Pastors' Blog: 62 On the Interactions of Angelic Beings with Humans

Many people conceive of angels in very much a fairy-tale kind of way. They picture them as being dressed in white perhaps with a halo around their head, sitting on clouds and playing harps, having wings and flying through the air, or standing at the pearly gates of heaven letting people in. This is often reflected in young children’s Sunday School classes, and in imagery used in online memes or secular greetings cards, and so on. These kinds of ideas create an utterly wrong understanding of angels, and often lead to mockery of belief in their actual existence. Generally speaking, people do not take angels at all seriously. However, nothing could be further from the truth, and the fact that many churches neglect to give adult teaching on this subject, simply compounds the problem, of course.

The creation of angels

All religions in the world attest to the existence of the unseen spiritual realm. Whether they talk of gods, demi-gods, spirits, demons, jinn, or whatever other words they may use, their writings and beliefs make clear the reality of the spiritual realm.

Likewise, the Christian Church has always accepted and believed in the existence of angels. The word of God does not attempt to prove their existence, but assumes and accepts this throughout, and it records many instances of their activity and interactions as these pertain to human beings. However, because the word of God is primarily a record of the narrative of human redemption, it contains no record of the time when God created angels. Most commentators believe that they were created at the same time as the material universe (Gen. 2:1, Neh. 9:6, Job 38:7, Ps. 148:2-5, Col. 1:16).[1]

In the word of God, angels are presented to us as real, personal, spiritual beings which were originally created perfect:

‘In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds [or, spirits], his servants flames of fire.”’ (Heb. 1:7, cf. Ps. 104:4)

As created beings, angels are finite and limited, they can move around, communicate and perform assigned functions. They have the ability to appear in human bodily form, and to disappear just as suddenly as they appeared. They do not marry (Matt. 22:30). They have intelligence and will, and they are superior to humans in terms of their knowledge. They can fly (Dan. 9:21, Rev. 14:6). They are moral beings which can obey or disobey God, and they can interact with human beings. In the word of God, obedient angels are called holy or elect angels, or angels of light. Those angels who chose to disobey and rebel against God we call ‘fallen angels’ (see below). Angels are mighty beings which possess great power, and the holy angels of God form an innumerable heavenly host or army (Deut. 33:2, Matt. 26:53, Rev. 5:11). Holy angels are portrayed in Scripture as constantly praising God, serving him faithfully, conveying his messages to people, fighting his battles, and so on.

The word of God does not give us an exhaustive classification of the different kinds of angels and their functions. However, it is clear enough that there are different ranks among them. The most powerful appear to be the cherubim which surround and guard the throne of God (Ezek. ch.1, Rev. 4:6-8). Similarly, the seraphim are also very powerful beings (Isa. 6:2,6). In fact, many commentators identify these with the cherubim. Then there are angelic princes (among whom Michael is one, Dan. 10:13,21; Jude v.9, Rev. 12:7), archangels (1 Thess. 4:16, Jude v.9), and angels. The apostle Paul talks of rulers, authorities, dominions, thrones and powers:

‘For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.' (Col. 1:16, cf. Col. 2:10, Eph. 1:21, 3:10)

Furthermore, there is also a class of angels whose main function seems to be to watch over and guard God’s creation. Hence, they are called ‘watchers.’ As with other angels, these watcher angels are powerful, and they possess secret knowledge. In the word of God, watchers are mentioned specifically only in the book of Daniel (4:13,17,23), but they are referred to many times in the intertestamental pseudepigraphic first book of Enoch (which is quoted from below).

Some angels are mentioned by name in the word of God, such as prince Michael (who is a warrior angel) and Gabriel (who is a messenger angel and brings revelation to those to whom he is sent, Dan. 8:16, 9:21; Luke 1:19,26). Other angels, such as Raphael and Uriel, are made known through the Jewish intertestamental apocalyptic literature.

Satan and the fallen angels

As with the physical creation, all the angels were originally created as good and perfect (cf. Gen. 1:31). The exact time when some of them fell into sin and rebelled against God is unknown. Again, the word of God gives us no record of this, it is simply presented to us as a fact.

Lucifer, an anointed cherub, fell into sin through pride and self-ambition (Ezek. 28:14-19).[2] He wanted to rise to the highest place, to usurp the throne of God himself, and thereby to have supreme authority over God’s creation (Isa. 14:12-14). He is not and never can be God’s equal. He is a cherub, a created being, who fell into sin. Therefore, although Lucifer (or Satan) is indeed a very powerful being, yet he is finite and has restrictions and limitations. He is not omnipotent, and he is not divine. Rather, he is ultimately under the control of God. Lucifer/Satan successfully brought about the fall of humankind into sin by appealing deceptively to self-ambition in Eve (Gen. 3:1-6, Rev. 12:9). So he rules over fallen humankind in this world, and the word of God calls him the ‘prince of this world’ and ‘the god of this age’ (John 12:31, 2 Cor. 4:4). His name ‘Satan’ means ‘adversary,’ meaning that he is the adversary of God’s purposes. He is the accuser (Rev. 12:10); he is the father of lies and a murderer (John 8:44); his other name ‘the devil’ means ‘slanderer,’ and he can sometimes appear deceptively as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). His destiny is to be cast into the Abyss for a thousand years, and then eternally into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:2-3,10; Matt. 25:41).

Most commentators take the words of Revelation 12:4 to mean that Satan was followed and supported in his rebellion against God by a third of the heavenly angels, and that these too fell into sin with him. These angels are therefore known as ‘fallen angels.’ They submit to and co-work with Satan as their leader to oppose the purposes of God in this present world (Matt. 9:34, 25:41). So these fallen angels have a thoroughly evil nature, and, together with their leader Satan, they delight in opposing God and hindering or antagonizing his work in this world. They are depraved enemies of God, of humanity and of every good thing, and their intention is to try to destroy and ruin the lives of human beings as much as possible. They are lost and without hope, and their ultimate destiny is to be condemned and cast into the lake of fire together with their leader, Satan (Matt. 25:41).

As with the kingdom of God, there is also a hierarchy of rank among these fallen angels who, under Satan as their leader, rule over the dominion of darkness in this world:

‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’ (Eph. 6:12)

The diabolical intercourse of some watcher angels with women in prediluvian times

Humans were made in the image of God, and this is not true of either cherubim or angels (Gen. 1:26-27). In this sense, although we are made lower than angels in terms of our fleshly nature, yet we hold a higher rank in God’s economy than angels (Ps. 8:4-5, and see below). Lucifer the fallen cherub was rankled by this fact, and it explains his envy towards human beings and why he sought and still seeks their fall and ruin.

The fall into sin of the first couple, which had its moving cause in the wily deception of Lucifer in the form of a serpent, caused humankind to become separated from God. And from then on, human beings have been condemned to an existence characterised by sin, spiritual darkness, sickness and death, under the rule of Lucifer/Satan, the evil spiritual prince of this world (Gen. ch.3).

Subsequent to the expulsion of the first couple from the garden, apart from the mention of cherubim which guarded the way to the tree of life (Gen. 3:24), the only record in the word of God of angels interacting with humans in prediluvian times is recorded in Genesis 6:1-4. This passage describes the diabolical intercourse of some angels with human women, resulting in the coming into being of a race of giant transgenic beings called nephilim:

‘When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days – and also afterward – when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children with them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.’ (Gen. 6:1-4)

Although some conservative Christian commentators prefer to deny that the phrase ‘the sons of God’[3] in v.2 refers to angels, yet many commentators do believe this. In vv.1-4, the contrast between the words ‘man/men’ (meaning ‘human’) and ‘sons of God’ is clear, so the latter phrase cannot be referring to men. This interpretation of the phrase ‘sons of God’ as angels in Genesis 6:1-4 is supported by many extra-biblical Jewish writings and commentators, as well as by the passages in 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude v.6.[4] In particular, the intertestamental pseudepigraphic books of 1 Enoch and Jubilees both give expanded versions of this passage in terms of the activity of angels, as can be seen below.[5] In 1 Enoch, these angels are often referred to as ‘watchers.’ This underlines the way in which Jewish writers have traditionally understood this passage:

‘And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’ And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it.’ (1 Enoch 6:1-7)

‘And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go into them and to defile themselves with them… And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, who height was three thousand ells…’ (1 Enoch 7:1,3)

‘Wherefore have ye left the high, holy, and eternal heaven, and lain with women, and defiled yourselves with the daughters of men and taken to yourselves wives, and done like the children of earth, and begotten giants (as your) sons?’ (1 Enoch 15:3-4)

‘And it came to pass when the children of God began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them, that the angels of God saw them... that they were beautiful to look upon; and they took themselves wives of all whom they chose, and they bare unto them sons and they were giants.’ (Jubilees 5:1)

The well-known and respected Jewish historian Flavius Josephus also understood the passage in Genesis 6:1-4 to be referring to the diabolical acts of angels:

