And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Luke 17:26-27
Much discussion has been made about the Nephilim over the past twenty years by many from within evangelical Christianity. Most I'd wager would agree to disagree on the specifics of the who what, when, where, and why of what that actually looks like, but most would agree that they are coming. Personally, I think we need look no further than our current crop of movies to get a glimmer of things to come.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU, exploded into movie theaters beginning with the 2008 theatrical release of Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr. Previous attempts at superhero movies tended to be more misses than hits, but the bar was raised with this release because of the right recipe of timing/cast/technological advancements and direction which made this movie a box office hit, garnering $585M around the world. But more than that, was the character himself (Tony Stark/Iron Man). People loved the comics long before the movie came out because it told the story of an ordinary man (albeit wealthy and intelligent) who fought evil by overcoming his lack of supernatural powers by harnessing the power of his technological prowess.
Not soon after came the 'god' of thunder Thor, dovetailing into the MCU with the visitors from outer-space. It explored the notion that beings from other 'realms' could come to earth because man had finally "evolved into a higher form of warfare" (quoting Thor from the Avengers).
Next came Captain America, played by the all-American Chris Evans, who introduced the real-life super-soldier into our world. But, with the success of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and the Avengers, Marvel had the cracked the right formula and now possessed the technological know-how to build the Marvel Comic powerhouse into what it has become today. All told we love a movie where an ordinary person can become extraordinary. Given the lack of real magic in the world, who doesn't want an occasional escape from the daily grind into one where good and evil really do wear uniforms...even "spangly" ones.
Assessment
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Genesis 6:4
The world we live in now is not the way it has always been. That is a difficult reality for most people to accept. What we today would identify as 'pre-history', was known as the 'Golden Age' to the ancient world. Those who lived in the 'Golden Age' are they whom the Greeks and Romans believed lived for centuries, were exceedingly tall and strong, and generally lived a life of bliss. Supposedly, this was in the land known as Hyperborea. Granted there isn't complete consensus on where exactly Hyperborea was as some thought it where Siberia is today, while others thought it in the British Isles. Either way, what the ancient Greeks where in agreement about, was that these people were from the far north and powerful. One other interesting note about ancient mythologies, is that they generally all share the same back story in that...these super people, originally came down as 'gods'. As far as ancient civilizations go, the generally accepted timeline is as follows:
- Sumerians
- Chaldeans
- Egyptians
- Assyrians
- Babylonians
- Persians
- Greeks
- Romans
Even to the ancient Greek historians and scholars like Sophocles, Herodotus, and Hecataeus of Abdera (all 5th-4th BC), the 'Golden Age' was considered very ancient. Much in the same way we look back to the first century AD as ancient, the 'Golden Age' to them would have just as far removed back in time. It was a magical time that spoke of gods, demigods, and those ancient 'superheroes' and 'men of renown' that roamed the earth. Interestingly, the bible makes note of just such a time prior to the Flood of Noah.
Genesis 5 lists the accounts of the genealogies from Adam and Eve. The descendants of Adam lived for hundreds of years with Methuselah living to the ripe old age of 969 years. The long life span began to dwindle after Noah's flood, but even Job and Abraham lived supernaturally long lives as compared to our standards today. Assumptions can be made that the veil between our natural world and the spiritual supernatural world was either non-existent (God physically walked with Adam in the Garden) or far different than we have today. We could also deduce that the world (earth and atmosphere) was vastly different before and afterward the flood. For the curious, the non-biblical accounts from the Book of I Enoch and Jasher fill in the blanks of what life was like back then.
The Enoch account states that fallen angels came down and settled on Mt. Hermon (now modern day Lebanon) and comingled with human women. Genesis 6 affirms such accounts that resulted in the Nephilim (means 'fallen ones' and translated gigantes in Latin to giants when Anglicized). Not to get bogged down on too much familiar territory, but the Nephilim would be the physical descendants of the unnatural sexual relations between fallen angels and human women (Gen. 6). Not only this, but they taught humans things that mankind shouldn't have known about then (weaponry, warfare, astrology, conjuring potions and incantations).
So follow my logic on this; since almost every known culture records some type of mythos pertaining to a superior race of beings, the most likely reason is that they (we) can all trace their stories back to a common event that was known to mankind prior to Babel (Gen. 11). It couldn't have been after that, because God separated mankind linguistically, genetically, and geographically at Babel-hence no more shared history. Remember, part of the motivation for defying God in the first place was not to be scattered around the world.
