. However, this makes the mark a direct product of Cain and not so much a direct bequest by God Himself, as the passage seems to indicate. Some have attempted to connect the mark of Cain with the "mark of the beast" although the inference is speculative. Another question is whether or not Cain's progeny were liable for the shedding of Abel's blood and if they were vagabonds like Cain. In the former this seems to be answered in the affirmative but the latter seems to be answered in the negative by the fact that Cain married and settled down or "dwelt" in a specific land (Nod) and then, furthermore, "builded a city". Vagabonds don't build cities, they wander as men without a country. It seems the direct judgment and sentence was squarely on Cain, although his progeny in the manner of "like father like son" would have been participants historically by the law of inevitable consequences as effected upon their patriarch. How the "mark" relates to this specifically remains unclear.

Furthermore if the mark was gigantism and was transmitted to Cain's progeny, it must have been a Divinely induced genetic mutation. Now if we say that the mark is indeed human gigantism and we take God's word at face value when He says that the death of Cain, or the supposed death of his progeny, will be avenged seven-fold, then what do we do about David who slew Goliath, the latter being a giant? It would seem that the indictment should thus hold effective upon David, a consequence of which there is no evidence. Yet we know David, a man after God's own heart, a man who continually sought and consulted the Lord, being reckoned as a type of Christ, and a man listed in the great "Hall of Fame of Faith" in Hebrews 11, was implicitly endorsed by God as the man to slay this exceedingly large, evil, and adversarial hunk of meat called Goliath (I Samuel 17:37). What are we to do with this mix of directives? Did God change his mind about the "hex" He put on the slayers of Cain and his progeny as it affected David? Again, this arrangement which militates against the Character of David and God's own record, seems totally incongruous leaving the mark of Cain as no viable solution to the problem of gigantism.

The Sethite theory is undoubtedly the most widely accepted interpretation of the "sons of God" of Genesis 6:1-4 today. This is the view of modernity and has been built on at least a half dozen conjectures. Probably more than any other commentary, Scofield's footnote on Genesis 6 has bolstered the belief that the sons of God were men from the line of Seth. At the heart of the Sethite theory is the idea that the "sons of God" were men from the line of Seth and the "daughters of men" were women from the line of Cain. This idea has been demonstrated to be of modern origin and is based on the reasoning of Bible commentators, rather than on the Word of God as it was written by Moses.

Several hundred years ago it was considered reasonable from apparent evidence that the Earth was at the center of the solar system and that the Sun and the other celestial bodies revolved around our world. Then at one time in history this was all rejected, but on grounds other than the result of any truly scientific investigation. Today, in the context of modern science, it is considered reasonable to conclude that the Earth rotates daily and revolves annually about the Sun. However, another model of the universe, one proposed by Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), explained these appearances equally well and is fully compatible with the overtly geocentric reveal of the Bible. This model was almost entirely ignored. Modern education has in many instances reversed sound reason, as in the case of the theory of evolution which itself is merely a corollary to the rejection of the Biblical model of the universe in favor of the secular, the rejection of the former for the latter being an historic philosophical choice not a scientific option based on sound reason. If it was required of the individual to do so, not one person could possibly prove one model or the other for themselves. Like the matter of origins a solid conclusion can only be reached that is based on the revelation of the Almighty alone who sees the end from the beginning and who sees the whole context of the universe from the outside. The lesson is that when men depend upon reason solely for their understanding rather than simply accepting the Word of God by faith, they go astray. Many Bible commentators changed the traditional understanding of Genesis 6 that was based on the original Hebrew, because to them it did not seem reasonable that angels could have intercourse with women.

