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The following article is actually a compilation of things I have stated in a few previous articles and series, including "The Judgment of Angels, Demons and Men", "Nephilim: The Giants of Genesis", "The Book of Enoch: Truth or Heresy?" "Judgment of Azazel: Scapegoat of the High Priest" and "What Happened to the Evil Spirits Known as Legion?". This article also contains a substantial amount of new material as well, which I hope you will find interesting. Since my thoughts regarding this particular issue were scattered amongst the aforementioned articles, I thought that it would be nice to bring them all together here in one document for those of you who may have an interest in this subject. Having said that, let us begin.

Quite a few years ago, someone asked me a question regarding the nature of the demons which apparently are still allowed to roam freely upon the Earth, including in our present day. However, in order to fully understand this issue, we need to backtrack to about 4,500 years ago when certain evil events transpired. As I have explained before, the Book of Enoch, the Book of Jubilees, the Book of Genesis, and the Epistles of both Peter and Jude, inform us that millennia ago, a band of Fallen Angels, numbering about two hundred in all, led a serious rebellion against the Lord. This they did when they abandoned their Heavenly Habitation, descended to the Earth upon Mount Hermon, committed prohibited sexual acts against the women of Earth, and taught the people all kinds of things which they were not meant to know. This rebellion against the Laws of the Most High is described for us in startling detail in verses such as the following:

"And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 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."


"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. And these are the names of their leaders: Semiazaz, their leader, Arakiba, Rameel, Kokabiel, Tamiel, Ramiel, Danel, Ezeqeel, Baraqijal, Asael, Armaros, Batarel, Ananel, Zaqiel, Samsapeel, Satarel, Turel, Jomjael, Sariel. These are their chiefs of tens."


"And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. And they 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. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones."


"And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armaros the resolving of enchantments, Baraqijal (taught) astrology, Kokabel the constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the earth, Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven"


"'Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn: And Semjaza, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. And the women have borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness.'"


". . . And in the twenty-eighth jubilee Noah began to enjoin upon his sons' sons the ordinances and commandments, and all the judgments that he knew, and he exhorted his sons to observe righteousness, and to cover the shame of their flesh, and to bless their Creator, and honour father and mother, and love their neighbour, and guard their souls from fornication and uncleanness and all iniquity. For owing to these three things came the flood upon the earth, namely, owing to the fornication wherein the Watchers against the law of their ordinances went a whoring after the daughters of men, and took themselves wives of all which they chose: and they made the beginning of uncleanness. And they begat sons the Naphidim, and they were all unlike, and they devoured one another: and the Giants slew the Naphil, and the Naphil slew the Eljo, and the Eljo mankind, and one man another. And every one sold himself to work iniquity and to shed much blood, and the earth was filled with iniquity. And after this they sinned against the beasts and birds, and all that moves and walks on the earth: and much blood was shed on the earth, and every imagination and desire of men imagined vanity and evil continually."


As you can see from the previous verses, the end result of this rebellion by the Fallen Angels -- or Watchers -- and their illicit incursion upon the Earth was widespread sexual immorality, the unnatural birth of giant half-breeds known as the Nephilim, the propagation of forbidden knowledge to the people of Earth, and all manner of iniquity and violence upon the Earth. The situation grew so bad, that after being petitioned by those Angels who had remained loyal to Him, God eventually chose to destroy all living things upon the face of the Earth by way of the Flood. You will find this latter topic amply discussed in a number of other articles such as "Noah's Ark and the Genesis Flood". Consider these sample verses which describe the Angels' great concern, and God's judgments upon the perpetrators:

"'And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are wrought on the earth. And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.'"


"And to Gabriel said the Lord: 'Proceed against the bastards and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and destroy [the children of fornication and] the children of the Watchers from amongst men [and cause them to go forth]: send them one against the other that they may destroy each other in battle: for length of days shall they not have. And no request that they (i.e. their fathers) make of thee shall be granted unto their fathers on their behalf; for they hope to live an eternal life, and that each one of them will live five hundred years.'"


"And the Lord destroyed everything from off the face of the earth; because of the wickedness of their deeds, and because of the blood which they had shed in the midst of the earth He destroyed everything . . ."


"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. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them."


