Nephilim in Prophecy: The Past & the Future

The Nephilim are the offspring of the “sons of God” and the daughters of men mentioned in Genesis 6:4. The Nephilim are a topic of much interest as many believe they are the offspring of angels and humans.

In this article, I will provide you a concise biblical history of the Nephilim and discuss whether we might see the Nephilim during the end times.

A Concise Biblical History of the Nephilim

The Serpent vs. the Woman’s Seed

God told Satan, the serpent, that the seed (or offspring) of the woman would one day bruise his head:

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

Since that time Satan sought to prevent the coming of the seed that would bruise his head (Jesus Christ).

The Fall of Angels

Revelation 12 summarizes the long battle between Satan and the remnant of Israel (the woman).

Revelation 12:3-4 describes a red dragon-later identified as Satan- casting 1/3 of the stars in heaven to Earth.

 “(3) And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. (4) And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.” (Revelation 12:3-4)

These are not literal stars being cast. Literal stars would incinerate the Earth.

Although some debate about Revelation 12 exists, Bible scholars tend to agree that the stars that the red dragon cast to Earth were angels. This account is lines up with the belief that Satan led a revolt against God.

The Rise of the Nephilim

The “Sons of God” Marry

After the fall of a 1/3 of the angels, Satan apparently enlisted fallen angels to corrupt the human gene pool (or corrupt the seed of the woman). He sought to corrupt the gene pool so badly that Christ would be unable to appear on Earth as everyone on Earth would no longer be fully human.

Genesis 6:1-2 reports that the sons of God married human women.

“(1) And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, (2) That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” (Genesis 6:1-2)

Debate exists about who are the “sons of God”. Some teach that the “sons of God” were those from the noble line of Seth. However,

• The Bible establishes in Jude 1:6, Job 1:6-7, and Job 2:1-2, that the “sons of God” were angels.
• The noble line of Seth could not be the sons of God because they died in the Great Flood.

Therefore, Genesis 6:1-2 reports that fallen angels married human women.

The Nephilim Offspring

The offspring of fallen angels and women were “giants” or men of renown. Some theologians suggest that the many civilizations based their myths on the deeds of these “giants”:

“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)

Interestingly, the Hebrew word for “giants” in Genesis 6:4 can be translated as “Nephilim”, which means “fallen ones”:

The result of the union of fallen angels and human women led to a world in chaos. Genesis tells us that the world was full of evil:

“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)

The Lord was so upset that He destroyed everyone except Noah’s family. Many theologians believe that Noah was “perfect” not because he never sinned, but because he and his family were the only ones who were not Nephilim:

“(6) And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. (7) And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. (8) But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (9) These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 6:6-9)

The Lord flooded the earth with a massive deluge. The Lord also locked up the fallen angels who mated with women in a place called Tartarus.

• Tartarus is a spiritual realm likely located somewhere deep in the earth.

“(4) For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell [Tartarus], and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; (5) And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;” (2 Peter 2:4-5)

“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” (Jude 1:6)

Post-Flood Nephilim

The Bible is adamant that there were Nephilim after the Flood as “The giants were in the earth in those days, and even afterwards…” (Genesis 6:4).

I am unsure how more Nephilim arose after the flood, but perhaps other fallen angels mated with women? Regardless, they existed.

The table below lists the different races of giants and notorious giants described in the Bible.

Race	Verse
Goliath & His Brothers	1 Samuel 17:4, 2 Samuel 21:15-22
Og King of Bashan	Deuteronomy 3:11
Arba	Joshua 14:15
Anak	Numbers 13:33
Zamzummim	Deuteronomy 2:18-21
Rephaim	Genesis 14:5
Horim	Deuteronomy 2:12
Emim	Deuteronomy 2:10-11

The post-flood Nephilim were scattered throughout Canaan as an attempt by Satan to prevent the Israelites entry into the land and an attempt to wipe out the Israelites.

• Israel became Satan’s main target when he realized that they were God’s chosen people and the people from where the seed of the woman would eventually arise.

Satan’s tactic failed as the Israelites eventually settled into the land of Canaan.

As far as I know, this is where the Bible’s account of past Nephilim ends. Next, I will discuss the prospects for us to see Nephilim during the end times and what impact they may have if they appear.

The Nephilim in End Time Bible Prophecy

Fallen Angels Expelled from Heaven

The Archangel Michael and his angels will wage war against Satan and his angels in the future. They will cast Satan and his angels to the earth permanently during the conflict:

“(7) And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, (8) And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. (9) And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9)

The Days of Noah

Christ warned that the time leading to His Coming would be like the “days of Noah” or “days of Noe”:

“(37) But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (38) 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,” (Matthew 24:37-38)

“(26) And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. (27) They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.” (Luke 17:26-27)

Some limit the similarities between this upcoming period and the days of Noah to people “eating, and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage”.

However, others believe that Christ taught that this period would be exactly like the days of Noah, which included fallen angels mating with humans.

Iron vs Clay

Some believe that Christ’s warning is not the only evidence that fallen angels will interact with mankind again at a close level.

Daniel 2:41-43 is one of the most intriguing passages in the Bible. The passage describes the nature of Antichrist’s empire:

“(41) And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. (42) And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. (43) And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.” (Daniel 2:41-43)

Here are three notable views on Daniel 2:41-43:

1. Daniel 2:41-43 describes how the various kingdoms of the Antichrist’s empire will not get along.
2. Daniel 2:41-43 indicates that the Antichrist’s empire will have some connection to areas that were formerly part of the Roman Empire and areas outside of the Roman Empire.
3. A third, more speculative view focuses on the phrase “they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men”. Who are “they” and why are “they” distinguished from “men”?

Proponents of the third view argue “they” represent non-human entities (i.e. fallen angels) since Daniel differentiates “they” from the seed of men:

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

Proponents also argue that iron represents non-human entities while clay represents humankind since Isaiah 64:8 depicts humankind as clay:

“But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)

Will We See New Nephilim in the End Times?

Regardless of which view of Daniel 2:41-43 is correct, it would not surprise me if many of the fallen angels cast to Earth interact with humans and perhaps even marry humans.

I am unsure if there’ll be interbreeding with humans and fallen angels to create Nephilim. But I do not expect it to have any major consequence on end time events if it happens.

• New Nephilim would only be infants and would not have a chance to develop into the men of renown like in the days of Noah before Christ asserts control on the earth. The interaction between humans and fallen angels will not last long as “iron does not mix with clay”.

The fallen angels on Earth at that time will be a serious threat to anyone who opposes the Antichrist. You can learn about the threat they will pose in my article about the great tribulation.