‘For many angels of God coupled with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they had in their own strength; for the tradition is, that these men did what resembled the acts of those whom the Grecians call giants.’[6]

That this interpretation of Genesis 6:1-4 was also widespread in the early church can be confirmed by examples from the writings of the Early Fathers:

Justin Martyr (c100 - c165 AD) stated that:

‘God committed the care of humans and everything under heaven to angels whom he appointed over them. But the angels disobeyed this appointment, and were captivated by the love of women. They produced children who are called demons, and not only that, they later subjugated the human race for themselves... Among humankind they sowed murders, wars, adulteries, awful actions, and all kinds of wickedness.’[7]

Athenagoras (133 – 190 AD) wrote the following:

‘Some, free agents [angels], you will observe, such as they were created by God, continued in those things for which God had made and over which He had ordained them; but some outraged both the constitution of their nature and the government entrusted to them… these fell into impure love of virgins, and were subjugated by the flesh, and he became negligent and wicked in the management of the things entrusted to him. Of these lovers of virgins, therefore, were begotten those who are called giants.’[8]

Furthermore, in the Clementine literature we can find the following:

‘But from their unhallowed intercourse spurious men sprang, much greater in stature than ordinary men, whom they afterwards called giants; not those dragon-footed giants who waged war against God, as those blasphemous myths of the Greeks do sing, but wild in manners, and greater than men in size, inasmuch as they were sprung of angels; yet less than angels, as they were born of women.’[9]

And Tertullian (155 – 220 AD) wrote the following:

‘When Almighty God, to beautify the nature of the world, willed that that earth should be visited by angels, when they were sent down they despised His laws. Such was the beauty of women, that it turned them aside; so that, being contaminated, they could not return to heaven. Rebels from God, they uttered words against Him. Then the Highest uttered His judgment against them; and from their seed giants are said to have been born.’[10]

So what the passage in Genesis 6:1-4 teaches is that, at some point in prediluvian history (perhaps during the lifetime of Jared, Noah’s great-great-grandfather)[11], a group of about two hundred watcher angels descended to earth (perhaps at Mount Hermon), evidently in human form, and proceeded to engage in sexual intercourse with women as much as it pleased them, thereby falling into sin (cf. Jude v.6).[12]^,[13] The outcome of such diabolical unions was the coming into being of a race of transgenic beings which v.4 calls nephilim. The Septuagint version of the Old Testament translates this Hebrew word nephilim as gigantes or ‘giants,’ hence the rendering in the English AV: ‘There were giants in the earth in those days.’[14]^,[15]

Satan’s underlying intention in this interaction

We would be wrong if we see only physical lust in the desire of these angels towards human women. Angels were not made in God’s image, and furthermore, because they are spirit beings, they cannot procreate with one another to reproduce their own kind. Satan has always been envious of humankind on these two basic points: they were made in God’s image, and they can procreate.

This diabolical plan of Satan, through deceiving these angels into this wrong desire, demonstrated an utter disregard for God’s primal law of marriage between a human male and a human female. The intercourse of angels with women producing hybrid nephilim giants was a diabolical abomination. Satan’s underlying intention in this was to corrupt and destroy God’s image in humankind by introducing irreversible changes into the human genome (cf. Gen. 1:26-27). Presumably, these giant hybrids would then themselves continue to procreate, either with one another or with human women, eventually corrupting and defiling the genomes of potentially the entire human race. Furthermore, because of their greater physical size and power, and their evil nature, these hybrid nephilim would rule over and destroy humankind (which presumably would then eventually die out). By corrupting the genetic purity of humankind in this way, Satan would destroy God’s image in the human genome, and therefore also destroy God’s purpose and plans for humankind.

The fruits of this interaction and the emergence of the nephilim

1. These angels engaged in diabolical intercourse with women, and the consequence was the emergence of a genetically mixed hybrid race of nephilim giants on earth.

2. These angels also taught prohibited and secret knowledge to humans (1 Enoch 7:1; 8:3-4; 9:6-7,9). This knowledge led to increased godlessness, fornication and corruption among people everywhere.

3. The evil nephilim giants, because of their physical stature and strength (and perhaps also their superior intelligence), ruled over humans and proceeded to consume all their sustenance (cf. Gen. 6:4). When humans could no longer sustain them, these giants then turned on people and devoured them, suggesting poverty, slavery and even cannibalism (1 Enoch 7:3-4). They are also described as eating each other and drinking each other’s blood which again is cannibalism (1 Enoch 7:5). The prediluvian period became increasingly characterised by widespread violence (Gen. 6:5,13).[16]

4. They also sinned against birds, beasts, reptiles and fish, suggesting the widespread production of transgenic hybrids (1 Enoch 7:5).[17]

‘And [the women] became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another’s flesh, and drink the blood.’ (1 Enoch 7:3-6)

‘And lawlessness increased on the earth and all flesh corrupted its way, alike men and cattle and beasts and birds and everything that walks on the earth – all of them corrupted their ways and their orders, and they began to devour each other, and lawlessness increased on the earth and every imagination of the thoughts of all men was thus evil continually. And God looked upon the earth and behold it was corrupt, and all flesh had corrupted its orders, and all that were upon the earth had wrought all manner of evil before His eyes.’ (Jubilees 5:2-3)

As it was in the days of Noah

‘Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.’ (Luke 17:26)

A superficial reading of Luke 17:26-27 would seem to indicate simply that people’s daily lives will be going on pretty much as normal when the Lord returns for his bride. They are said to be eating and drinking, building and planting, marrying and being given in marriage, etc. This would suggest very much ‘business as usual,’ with people simply getting on with their daily routines, while living in spiritual blindness towards the things of God whom they consider to have no relevance at all to their life. Just as it was in Noah’s day…

In the time of Noah, we know that the earth had become corrupt, wicked and filled with violence, and that the thoughts of people’s hearts were only evil all the time (Gen. 6:5-6,11-12). However, when we dig a little deeper, it would seem that there were other factors at work whose evil led to the judgement of the deluge in Noah’s time, and it was these factors that Jesus had in mind when he made his statement in Luke 17:26. As we saw above, the word of God and extra-biblical Jewish literature taken together suggest that two of the reasons why God brought the judgement of the Flood on humankind was the emergence of a genetically mixed hybrid race of nephilim giants (cf. Gen. 6:4), and also the transgenic crossbreeding of different animal species to produce chimera. The first of these would no doubt have facilitated the rise of the widespread evil that was prevalent upon the earth, and the second was a fruit of the first.

In our day, we are witnessing the emergence of new genetic tools which are making germ-line engineering, transgenics and synthetic biology into everyday scientific facts. Simple research on the internet will confirm this. Add into this the desire of the transhumanist movement to make people into cyborgs by linking their physical bodies and brains up to scientific paraphernalia and artificial intelligence; transgenic experimentation with animals and chimera which is going on in secret laboratories around the world (even with human-animal chimera!);[18] the call by some for directed evolution through the insertion of particular animal genes into the human genome to advance the physical capabilities of human beings;[19] the increasing use of RFID chip inserted into people’s physical bodies for a multitude of different purposes (including making ‘enhanced soldiers’ for military purposes); the use of CRISPR technology to edit individual genes in genome sequences to eliminate ‘undesirable’ or faulty genes, and the developing field of epigenetics,[20] and it seems that the world of science is now rushing headlong into a brave new world in which people will become ‘augmented humans,’ and in which in some scenarios they may no longer be truly and fully human. What was once merely the free imagination of science fiction writers is now becoming daily reality! Indeed, Elon Musk of Tesla went so far as to say in 2017 that humans must merge with machines (so becoming cyborgs), or risk becoming irrelevant in this age of artificial intelligence![21]^,[22] Some have suggested that the prospect of achieving self-learning artificial superintelligence capabilities means that the age of ‘normal’ humans will soon be surpassed.

This is the end-times parallel which the accounts of the days of Noah point to in our own day. Could it be that one of the reasons why God will pour out his wrath in judgement on this world in the tribulation period will be to deal with the evil of a sinful world in which we are ‘playing God’ with our own bodies, and altering humans so that they are no longer fully human?

God’s judgement in the Flood

‘The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth – men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air – for I am grieved that I have made them.”’ (Gen. 6:5-7)

It was never the will or desire of God for such transgenic nephilim giants to exist, nor for the rest of the utterly catastrophic consequences which followed on from the diabolical interaction of a group of watcher angels with human women. Not only was there constant, growing and widespread evil among humankind, but the human genome itself (and that of many animals and birds) was corrupted. And this was the culmination of prediluvian sin: the corruption and defilement of the image of God in the human genome.

