|
|
|
| p.8e Joshua’s wars As we examine the battles of Joshua it becomes clear whom Israel faced; it was not Nephilim. Josh 4:1 “the people had completely crossed over the Jordan, v.13 “About forty thousand prepared for war.” Josh 5:1 “ All the kings of the Amorites the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan, their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel .” After this all those of the next generation were circumcised, keeping the covenant that God made with Abraham. Joshua and Israel partake of the Passover and the continual supply of manna that they ate in the wilderness was no longer there, they ate the food of the land. Joshua then meets the captain of the Lords army, he is instructed to march around Jericho once each day for 6 days, on the 7th day the priests are to blow the trumpets and the people are to shout and the walls of Jericho will come down. Josh 6:17 “The city is doomed by the LORD to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot And her family are to be spared. So on the 7 th day the walls fell flat and they destroyed all within the city and then it was burned with fire ” ( still no giants are seen) V.17-18 “ she (Rahab) hid the messengers that we sent. And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.” Josh 7:1 Joshua sent two spies to Jericho, Rahab meets them and tells them that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you ( Josh 2:9). Two men of Israel were sent from Jericho to spy out Ai. When they returned to Joshua they requested only about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai, not the whole army. Josh 7:2-3 why do this if they have so many giants. They met none. They were overconfident after Jericho and unaware that Achan, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things. In Josh 6:19 silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, were taken. So they were chase out, defeated. The Lord tells Joshua of what Achan has done and this is why they lost the battle, they were disobedient, they were to be sanctified. V:13 they are told to take away the accursed thing from among themselves. Achan is confronted and confessed he took the “ spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels” ( Josh 7:21) he is dealt with severely. Josh 8:2 Joshua is told by the Lord to do “to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king.” He takes 30,000 men to ambush them, as the strategy was made to make believe they are fleeing to lead them away from the city, then attack. Josh 9:1-4 “all the kings who were on this side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the lowland and in all the coasts of the Great Sea toward Lebanon--the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite--heard about it, that they gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one accord.” The inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they came to them went and pretending to be ambassadors. Joshua later says to them, 9:22-27 “Why have you deceived us, saying, 'We are very far from you,' when you dwell near us ? V.23 tells them, none of you shall be freed from being slaves--woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God ." v25 And now, here we are, in your hands; do with us as it seems good and right to do to us." Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, in the place which He would choose, even to this day.
Year 1405 Israel’s The last victory!
Still no giants are mentioned in battle. These are the people the Ugarit speaks of, their God el who controls the land of these people by the nephilim is defeated by the true God (el), showing el is a generic name.Josh. 11:21 “And Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israe l. Only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain. So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.” Still no giants Josh. 11:22 “None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel; they remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod .”Where are all the giants? The Nephilim, or their offspring?Josh 13:2-6 “What remained: all the territory of the Philistines and all that of the Geshurites, from Sihor, which is east of Egypt, as far as the border of Ekron northward (which is counted as Canaanite); the five lords of the Philistines--the Gazites, the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites; from the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians as far as Aphek, to the border of the Amorites; the land of the Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath; all the inhabitants of the mountains from Lebanon as far as the Brook Misrephoth, and all the Sidonians--them I will drive out from before the children of Israel”Josh 13:12-13 “All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei, who remained of the remnant of the giants; for Moses had defeated and cast out these. Nevertheless the children of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maachathites, but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day.” Josh 17:15-18 So Joshua answered them, "If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you." But the children of Joseph said, "The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are of the Valley of Jezreel." And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph--to