The Spirits of Dead Giants Became Demons
According to the ancient Jewish worldview preserved in works like 1 Enoch, the death of the giants—offspring of the rebellious Watchers and human women—did not end their destructive influence. While the Flood and other divine judgments removed them from the physical world, their spirits were believed to remain earthbound. Because these spirits were born of both heaven and earth, they were denied entry to either the heavenly realm or Sheol in the normal way. Instead, they became wandering, unclean spirits—what we now call demons.
These spirits were thought to oppress, deceive, and corrupt humanity until the final judgment. This understanding, common in Second Temple Judaism, carried into early Christian thought and helps illuminate certain New Testament passages. It connects the rebellion of Genesis 6 with the ongoing spiritual warfare faced by believers, showing that the giants’ legacy was not confined to ancient history but continues as part of the present conflict between the kingdom of God and the forces of darkness.
1. Reveal the Origin of Demonic Spirits in Jewish Tradition
Genesis 6:1–4 describes “the sons of God” taking human wives and producing the Nephilim. While the biblical text does not elaborate on their fate after death, 1 Enoch fills in the details. It teaches that when the giants died, their spirits—neither fully human nor fully angelic—were condemned to wander the earth.
1 Enoch 15:8–9 records God’s decree: “The spirits of the giants shall be like clouds; they shall afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and cause destruction on the earth.” These spirits were designated as “evil spirits” because of their corrupted origin and malicious nature. They were considered earth’s spiritual predators, constantly seeking opportunities to harm humanity.
2. Record the Distinctive Nature of Demonic Activity
According to this tradition, the spirits of the giants retained the same violent and corrupt tendencies they exhibited in life. While disembodied, they sought to exert influence through possession, deception, and oppression. They caused illness, incited violence, and tempted people into idolatry and rebellion against God.
Their earthbound state meant they had no rest—echoed in Jesus’ description of unclean spirits in Matthew 12:43 as wandering through “waterless places seeking rest, but finding none.” These restless entities were driven by the same hostility toward God and humanity that defined them when they lived as giants.
3. Recognize the Continuity from the Giants to New Testament Demons
Understanding this background sheds light on the New Testament’s portrayal of demons. In the Gospels, Jesus frequently confronts unclean spirits—often without any explanation of their origin. For Second Temple Jewish audiences, however, the link between demons and the spirits of the giants was already part of their worldview.
When Jesus casts out demons (Mark 1:27), confronts “Legion” (Luke 8:30–31), or warns of their return (Matthew 12:43–45), He is engaging with the enduring legacy of the Genesis 6 rebellion. The demonic realm is not a separate, unrelated problem—it is the continuation of that ancient spiritual insurgency.
4. Recall the Judgment Awaiting These Spirits
1 Enoch presents the spirits of the giants as awaiting final judgment along with the rebellious angels who fathered them. Jude 6 and 2 Peter 2:4 speak of these angels being bound in chains until the great day. Revelation 20:10 describes the ultimate fate of the devil and his allies in the lake of fire. By extension, the spirits of the giants—agents of the same rebellion—will share in this eternal condemnation.
In the meantime, their existence serves as a reminder that spiritual evil is not a vague concept but the work of real, personal, malevolent beings. Believers are called to resist them through the armor of God (Ephesians 6:12–18) and to rely on the victory of Christ.
5. Reflect on the Theological Implications for the Gospel
The idea that the spirits of dead giants became demons deepens our understanding of the cosmic scope of the Gospel. In His ministry, death, and resurrection, Jesus not only addressed human sin but also directly confronted these spiritual powers. Colossians 2:15 proclaims that He “disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.”
This means that Christ’s victory is not limited to cleansing human hearts; it extends to reclaiming the world from the grip of the very forces that began with the Watchers’ rebellion. Baptism, as Peter connects it in 1 Peter 3:20–21, is a pledge of allegiance to the victorious King who has overcome both sin and the demonic realm.
6. Reaffirm the Believer’s Security in Christ’s Authority
Though the spirits of the giants are described as powerful and malicious, they operate under the sovereign authority of God. Jesus demonstrated that they could not resist His commands, often begging Him not to send them to the abyss (Luke 8:31). This authority is shared, in measure, with His disciples (Luke 10:17–19), who are sent to proclaim the kingdom of God and resist the powers of darkness.
The believer’s confidence is not in personal strength but in the reality that Christ has already secured the decisive victory. The final judgment will end the influence of these spirits forever, but their defeat is already guaranteed.
Conclusion
The belief that the spirits of dead giants became demons weaves together the ancient narrative of the Watchers and the giants with the ongoing reality of spiritual warfare. These earthbound, unclean spirits embody the enduring hostility of that rebellion, continuing to oppose God’s purposes and oppress humanity until the final judgment.
Yet the Gospel proclaims that their reign is temporary. From His first public exorcisms to His triumph at the cross, Jesus has been undoing their work and reclaiming creation for the glory of God. For the believer, this means that the ancient powers that once filled the world with terror have already been placed under the authority of the risen Christ—and their ultimate destruction is certain.
Verses about Demons and Christ’s Authority
Genesis 6:4 – “The Nephilim were on the earth both in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of mankind, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men.”
1 Enoch 15:8–9 – “The spirits of the giants shall be like clouds; they shall afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and cause destruction on the earth.”
Matthew 12:43 – “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn’t find any.”
Mark 1:27 – “They were all amazed, and so they began to ask each other: ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’”
Luke 8:31 – “And they begged him not to banish them to the abyss.”
Luke 10:17–19 – “The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Look, I have given you the authority… over all the power of the enemy.’”
Jude 6 – “And the angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling—he has kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day.”
2 Peter 2:4 – “For if God didn’t spare the angels who sinned but cast them into hell and delivered them in chains of utter darkness to be kept for judgment.”
Colossians 2:15 – “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.”
Revelation 20:10 – “The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