Matthew Henry, in his commentary, similarly interprets Genesis 6:2 as follows: "The sons of Seth (that is the professors of religion) married the daughters of men, that is, those that were profane, and strangers to God and godliness. The posterity of Seth did not keep by themselves, as they ought to have done. They intermingled themselves with the excommunicated race of Cain." This blending of two lines - the line of Cain and the line of Seth through intermarriage - is a conclusion by the writer. This comment of Matthew Henry, as well as that by C. I. Scofield could be taken as representative of those holding this view. Nowhere in the Bible does it even infer that the "sons of God" were men from the line of Seth and the "daughters of men" were women from the line of Cain. There are many severe problems with this idea. One of these is that this arrangement would make the line of Cain the "sons of God," which is not consistent with the fact of the biblical picture of the character of Cain and his excommunicated descendants. In this light a much more fitting description would be that the descendants of Seth are "sons of God" not "daughters of men." Another very serious problem is that it appears here it is being suggested that the ungodly have only sons, while the godly have only daughters. There is no evidence, stated or implied, that the line of Seth was godly, after all what business would a truly righteous individual have in marrying evil and wicked women anyway? Furthermore all were destroyed in the Flood with the exception of Noah and his family - both the lineage of Seth and the lineage of Cain were judged equally by God. Henry also proposes that the Cainite-Sethite mixed marriages produced a mongrel offspring that later became known for their decadence and corruption. Mixed marriages today do not produce giants or individuals who could be described as "only evil continually" or as "wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly" (Genesis 6:5; 13:13). At no time, before the Flood or after, has God destroyed or threatened to destroy the human race for the sin of "mixed marriages."

The episode recorded in Genesis 6 was of the commingling of "divine beings" (literally "son of God"... with "daughters of men," a Hebraism meaning simply "human daughters"). This exhibited sin plumbs the depths of pre-Flood wickedness. It was far more serious than mixed marriages between believers and unbelievers. It represented the catastrophic fountainhead of occultism, an outburst of the likes which will accompany the return of the days of Noah at the end of the present age (Matthew 24:24, 37-39). This terrible intrusion from the realm of evil supernaturalism by fallen angels precipitated "incubi" and "succubae" phenomena of satanism and spiritistic cults. The Nephilim, "fallen ones" were the spirit-human, angelic-demon offspring of the sons of God (angels) and the daughters of men (human females). The thought of fallen spirit beings cohabiting with women of the human race producing what later became known in pagan mythologies as demigods, partly human and partly superhuman, is in reality not mythology but Biblical truth of which pagan mythology is a counterpart. The most fatal of the many flaws in the specious "Sethite" theory is the emergence of the Nephilim as a result of the unions. Bending the translation from Nephilim (fallen ones) to "giants" does not resolve the difficulties. It is the offspring of these peculiar unions in Genesis 6:4 which is cited as the primary cause of the Flood. Again, procreation by parents of differing religious views do not produce unnatural offspring. Believers marrying unbelievers may produce "monsters" but never unnatural or superhuman children.

Of further interest is the fact that from the remarkably distinct sons of God and daughters of men no "women of renown" are mentioned. This leads to the question of whether or not there was a chromosome deficiency existent among the Sethites, or perhaps there were only "X" chromosomes manifested in the progeny. It is a known medical fact that the male gene determines the blood type and gender of the offspring, and from a same medical standpoint this is the factor which made possible the immaculate conception of Jesus, who had no earthly father, being conceived of the Holy Ghost (God). As far as mixed marriages are concerned, it is impossible to reconcile the extreme punishment of the Flood with the mere verbal structures found elsewhere in the Bible for the same practice. If mixed marriages were the real issue, God, in order to be internally consistent, would have had to destroy the human race many times over. The inferred lines of separation between Sethites and Cainites is itself not only suspect but contrary to Scripture. Such supposed national and ethnic distinctions were not a part of man's cultural economy until much later, during the intervention of God at the time of Babel. This "sons of Seth" and "daughters of Cain" interpretation which is contrived on a series of unbiblical assumptions strains and obscures the intended grammatical antithesis between Sons of God and the daughters of Adam, and it flies in the face of centuries of understanding by ancient Hebrew authority and Christian scholarship.

