Myth or Fact?  Or Both?

      Were angel-mortal half-breeds a real piece of history?  Or is this all just fiction?  Most scholars think the book of Enoch did not exist until just a couple centuries before Christ.  The problem is, the book records events that allegedly happened more than 2,000 years earlier – at the time of the Flood, long before the book was written.  And, although the oral tradition upon which the book is based is more ancient than the book itself, still, one must consider the probability that oral tradition could have preserved Enoch's story with complete accuracy for 2,000 years, before it was finally written down.  The probability is not entirely favorable.  For this reason, it is best to use discretion when interpreting Enoch, for although the general plot of the story is well established in other ancient writings, it would be naive to accept every detail in the book as absolute fact.

      Archaeology has demonstrated that some legends from the ancient Middle East have retained the same basic plot for millennia, yet with minor changes in detail.  Perhaps the best example is the Flood story.  Archaeological excavations have uncovered layers of clay that suggest flooding occurred in Mesopotamia about the time of Noah; yet the flooding was regional, not worldwide.[1]  The Flood story is recollected in both Genesis and in the much more archaic Sumerian story of Gilgamesh.  The Gilgamesh account of the Flood starts with a man named Utnapishtim, who is warned by the god Ea that "the gods will bring a deluge."  Ea tells Utnapishtim to "take down your house and make a ship."  As in Genesis, the exact dimensions of the ship are given.  Utnapishtim recalls, "I made all the fertile animals I owned board the ship, and I made my family and kin board the ship, and I caused game animals and all the beasts of the field, together with skilled workers, to board the ship."  A massive thunderstorm poured down rain, and "people were like a school of fish in the ocean."  The storm lasted six days and six nights, and then the flood waters receded.  The ship came to land on a mountain.  Utnapishtim sent out three birds from the ship.  The third bird did not return, so he came out of the ship.  Then he made a sacrifice to the gods.  Finally, like the rainbow in Genesis, Utnapishtim states, "Just as I will not forget the lapis lazuli on my neck (i.e. – a blue-violet stone), I will not forget this day."[2] 

      The similarities with Genesis are numerous:  the divine warning, the boarding of animals, the boarding of family, the rain, the flood waters, landing on a mountain, sending out the birds, the sacrifice, and the vow never to forget – all these are found in Genesis. 

      Yet some details are different.  The hero is Utnapishtim, not Noah.  The god is Ea, not Yahweh.  Polytheism is espoused, not monotheism.  More than just one family is saved, the name of the mountain is not the same, and the vow is made on a colorful stone instead of on a rainbow.  Notwithstanding, the core plot of the story is the same as that of the Genesis Flood, despite the differences in detail. 

      The lesson to be learned from comparing Gilgamesh to Genesis is that despite roughly 1,500 of evolving oral tradition, the basic plot remained almost the same.  Minor details did change.  Memories got fuzzy over 1,500 years, especially with regard to nonessential parts of the narrative.  The theological motifs also differed.  But the sequential underpinnings of purported historical events remained surprisingly constant. 

      Therefore, if it were possible to compare the extant book of Enoch to the actual events of circa 2,500 BCE, we should expect to see a similar phenomenon.  The basic plot of the story would be confirmed to have been authentically preserved over time, but the details in the original would be somewhat different, yet not in such a way as to seriously undermine the historical reality of the story.  The theological lessons to be drawn from the story might also change.  This, I think, is the most appropriate way to view both the book of Enoch and Noah's Flood, and indeed much of ancient holy writ:  to acknowledge that the details of the legends have been altered, and that theologies have been erroneously ascribed to it; nevertheless, ancient legends from holy writ generally preserve a skeleton of constancy concerning real historical events.

 

 

 

The Gilgamesh Connection

      There is a lot more to Gilgamesh than just the Flood.  The main character of Gilgamesh was an ancient superhero whose name was, you guessed it, Gilgamesh.  The 4,000 year-old Mesopotamian epic records, "Two-thirds of him is god and one-third of him is man."[3]  This implies that Gilgamesh was a mixture of divine and human ancestry.  According to the Sumerian King List, a document of about the same age, the father of Gilgamesh was a "phantom." 