Ephraim and Manasseh--saying, "You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot, but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong." Joshua 12 lists all the cities defeated by Moses and then Joshua in a geographical arrangement. They begin with the two kings (Sihon and Og) Moses defeated on the east side of the Jordan (vv. 1–6) and they continue by listing the cities in order from South to North (vv. 7–24). The lands included the hill country, the western foothills, the Arabah, the mountain slopes, the wilderness and the Negev. These were the lands of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, with thirty-one kings in all. Giants are mentions in Josh.17 with the Pererzites. Heiser speaks of only certain tribes with giants but God told Israel to destroy them all, he did not separate them from any of those that occupied the land. Israel was told to destroy all the inhabitants not just those who were giants (nephilim), and the giants weren’t found everywhere. Here is the historical record written at the time of Moses when he was alive. Deut. 2:10-11 “the Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. They were also regarded as giants, like the Anakim.” Abraham; when he came out from Haran (Gen. 12:6) and entered Canaan, its stated: "The Canaanite was then (already) in the land." And in Gen. 14:5 they were already known as "Raphain" and Emim" Promises of the land by the covenant of Abraham through Moses. Deut. 7:1-4 7:1 " When the LORD your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you , and when the LORD your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly.” Deut. 7:16 “And you shall destroy all the peoples whom the LORD your God delivers over to you; your eye shall have no pity on them; nor shall you serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.” Deut. 7:22-24 “And the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed. And He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from under heaven; no one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them.” Deut. 9:1-3 Hear, O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the descendants of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you heard it said, 'Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?' "Therefore understand today that the LORD your God is He who goes over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the LORD has said to you.” v.5-6 because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”Deut. 20:16-18 “ But of the cities of these peoples which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the LORD your God has commanded you, lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the LORD your God.” Deut. 31:3-6 " The LORD your God Himself crosses over before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua himself crosses over before you, just as the LORD has said. And the LORD will do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites and their land, when He destroyed them. The LORD will give them over to you, that you may do to them according to every commandment which I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." Lev 18:24- 25 “Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants.” God told Israel to wipe them all out, Israel was told to destroy all the inhabitants of the land not just those who were giants, wherever they were found (again, the giants weren’t found everywhere) David and the giants he faced Later on (at least 600 years after Joshua) the giant Goliath is a remnant of the Anakim in Philistine Gath, but He is not called a Nephilim. (1 Sam. 17:4). Two of the Philistine giants are mentioned in 2 Sam. 21:16–22. Four new giants rise up against David, that is all that is mentioned. There’s early 1,200 years between the flood to David killing goliath. (Apparently these giants are with us even today with men over 7-8ft tall). These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. “ (1 Chron .20:8) 2 Sam. 21:19-22 “ Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to the giant. So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him. These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.” Apparently there was some human adaption having 6 fingers and toes. The giants after the flood are presented as large humans, not hybrids from the sons of God offspring. Goliath as huge as he was, went down with a single stone, he showed no more power than any other human, though his weight and size was greater. Goliath's brothers were also of great in stature, and we read that David and his men killed them all (2 Sam. 21:15-22; I Chronicles 20:4-8). The son of Shimei who was the nephew of David slew a giant, a relative of Goliath and became one of David’s chief warriors (2 Sam. 21:21; 1 Chron. 