In Genesis 6:2 we find a contrast not between the descendants of Seth and the descendants of Cain, but between the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men." If "sons of God" means the same as "sons of Seth," this would be saying that only the sons of Seth engaged in mixed marriages, and not the daughters, and only the daughters of Cain were involved, and not the sons. This brings another strange assumption into the text: that only the sons of Seth were godly, and only the daughters of Cain were evil.

The strangeness of this interpretation is only compounded when it is realized that there is no evidence in Scripture that the sons of Seth were godly. It is evident that when the time came for the judgment of the Flood God found only one godly family left on the face of the earth - that of Noah. Where were all the other supposedly godly sons of Seth? Even Seth's own son could hardly be called righteous. His name Enos meant "mortal" or "frail." It is apparent that he lived up to this name as in Genesis 4:26 we read, "And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord." This latter statement seems evident enough in itself and seems to indicate that men became more aware of God. However, in its context it deserves a closer look. The question must be asked, what does it mean when it says that it was only now that men began to call upon the name of the Lord? Upon whom did Adam call, and Abel, and Seth himself? This apparent inconsistency would be explainable in terms of a more exact translation of this verse. Some scholars find this verse to mean "Then men began to call themselves by the name of Jehovah." However, it is evident that the older texts and Jewish commentaries do not agree even with this rendition. Others translate the statement to read "Then men began to call upon their gods (idols) by the name of Jehovah." The latter obviously has an entirely different meaning. There is evidence that what is really described here is the profanation of the name of Jehovah. The majority of the ancient Jewish commentators supply the ellipsis by the words "their gods," suggesting that they called the stars and idols their Gods and worshipped them. The Apostle Paul wrote of the antediluvians, "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things" (Romans 1:22, 23). This idolatry was the beginning of astrology.

In his writings Josephus declares that for seven generations Seth, his sons, and his grandsons regarded the name of the Lord, but from the seventh generation, a moral decay ensued, and men began to blaspheme the name of the God, and worship other gods. It was in this falling away and iniquity that many angels who had originally rebelled with Satan against God were able to infiltrate the human race and begin abominable relationships with women, transgressing kinds and compounding their enmity with God and His created order. The majority of the ancient Jewish commentators inform us that they began to worship "their own gods," suggesting that they called the stars and idols their gods and worshipped them. Thus it is evident that this more grievous moral decay did not start right away but some centuries after the beginning.

Another hallmark of Noah's day was homosexuality, as Paul points out, "...even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lusts one toward another..." (Romans 1:26, 27). These immoral and abominable conditions were the right setting for drawing these wicked angels like slop flies into the human stream.

God destroyed Sodom, Gomorrah, and other cities in the vicinity of the Canaanite corruption for the same reason that He destroyed the Antediluvians in the Flood - apostasy and sexual abominations. Then, over 400 years later, when the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob returned there from Egypt, the Canaanites were worshipping false gods, committing every kind of filthiness of the flesh, and were evidently engaged in sexual associations again with fallen angels because giants filled the land. God used Israel this time as His agent to destroy the Canaanites, lest they put at risk and jeopardize all human flesh once again through their corruption.

The "Sethite" view not only fails to meaningfully address the problem presented by the prevailing antediluvian condition, but it also fails to address the problem of the reappearance of the Nephilim after the Flood, and the fact that God's instructions were to wipe out every man, woman, and child of certain tribes inhabiting the land. This is difficult to justify without the insight of a grotesque "gene pool problem" from the remaining Nephilim, Rephaim, et. al., to illuminate the difficulty.