      The fact that he was two-thirds god is a testimony to the truly bizarre methods of procreation practiced by these "gods."  If he were conceived in the normal fashion with one father and one mother, then he should have been one-half god.  Or, if only one grandparent were a god, then he would have been one-quarter god.  But to be two-thirds god and one-third human suggests some kind of heavenly threesome was responsible for his conception.  The normal biological process by which sperm & eggs are created is called "meiosis," yet here it seems a more appropriate term would be "triosis," for the sperm & eggs were divided three ways.  Evidently, two gods and one human contributed their bodily fluids to the procreation procedures.  In any case, the divinity of Gilgamesh is repeatedly emphasized in the epic, including statements that he is "god-like,"[4] and "Enkidu spoke to the god Gilgamesh,"[5] and "his body contains the flesh of gods."[6] 

      The Gilgamesh epic also describes Gilgamesh as a giant:  "He was eleven cubits tall (16 ˝ feet), and his chest was nine spans wide (about 6 feet)."[7] 

      The legend also says, "Gilgamesh did not allow any virgin to be together with the one she loved,"[8] implying that he had a large harem of wives that he stole from other men.  This parallels the Biblical account of nephilim sexual behavior, which testifies, "they took wives of all that they chose."[9] 

      The epic describes several heroic adventures of Gilgamesh, including a brawl with a large hairy animal-man, two monster killings, and an opportunity to have sex with the goddess Ishtar, which he declined because Ishtar was "a slut."  His final adventure nearly took him to the gates of immortality.  On this last quest, he fell short, for even though he was two-thirds god, he was still a mortal destined to die. 

      When this information is taken together, Gilgamesh fits the description of the Biblical nephilim quite nicely as given in Genesis 6:4, "They became classic heroes, mortals with a reputation."  Gilgamesh was certainly a classic hero in Babylonian culture, and he had a reputation, yet he was still a mortal.  Gilgamesh fits the Biblical description of a nephilim to a tee.

      The last phrase of Genesis 6:4, which says that the nephilim were "mortals with a reputation," deserves a short explanation concerning the meaning of the original Hebrew text:  The King James says "men of renown," however, the King James is not precise enough.  The Hebrew word for "men" in Genesis is usually Adam, yet here the Hebrew word or "men" is Enosh, which has the connotation of mortality.  Hence, Genesis clarifies that the nephilim, although children of the gods, were still mortal humans who were destined to die.  Evidently, their partially divine biology did not enable them to escape death.  Even Gilgamesh's fellow nephilim friend, the large hairy animal-man who he got in a fight with, also died.  His name was Enkidu.

 

Jesus and Gilgamesh

      There is good evidence from the earliest gospel source, Quelle, that Jesus Christ accepts the historical veracity of the Gilgamesh legend.  Jesus recalls Noah's Flood in accordance with Gilgamesh.  He says,

 

Just like the days before the Flood, they were eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark.  Then the Flood came and destroyed them all.[10] 

 

Where in the Biblical account does it say that they were eating and drinking before the Flood?  Nowhere!  The Biblical account of Noah's Flood does not mention these details.  But the Gilgamesh epic does.  Gilgamesh reports that Utnapishtim, the Babylonian Noah, said,

 

I butchered bulls and sheep for the people every day.  I gave the workers oil and various kind of alcohol, which they guzzled as if it were a river of water, and they partied like New Year's.[11] 

 

This is proof positive that Jesus was familiar with at least some of the material in the Gilgamesh epic, and that he accepted it as true.  Jesus could not have received any of this information from the Bible, because it wasn't there.  He evidently received this information either from reading Gilgamesh or from his own observation.  His own observation is more likely, as the Gilgamesh epic was in his day long-ago buried in the sands of Parthia.  Thus, this arguably indicates that Jesus was around at the time of Noah and Gilgamesh, and that he witnessed events from that time.  How else could Jesus have obtained this information?

