The Story of the Giants Serves as a Warning
The biblical and ancient Near Eastern accounts of the giants are more than historical curiosities—they are moral and theological warnings. Their origin in rebellion, their actions in spreading wickedness, and their eventual destruction all serve as reminders to God’s people about the dangers of pride, the lure of forbidden knowledge, and the cost of aligning with evil.
Genesis 6:1–4 records the initial transgression: supernatural beings known as the “sons of God” or “Watchers” crossed God-ordained boundaries by taking human wives, producing giant offspring called the Nephilim. These giants became a catalyst for violence and corruption that filled the earth, leading to God’s judgment in the Flood. The biblical narrative and related traditions use their story to underscore the reality of spiritual warfare and the need to stand firm in the Lord.
1. Reveal the Origin of the Giants as a Cautionary Tale
The Watchers’ rebellion was rooted in pride and the desire to possess what God had forbidden. Jude 6 describes them as angels “who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling,” resulting in their being kept “in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day.”
Their choice to transgress divine boundaries mirrors the temptation in Eden, where humanity sought to be “like God” by eating the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:5–6). This serves as a timeless warning that pride and discontent with God’s design are at the heart of rebellion.
2. Record the Spread of Wickedness through Forbidden Knowledge
Ancient traditions, such as 1 Enoch, portray the Watchers as teaching humanity occult arts, sorcery, weapon-making, and astrology—forms of knowledge meant to grant power apart from God. What may appear as wisdom or progress in human eyes is depicted in Scripture as corruption when it leads to idolatry, injustice, and violence.
The giants, as the offspring of these rebellious beings, embodied this corruption. They used their strength and influence to dominate, oppress, and lead others into deeper sin. The lesson is clear: the pursuit of power or knowledge outside God’s will results in destruction, not blessing.
3. Recognize the Danger of Alliances with Evil
The giants’ presence in the land after the Flood—seen in groups like the Rephaim and Anakim—posed both physical and spiritual threats to Israel. Aligning with such forces, whether through fear, compromise, or idolatry, always led to ruin.
In Deuteronomy 7:2, God commanded Israel to “completely destroy” the nations in Canaan, not because of ethnicity but because of their allegiance to false gods. The giant clans stood as living symbols of that allegiance. Their defeat by Joshua, Caleb, and later David was not just military victory but a theological statement: no alliance with evil can stand against the LORD.
4. Recall How Their Defeat Warns the People of God
From Joshua’s conquest to David’s defeat of Goliath, the giants fell before God’s chosen servants. These victories reinforced the truth that God’s people must rely on His strength, not their own.
David’s words to Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:45 still resonate: “You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Armies.” His confidence was not in weapons or size but in the covenant faithfulness of God. The giants’ downfall warns every generation that no power—spiritual or physical—can withstand God’s purposes.
5. Reflect on Early Christian Warnings and Parallels
Early Christian writers, such as Irenaeus, saw the giants as foreshadowing future opponents of God’s kingdom. Some linked them to the Antichrist figure, drawing parallels to Greek myths of the Titans and Gigantes who rebelled against divine authority. These comparisons reinforced the belief that history repeats patterns of rebellion, and that believers must remain vigilant.
The giants’ association with the origin of demons in some Jewish and Christian traditions adds another dimension to this warning. Spiritual warfare is not abstract—it involves real entities opposed to God’s rule, and their influence is often disguised under the appeal of power, pleasure, or knowledge.
6. Reaffirm the Call to Stand Firm in Christ
Ephesians 6:11 urges believers to “put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.” The giants’ story reminds us that the battle is both seen and unseen, involving spiritual forces that aim to corrupt God’s creation.
In the Gospel, Christ is the ultimate “giant-slayer,” triumphing over sin, death, and the powers of darkness through His death and resurrection (Colossians 2:15). For the believer, standing firm in Christ means rejecting pride, refusing the seduction of forbidden paths, and resisting alliances with evil.
Conclusion
The giants’ narrative, from their supernatural origin to their ultimate defeat, is a sobering reminder of the consequences of rebellion against God. It cautions against the pride that rejects His authority, the pursuit of knowledge apart from His wisdom, and partnerships with those opposed to His kingdom.
For the church today, their story is more than ancient history—it is a living warning. The same spiritual forces that fueled the giants’ defiance still seek to influence the world. Yet the promise remains: in Christ, believers have all they need to stand firm, resist the enemy, and share in the victory of the One who has already crushed the greatest of foes.
Bible Verses about the Warning from the Giants’ Story
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.”
Genesis 3:5–6 – “‘In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom.”
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.”
Deuteronomy 7:2 – “When the LORD your God delivers them over to you and you defeat them, you must completely destroy them.”
Numbers 13:33 – “We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim. To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”
1 Samuel 17:45 – “David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with a sword, spear, and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Armies…’”
Ephesians 6:11 – “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.”
Colossians 2:15 – “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.”
1 Peter 5:8–9 – “Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him, firm in the faith.”
Revelation 17:14 – “These will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will conquer them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings.”