Apart from the excellent pedigree overall of the proponents of this "Sethite" theory, their argument and false exegesis is not convincing here to the astute reader of scripture. In order to make this hypothesis work its adherents assume too many issues that are clearly absent from Scripture. Their interpretation is pure eisegesis - they are guilty of reading into the text something that is obviously not there. Extraordinary liberties must be taken with the literal text to propose the "Sethite" theory, and it can be further said that if one tortures the facts severely enough they will confess to anything. In spite of its popularity, a careful analysis will show that this Sethite view is a contrivance of convenience from a network of unjustified assumptions antagonistic to the remainder of the Biblical record, and cannot be taken seriously. For those who indulge in a willingness to take liberties with the straightforward presentation of the Biblical text, no defense can prove final, and greater dangers than the implications attending these issues await them.
The Angelic Reveal: A casual survey of believers and unbelievers alike who are only vaguely familiar with this obscure Old Testament passage, when asked to read it, discloses an almost unanimous consensus that a candid reading of the text by an unprejudiced mind tells of angels consorting with women and producing gigantic offspring. Many reputable Bible commentators have rejected this reveal on psycho-physiological grounds, saying that "angels and men cannot mix." In contrast to, and apart from, the previously discussed four theories, only the angelic reveal incorporates a conspicuous element of the supernatural. Again, the standard interpretation of the rationalist and liberal theologian is to discount this detail and dismiss the idea as a fable or story borrowed from pagan mythology.

To restate the matter along a little different vein, of interest are several reasons encountered today for rejecting the angelic reveal of Genesis 6:1-4. The following are a sampling:

a. There is no 'rational' explanation. However, when we study Scripture we find an oracle that is not necessarily humanly "rational", nor "logical," or even reconcilable "scientifically." God's word is revelatory and supernatural. It is God's wisdom, not man's. God is supernatural, our salvation is supernatural, our whole faith is founded on the supernatural - the supernatural person, work, and promise of Jesus Christ! To reject the supernatural character of Divine revelation can only lead to grave consequences in our understanding of God's Word.

b. It does not fit the belief system and paradigm of most theologians today. Hence the ad hoc Sethite theory, and others, which place a forced and unnatural interpretation on the passage. If the patent reveal of this vital passage is supplanted as such the reader will of a certainty miss much of what is revealed in the Bible.

c. To many it has no place in the Bible, even though it is plainly included. Genesis 6:1-4 comes along in the Biblical account in such a seemingly obscure or mysterious way that expositors see it as a placement or translational error and are tempted to ignore it or supplant it not knowing what to do with it.

The term "son of God" is defined in four distinct ways in Scripture each with a clear and specific intent. It is an interesting exercise to identify and describe all the ways in which the phrase "son of God" has been used. The four distinct meanings of the term, are as follows: 1) An angel, 2) Adam, 3) Jesus Christ (son of God and son of man), and 4) the Christian through the new birth. This is significant because such clear distinctions which are often overlooked must be made to augment our understanding of Scripture.
In the Old Testament the term "son of God" has reference to creatures who are a direct creation of God, namely the angels, and, of course, Adam who was formed directly by God from the "dust of the ground" (Genesis 2:7), hence is a "son of God", as well (Luke 3:38). Other than our first father, man is generated. In the New Testament, man becomes a direct creation of God by virtue of the new birth, as a new creature, hence a "son of God" by adoption. In this important regard, it is quite clear that Adam stands in sharp contrast to the other names in the genealogy by the way it reads. Adam was made in God's image (Genesis 1:26, 5:1) but all of Adam's progeny were begotten "...in his own likeness, after his image..." (Genesis 5:3), in other words, in the image of fallen man. Among men, Adam is certainly unique in mankind in his notable distinction.

Now, Satan, as a direct creation of God, is included in the assembly of the sons of God, or angels, mentioned in Job 1:6. That he is a "son of God" is clear from an impartial reading of this passage and it is obvious that he was amidst like company "...when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them." He appeared as an angelic being and creature made directly at the hand of God, a "son of God." That he was a fallen son made him no less a creature, or son, of God than this writer would be to his own earthly father even if he were found to be a wayward son, or prodigal, for example. When it comes to sonship by this important distinction, the fact that Satan is fallen, is beside the point here. He is still a "son of God" by this vitally important definition.