20:7). It’s not whether Goliath was a giant but whether was he ‘a Nephilim’ (living in David’s time period 1,200 BC.), because they were supposed to be all wiped out. If Goliath's relatives (and his family) were a Nephilim (he would be the last of them) it would be important enough to mention this factor, but Scripture does not. Logic insists they came from man, not Nephilim. The argument is that giants came from the sons of God offspring, then all giants would be Nephilim, otherwise Heiser (or others) cannot make his case for his new mythology. The fact that all other legends of this history have them as being monster like and very large, but Heiser takes the 'small giant' concept. Heiser says because Israelites were only 5’0 tall so they at 6’6 looked very tall. He says , I personally don’t believe that the biblical giants were over seven feet tall. According to the Septuagint and Dead Sea Scroll readings for the Goliath story, Goliath was actually 6 feet 6.” If the giants weren’t that tall what made the Israelites so fearful of them? If Israel had 5’0 height, than so did other nations. The average height today is approx. 5’9”. Today in the world two million people are taller than 6'7, and up to 3 thousand over 7’ ft tall, are they Nephilim? If Goliath was 6’6 (which is absurd) how did he carry such heavy armor or spear. This is how Heiser changes the Biblical record of one man 6’6 scaring all of Israel. Yikes!At the same time Heiser refers to the book of Enoch (as if Scripture) but overlooks the obvious contradictions on the giants. Enoch 7:12 whose stature was each three hundred cubits. A cubit being 18 inches would make them 450 feet tall! Some say at the least 200 ft. tall. But according to Heiser they were not that tall, they were 'little giants.' No more than 7 ft. tall. He changes others words to fit his own imaginary construct. If true that all giants (those that are 6’6) are Nephilim? If Goliath was only 6’6 (as Heiser claims) are we to accept that regular men were not this tall back then; what about Egyptians? There’s nearly 1,200 years between from the flood to David killing the giant Goliath, yet we read in 1 Chron. 11:22-23 “ Benaiah was the son of Jehoiada” v. 23 “And he killed an Egyptian, a man of great height, five cubits tall. In the Egyptian's hand there was a spear like a weaver's beam; and he went down to him with a staff, wrested the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and killed him with his own spear.” And He is called an Egyptian not a nephilim, having a similar description as Goliath. Would a 6’6 tall person bring such fear, why would the Bible say in Amos 2:9 “ it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks” Clearly this is an embellishment. Neither is there proof that Hebrews were only 5’0 tall as Heiser claims, anymore than Og’s bed was made twice the size and width of Og himself who was called the last of the giants placed on a bed of Iron in his death because of his weight. Again on giants existing in Davids time period. 1 Chron. 20:4 “ Now it happened afterward that war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines, at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Sippai, who was one of the sons of the giant. And they were subdued.” V. 5-21:1 “ Again there was war with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, with twenty-four fingers and toes, six on each hand and six on each foot; and he also was born to the giant. So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him. These were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.”1 Chronicles 20:8 KJV “These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David ” 2 Sam. 21:18-21 “ here was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the sons of the giant. Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to the giant.2 Sam 21:21-22 Jonathan the son of Shimea, David's brother, killed him. These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. 2 Sam.21:22 These four were born descendants of the giants in Geth, the family of Rapha; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants. (Septuagint)These are all the later references of giants. The Bible does mention giant men so they did exist, but their point of origin, of how they came to be is the question, their being nephilim is in question. Israel entered Canaan The same type of behavior described in Genesis 6:1-4 Heiser states happened again (or continued to happen) after the flood, producing more Nephilim (Unseen Realm p. 189). Nothing of this sort is recorded in Scripture. These alternatives are necessary for Heiser’s theory that descendants of the Nephilim were the Anakim, a people descended from the Nephilim who were spawned by rival divine beings (p. 203). If the Nephilim who died became demons, which are still with us today, what stops them from doing what Heiser claims would be as a third assault on humanity. Heiser apparently did not think this fantasy doctrine through. When Jesus came there were demons everywhere opposing him, but not once are they referred to as Nephilim (which would be an important point in doctrine). They (the demons) asked if it was time for their judgment. Who gets judged? The Bible says Satan and his angels were concerned about being judged, not Nephilim. God addresses Satan as the head of the heavenly rebellion and enemy of mankind always. Heiser does not agree. For one to rearrange Gods Holy Word to challenge nearly every theologian/ scholar the church has produced to make this into something different is unprovable. When one reads about the inhabitants of the land of Canaan they are not nephilim. After the great flood, God made sure the sons of God and nephilim (‘fallen angels’ or whomever you assigned them to be) would not do what they did before the flood