It is therefore significant that, when God chose a man through whom he would preserve humankind, he chose Noah. The word of God describes him as being righteous and blameless in his generation:

‘Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.’ (Gen. 6:9)

The Hebrew word rendered as ‘blameless’ in this verse is tamiym which means ‘perfect,’ ‘sound,’ ‘healthy’ or ‘unimpaired.’ It is used many times in the book of Leviticus to describe God’s stipulation that a sacrificial lamb had to be without blemish or defect. This word therefore has very much a physical connotation. The reason why God chose Noah was because he had kept himself pure and separate from the rampant and destructive sins which characterised his generation, by not allowing himself to get involved in them. His genome, his own personal God-given DNA, was pure and undefiled. Obviously, he had inherited this genome from his forebears, so it is therefore evident that his father Lamech, his grandfather Methusaleh, and his great-grandfather Enoch (and their wives) had all kept themselves pure as well. Hence, Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord (Gen. 6:8). We need to understand well and note that once the human genome has been changed, mutated or defiled, then such changes and their effects on the person will keep on recurring down through subsequent generations. They are permanent.[23]

Many believers fail to recognise that it was the diabolical activity on earth of a group of watcher angels that was the root cause which eventually led to God’s judgement in the Flood. They believe that it was simply the wilful and unrepentant sin of humankind, and nothing more than this. However, an unbiased and objective reading of the whole passage in Genesis 6:1-7 indicates that it was the perverse sin of these angels that was the underlying cause of the spread of such rampant and pervasive evil among humankind. And the end of all this evil was the decisive and severe judgement of God. God was deeply grieved over what had become of his creation on earth, so much so that he resolved to do away with it and to begin over again with Noah and his family (and those animals and birds which survived with him in the ark).

The statement that ‘[humankind’s] days shall be a hundred and twenty years’ (Gen. 6:3) can be taken two ways: that the maximum human lifespan would from then onwards be around 120 years (thereby putting a limitation on human sin), or that the judgement of the Flood would happen 120 years after God spoke this word. Both of these interpretations are apposite to the context of Genesis ch.6.

The following points summarise the passage in Genesis 6:5-13 pertaining to God’s judgement:

a. The wickedness of humankind had become great (v.5).

b. Every inclination of the thoughts of people’s hearts was only evil all the time (v.6).

c. The earth was corrupt and filled with violence (vv.11,13).

d. All the people had corrupted their ways (v.12).

e. God was grieved that he had created humankind, and his heart was filled with pain (v.6).

f. Therefore, God pronounced judgement to wipe off the earth not only humankind, but also the animals, the creatures that move along the ground, and the birds of the air (v.7).

g. Only one man was left who was found to be blameless and righteous, Noah (v.9). This man was spared and saved, together with his family.

Consequently, the group of watcher angels that had been involved in intercourse with women, and whose activities had brought such widespread and calamitous consequences for the prediluvian world, were condemned to Tartarus, the deepest abyss of Hades, and to remain chained up there until the day of judgement, never to be released. This is confirmed by both the apostle Peter and Jude:

‘God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell [tartarus], putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgement; …he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others…’ (2 Peter 2:4-5)

‘And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home – these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgement on the great Day.’ (Jude v.6)[24]

In the Flood which followed, all humans, animals and birds were wiped out, except for those representative and chosen few from each species which were preserved to then multiply and re-populate the earth again after the Flood. The historical event of the Flood is well attested to in the ancient literature of the Middle East.

The re-appearance of nephilim giants after the Flood

As we read carefully the narrative history of the Old Testament, we can see that nephilim giants re-appeared on the earth after the Flood, certainly in the Middle East. This is implied by the words ‘and also afterward’ in Genesis 6:4 and, according to some commentators, by the description of Nimrod in Genesis 10:8-9.

Many commentators believe that this re-appearance of nephilim after the Flood was due to another event happening which was similar to the one recorded in Genesis 6:1-4, i.e. that another angel (or group of angels) committed intercourse with human women with similar consequences.[25]

For example, the phrase ‘In a similar way...’ in Jude v.7 seems to imply that the sins of the postdiluvian communities of Sodom and Gomorrah included the particular sin which is implied in v.6, vis. the diabolical intercourse of angels with human women (cf. Gen. 6:1-4). The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah are described in v.7 as ‘going after strange flesh’ (which literally means ‘going after another or different kind of flesh’). This phrase could certainly refer to angelic-human sexual relationships, and it might well therefore be referring to more than just homosexuality and bestiality (which did characterise these cities). The men of Sodom clearly wanted to engage in sexual activity with the angels who came to extract Lot and his family from that place (Gen. 19:4-7).

The belief that sexual intercourse between angels and human women was being practised in Sodom seems to have been the prevailing Jewish view in and around the time of Christ. This is clear from the extra-biblical Jewish literature of that time. For example, the Testament of Naphtali contains the exhortation ‘...that ye become not as Sodom, which changed the order of nature. In like manner the Watchers also changed the order of their nature, whom the Lord cursed at the flood...’ (3:4-5). The Testament of Asher says similarly: ‘Become not, my children, as Sodom, which sinned against the angels of the Lord, and perished for ever.’ (7:1). This would then explain why the judgement upon Sodom and Gomorrah was just as severe as that in the time of the Flood: they were wiped out because a same or similar abomination was taking place (Ezek. 16:49-50).

Later on, prior to the invasion of Canaan under Joshua, the very thing which terrified ten of the twelve Israelites who had been sent to spy out the promised land, and which made them recoil in fear from entering Canaan, was the fact that they had come across some nephilim giants there (Num. 13:33). In addition to the widespread idolatry and rampant sexual immorality amongst the Canaanite peoples, the presence of these living giants (and the consequent defiling of the human genome) was undoubtedly the primary reason why God’s judgement upon the Canaanite peoples was so severe. This judgement was essentially the same as that in the time of the Flood, and it was due to the same underlying cause: the nephilim, together with all their evil influence, had to be wiped out.

We can find numerous references in the Old Testament to different groups of giants which existed in and around Canaan during the postdiluvian period, as below:

a. By Moses’ time, Og king of Bashan was the only descendant left in his geographical area from the Rephaite race of giants (Num. 21:31-35; Deut. 3:11; Josh. 12:4, 13:12). Other giants in this area had either fled from the Israelites, had been killed or had died off, or had simply migrated elsewhere. Judging from the description of his bedstead, which was kept as a museum-piece in Rabbah for some time, and which was 13 feet long and six feet wide (nine cubits by four cubits), this giant must have been really tall!

b. The Anakite giants were numerous in Canaan before Joshua’s invasion. They were considered Rephaites (Deut. 2:11). Numbers 13:22,28 mentions the three sons of Anak (Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai) who lived in Hebron. Even the grapes were giant-sized in Canaan (Num. 13:23). These giants were descendants of the nephilim, and they made the Israelites seem like tiny grasshoppers in comparison (Num. 13:33). They were ‘strong and tall’ (Deut. 1:28, 9:2). Their leader had been Arba, the greatest among them. It was Caleb who eventually drove them out (Josh. 14:12,15; 15:14; Judg. 1:20). The Anakites were destroyed under Joshua, but, because the Israelites failed to possess all the promised land, remnants of the giants remained in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod which later became Philistine territory (Josh. 11:21-22). These giants were then evidently assimilated into the Philistines and had descendants who bore genomic traits inherited from them. Goliath of Gath and others inherited part of their genomes from this race of giants (2 Sam. 21:18-22). The valley of Rephaim, which is an ancient route from the coastal plain to the Judean hills and which is often mentioned in the Old Testament narrative, was probably named after this Rephaite race of giants.

c. Other ‘tall and strong’ giant peoples were the Emites and Zamzummites, which were both considered to be Rephaites (Deut. 2:10-11, 2:21).[26]

d. Goliath seems to have been over nine feet tall, and he made a fearsome enemy (1 Sam. 17:4). His brother Lahmi was killed by Elhanan (2 Sam. 21:19. 1 Chron. 20:5). Other Rephaite giants from Gath included Ishbi-Benob, Saph, Lahmi the brother of Goliath, Sippai, and another who had six fingers and six toes (2 Sam. 21:15-22, 1 Chron. 20:4).

The fact that this latter man had six fingers and six toes on both of his hands and feet, shows that the genome he had inherited from his parents had been corrupted in previous generations. This wasn’t simply a thyroid problem causing gigantism, it was a genome problem. His DNA was corrupted.

These giants were evidently the remnants of postdiluvian transgenic breeding, and this explains the reason for God’s stringent attitude towards wiping out the Canaanites, and also towards the Israelites not intermarrying with them. There was a gene-pool problem. Any intermarrying between the Israelites and the Canaanites would mean that corrupted DNA would be passed on down through future generations of Israelites.

Furthermore, the catalogue of sins listed in Leviticus chs.18 and 20 – mainly incestuous sexual liaisons, but also mentioning homosexuality (18:22), child sacrifice (18:21, 20:1-5) and spiritism (19:31; 20:6,27) – were widespread among both the Egyptians and Canaanites (18:3). These were prohibited by the Lord for his own people (20:7-8). Such sins led to the defiling of these populations and their land (18:24-25,27), and the word of God says that the land ‘vomited them out’ (18:28, 20:22). It was precisely because of these sins that God drove the Canaanite peoples from their land (20:23).