That Satan was a son of God by direct creation of God is not only clearly evident by a candid reading of the passage (Job 1:6) as it stands, but it is also clearly evident in the Hebrew bene Elohim which is always used of angels and never of man in the Old Testament. As previously mentioned, there are, at the very least, four passages, particularly, and specifically, which use this same term. One is, of course, the passage in question (Genesis 6:2, 4), with the other three being in the very ancient book of Job, namely Job 1:6; 2:1; and 38:7. A reading otherwise brings upon this disclosure a forced and unnatural interpretation which does violence to the text.

Having reviewed the arguments against the patent reveal of Scripture one must conclude that the only "valid" argument among them is that of rationality. "Sons of Seth," for instance, is an interpretation that is more palatable to human reason. Yet reason can never subscribe to many of the miraculous events described in the Bible, neither can an appeal to "logic" or the "scientific method." The mind is thus trained today "to revolt against such absurdity." However, the meaning of Scripture is clearly otherwise. To impose a human interpretation at the expense of the obvious meaning of Divine Revelation is none other than a rape of the Biblical text. Furthermore, whenever one approaches the Biblical world of the supernatural, rationality is never an argument. In likewise manner, the angelic reveal is so plain and obvious that it essentially requires a blind man to miss it.

It is written that "In the mouths of two or three witnesses every word shall be established." In Biblical study, coupled with readiness of mind and diligent search, a careful cross correlation of Scriptures is a vital method of attaining its understanding, comparing Scripture with Scripture (Acts 17:11; I Corinthians 2:13) that we may see "whether those things were so." The New Testament confirmations of Jude and Peter are impossible to ignore. (Jude 6,7; II Peter 2:4-5). Peter's vocabulary is provocative. He uses the term Tartarus to identify the place God cast the sons of God who committed the genetic atrocity described in Genesis 6:1-4. This is directly paralleled by the Greek term for "dark abode of woe" mentioned in Homer's Illiad. In Greek mythology, some of the demigods, Chronos and the rebel Titans, were said to have rebelled against their father Uranus and after a prolonged contest were defeated by Zeus and were condemned into Tartarus. If one takes the integrated view of Scripture, then everything in it should "tie together" including our insight into who these strange beings were in Genesis 6.

The restoration of fallen man to a sonship relationship with God was first given to Israel, but because Israel as a nation rejected the promised Redeemer, the invitation was extended to the Gentiles. We read in John 1:11,12, "He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." As explained in the third chapter of the Gospel of John, through faith in Jesus Christ Who died for the sins of the believer, anyone can become a son of God through the New Birth. Through the New Birth, a believer in Jesus Christ is made a new creation, he is a new creature (II Corinthians 5:17). In this same vein, the words of the beloved apostle in I John 3:1,2 were a revelation that was first proclaimed by Jesus Christ, later preached by the apostle Paul, and then by John: "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, NOW ARE WE THE SONS OF GOD, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (I John 3:1,2).

If, therefore, the "sons of God" mentioned in Genesis 6:2 were men, then why did Jesus Christ have to die on the cross? If salvation could come by conscience, by law, or by any works that men might do, then as we read in Galatians 2:21, Christ died in vain. But as Jesus Himself said, now anyone, regardless of his sins, can by faith in Him as the One Who died for sin, receive a new birth and become a son of God. This invitation is to "whosoever believeth" (John 3:16). If the sons of Seth and the daughters of Cain were meant by Moses who wrote the Pentateuch, he would have said so. Otherwise, if God intended, the verse would undoubtedly have read, "the sons of Seth saw the daughters of Cain that they were fair..." but the Bible meant something far more sinister - the sexual union between angels of hell and godless women of Earth. Because of the gravity of such unions, and their dire consequences for the human race, God moved to destroy the race, beyond redemption, before it could destroy itself - except for one family which had not been contaminated. Such a drastic punishment presupposed a drastic sin, something far more evil and more sinister than mixed marriages. It was nothing less than an insidious attempt to genetically and morally pervert and control the human race through the production of humanoid hybrids, which constituted an intolerable circumstance before God. Is it not sufficient to say that the men of Moses' time knew what he meant? The Scriptures are supposed to mean what they say and are not a matter of one's own interpretation.