And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." (Gen. 11:4)
After the flood subsided and Noah and company departed the ark. Two generations would transpire before the Tower of Babel judgment. Thus we can conclude that the world before Babel all spoke the same language and lived in a region known as Mesopotamia. This is key because at some point either during or after the flood in Peleg's day, the earth's continents separated. The scientific theory of Pangea is one in which the landmasses were all together before separating along their respective tectonic plates. It's also a reasonable conclusion based on the Genesis 1:9 passage in which God collected all the waters (below the firmament) together in one location.
Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.
Yet despite the separation which existed until today, most (if not all) cultures across the planet share similar ancient mythologies about a large or global flood and that of 'demi-gods' reigning upon the earth. Most ancient cultures tell tales of giants. If none of these were true, where did the ideas come from? There would have had too been some truth to their myths or they would have never lasted as long as they did. The 'gods' never really changed, just their names.
How long would Judaism have lasted if Moses hadn't been called, the plagues never took place, or the Exodus stalled out at the Red Sea? How long would Christianity have survived had Christ not come? There has to be some signs and supernatural activities (Elijah calling fire down, Jesus raising the dead and of His own resurrection, and the miracles of the Apostles, etc.) in order for Christianity to have presented itself as a form of real power.
Conclusion
A nations pop-culture reflects what's on the hearts and minds of that generation. Simply look back to the American 1950's to see who they held up as heroes. Our generation on the other hand is fixated on violence and loosening sexual proclivities of every kind. Thus the success of the MCU, Science Fiction genre, and the occult likewise consume man's obsession on to evolving to that next level. Just like the old saying goes, "if you can dream it, you can do it".
An idea is birthed in the minds of fallen men. That idea than gives legs to conceptual design, and then onto analytical research. That research begins to find solutions to the things man is lacking until a breakthrough occurs. What modern man lacks today is a race of fallen angels physically guiding them on how to create hybrid humans. What modern man now has is the technological knowhow to circumvent that through quantum computing, artificial intelligence, bio-engineering via genetic manipulation. What once took decades, is now down to years. Pretty soon those years will turn into months, and then man will achieve the very things he has set his mind towards.
People may scoff at the return of the supernatural and fantastic. People may scoff at the idea that 'Captain America' and 'Iron Man' people might become the norm. Remember, people use to scoff at the idea of planes and cars, or that the mile could be ran in under four minutes. People scoffed at the idea of sending a man (men) to the moon. Yet, nobody's scoffing at those things anymore are they? What was it that God once said?
And the Lord said, "Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Genesis 11:6
When man becomes united in a single purpose, we have a pretty good track record of doing that thing. If CERN is intent on opening portals to other dimensions, you can pretty much guarantee that they will (barring God's intervention). If man becomes intent on creating a sentient, self-aware artificial intelligence system that is billions of times smarter than the smartest person, you can pretty much bet man will ultimately achieve it. If man becomes on intent on creating hybrid humans (whether trans-human or biologically altered), you can pretty much bet man will achieve that thing.
My understanding has developed somewhat regarding my understanding of the Dispensation of the Church (which was from Pentecost until today). Rather than calling the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as the 'birth of the Church', I now understand that it is actually the 'conception of the Church'. This is akin to the outcome of the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary at the Immaculate Conception, of which she didn't give birth right then, but rather became pregnant. Likewise, the Church wasn't born at Pentecost, but rather was conceived and has entered into this 2,000 year gestation period, in which believers are being added daily into the body of Christ. (Romans 11:25)
The reason for my departure into the topic of the Church age dispensation, is that once we are complete, we are then birthed into our perfect, incorruptible bodies at the Rapture. We will be translated from mortal to immortal and from corruptible to incorruptible. Our departure, which coincides with the removal as the Restrainer (Holy Spirit empowers us to be salt and light), allows for darkness to ascend and allow the age of lying signs and wonders to once again take hold of the earth. (Romans 8:22-23, 1 Thess. 4:13-18, 2 Thess. 2:9-12, 1st Cor. 15:51-56)
The return of the days of the supernatural are not farfetched. This correlates with what will be coming during Daniel's 70th Week...which then is a continuation of the Dispensation of the Law, which saw the Red Sea parted, the Exodus plagues, giants (Anakim), fire from the heavens, etc. Further corroborating this idea, is the return of the Two Witnesses, who this author believes to be Moses and Elijah which perform signs and wonders as both a judgment on those who reject God and a witness to the Jews. (Rev. 11:1-14, Malachi 4:5-6, Jude 1:9, Matt. 17:2-4)
Does this current obsession with the fantasy and the occult feed into the 'strong delusion' that God allows to happen once He removes His Spirit-filled Church at the Rapture? It would seem so. 1st Corinthians 1:22 states that the Jews (God's chosen) seek after a sign, to which Daniel's 70th Week promises to be the likes man has never seen.
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