We also find mention of bestiality and its prohibition by God (18:23). In connection with the above, this would support the belief that the practice of transgenic interbreeding (which was learned in prediluvian times) re-appeared afterwards in postdiluvian times. It seems that God’s intention was not just to prohibit what are unnatural sexual relationships and the potential production of human-animal transgenic hybrids, but also to prevent the irreversible genetic confusion resulting from such interbreeding, and thereby preserve the purity of uncorrupted human and animal DNA.[27]

The origin of demonic spirits

The word God, and especially the gospel narratives and the book of Acts, makes it abundantly clear that the existence of demons (or evil spirits, or unclean spirits) is a fact, and that these spirits cause a great deal of damage in and through the life of people who are unfortunate enough to have become entangled with them in whatever way. Certainly, they are real enough! However, because Jesus is the Son of God, and because of his total victory over the dominion of Satan in the cross-resurrection event, demons both hate him and are deeply afraid of him. Jesus gave his apostles power and authority to cast out evil spirits, and so both Jesus and they were involved in the ministry of exorcism/deliverance. This ministry has been vested in the ministry of the Christian Church, and so one essential and ongoing part of ministry even today is to cast these spirits out and to free believers from their influence. Our weapons in this spiritual warfare are not carnal but spiritual, and they are mighty through God to be able to pull down evil spiritual strongholds (2 Cor. 10:3-4).

Commentators differ in their understanding of the origin of demons. The word of God itself is silent on this issue, but it certainly does affirm their existence and evil nature. Many people believe that demons are simply fallen angels, i.e. they identify these as being the same entities. However, a considerable number of people differentiate between fallen angels and demons. They believe that demons originated as the spirits of the nephilim giants. Because these giants were the offspring of women and angels, their spirits did not have their origin in the creation of God. Therefore, when the nephilim died, God decreed that their disembodied spirits should be left to roam upon the earth, i.e. in the place where they came into existence. They will remain on earth until the day of the final judgement.[28]^,[29] The first book of Enoch affirms this belief, as does Tertullian, the well-known early Church Father. Furthermore, Tertullian also affirms the understanding that it is demons, the spirits of the nephilim, which are behind and empower the worship of idols. This was also the view of Justin Martyr.

‘And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling. Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are born from men and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin; they shall be evil spirits on earth, and evil spirits shall they be called... And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble... And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them.’ (1 Enoch 15:8-12)

‘From the days of the slaughter and destruction and death of the giants, from the souls of whose flesh the spirits, having gone forth, shall destroy without incurring judgement – thus shall they destroy until the day of the consummation, the great judgement in which the age shall be consummated...’ (1 Enoch 16:1-2)

‘...and their spirits assuming many different forms are defiling mankind and shall lead them astray into sacrificing to demons as gods...’ (1 Enoch 19:1)

‘…and those who worship impure spirits and demons, and all kinds of idols…’ (1 Enoch 99:7)

‘Then the Highest uttered His judgement against them; and from their seed giants are said to have been born… and to them, when they died, men erected images. But the Almighty, because they were of an evil seed, did not approve that, when dead, they should be brought back from death. Whence wandering they now subvert many bodies, and it is such as these especially that ye this day worship and pray to as gods.’[30]

‘Since of old these evil demons, effecting apparitions of themselves, both defiled women and corrupted boys, and showed such fearful sights to men, that those who did not use their reason in judging of the actions that were done, were struck with terror; and being carried away by fear, and not knowing that these were demons, they called them gods, and gave to each the name which each of the demons chose for himself.’[31]

Demonic spirits are utterly evil and corrupt, and they seek to deceive, corrupt, defile, oppress, control, enslave, afflict, possess and destroy humans. They are the source behind much false teaching (1 Tim. 4:1). To destroy a person is their greatest perverted delight, because humans were made in the image of God whom they hate. Unlike fallen angels, demons are disembodied spirits (having once lived in the bodies of nephilim giants), so they crave to live again within a body (i.e. a human body), to possess this person as much as possible, and then to freely express their evil nature through that person and his/her body.[32] The nature of that particular evil spirit will then characterise the person whom they have possessed, and they will seek to afflict, torment and destroy other people through the possessed person. When they have been cast out, they seek to return to their victim or they move on to afflict yet others (Luke 11:24-26). In particular, they have a perverted fascination with the subject of sex since this, and the related one of human reproduction, is something they cannot experience in their disembodied state. This, of course, harks back to their origin as the offspring of the union between watcher angels and women.

The nations of this world live under the dominion of evil spiritual powers

Ever since the fall of humankind into sin, in which the first couple ceded authority over their lives to Satan the deceiver through their rebellion against God, this world has been under the dominion of Satan. This present evil world is given over to the dominion of darkness: Satan is ‘the god of this age,’ ‘the prince of this world,’ and ‘the ruler of the kingdom of the air’ (2 Cor. 4:4, John 12:31, Eph. 2:2).

The Old Testament describes the peoples of the nations as dwelling in thick spiritual darkness (Isa. 60:2), and there are many references to the various forms of idolatry to which they were in bondage. Fast forward to the book of Ephesians and we can see the apostle Paul reminding us as Spirit-filled new covenant believers that we are engaged in spiritual warfare against these self-same evil powers of darkness, in order to see people freed through the gospel of Christ from their spiritual blindness, bondage and enslavement to sin:

Furthermore, the rule of Satan’s dominion in this world has an organised nature, and it works through his fallen angels and demonic entities, reflecting God’s own organised rule in creation. Paul refers to this hierarchy and organisation in the following way:

‘For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities...’ (Col. 1:16)

The fact that a mighty heavenly angel fought against an evil angelic power which he called the ‘prince of Persia,’ and which evidently ruled over the whole of the Persian Empire, and that similarly he referred to the coming evil spiritual ‘prince of Greece,’ suggests that these fallen angelic powers exercise their authority and power over given geographical areas, i.e. they are territorial.

Put another way, Satan’s dominion in this world is administered through many varied, hierarchical dominating spiritual powers which rule over and govern different territories. So each country, nation, bloc or empire has its own specific hierarchy of evil angelic powers which rule over it spiritually.

This territorial nature of dominating spirits which rule over and control a people group in a specific area, could well be suggested also by the domination of the false god Molech over the Moabites and the god Chemosh over the Ammonites. The apostle Paul affirms the fact that behind every idol is a demonic power which works to bring people into the bondage of idolatry towards this idol and thereby into bondage towards the demonic power itself (Ps. 106:36-38, 1 Cor. 10:20). Their aim is to steal, kill and destroy in people’s lives (John 10:10). The specific evil spiritual powers behind the two false gods Molech and Chemosh had successfully bound and enslaved these two respective people groups into corporate idolatry towards these false gods. It is especially clear from the case of Molech that such evil spiritual powers demand blood sacrifice and seek to be worshipped in place of God himself, through idols (cf. Lev. 20:1-5).

Many believers also see evidence for this territorial nature of evil spiritual powers in the case of the Gadarene demoniac. The legion of spirits which possessed and controlled this poor man evidently caused the inhabitants of the surrounding area to live in fear and terror of him. He dominated their lives. But when Jesus challenged these possessing spirits, they wanted not only not to be cast out of the man, but also to be allowed to stay in that local area if they were to leave him. Hence their request to be allowed to go into the herd of swine. The authority of the kingdom ministry of God through Jesus emancipated the man completely (Mark 5:1-20).

Furthermore, behind the scenes, these ruling evil spiritual powers control the human socio-political structures of any given territory. They work through these structures and their leaders to keep people under their influence and control in spiritual darkness, sin and bondage. These structures and their human leaders reflect the evil nature of the particular ruling spiritual powers that control them.

The prophetic words which were given to the human ruler and the spiritual king of Tyre through the prophet Ezekiel provide a case in point (Ezek. 28:1-19). In this passage we can see how the reality of human life consists in the inseparable interweaving of the physical human world and the spiritual realm. The evil angelic power which controlled Tyre was none other than Lucifer himself, and we can also see how Lucifer’s wilful pride and self-idolatry were reflected in the mindset and heart attitude of the human ruler (vv.2,6,8,9,17; cf. Isa. 14:12-14).

The ultimate end of this interaction with angels

So the whole history of this interaction of angels with humankind is one of deception, disobedience and rebellion against God; of sin, separation from God, and death; of the domination and control of human life by Satan and evil spiritual powers; of diabolical intercourse and the spreading of prohibited and occult knowledge; of the defiant removal of moral boundaries and restraint; of the genomic corruption of the human race, animals and birds, and the defiling of the image of God in the human genome; of the oppression and possession of human beings by demonic entities; of widespread and unrepentant violence; of the pervading presence of evil in human life, and the possession of people’s minds and hearts by evil. In prediluvian times, and in the cases of Sodom and Gomorrah and also the Canaanite nations, the ultimate end of this interaction and the calamitous direction in which it wilfully and inexorably took humankind, was the decisive and severe judgement of God. The same will also be true of the end-times tribulation period prior to the Second Advent of Christ.