anymore. But Heiser says it was either the sons of God themselves, or their dead children’s (nephilim) spirits that took over humans to propagate and repeat the invasion. The argument of one of Noah’s son is off the table, for they were picked to populate the new world after the flood because his lineage was not affected. So Heiser is wrong. for God, “preserved Noah, a proclaimer of righteousness, and seven others when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly.” His family was not like the world (though Ham is later cursed after the flood, because of his sin, not for being a nephilim) Also the Israelites were warned not to intermarry with the Cannanite population. That would certainly support the conclusion that they were also human beings. It was not about eliminating the nephilim in the land as Heiser claims, but about his promise of the land to them by his covenant. 1 Chron. 16:15-18 “ remember His covenant forever, The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac, And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel for an everlasting covenant, Saying, " To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance. " It was about the land being inherited by promise not about eliminating the Nephilim, the fact none of these scriptures of Israel conquering the many people mention them. Heiser speaks of only certain tribes as giants but God told Israel to destroy them all; he did not separate them. Where do we read the Israelites fought the numerous giants apart from Goliath (and his brothers?) In Joshua’s time only three are mentioned by name, showing that they were not the majority of the population as the 10 spies claimed. The nephilim influence and DNA “They weren't given some name because of some inherently fallen spiritual state (as though they could not be redeemed and were "more fallen" than humans ). (The Meaning of the Word Nephilim: Fact vs. Fantasy) Heiser challenges the word, and has you question the literal interpretation of the Word How about equally fallen? He teaches the Nephilim who were the offspring of the evil (fallen) sons of God and sinful man are unfallen? “Genesis 6 – The beings that did the evil act of Genesis 6 were not the nephilim. The transgression in that passage was between human beings and the sons of God . The sons of God and the nephilim are not the same; that latter are offspring of the former we aren’t even told that the flood was the fault of the sons of God, and so how would it be that their offspring, the nephilim, are fallen in the sense of being inherently evil? (The Meaning of the Word Nephilim: Fact vs. Fantasy) But if they are copying the evil that their fathers did to produce them, is that not evil too? "The giants in the book of Enoch and other Jewish literature composed after the biblical material (as far as the existing texts we know about) are certainly evil." The Meaning of the Word Nephilim: Fact vs. Fantasy) Here Heiser takes two opposite positions, which is it??? “(giants, from whom would come demons) would wreak on earth via their false teaching, which would spur idolatry and violence. Adam and Eve fell and sinned, but 1 Enoch and other Second Temple texts don’t have them as the reason for depravity. Instead, the proliferation of evil is attributed to the Watchers. They are viewed as supernatural agents of chaos, guilty of priming the engine of human selfdestruction.” But he also states the opposite of what he previously says, “ we aren’t even told that the flood was the fault of the sons of God, and so how would it be that their offspring, the nephilim, are fallen in the sense of being inherently evil?” (The Meaning of the Word Nephilim: Fact vs. Fantasy) Heiser’s attempt to say rebellious divine beings continued to have sex with women after the flood and that it does not mean they are sinful is a complete about face of what is described as sin in the bible. he claims their offspring produced demons when they die. That they are doing the same that the so called ‘divine sons’ (sons of God) did. Why is this not sin to do the same their fathers did. As Miller notes of the passage , “The order of nations is rooted in the order of heaven.” Though readers are given no timeline, eventually the sons of God charged with this task turn adversarial , seducing the Israelites into idolatry (Deut 32:17) …”(angels) Exactly How do they do this to Israel if they are incarcerated in Tartarus, clearly this indicates a second invasion by the sons of God, not nephilim, of which the bible has nothing to say. Heiser is so confused he can’t get his mythology right. Heiser writes at least 400 years later they turn to be adversarial? Sorry this does not work with the bible nor his own mythical story, and is a major flaw. Can this happen again, now; why not? Nephilim are the demons but the demons are not fallen. Are the demons sinless. 