Satan had not forgotten God's prophesy that a promised seed of the woman would one day destroy him. It has been said that he planted his own "spiritual" seed in Cain and his descendants, but moreover it is evident he planted his physical seed when he had disseminated into the human gene pool the hybrid strain which produced the Nephilim being the giants of old, which not only constituted a grotesque mimicry and antithesis of the Virgin birth, but threatened to completely corrupt the human race before the promised seed, the coming Messiah himself who was born of no earthly father, could accomplish Satan's defeat. It is clearly evident from Scripture that the giants had a significant role in the vast increase in evil toward the end of the antediluvian age and had through their excessive savagery and ferocious mentality overturned all laws of humanity. It is also evident that the Jewish commentators maintained that the Flood was sent expressly to destroy the giants. Only in this hideous irruption can it be fully explained why God had to expedite the judgment of the great Flood. Of interest is the detail in Genesis 7:20 "Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered." It is conceivable that this minimal depth, 22-1/2 feet by conservative estimates, could be regarded as the critical depth which would be deep enough to drown the tallest individual of the Nephilim giants thereby preventing any possibility of the greatest of the giants from surviving the Flood. One ancient Greek source mentions the death upward of nearly a half million giants at high waters.

The Satanic angels therefore compounded their original sin in following Satan in his rebellion against God by now leaving "their own habitation" and keeping not their "first estate" or "principality," going after strange flesh" as later did the Sodomites "in like manner" (Jude 6,7). This old world scene of transcendent wickedness was aided and abetted in a supernatural sense by Satan himself whose offspring were not of God's workmanship and certainly did not bear His image. These evil angels are presently confined until the judgment day (II Peter 2:4). The "enmity between the seed of the Serpent (Satan) and the seed of the woman (Christ) is recorded many times throughout Scripture. One of the more famous is the military contest between the Nephilim-giant Goliath (representing seed of the serpent), and David (whose "offspring" or "seed" would lead to Christ - II Samuel 7:12,13). Meanwhile other fallen angels are still free to roam as Satanic adversaries, even today. The Serpent's "seed" will likely find its fullest expression in the end time when the antichrist, who very well could be a Nephilim or alien-like offspring of an earthly woman and Satan himself who utilizes the marvelous power of human procreation to corrupt it to the fullest potential according to his own ends, then appears as Satan incarnate who's number is 666.

Two days before His crucifixion, Jesus' disciples asked Him, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and the end of the age? (Matthew 24:3). His reply indicated a number of "signs," all of which occurring together in that generation, the generation which would see these signs, would be the sign of which they inquired. The Lord's answer was climaxed with the prophetic warning, "But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until that day that Noe entered the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the son of man be" (Matthew 24:37-39). In this, Jesus not only confirmed the literal historicity of the great world wide flood but also gave encouragement to us to study closely the characteristics of the days before the flood, for these would also characterize the days just before His return.

The spiritual state of the present world in general does parallel the days of Noah. Before the rise of the wicked one whose coming is after the working of Satan the mystery of iniquity will sweep the world. In II Timothy 3:1-5, 4:1, the last days are prophetically marked with divorce, crime, sodomy, astrology, the occult and Satan worship, which are very much in evidence today. As indicated in an earlier chapter all of the signs are evident today, even that which astute observers see as the neglected sign of the time of Noe, being the rapid increase in the activities of transdimensional beings (Revelation 12:7-12).

Christians who are alert and grounded in the Bible need not have fear, because we are comforted and strengthened by the promise given in Ephesians 6:10-13: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness inn high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to with stand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Only in Christ by the knowledge and power of His Word can these evil entities be truly bested and thwarted.