God’s covenants release holy angelic interaction with believers

The nature of the interaction of holy angels with believers, in the context of God’s covenants with his people, is a complete contrast with what we saw above. This interaction is recorded in Scripture as beginning in the postdiluvian period, specifically in the time of the patriarchs. The significance of this is found in that, after calling Abram into a life of faith and consecrated obedience, God then had a man and a family, and later on a community of people and a nation of his own in this world, with whom he had chosen to live in mutually committed covenant relationship. And later on, of course, following the conquest of the promised land under Joshua, God also had a land which was covenanted by him to his people, and therefore in this sense consecrated for his use. The guardian angelic power over this land and people is commonly held to be the very powerful prince Michael (cf. Dan. 12:1).

So, from the time of the patriarchs onwards, the Scriptures record many examples of holy angelic interaction with God’s people. Under God’s command, the holy angels had (and have) unhindered access to his people. Throughout the Old Testament narrative, there are many records of God’s people experiencing angelic interaction with them. Central to this, and underlying it, is the concept of God’s people living in consecrated and committed covenant relationship with him. While the nations of this world languished under never-ending bondage and enslavement to evil spiritual powers and thick spiritual darkness, God’s holy angels had freedom under his command to minister to his covenant people, in his land.

In this regard, and by contrast, it is interesting and noteworthy that when a mighty angel was sent to bring a message to the prophet Daniel in Persia, he did not have free access to simply go straight to Daniel. He was hindered and obstructed by the evil spiritual prince who ruled over Persia, and even though he endeavoured for twenty-one days to enter this territory to bring God’s message to Daniel, he could not break through. He only prevailed in getting through to Daniel when prince Michael came to help him to fight and overcome the spiritual powers that were opposing him (Dan. 10:13,20-21).

Examples from the Old Testament

After she fled from Sarai’s mistreatment, Hagar had an encounter with ‘the angel of the Lord’[33] in the wilderness. In this encounter, she received instruction and a prophetic message regarding her son Ishmael who was to be born. Furthermore, in a later encounter, when she was desperate and on the point of dying of thirst in the wilderness after being sent away by Abraham, she received assurance and the provision of a source of drinking water from the angel of God (Gen. 16:1-15, 21:8-21).

Abraham had an unexpected encounter with what appears to have been the Lord himself together with two angels. In this encounter, he received assurance that his wife Sarah would soon conceive and give birth to Isaac. Abraham then accompanied this group of three beings towards Sodom and interceded before the Lord for righteous people in that town, where his nephew Lot was living with his family. God’s intention was to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their diabolical and rampant sin. After the Lord left them, the two angels continued on their way towards Sodom. After arriving, they urged Lot to leave together with his family, because its destruction was imminent. These angels struck blind all the homosexual men of Sodom when they attempted by force to take the angels from Lot’s home in order to abuse them (Gen. 18:1 – 19:22).

Abraham had another encounter with the angel of the Lord on mount Moriah when he was about to sacrifice his son Isaac. He received the revelation of Yahweh Jireh, the Lord our Provider, and a prophetic message that the Lord would multiply his offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore (Gen. 22:9-19).

Towards the end of his life, Abraham assured his servant that God would send his angel before him as he went to Mesopotamia to search for a wife for Isaac. The servant evidently held onto this word of assurance, and Rebekah proved to be God’s choice for Isaac (Gen. 24:7,40).

Although Isaac himself does not seem to have experienced any encounters with holy angels, yet his own son Jacob had several. Jacob’s dream of seeing a ladder reaching up to heaven and the angels of God ascending and descending upon it, together with receiving God’s covenant promises for himself, was both remarkable and significant. This dream demonstrated the truth that, when God came into covenant with his ancient people and gave them his promise that they would have a land of their own, then his holy angels would be free to minister to these people in this land as and when God sent them. God opened a gate (‘the gate of heaven,’ Jacob called it, so a portal, if you will) for the activity of his holy angels over this covenanted land.[34] Under his command, they would be free to come and go as they ministered to his people. This proved to be the experience that really changed Jacob’s heart and life (Gen. 28:10-22).

Many years later, God gave Jacob wisdom and insight into how to prosper in his sheep-breeding business, and as a result much of Laban’s prosperity eventually passed to him. He had a dream in which the angel of God confirmed that this prosperity and material blessing had come to him from the Lord (Gen. 30:25-43, 31:11-13). When he was returning towards Canaan, Jacob was met by a group of angels at Mahanaim, and he then had his well-known night-time encounter, wrestling with a man who seems to have been the angel of the Lord. This person put Jacob’s hip socket out of joint, and he also changed his name from Jacob to Israel (Gen. 32:1-2,22-32; Hosea 12:4).

After Moses had left Egypt and eventually settled down in Midian, he had an unexpected encounter with the angel of the Lord on Sinai/Horeb, the mountain of God. The Lord appeared to him from within a burning bush which was not consumed by the flames, and he commissioned Moses to return to Egypt as the deliverer of his people (Ex. 3:2f).

Later on, an angel guided the Hebrew people after they left Egypt, by going before them. As Pharaoh’s army approached them, this angel moved from its position and went behind the Hebrews to protect them. The angel moved synchronously with God’s presence in the pillar of cloud and fire (Ex. 13:21-22, 14:19-20).

After he had given them the law covenant, God promised the Israelites that his angel would go before them as a community, to guide and protect them, and to bring them to the promised land. They were warned to pay attention to him and to obey his voice. If they submitted to this instruction, then they would find that God would fight on their behalf and be an enemy to their enemies (Ex. 23:20-23, 32:34, 33:2).

Towards the end of the Israelites’ journeyings in the desert, God sent the angel of the Lord to warn the sorcerer and false prophet Balaam to speak only words of blessing over the Israelite community. It is interesting that whereas Balaam’s donkey could see the angel, Balaam himself could not see him until God opened his eyes (Num. 22:22-35).

The angel of the Lord makes numerous appearances in the book of Judges. He brought a message of warning to the Israelites; encouragement and prophetic instruction to Gideon, and a prophetic message concerning the conception and birth of Samson to his parents (Judg. 2:1-4, 6:11-24, ch.13).

Because of his pride in taking a census of men in Israel of military age, king David brought judgement upon himself and the nation. God sent three days of judgement by the sword of the Lord, by pestilence on the land, and with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout the land. Both David and Araunah/Ornan the Jebusite also saw this angel standing by the threshing floor (2 Sam. ch.24, 1 Chr. ch.21).

An angel prepared two meals for the prophet Elijah and encouraged him at a time when he was exhausted and discouraged in his ministry, and, on another occasion, he was given a prophetic instruction and physically protected from evil men by the angel of the Lord (1 Ki. 19:4-8; 2 Ki. 1:3-4,15).

Elijah’s servant and successor in the prophetic ministry, Elisha, had the privilege of seeing a host of heavenly chariots and horses of fire (which were no doubt being driven by angels), when these came to rapture Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind (2 Ki. 2:9-12, cf. Ps. 68:17). This experience of seeing such heavenly angelic forces seems to have been unique to Elisha among the prophets, and it was another such host of angelic forces with their chariots of fire that later protected and guarded him in Dothan. Being aware of this heavenly host around him, Elisha was fearless and filled with faith, and he was protected from the Syrian forces whose military power was rendered ineffective on that occasion. His servant Gehazi was also given a glimpse of these angelic forces (2 Ki. 6:15-17).

In the year that king Uzziah died, Isaiah was taken up into the heavenlies where he was commissioned into his prophetic ministry. He saw cherubim/seraphim surrounding the throne of God. As he experienced this, he was convicted of his sinfulness. So one of the seraphim took a burning coal from the altar and touched his mouth with it, taking his guilt away and atoning for his sin (Isa. ch.6).

In answer to Hezekiah’s and Isaiah’s prayers, an angel went out during the night and destroyed the overwhelming forces of Sennacherib outside the gates of Jerusalem (2 Ki. 19:35, 2 Chr. 32:20-21, Isa. 37:33-37).

Angels are seen to play very much an active role in the book of the prophet Daniel. Many commentators would see the ‘fourth man’ as the Lord himself appearing in the fiery furnace with Daniel’s three friends, whereas king Nebuchadnezzar described him simply as an angel (Dan. 3:24-28). King Nebuchadnezzar himself had a dream in which an angel appeared to him to convey a message of judgement. This is the only place in the word of God where angels are referred to as ‘watchers’ (Dan. 4:13,17,23).[35] It was an angel that protected Daniel during the night in the lions’ den (6:22). The angel Gabriel was sent to him to explain the meaning of the vision of the ram and goat (ch.8), and Gabriel also gave Daniel a prophetic message about the seventy weeks (9:20-27). Towards the end of his life, another mighty angel appeared to Daniel in a vision and gave him a prophetic message about the kings of the south and the north, and the end-times. Two other angels also facilitated in this vision (chs.10-12). It is significant that the angel who appeared to Daniel said that he had been unable to break through the evil spiritual powers which ruled over Persia in order to come to Daniel, until the archangel Michael came to help him after Daniel had fasted for twenty-one days (10:2-14). Although Daniel was an esteemed servant of God, yet Persia itself was not the land of God’s covenant. Persia was ruled over by evil spiritual powers which resisted the activity of God’s holy angels over that land.