So between a combination of the giants fighting against each other, and the deadly effects of the Flood, everything was wiped out. The aforementioned writings also inform us that in addition to man, beast and Nephilim being wiped from the face of the Earth, the Fallen Angels who led the Genesis six rebellion were cast into the Abyss. Apparently, while they had taken on human form when they descended to the Earth, they still possessed their Angelic Nature. As a result, they could not be destroyed in the Flood. This would explain why God had them chained and cast into a dark prison which is located somewhere deep within the bowels of the Earth. I have long had this suspicion that being removed from God's presence weakens Angels, just as standing in God's Light, or energy, empowers them. Consider the following verses which confirm this point:

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."


"For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;"


"And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day."


"And I asked the angel of peace who went with me, saying: 'For whom are these chains being prepared?' And he said unto me: 'These are being prepared for the hosts of Azazel, so that they may take them and cast them into the abyss of complete condemnation, and they shall cover their jaws with rough stones as the Lord of Spirits commanded. And Michael, and Gabriel, and Raphael, and Phanuel shall take hold of them on that great day, and cast them on that day into the burning furnace, that the Lord of Spirits may take vengeance on them for their unrighteousness in becoming subject to Satan and leading astray those who dwell on the earth.'"


"And again the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire. And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.'"


"And Enoch went and said: 'Azazel, thou shalt have no peace: a severe sentence has gone forth against thee to put thee in bonds: And thou shalt not have toleration nor request granted to thee, because of the unrighteousness which thou hast taught, and because of all the works of godlessness and unrighteousness and sin which thou hast shown to men.'"


"And the Lord said unto Michael: 'Go, bind Semjaza and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is for ever and ever is consummated. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: and to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for ever.'"


While the physical bodies of the giant half-breeds known as the Nephilim were destroyed during their bloody wars, and by the great Flood which ensued, nevertheless, it leaves open the question regarding what happened to their spirits. Some Christians -- myself included -- embrace the possibility that the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim may have in fact been the very same evil spirits -- or demons/unclean spirits -- which plagued people in Jesus' day. Furthermore, they may be the very same wicked spirits which still attack and possess people today as well. Before you outright dismiss this idea, consider the following. One thing which is quite common with people who are possessed by these unclean spirits, is that they possess inhuman strength. For example, consider the following verses which we find in the Gospel of Mark:

"And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.‭ And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,‭ Who had ‭his‭ dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:‭ ‭‭Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any ‭man‭ tame him.‭ And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.‭"


In the Gospel of Luke, we discover that the aforementioned man is in fact possessed by a host of demons who go by the name of Legion. Again we are informed by Luke that the man possesses unusual strength, and is able to break the chains and fetters which bind him, as we see here:

"‭‭And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.‭ And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in ‭any‭ house, but in the tombs.‭ When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, ‭thou‭ Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.‭ (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.‭ And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.‭ And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.‭ Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.‭ When they that fed ‭them‭ saw what was done, they fled, and went and told ‭it‭ in the city and in the country.‭ Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.‭ They also which saw ‭it‭ told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.‭"


While we don't know exactly how this man became possessed by so many unclean spirits, or demons, as I point out in the series entitled "Demonic Possession and Sickness: A Biblical Perspective", Jesus does offer us a clue when He states the following in the Gospel of Matthew:

"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation."


It becomes evident from the previous set of verses that if a person doesn't maintain a holy life before the Lord, and does not keep their spiritual house clean, not only do they risk becoming possessed by an evil spirit, but they can in fact become repossessed. Furthermore, they can become possessed by multiple unclean spirits, so that their latter state is even worse than their previous state. As you may recall, this was likewise the sad case with Mary Magdalene, who was possessed by seven devils, as we see by the following verses:

"Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils."


"And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,"


Today, of course, modern science would not dare to call it demonic possession. Such a phrase is too spiritual, and too unscientific for them. Thus, they prefer to use another term: Dissociative Identity Disorder, which was previously known as Multiple Personality Disorder. They can call it what they will, but are such cases really the same age-old possession by the wandering, violent spirits of the Nephilim? Consider what Wikipedia has to say about this "disorder", and notice how similar it sounds to what is described in the previous verses from the Gospels:

----- Begin Quote -----

"Around half of people with DID have fewer than 10 identities and most have fewer than 100; as many as 4,500 have been reported. The average number of identities has increased over the past few decades, from two or three to now an average of approximately 16. However, it is unclear whether this is due to an actual increase in identities, or simply that the psychiatric community has become more accepting of a high number of compartmentalized memory components. The primary identity, which often has the patient's given name, tends to be "passive, dependent, guilty and depressed" with other personalities being more active, aggressive or hostile . . ."