No study of this nature would be complete without a biblical analysis of the person and character of Noah as a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Noah's name foreshadowed the coming one in its meaning of "rest" or "comfort" from the toil incurred by the curse. We are also told "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Noah stood in stark contrast to the world wide moral corruption of his day in the fact that "All flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth" (Genesis 6:12). We are told that Noah was a just man (Genesis 6:9), righteous. He possessed no inherent righteousness of his own but the righteousness imputed to him as a believer (Romans 3:23, 4:1-7, 6:23).

There was only one man who ever walked this earth who was inherently and intrinsically righteous and that was he whom Noah foreshadowed, He of whom the centurion testified, "Certainly this was a "righteous man" (Luke 23:47). In addition to Noah's moral virtue we also read of his physical purity in his distinct genetic integrity and purity. "Noah was perfect in his generations" (Genesis 6:9). This has reference to the body and not the perfection of character. The Hebrew word "tamin" used here means without blemish, and is the technical word used of animals of sacrificial purity. The same word is used in Exodus 12:5, 29:1; Leviticus 1:3, and in a host of other passages too numerous to mention. The word thus used in Genesis 6:9 does not speak of Noah's moral perfection, but tells us that he (and his family) alone had been kept preserved in his pedigree and kept pure, in spite of prevailing corruption brought about by the fallen angels.

Noah lived at a time during a massive attempt by Satan to corrupt mankind and prevent the coming of the promised Seed of the woman who should come out of the human race and who would bruise the serpent's head (Genesis 3:15; Romans 16:20). When we read of God's judgment upon that corrupted generation in Genesis 6:12,13 we realize the subject of these two verses is "flesh" and all mankind, and that with the exception of Noah, it had been corrupted through the offspring of the sons of God, those "sons" being a battalion of fallen angels. Noah and his family had not been defiled by contact with the Nephilim. "Perfect in his generations" signifies that Noah was uncontaminated physically and genetically. How plain and perfect is this type of the immaculate humanity of our Lord, the Lamb without spot or blemish!

When the eternal Word was "made flesh" He did not contract the corruptions of our fallen nature. Unlike all of human kind, He was not "shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin." To the contrary, His mother was told, "That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). In His immaculate humanity our Lord was "separate from sinners" (Hebrews 7:26). He was uncontaminated by the virus of sin; He was "perfect in His generation." The beauty and perfection, and vital importance, of this magnificent foreshadowing in its totality would be lost to us through the insidious confusion of a modern day heresy were we not to take God's word for what it plainly tells us and to "...earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3). Had Satan succeeded in corrupting the human race he would have hindered the coming of the perfect Son of God, the promised "seed of the woman," who would defeat Satan and restore man's dominion (Genesis 3:15). If Satan had by any means prevented that birth, he would obviously have averted his own doom. The God-man Jesus Christ, the infinite God of Creation paid the infinite price of our iniquity which was an infinite offense against the Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent Holy God, a charge of which only an infinite sacrifice could pay. At Calvary, it is done! Blessed be the Lord our Creator, Savior, and King forever and forever, Amen.

[Illustration] The Ark Upon the Waters

For the second time since its creation the Earth was a world wide ocean. This time it was the result of a great world wide judgment. This was a flood of exceeding turbid waters, required to soak to its depths for a year, a world which had become totally unsalvagable, in order to entirely destroy the effects of a supernaturally induced and exceedingly evil and obnoxious breeding experiment.

References:

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Calvin, John, Commentaries on the First Book of Moses Called Genesis, Baker, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Carroll, B. H., An Interpretation of the English Bible, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1986.

Däniken, Erich von, In Search of Ancient Gods, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1973.

DeLoach, Charles, Giants: A Reference Guide from History, the Bible, and Recorded Legend, The Scarecrow Press, Inc., Metuchen, N.J., & London, 1995.

Dolphin, Lambert, Jesus: Lord of Time and Space, New Leaf Press, Green forest, Arkansas, 1988.