The prophet Ezekiel was privileged to have had an overwhelming vision in which he saw the awesome activity of the cherubim, the ‘four living creatures’ (Ezek. 1:4-28, ch.10, 11:22-23; cf. Rev. 4:6-8). Interspersed with this vision, he was also aware of angelic activity (9:3-11).

The post-exilic book of the prophet Zechariah has some similarities with the book of Daniel in the sense that there was also angelic activity in several of his prophetic visions. The angel(s) conversed with him and explained to him the meaning of much of what he saw. In several of these visions, we can also see the presence and activity of the angel of the Lord (Zech. 1:9,11-14,19; 2:3; 3:1,3,5-6; 4:1,4-5; 5:5,10; 6:4-5).

Angels and the intertestamental period

There was a rise in interest in the subject of angels during the intertestamental period and into the first century AD, and this is reflected in the significant part which angels play in much of the Jewish apocalyptic literature of this period.[36] Some people even seem to have developed this interest to the point of worshipping angels, and this explains why the writer to the Hebrews takes pains to emphasise that Christ the ascended Son of God is far superior to them (Heb. 1:4-14, Col. 2:18, cf. Rev. 22:8-9). Angels are commanded to worship him! (Heb. 1:6).

Angelic activity around the time of Christ’s birth

There was marked angelic activity around the time of Christ’s birth, understandably so since this was a deeply significant and crucial time in human redemption.

The conception and birth of John the Baptist and Jesus were announced to John’s father Zechariah and Jesus’ mother by the angel Gabriel. In both cases the angel appeared standing before them, and his messages both had a strongly prophetic character. Zechariah was struck dumb by the angel because of his unbelief, and this condition lasted until the day of John’s circumcision (Luke 1:11-20,26-38,64). Similarly, the birth of Jesus was announced by an angel to a group of shepherds in a field by night, and this was immediately followed by the appearance of a great and mighty company of angels, all praising and worshipping God. The appearance of these angels was resplendent, glistening and shining with light and the shimmering aura of God’s glory around them (Luke 2:8-15). We can see from these examples just how common it is for people to have an immediate involuntary reaction of fear or even terror when they see an angel suddenly appear before them.

Furthermore, in the case of Joseph, we can see another way in which angelic manifestations take place, and this was by an angel appearing to him in dreams to give him God’s message. Joseph experienced this several times, and the messages he was given concerned affirmation, warning and guidance (Matt. 1:20-21,24; 2:13,19-20).

Angels and the ministry of Jesus

There were at least two occasions when holy angels interacted with Jesus during the time of his ministry. Firstly, a group of angels came to Jesus in the wilderness and strengthened him after the 40-day period of testing by the fallen cherub Lucifer/Satan was over, and, on another later occasion while he was praying in Gethsemane, an angel appeared to him, again to strengthen him. Jesus made a significant statement when he said to Peter that he could pray to his Father and he would readily send him more than twelve legions of angels, if he so needed. That would be anything up to 60,000 or so! There is also the record of the presence and activity of angels at the time of his resurrection (Matt. 4:11, 26:53, 28:2-7; Luke 22:43, 24:4-7,23; John 20:12).

In the gospel narratives, we are given further information about angels. For example, the angels in heaven rejoice when a sinner repents. Also, Jesus seemed to imply that believers, and in particular children, have a guardian angel, i.e. an angel which is assigned to watch over them and protect them from evil (Matt. 18:10, Luke 15:10).

Furthermore, we are also told of the fascinating phenomenon at the pool of Bethesda, in which an angel would occasionally come to the pool and stir the waters. The first person to get into the pool after the waters were stirred, would then be healed of their affliction. That this was not simply a folk religious belief which had deceived those who were suffering, but was the real activity of a healing angel, is shown by the fact that the poor man who could not get in quickly enough (and who was healed by Jesus) had been there by the pool for a long time and had seen many other people get healed. If all this had simply been folk religious deception, then this man surely would never have stayed there for so many years in the hope of getting healed (John 5:2-7).

Angelic activity in the book of Acts

There is repeated evidence of angelic activity in the book of Acts, with these heavenly servants of God being sent to minister to believers on several occasions.

Firstly, when the apostles were arrested by the Sadducees and put in jail, an angel came during the night and opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. He told them to go back to the temple courts and to carry on preaching, which they did. Next day, the jail was found securely locked and yet the apostles were missing, and the guards knew nothing about what had happened during the night (Acts 5:17-24).

After being used powerfully in revival scenes in Samaria, Philip was told by an angel to go south and meet the Ethiopian eunuch on the desert road. Everything about this meeting was wonderfully choreographed by the Holy Spirit. After leading this man to Christ and baptising him in water, Philip had the remarkable experience of being physically translated by the Holy Spirit from the place where he was to Azotus, and he then continued on preaching in all the towns between there and Caesarea Philippi. He seems to have settled down in this city and got married. He and his wife had four daughters who each exercised the prophetic gift (Acts 8:4-7,26-40; 21:8-9).

The Roman centurion Cornelius experienced an angelic visitation in a vision, probably during one of his regular times of prayer. He received instructions from the angel to send for Peter, who would then bring him the gospel message (Acts 10:3,7,22; 11:13).

When the evil tyrant king Herod persecuted the church, by killing James and imprisoning Peter (intending to execute him as well), the believers in Jerusalem gave themselves desperately to prayer for God’s deliverance. Both James and Peter were key apostolic leaders in the early church. In answer to these prayers, Peter was released from his chains in prison by an angel who then physically opened the locked prison gate without using a key. This angel led Peter to a place from where he could then get safely to John Mark’s house by himself. And all this happened without any of the guards knowing or having seen anything. Even Peter didn’t believe what was happening to him until he was physically out of the prison. He thought he was seeing a vision! These events reached their conclusion on an appointed day when Herod did not give glory to God as the crowds worshipped him when he was speaking. So God removed this self-idolising and unrepentant enemy of his church. Herod was struck down by an angel, and he was eaten by worms and died (Acts ch.12).

During a dangerous and long-lasting storm in the Mediterranean, when it seemed that hope was all but gone, an angel appeared to the apostle Paul during the night to encourage and assure him that neither he nor anyone else on the ship would be lost. He affirmed to Paul that he was indeed going to stand before Caesar and would therefore be saved from the storm. This word renewed Paul’s faith, and the next day he was able to bring encouragement to the other men on the ship (Acts 27:21-26).[37]

Angels in the book of Revelation

The culmination of the biblical revelation about angels is, of course, in the book of Revelation. There are thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand of these holy beings in heaven. They all worship God the Father and Jesus the Lamb, and they serve him day and night in unceasing and loving obedience. Unlike Satan and demons, which desire and demand to be worshipped, the holy angels of God refuse to be worshipped, recognising rather that God alone is to be worshipped (Rev. 5:11-12, 22:8-9).

These heavenly angels are all different, and they have different assigned functions. For example, one particular angel is seen as being responsible for the fire on the altar (Rev. 8:3-5); other angels act as a guide for the apostle John (Rev. ch.17, 21:9f); another flies through the heavens proclaiming the eternal gospel, while another very mighty one stands upon the earth and gives a loud shout initiating the voices of the seven thunders (Rev. ch.10, 14:6-7); one group of seven angels blow the seven trumpets (Rev. 8:2,6f), while another group of seven pour out the seven vials (Rev. 15:1, ch.16); the archangel prince Michael is presented very much as a warrior angel (Rev. 12:7-9), and so on.

All this underlines the fact that, although these holy angels are all different, yet the thing which they have in common is that they act as God’s servants in loving submission and obedience to his commands. It was this that was always God’s intention when he created angels, in contrast to what we saw in the first part above in regard to angels that fell into sin.

Furthermore, when the Lord Jesus comes for his bride in the resurrection-rapture event, he will be accompanied by at least one of his archangels (1 Thess. 4:16). Later on, when he returns to earth at his Second Advent, he will be accompanied by a mighty host from heaven (Matt. 24:31, 25:31). It is prince Michael who will protect the believing Jewish remnant during the Great Tribulation, and many believe that it is he who will also bind Satan and throw him into the Abyss for the duration of the millennium (Dan. 12:1, Rev. 20:1-3). And finally, many holy angels will be assigned to separate the wheat and tares among humankind at the time of the final judgement (Matt. 13:39-49).

