Ron Graham was called home on March 14, 2013. He began writing this commentary before his death and had asked me, Nathele Graham, to continue his service to our Lord by finishing what he began.
Matthew 24.37:
“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
Jesus’ disciples had asked Him what would be the signs of His coming and the end of the world. The question they asked wasn’t about the “Harpazō” but it was regarding the Second Coming and the end of the world. Other translations use the word “age” instead of “world.” Jesus told them not to be deceived. Then He told them about the signs of the times that would include wars, rumors of wars, love waxing cold, the abomination of desolation, and much more. One of the signs given was that it was to be like the days of Noah. The men He was talking to understood what He meant because they weren’t confused about what the days of Noah entailed. It wasn’t until later that the meaning got confused. So, what were those days like?
“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown” (Genesis 6:4).
Everyone can read the English translation and see that the antediluvian world population had to contend with giants. But if we dig a little deeper into the original Hebrew we come away with a very profound conclusion as to what these folks were really dealing with. The Hebrew word “nĕphiyl” is translated “giants” in the King James Version of the Bible, but most other versions say “Nephilim” which is, the better translation. Although these creatures were giants, “nĕphiyl” actually means: to fall, or fallen ones. Of course this does not diminish their size; many have dismissed the entire idea that these were giants simply because of a translation error. Make no mistake these Nephilim creatures were gigantic…and evil.
This same verse also contains the English words “men of renown.” This is translated from the Hebrew word “gibbowr”, which means strong and mighty. This gives us the sense that these Nephilim were very powerful beings and were much stronger than mere men.
The Nephilim existed prior to the Flood and also afterward. We find the same Hebrew word, nĕphiyl, used in the book of Numbers, and it gives an excellent description of these Nephilim (giants). “And there we saw the giants [nĕphiyl], the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:33). Clearly these Nephilim were huge creatures.
“And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan” (Numbers 13:17).
These spies sent out by Moses were adamant concerning the size of these giants – all but Joshua and Caleb returned to Moses scared out of their wits. They went as far as to proclaim just what they themselves must have looked like to those giants. I don’t know about the rest of you, but when I look down at a grasshopper from my height I could easily lift a foot and squash it like a bug.
So where did these Nephilim come from? Who were they? Why did God need to destroy the inhabitants of the earth, including the animals? Certainly if, as one misinterpretation of this verse suggests, these Nephilim were just earthly kings who married women against their will, God wouldn’t have been angry enough to destroy everything. Or if, as another misinterpretation suggests, the so-called godly line of Seth married the ungodly line of Cain, that still doesn’t explain why the people and animals had to be destroyed. God had not yet called out the Jews to be the line who would bring forth Messiah, so there was no restriction on marriage outside of a certain tribe or group of people.
The phrase “sons of God” refers to a direct creation of God, and that would only include Adam, the angels (always male), and later the Ekklesia. In Genesis 6:4 these sons of God are the fallen angels who followed Lucifer in rebellion against God. Yes, they are the ones who fathered children by the daughters of Adam (human women), and are now in everlasting chains. The product of this unholy union was the Nephilim.
“And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth…” (Revelation 12:4). The “one third part of stars” swept out of heaven with Satan are angels. They are the ones that Jude tells us “…kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day ” (Jude 1:6). They are the ones who came unto the daughters of men and their union produced the Nephilim. These Nephilim are not human, nor are they angelic. Their spirits cannot be redeemed: by the blood of Jesus because they are not human. Jesus came as a human to redeem humans, not genetic hybrids.
According to Jesus’ own words the end-times will be “as in the days of Noe.” The wickedness that prevailed in that antediluvian world will soon return, and seems to be in the wings now. The genetic abominations that caused God to destroy men and animals will once again engulf the world. Huge, grotesque, monstrous beings, that’s what the people of earth who are left after the “Harpazō” (the great snatching away of the Ekklesia of Christ) have to look forward to in their future. Goliath, Og the King of Bashan, and the gigantic inhabitants of the Promised Land give us some idea of the size and fierceness of these creatures. They will be huge and have no feelings of mercy or kindness.