Esses, Michael, Jesus in Genesis, Logos International, Plainfield, N.J., 1974.

Furnas, C. C., The Next Hundred Years: The Unfinished Business of Science, Reynal & Hitchcock, New York, 1936.

Gaverluk, Emil, Did Genesis Man Conquer Space, Thomas Nelson Inc., New York, 1974.

Hutchings, Noah, "The Giants of Noah's Day, The Gospel Truth, Vol. 18, No. 7 (Je '78), Southwest Radio Church.

Jones, Floyd Nolen, Chronology of the Old Testament: A Return to the Basics, Bible For Today Press, Collingswood, N. J., 1993.

Knight, David C., UFO's: A Pictorial History from Antiquity to the Present, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1979.

Leupold, H. C., Exposition of Genesis, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Magor, John, Our UFO Visitors, Hancock House Publishers, Ltd., Saanichton, British Columbia, 1977.

McGowen, Encyclopedia of Legendary Creatures, Rand McNally & Company, Chicago, 1981.

Morris, Henry M., The Genesis Record: A Scientific and Devotional Commentary on the Book of Beginnings, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976.

Pember, George Hawkins. Earth's Earliest Ages, Hodder and Stoughton, London, England, 1876

Pink, Arthur W., Gleanings in Genesis, Moody Press, Chicago, 1950.

Pozos, Randolfo Rafael, The Face On Mars: Evidence for a Lost Civilization? Chicago Review Press, Chicago 1986.

Randles, Jenny, UFOs and How to See Them, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., New York, 1992.

Rehwinkel, Alfred M., The Flood In the light of the Bible, Geology, and Archeology, Corcordia Publishing House, Saint Louis, Missouri, 1951.

Rhodes, Ron, The Culting of America, Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon, 1994.

Scheeben, Matthias Joseph, The Mysteries of Christianity, B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, Missouri, 1951.

Stedman, Ray C., The Beginnings, Word Books, Waco, Texas, 1978.

Steeg, Richard A., Spacemen or Angels, Agape Arts, Hayward, California, 1973.

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Thomas, I.D.E., The Omega Conspiracy: Satan's Last Assault On God's Kingdom, Hearthstone Publishing Ltd., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1986

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"Hereby know ye the spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is the spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." - I John 4:2-4

[Back Cover]

This book represents an examination of what is unquestionably the greatest and strangest mystery of our time, namely, the mystery of the UFO-Alien Abduction phenomenon, a subject of increasing public attention, awareness, and interest. Since the second World War there have been an ever growing number of sightings of anomalous aerial phenomena which defy explanation. Associated with this are the growing number of bizarre reports describing experiences by people who claim to have been abducted by strange beings, allegedly aliens from outer space. These aliens, or entities, seem to come in order to conduct peculiar genetic experiments and surgical procedures on their captives, namely humans, often with terrifying consequences.

This great mystery of our time represents a serious problem to our understanding and certainly demands a sensible explanation. The two most common historic explanations offered up are analyzed along with the introduction of a third explanation from a Biblical perspective which discusses the greater arena of cosmic inhabitants which were brought into being along with man during the creation epoch several thousand years ago. An iniquitous subclass of these same beings which are brought into account for the present afflicted condition of our world and its troubled humanity are also brought into account for this current mystery, an enigma which finds its answer in terms of these strange beings.

Written at a popular level this treatise provides the reader with what the author most fervently believes to be the only solution consistent with the real facts of the matter and the only solution consistent with Divine revelation, the latter being the one source able to provide a systematic and reliable result. As revealed in the context of an obscure, yet most profound portion of Scripture, we find a most amazing Biblical precedent to the present day dilemma, namely the startling account of a massive "alien" invasion during the days of Noah, as recorded in Genesis 6:1-4.

ITEM NO. 31101996 JTU

Note: Fully illustrated spiral bound copies of this treatise may be ordered directly form the author-publisher noted at the front of this book. See order form on this web site.

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