Spiritual battle and warfare in the heavenlies

Passages such as 2 Kings 6:17, Daniel ch.10, Ephesians 6:12 and Revelation 12:7-9 lift the veil on the often hidden but very real spiritual realm. I have referred to each of these passages in previous sections above. They give us glimpses of insight into the spiritual battle which goes on between the angels of the kingdom of heaven and the evil forces of the dominion of Satan.

This unseen spiritual battle constantly accompanies the ongoing outworking of the purpose of God in this present age to reach people with the gospel and to build the church of Jesus Christ. It is a battle into which we as believers are drawn as we stand, pray and persevere in our ministry and work for God, to see progress and breakthrough come. Very often, the state of things in the church and in God’s work in the visible, physical realm reflects the ebb and flow of this battle in the spiritual realm.

Indeed, the vignette of Moses’ arms being held up by Aaron and Hur on the mountain, while Joshua and the Israelites were fighting the Amalekites in the valley below, is instructive in this regard. The ebb and flow in the physical battle mirrored the ability of Moses to keep his arms raised up in victory. Victory in the physical battle actually depended more upon Moses succeeding up on the mountain, than upon the military skills of Joshua and the Israelites down in the valley.

This is why the apostle Paul stressed that the weapons of our warfare as believers are not carnal, but spiritual. Achieving success and breakthrough in spiritual battles is critically dependent on our willingness to grow spiritually and to learn how to wield our spiritual weapons. These are mighty through God and can bring down strongholds. The angel would not have broken through to Daniel in Persia with prince Michael’s help after twenty-one days, if Daniel himself had not persevered in prayer and fasting throughout these twenty-one days (Dan. ch.10). Similarly, Jesus told his disciples that they would not be able to cast a particular kind of demonic spirit out, if they did not learn to practise prayer and fasting in ministry (Mark 9:14-29 AV). Gaining spiritual victory and breakthrough in situations on earth depends not only on the angelic forces of God fighting against and overcoming Satan’s dominion in the unseen realm, but also on believers successfully wielding their spiritual weapons as needed in God’s work. The physical and spiritual realms are two different facets of one complete reality: they are intertwined, inseparable and interdependent. Events in the one realm impinge on and affect events in the other. Jesus affirmed this when he said that whatever we bind on earth will be, having been bound in heaven (Matt. 16:19).

Angelic interaction and intervention is normal in the church

The book of Acts is normative for the life of the Christian church, and so the occasional experience of angelic interaction or intervention is therefore normal for believers. We can expect it to happen, and that we will from time to time come across testimonies from believers who have experienced angelic interaction or intervention in their lives.

The record of Acts shows us that the interactions of God’s holy angels with his people are always pure, and they are done only in obedience to God. God’s angels do not seek to possess, influence or defile believers, as demonic spirits do. It is the Holy Spirit who indwells and seals believers, and who possesses them.

As beings created in the image of God, and particularly through their redemption in Christ, believers are in a vastly higher position in God’s economy than angels (cf. Eph. 1:18-23, 2:6). The apostle Paul says that we will judge angels (1 Cor. 6:3). Because we bear the image of God and of the living Christ, and because we are the inheritors of God’s salvation, angels are sent to serve us. Jesus, our risen and ascended Lord has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18, Eph. 1:18-23), and because the Holy Spirit indwells redeemed believers everywhere, angels now have access to minister to God’s people throughout the Gentile nations in the whole world. Therefore, under the command of God, angels can minister to, help, strengthen, deliver and assist us. However, they may or may not reveal themselves visibly, so we may remain unaware of their presence and activity:

‘Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?’ (Heb. 1:14)

‘Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.’ (Heb. 13:2)

Therefore, following the general tenor of Scripture, the most common functions which holy angels perform on behalf of believers are the following: to bring a message or instruction, to strengthen and give assurance, to deliver and protect in difficult circumstances and to bring breakthrough, or to guide and assist them. This is God’s intention for angels as far as believers are concerned. Obviously, as the above sections outline, there are other functions that they can perform, but these are rarer.

Perhaps you are not used to this concept of angelic interaction in our life, simply because you have never heard of it or been taught about it. However, in the light of the above sections, we should be open towards angelic interaction in our life, and we should take a positive stance of faith towards their activity. We should pray for their protection over our life, over our children and over our home. We should pray regularly that God will send angels to guard our church building and our meetings as we worship together. We should pray for God to send angels into our home and into our bedroom at night to watch over us while we sleep and to ward off any demonic attacks. We should pray for angelic deliverance when we are in difficult or dangerous circumstances, and for their protection when we travel, and so on.

Psalm 91 is a psalm of protection, and it is full of promises that believers can pray through daily. As we abide in Christ and walk closely with him in our daily life, we are covered and protected by him (v.4). Neither the terror of night nor the arrow that flies by day will hold any fear for us, and neither will plague or pestilence (vv.5,6). We can experience the special protection of God as believers so that nothing will touch us or harm us, and no disaster will come near us (vv.7,10). This is because God can give us specific angelic protection in our life (vv.11-12,14). Through this, God has promised his children a level of protection against evil and the destructiveness of demonic activity which non-believers do not experience (vv.7,9-10). Angels are sent by God to protect us, to keep us from harm, to encamp around us, and to deliver us. When angels are with us, around us and protecting us, the evil of demonic forces cannot touch us!

‘If you make the Most High your dwelling – even the LORD, who is my refuge – then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.’ (Ps. 91:9-13)

‘The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.’ (Ps. 34:7)

Copyright Statement

Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.

Bibliography

Charles, R.H. Pseudepigrapha, The Apocryphile Press: Berkeley, 2004.

Marzulli, L.A. On the Trail of the Nephilim, Spiral of Life Publishing: USA, e-version, 2014.

[1] The pseudepigraphic book of Jubilees states that angels were created on the first of the seven days of creation (Jubilees 2:2; and cf. 2 Enoch 29:4-5, 2 Bar. 21:6), although some believe it was on the fifth day.

[2] Some commentators believe that Lucifer fell into sin after the creation of Adam. However, 2 Enoch 29:4-5 says that Lucifer/Satan was thrown out of heaven between the second and third days of creation.

[3] In Hebrew, b’nai ha elohim.

[4] Some conservative commentators prefer to believe that the phrase ‘sons of God’ in Genesis 6:2 refers simply to those descendants of Seth who chose to intermarry with descendants of Cain. However, there is no reasonable justification for this, and it also does not explain why the judgement of the Flood came also upon animals. Others prefer to believe that these ‘sons of God’ were simply human kings who were attempting to enhance their power, status and social reputation, and thereby to be considered as ‘sons of the gods,’ by forcefully taking many women for themselves and creating polygamous harems. However, this viewpoint gives no explanation for the existence of nephilim giants and, again, fails to address why animals were wiped out in the Flood. Interestingly, although the Septuagint uses the phrase uioi tou qeou in its rendering of Genesis 6:2, yet the writings of the Early Fathers suggest that it was originally aggeloi tou qeou (meaning ‘angels of God’). See the relevant footnote on 1 Enoch 6:2 in Charles (2004:191). The phrase ‘sons of God’ is used to describe angelic beings in Job 1:6, 2:1 and Psalm 29:1, 89:6, and in these two verses in the book of Job the Septuagint renders this phrase as ‘angels of God.’

[5] The apocryphal and pseudepigraphic books are non-canonical, and therefore they are not recognised as definitive sources of theological doctrine. However, the apocryphal books are recognised as being useful for the purpose of spiritual edification both by Jews and by the RC and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Interestingly, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church includes both the pseudepigraphic First Book of Enoch and the Book of Jubilees in its canonical literature. Many Western evangelical believers today remain unfamiliar with the apocryphal and pseudepigraphic literature, and therefore they miss out on the rich edification that these sources can bring.

[6] Josephus, F. The Antiquities of the Jews, Book I, Chapter 3.

[7] Justin Martyr, Apology ii:5. See https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0127.htm accessed 06.09.2022.

[8] See http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf02.v.ii.xxiv.html, accessed 29.06.2022.

[9] See http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf08.vi.iv.xi.xv.html, accessed 29.06.2022.

[10] See http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf04.v.ii.iv.html, accessed 29.06.2022.

[11] From the emergence of the nephilim in the time of Jared, five generations passed until they were eventually destroyed in the Flood in Noah’s time. So they certainly had enough time to multiply and migrate widely throughout the world, hence God’s lament that the earth had become filled with violence (Gen. 6:5-13).

[12] So this group of angels who descended to earth were holy angels, and they are called ‘watchers’ in 1 Enoch. They fell into sin by engaging in diabolical intercourse with human women, and they therefore became fallen angels at this point. However, not all of the watcher angels fell into sin, only this group.

[13] Therefore, it would seem that, although one third of the angels had followed Satan in his rebellion against God and had therefore become fallen angels at that time, yet the later events of Genesis 6:1-4 refer to the fall of another group of holy angels in a separate event.