1 Cor 14:33 “God is not the author of confusion James 3:15-17 describes the difference “This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. What is an unclean spirit? If the Nephilim attacked after the flood why are they not attacking today, why did they stop? If demons (dead nephillim spirits) can reproduce through people as Heiser claims why are they not doing today; why didn’t happen in Jesus’ day! Luke 9:42 “And while he was still approaching, the demon threw him down and convulsed him . But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.” In the New Testament, the verb equivalents to these nouns (daimonao, daimonizomai) refer to being possessed by a daimon. Daimonion occurs in parallel to “unclean spirit” in several passages (Luke 8:29; 9:42; Luke 4:33). Nowhere does Jesus say nephilim! The 2nd generation nephilim after the first generation nephilim Scriptures explain that the Flood wiped out ALL human and animal life on earth. "Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark." (Genesis 7:23) All who breathed that were not on the ark died in the flood. Heiser does not believe this. Genesis 10:1 “These are the generations of the sons of Noah—Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Children were born to them after the flood.” This is why the majority of conservative scholarship based on biblical language hold to a worldwide flood and liberals do not. Heiser’s conclusion by his flawed reading of the Bible and adding these other books to the interpretation of Scripture “ the flood of Genesis 6–8 was a regional, not global, catastrophe; (2) the same kind of behavior described in Genesis 6:1–4 happened again (or continued to happen) after the flood” (Unseen Realm) “Babel, the Nephilim were back. Whether this is because of a second event like the one in Genesis 6, a local flood, God then failed to make a new mankind by Noah’s family, they continued to cause trouble. Nimrod may have been one of them, and under him the Tower of Babel is constructed. God judges by disowning the nations and assigns them to the rule of divine council members . ” I don’t think God failed. Nimrod is brought in as the wild card. Heiser states “As we shall see in other instances of linking Gen 6 to Gen 11, the intermediate link is Nimrod from Gen 10. The problem in this case, however, is that if Belus, one of the giants who built the tower, is identical with Nimrod, he also is said to have escaped the flood, which would imply an identification of Noah and Nimrod ! ” (K. van der Toorn, “Nimrod before and after the Bible,” Harvard Theological Review 83.1 (January 1990): 8, 16 Heiser often uses the Septuagint translation as superior but rejects the Septuagint elsewhere when it disturbs his conclusion, such as Satan in Job being an angel and the Serpent in Eden, but here he fully endorses it. In the Septaugint Gen.10:8 “And Chus begot Nebrod: he began to be a giant upon the earth. He was a giant hunter before the Lord God; therefore they say, As Nebrod the giant hunter before the Lord.” 1 Chron.1:10 And Chus begot Nebrod: he began to be a mighty hunter on the earth.” There are some difficulties with his view of Nimrod. Genesis 10:8 states that Nimrod “began to be a mighty one [gibbor] on the earth.” How does one begin to be a giant? Either you are one or you’re not. The solution may be found in the ESV’s rendering of this verse, which states that Nimrod “was the first on earth to be a mighty man.” Yet, there were certainly “mighty men” on the earth prior to the Flood, so how could he be the first one? Understand in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, Nimrod is called a “giant” and a “giant of a hunter” not a giant who was a hunter. The “sons of Anak” in Numbers 13 were described as giants, as Canaanites. Are we to believe they were descendants of Ham, Nimrod’s grandfather who are nephilim because Goliath, a Philistine, descended from Ham’s offspring. The bible was by writers who were given revelation from God they conveyed accurately what god said. Heiser is speaking like an ultracrepederian challenging the very words of God Conclusion "the giants" [ha-N¦piyliym (OT:5303)], refers here to their stature, but this does not mean they are the same species that died in the flood. Heiser’s theorizes the descendants of the Nephilim were the Anakim, a people descended from the Nephilim who committed the same sins as the sons of God (p. 203 Unseen Realm). It is the Anakim, Heiser believes, not the Canaanites, who Joshua and Israel came to destroy, the Canaanites were collateral damag e (pp. 210-211 Unseen Realm). But that is not what Scripture says Josh 3:10-11 And Joshua said, "By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites” ( Josh 13:2-6 Josh 17:18 but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong." This was Gods intention all along if they act on his command by faith. Josh 23:5 and the LORD your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. Why does anyone believe the spies who were fearful and disobedient spoke the truth on the nephilim all through the land; just because their words are in the Bible? So what! Moses interceded but they were not going to escape God’s justice. Why? Because they brought back an untruthful report and did not repent. This view must be understood by Gods judgment of them wandering the wilderness for 40 years and their numerous ensuing battles with the lack of evidence of fighting any nephilim. It accounts for them not wanting to war against the inhabitants of the land as they were either battle weary or cowards. So when reading all these stories and myths of nephilim then and even today, keep the biblical answer before you so that you are not deceived by myths made from the Bible
|
|
|