----- End Quote -----

I find it rather interesting that in regard to this unclean spirit that Jesus talks about in Matthew 12, He uses the word "walketh". In my view, this seems to suggest that not only does this spirit have a human form, but that at one time, it may have likewise possessed a human body as well. This seems to further add weight to the idea that these unclean spirits -- or devils/demons -- may in reality be the spirits of the long-vanquished Nephilim giants of ages past. As we discussed earlier, this possibility is bolstered by the fact that this man possessed great strength, and he was able to repeatedly break his chains and fetters, in spite of all of the attempts that were made to restrain him.

But that is not all. Please notice that we are told that the unclean spirits -- that is, Legion -- besought Jesus "that he would not command them to go out into the deep". At first glance, this phrase may appear to be referring to the Sea of Galilee, which was obviously nearby. However, why would the foul demons be so afraid of being cast into the lake? Being as they are spirits -- and therefore do not possess physical bodies made out of flesh and blood, -- they cannot possibly drown. So what exactly is it that these evil spirits were so afraid of?

As I explain in the article entitled "What Happened to the Evil Spirits Known as Legion?", the fact of the matter is that the phrase "the deep" is not referring to the lake -- that is, Lake Gennesaret, a.k.a. the Sea of Galilee or the Sea of Tiberias -- at all. The word "deep" actually refers to something considerably worse. It is translated from the Koine Greek word "abussos". Consider how Thayer's Greek English Lexicon defines this word:

----- Begin Quote -----

abussos ab'-us-sos

KJV - bottomless pit 5, deep 2, bottomless 2; 9

1) bottomless
2) unbounded
3) the abyss
  3a) the pit
  3b) the immeasurable depth
  3c) of Orcus, a very deep gulf or chasm in the lowest parts of the earth used as the common receptacle of the dead and especially as the abode of demons

----- End Quote -----

So as you can see, the reason why these evil spirits known as Legion were so afraid, is because they already knew that, ultimately, they would NOT end up in the same place as the herd of swine. The pigs did indeed drown in the waters of the Sea of Galilee. However, these ancient evil spirits were cast into the lower parts of the Earth, into a place called the Abyss. It is the very same place where their fathers -- that is, the Fallen Angels -- and other evil spirits, are kept imprisoned in chains of darkness, until the day they are ultimately judged and cast into the Lake of Fire, as we previously discussed.

You may recall that earlier in this article, Enoch referred to it as "the abyss of complete condemnation". This is the very same place that the Book of Revelation refers to as the Bottomless Pit. They are in fact one and the same thing. As proof of this, consider that in the Book of Revelation, the phrase "bottomless pit" is derived from the very same Koine Greek word -- "abussos" -- which is used in the Gospel story regarding Legion. Thus again, we have evidence that the man may have been possessed by the very same evil spirits which had given both life and tremendous strength to the Nephilim giants in ancient times, so that they became "mighty men" and "men of renown", as we read previously in the Book of Genesis. Personally, it makes a lot of sense to me.

But there is even more to be revealed regarding this ancient mystery. We find another very interesting fact in the Gospel accounts which, in my personal view, again seems to confirm that these demons -- or unclean spirits -- are quite possibly the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim giants of ages past. Please consider the following verses, and see if you notice anything that is common amongst all of them. It is actually rather obvious being as it is repeated in all of the verses:

"And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease."


"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.‭ Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth ‭it‭ empty, swept, and garnished.‭ Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last ‭state‭ of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.‭"


"And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out . . . And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him."


"And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God . . . Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit."


"And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit . . . he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit . . . And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea."


"And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;"


"For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:"


"And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out."


"And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed."


"(For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)"


"And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father."


"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out."


"There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one."


"For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed."


"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet."


Please go to part two for the conclusion of this article.

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