[14] L.A. Marzulli (2014) documents many cases of the unearthing of giant skeletons (some of them mummified) and their artefacts whether through organised archaeological digs or unintentionally through simple excavation work. His research shows that these findings were often then reported in local newspapers. Many of these giant skeletons have been found in what seem to be ancient burial grounds in different places throughout the world, including the Levant, the USA, Mexico, Peru, India, Southern Russia and Ireland. The physical evidence of the historical existence of a race of giants is common to the oral traditions and legends of many ancient peoples, including the Aztecs and native Americans. These sources corroborate clearly the passage in Genesis 6:1-4 and related passages in the first book of Enoch.

[15] Many people have noted that the historical existence of transgenic nephilim giants is clearly echoed in the legends of the mythological Greek ‘demi-gods’ (half-human and half-god) who were the offspring of gods and humans. This certainly seems to be the understanding of Flavius Josephus in the quotation above. Similarly, Norse mythology conveys a belief in the historical existence of transgenic giants, an example of which would be the legend of Beowulf.

[16] The Hebrew word nephilim comes from a primitive root meaning ‘fallen ones,’ and it refers to bullies, tyrants, or giants.

[17] In the creation account, God said that animals would produce after their own kind (Gen. 1:24-25). We know, of course, that it is perfectly possible for animals to interbreed within their own species, e.g. a horse can interbreed with another horse, or with a donkey (to produce a mule) or with a zebra, for example. This would not, and does not, provoke the Lord. However, the biblical order seems to be that it was not God’s intention for a horse to be interbred with a cow, for example. Such transgenic interbreeding would provoke the Lord to judgement because it would corrupt the genome. There are indications in the extra-biblical Jewish literature that this prohibited type of transgenic interbreeding was indeed taking place before the Flood. For example, the book of Jasher mentions the interbreeding of different animals, producing transgenic hybrids which today we call ‘chimera’: ‘[They] taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals.’ (Jasher 4:18). This would then indicate why God wiped the animals and birds off the earth in the Flood, as well as humankind. Later on, God specifically commanded the Israelites not to interbreed different species of animals with one another: ‘Keep my decrees. Do not mate different kinds of animals.’ (Lev. 19:19). That this is certainly possible can be seen from the example of the liger which is the hybrid result of crossbreeding a male lion and a female tiger. A male liger can reach a length of up to 11.8 feet, and therefore can rival even large male lions in length. By contrast, the pumapard, a hybrid cross between a puma and a leopard, is often dwarfish in size. Evidently, the injunction in Leviticus 19:19 is specifically aimed at guarding the purity of God-given genomes in the animal world. This genetic purity among animals seems to have been greatly under threat in prediluvian times.

[18] See https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/first-humanmonkey-chimeras-developed-in-china--66231, accessed 25.11.2021.

[19] In this regard, in July 2021 the WHO Expert Advisory Committee published a position paper entitled ‘Human Genome Editing: A Framework for Governance.’ This deals with the need for the development of global standards for the governance and oversight of current, potential and speculative aspects of human genome editing. One section of this deals with the transhumanist agenda of the addition of non-human traits into the human genome: ‘To introduce single or multiple genes not present in any human genome (e.g. non-human or synthetic genes), with the following purposes: to amuse/entertain (e.g. green fluorescent protein); to improve sensory systems (e.g. to ultraviolet or infrared light, or electromagnetic fields); to obtain nutritional benefit from parts of plants, plastics and other materials that humans cannot currently digest); to increase tolerance to drought, heat or cold; and, to provide resistance to pollutants or other environmental agents such as radiation.’

[20] Epigenetics is the study of changes in living organisms caused by modification of the expression of their genes, rather than alteration of the genetic code itself.

[21] See www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/15/elon-musk-cyborgs-robots-artificial-intelligence-is-he-right, accessed 05.01.2021.

[22] See also https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/brain-cloud-interface-nanobots-global-superbrain?fbclid=IwAR1oh05HRGG8y62yywVaWOzP6r3es5H_YEAvy0-ZwMShdD3NJDPXOf9MT08, accessed 08.03.2021, where it says that ‘An international team of scientists led by members of UC Berkeley and the US Institute for Molecular Manufacturing predicts that exponential progress in nanotechnology, nanomedicine, artificial intelligence (AI) and computation will lead this century to the development of a human “brain-cloud interface” (B-CI). Writing in Frontiers in Neuroscience, the team said that a B-CI would connect neurons and synapses in the brain to vast cloud computing networks in real time.’

[23] In this respect, it is interesting that in the first book of Enoch’s account of these prediluvian events, the angel Uriel is sent to Noah in order to speak to him in regard to the coming deluge. Uriel is to instruct him ‘that he may escape and his seed may be preserved for all generations of the world’, suggesting that Noah’s genome had been preserved without blemish (1 Enoch 10:2-3).

[24] Although some commentators believe that the verses in 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude v.6 refer to all the fallen angels collectively, yet many others interpret them to be referring to the specific group of angels who fell into sin in Genesis 6:2-4.

[25] However, this is not recorded in the narrative of Scripture. Other commentators believe that it was due to genetic manipulation. Whatever the underlying cause, the historical existence of nephilim giants is common to the traditions and legends of many ancient cultures, as well as to the biblical record in both prediluvian and postdiluvian times.

[26] The battles summarised in Genesis 14:5-6 appear to have involved Rephaite and Emite giants (cf. Gen. 15:20, Deut. 2:10-11).

[27] The non-canonical book of Jasher refers to this phenomenon of transgenic animal-human hybrids which appeared in postdiluvian times (Jasher 36:31-35, 61:14-15). This book is referred to in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18, but unfortunately all copies of it have been lost during history. Commentators generally believe that the Book of Jasher which appeared in the 18^th century, and which claims to be an English translation of the lost original, is a literary forgery.

[28] Presumably, if Satan is bound for the duration the millennial kingdom, then the activity of evil spirits will also be bound at that time.

[29] In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word rephaim is used to refer to the spirits of the dead as well as to the race of Rephaite giants (e.g. Isa. 14:9). Therefore, some commentators suggest that this word could perhaps refer to demonic spirits (as being the departed spirits of nephilim giants). The use of rephaim in several verses which refer to sheol and the spirits of the dead, suggests that many people believed that the spirits of the dead could play an active role in bringing blessings, healing or other benefits to the living (cf. Jubilees 22:17). This kind of common occult practice would inevitably lead people into entanglement with demonic spirits. This may be what is being referred to in 2 Chronicles 16:12 where we are told that, rather than seeking the Lord for healing, king Asa resorted to occult practitioners to find a cure for his sickness (and cf. 2 Ki. 1:1-4). The Hebrew word ropeim used in this verse and meaning ‘physicians’ is very close etymologically to rephaim.

[30] See https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf04.v.ii.iv.html, accessed 29.06.2022.

[31] Justin Martyr, Apology i.5.

[32] Apart from the isolated instance of Satan’s temporary possession of Judas Iscariot, there seems to be no record of fallen angels inhabiting and possessing human beings (Luke 22:3).

[33] The phrase ‘the angel of the Lord’ occurs frequently in the Old Testament. Although some commentators prefer to interpret this simply as ‘an angel which God sent,’ many others see it as a manifestation or theophany of God himself. Careful study shows that in many passages, the angel of the Lord seems to be Yahweh himself. However, in other passages, we are told simply that an angel appeared or spoke to a person.

[34] The concept of a ‘gate’ or ‘portal’ to the spiritual world was common among the ancient Greeks. In the Old Testament era of the monarchy, the north-eastern area of ancient Israel was given over to the worship of the pagan god Baal. In later years, in this same area near Caesarea Philippi and Mount Hermon, the Greeks erected a temple to their god Pan at the base of the cliff that stood above the city. The cave near this site, out of which flowed a spring of water, was believed to be the entrance to the underworld, ‘the gate of Hades.’ The pagan gods were believed to travel to and from Hades through this portal. On one occasion Jesus took his disciples up to this area specifically in order to give them a revelation of himself as Messiah. It was in this very place that Jesus then proclaimed to them that ‘the gates of Hades,’ i.e. the evil spiritual powers which rule this world, would not be able to overcome his kingdom working powerfully through the Church. As it grew and spread, the Church would overcome all evil spiritual powers, and believers would have spiritual authority in Christ to bind and to loose (Matt. 16:13-20). See https://www.jamesjanzen.com/blog/the-gates-of-hades, accessed 08.04.2025.

[35] The underlying word seems to suggest the role of caring or watching over.

[36] See the first book of Enoch in particular.

[37] Many commentators believe that Paul’s seemingly cryptic reference to angels in 1 Corinthians 11:10 is an appeal for modest appearance and submission to authority on the part of women in early Christian congregations. He seems to have in mind the events of Genesis 6:1-4. A woman having shaven or very short hair was a symbol of cult prostitution in some ancient cultures.

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