According to the History Channel, yes. But I do not trust the spirit behind those programs. They are not at all interested in telling people what God was saying to mankind during those cited episodes in the Bible that seem to be describing ETs to them. The programs just want to divert from any notion that there is ONE GOD who is a Loving Boss. Their definition of ET would be a life form that is not spiritual but physical, and has evolved farther than humans and may have produced us as an experiment. There is never a message of love for us or intervening on our behalf as God has done through the centuries. The Bible-believing Christian could define ETs as angels or demons because they are not from this earth. Jesus defined God, who is the ultimate “ET,” as being a spirit, not a physical entity simply with superior DNA. If Satan can get people to believe that God is nothing more than a physical entity that’s more evolved than we are, then there is less desire to worship him….and this could be the bottom line of this deception. Who are we to trust, the History Channel along with its evolutionary bias, or the Word of God to humanity? From a biblical perspective, determining the actual identity of the nephilim is difficult. There are four theories:

Theory #1: Offspring of Seth—The sons of God were the godly line from Adam to Seth down to Noah, and the Nephilim were fallen children who sought after false gods. A portion of the Dead Sea Scrolls contains the earliest known reference to the phrase “children of Seth,” stating that God had condemned them for their rebellion. Other early references to the offspring of Seth rebelling from God and mingling with the daughters of Cain are found in Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Augustine of Hippo, Julius Africanus, and the Letters attributed to St. Clement. It is also the view expressed in the modern canonical Amharic Ethiopian Orthodox Bible. Orthodox Judaism rejects the idea that angels could intermarry with men. Consequently, most Jewish commentaries describe the Nephilim as being from the offspring of “sons of nobles,” rather than from “sons of God” or “sons of angels.” Note: Jewish or Christian commentaries are not considered to be word-for-word God-breathed by Christians or Jews.

Likewise, a long-held view among some Christians is that the “sons of God” who fathered the Nephilim spoken of in the text, were in fact the formerly righteous descendants of Seth who rebelled, while the “daughters of men” were the unrighteous descendants of Cain, and the Nephilim the offspring of their union. Holders of this view have looked for support in Jesus’ statement that “in the days before the flood they (humans) were marrying and giving in marriage.”

Some individuals and groups, including St. Augustine and John Calvin, take the view of Genesis 6:2 that the “angels” who fathered the Nephilim referred to certain human males from the lineage of Seth, who were called sons of God probably in reference to their being formerly in a covenantal relationship with Yahweh (Deuteronomy 14:1; 32:5). These sources assert that men began to pursue bodily interests, and so took wives of the daughters of men, e.g., those who were descended from Cain or from any people who did not worship God.

Theory #2: Offspring of angels— Fallen angels bred with human women and had offspring that were called Nephilim. A number of early sources refer to the “sons of heaven” as “Angels.” The earliest such references seem to be in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Greek and Aramaic Enochic literature. Also some Christian apologists shared this opinion, such as Tertullian and especially Lactantius. However, “angels” in this context has sometimes been considered to be a sarcastic epithet for the offspring of Seth who rebelled. The earliest statement in a secondary commentary explicitly interpreting this to mean that angelic beings mated with humans can be traced to the rabbinical Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, and it has since become especially commonplace in modern-day Christian commentaries.

The New American Bible commentary draws a parallel to the Epistle of Jude and the statements set forth in Genesis, suggesting that the Epistle refers implicitly to the paternity of Nephilim as heavenly beings who came to earth and had sexual intercourse with women. Genesis 6:4 implies that the Nephilim have inhabited the Earth in at least two different time periods—before and after Noah’s Flood. If the Nephilim were supernatural beings themselves, there is a theory that the “giants of Canaan” in Numbers 13:33 were the direct descendants of the antediluvian Nephilim, or were fathered by the same supernatural parents.

Some Christian commentators have argued against this view, citing Jesus’ statement that angels do not marry. Others believe that Jesus was only referring to angels in heaven. Evidence in favor of the “fallen angels” interpretation includes the fact that the phrase “the sons of God” (the Hebrew words literally mean “sons of the gods”) is used just two times outside of Genesis chapter 6. In both instances (namely, Job 1:6 & 2:1) the phrase refers to angels.

The story of the Nephilim is further elaborated in the Book of Enoch. The Greek, Aramaic, and main Ge’ez manuscripts of 1 Enoch and Jubilees connect the origin of the Nephilim with the fallen angels. Although Christians do not believe these sources are “God-breathed” like the books of the Bible, they can contain historical facts.

According to these texts, the fallen angels who begat the Nephilim were cast into a place of total darkness. However, Jubilees also states that God granted ten percent of the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim to remain after the flood, as demons, to try to lead the human race astray until the Final Judgment. In addition to Enoch, the Book of Jubilees also states that ridding the Earth of these Nephilim was one of God’s purposes for flooding the Earth in Noah’s time. These works describe the Nephilim as being evil giants. There are also allusions to these descendants in the books of Judith, Sirach 16:7, Baruch 3:26–28, and Wisdom of Solomon 14:6, and 3 Maccabees 2:4.

Theory #3: Fallen angels overtook men—Fallen angels possessed men and caused them to breed with women; the offspring were not a mix but completely human. One question is, would such people who are
overtaken by demons and/or fallen angels warrant the title of “sons of God?” In all of Scripture, demons are never described as “sons of God.” This is similar to Theory Two.

Theory #4: Fallen men view—Godly men (sons of God) took ungodly wives, and their descendants (the Nephilim) followed after the false gods, rejected God, and fell far from God in wickedness. This is similar to Theory One.

Conclusion: Take your pick. I’m not sure if we can know for certain. I am not comfortable with fallen angels being the parents of the Nephilim because Jesus said that angels do not marry, therefore I assume they do not reproduce like humans. I also assume they lack sexual organs to perform such a task, unless they did exactly what the Holy Spirit did to Mary. If demons can do this, I assume that would mean they can create the necessary physical genetic code material, and I think only God can do that. There are no other Creators beside Him. This would make for a great sci-fi movie – evil angels steal genetic code from God in order to produce a human race against God! For an in-depth work on the Nephilim, go to Who Were the Nephilim – Answers in Genesis

Feedback:

CL – I have never studied this outside Scripture and really appreciated your commentary and extended references. This is something I searched myself (just Bible Commentaries) and came to my own conclusion which you have included here – but I have always still been unresolved and desirous of more information from knowledgeable resources. This was great and when I have time I will search more out.

Alona R – In all of my Bible studies I had never heard of most of your references, just Judith and the Maccabees. Thank you for all your research and references.