Gene manipulation is going on in science labs today. Go ahead and put “transhumanisn” or “transgenics” into a search engine and see what comes up. These genetic abominations are being created now. Mice with human brain cells, sheep with human hearts, pigs with human blood, and much more are being produced today. We all know of the double helix of DNA, but now scientists are producing animals – and humans – with a triple helix. The military is developing the technology for a “super soldier” that has no fear and cannot be killed. This is not science fiction, but scienctific fact. These and many more genetically altered life forms are in a science lab – or neighborhood – near you. Hollywood is preparing us to accept this. Movies and television offer films that glorify vampires, zombies, aliens, and all sorts of evil. We are being led into accepting these satanic creatures, but this is just a sign that the “Harpazō” (the great snatching away of the Ekklesia of Christ) is near.
We might feel as though we’ve seen the most horrible of episodes in mankind’s existence when we remember the millions of Jews that were murdered in the German concentration camps during WWII, and how so many nations had an opportunity to help those people but didn’t. When people are murdered in a movie theater or small children in a public school classroom we might think we’ve seen evil at its worst. But when we come to a full grasp of Genesis chapter 6 and truthfully face what the human race and fallen angels forced God to do we should be horrified.
Because of the abominable genetic manipulation that occurred “in the days of Noe,” God destroyed all life on earth leaving only eight people and certain animals alive, protected in the Ark, to continue life on earth. We must conclude that the evil that permeated that antediluvian world was far more evil than anything mankind has seen in the past four thousand years.
“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). The Hebrew word for great is “rab” and it means: Exceedingly, abundantly or basically overwhelmingly great.
Just how bad could it have been? The same Hebrew word for “great” is used to describe the situation with Sodom and Gomorrah (another example that Jesus used as a sign of the end times) in Genesis chapter 13. God removed Lot and his family then proceeded to destroy those two cities, as well as all the surrounding cities. Those who remained in the cities were destroyed. For God to destroy so many people in the flood of Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah the wickedness must have been great.
Today we once again see much evil spreading and engulfing planet Earth, and yet we are still here and for the most part enjoying life. Obviously we haven’t gotten to the place that God sees as the point of no return. Mankind has a great imagination and is able to construct all sorts of wickedness within his mind, but there are bounds that we are unable to cross. On the other hand, Satan has far more intellect than we do, and quite frankly his wickedness knows no human bounds.
While the Ekklesia (the body of Christ) remains on earth, these creatures will be held at bay. The Holy Spirit is sealed in us and is restraining the evil. If we do a little research we can see that the antediluvian evil is beginning to rear its ugly head and some point in the not so distant future the Nephilim will be unleashed again. There will be outright horror for all those who remain on earth during the seventieth week of Daniel after the Harpazō (read Daniel 9:21-27).
Jesus confirms that the days that preceded the flood will be reenacted in the last days preceding our Lord’s return to earth.
“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37).
So what happened in the days of Noah? Fallen angels were creating genetically altered creatures and the wickedness was overwhelming. Is the wickedness of today overwhelming? Some might think so, but it certainly is not yet to the extreme of the antediluvian world. Many of the lost of this world, as well as many Christians, believe things are getting better not worse – utopia is on its way. Whether they believe it or not, the true Christians will be removed prior to the full invasion of these abominable creatures. But for those who’ve rejected Christ the times will be unbearable as the shock of the antediluvian evil is once again loosed on planet Earth.
Could it be that these monstrous beings are already among us? Transgenics, transhumanism, designer genes are already here so we can be assured that the Harpazō will happen in the not so distant future.
“For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, [even] Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).
Don’t be left here to face Daniels 70th week. Say yes to Jesus – now while there is still time. If you don’t accept Jesus’ free gift of salvation then you will have chosen to be a part of the most horrendous time in the history of mankind. Choose wisely.
God bless you all,
Ron Graham