 

The Mountain of the Gods

      The book of Enoch records that when the angels descended to earth, they landed on Mount Hermon.

 

There were 200 of them.  They came down to Ardis, which is Mount Hermon.  They called it Mount Hermon because they bound each other in a covenant, and placed a curse on anyone who might break it.[12]

 

      There is also another book of Enoch, called 2^nd Enoch or Slavonic Enoch, which held somewhat less influence in ancient times than the first Enoch.  2^nd Enoch likewise records,

 

These are the watchers, 200 leaders of whom fell away and went down to the land of Hermon.  They took a vow on Mount Hermon, seeing how gorgeous human women were, and they took them as wives.  The land was raped, the women acted like scoundrels, and the whole era was marked by criminal behavior and cross-breeding.  Their children were giants and monsters.[13]

 

      Jubilees also associates the nephilim giants with Mount Hermon and the surrounding area.[14] 

      Mount Hermon was, and still is, a most prominent peak in the Lebanese mountains.  It was famous for its cedar forest.              The Gilgamesh epic speaks of "the mountain of cedars where the gods live."[15]  While traveling, Gilgamesh said "I am following Shamash."[16]  Shamash was the Sumerian sun god.  The sun travels west, and so Gilgamesh must have been traveling west, since he was "following Shamash."  Since Gilgamesh was from Uruk, a city of southern Mesopotamia (Iraq), and since he was "following the sun god," we can deduce that he was traveling west – a direction that would have taken him smack dab into Mount Hermon.  Because of this, and also because of the description of a mountain covered in cedars, we may deduce that "the place where the gods live" described in Gilgamesh is Mount Hermon. 

      The mutual mention of Mount Hermon as the place of the gods, therefore, ties Enoch and Gilgamesh together as part of a related tradition. 

      Since Gilgamesh dates to a time not too distant from the events it purports to record, namely the Flood, it therefore constitutes a credible corroborating witness for the reality of Enoch's story of the Flood, and for the angelic lust which caused it.  Gilgamesh was written in the early part of the 2^nd millennium BCE.  This is a few hundred years after the Biblical time-frame for the Flood.  Therefore, Gilgamesh is significantly more proximate to the events it purports to describe than Enoch, and may be used to corroborate Enoch, because they independently tell the same historical facts.

 

The Deuterocanon and the Apocrypha

      Ancient Jewish literature from shortly before the time of Christ is absolutely littered with references to the giants who were born of angels and women.  Below are three examples which are still revered as sacred scripture in the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Bibles today:

 

The giants were born in Israel.  They were legendary because of their tall height and military skills.  But God did not want them nor did he give them proper instruction, so they died because they lacked good sense.  They died because they were stupid.[17]

 

Even in the beginning, when arrogant giants died, the world's last hope found safety afloat in a boat.[18]

 

God never forgave the giants of old who forcefully rebelled.[19]

 

      Outside the Bible, The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs also testify that angels bred with humans.  The Testaments of Levi, Simeon,  Benjamin, and Dan mention the book of Enoch as if it were quite authentic, authoritative, and even prophetic.[20]  So also the Testament of Naphtali, which says the watchers were cursed like Sodom for changing their "natural ways."[21]  These books were probably written after 250 BCE, since they quote the Septuagint, yet they mention Syria as the latest world power,[22] so they were probably written before Rome's rise to power in the early 1^st century BCE.  Thus, by the period of 250-100 BC, the traditions associated with Enoch were already ancient enough and well-renowned enough to have achieved the status of scripture. 

      Here is one poignant excerpt from the Testament of Reuben: 

 

The watchers were charmed by women before the Flood.  As they were looking at the women, they lusted for them, and they fantasized about having sex with them.  Then they became human men, and while the women were living with their husbands, they appeared to them.  Because the thoughts of these women were filled with lust for them, and because they thought the watchers were as tall as the heavens, therefore they gave birth to giants.[23] 

 

The ignorance of basic biology associated with this idea – that a woman can become pregnant with a giant just because she looks at an angel and thinks he is tall, should give us pause.  It underscores the legendary nature of these stories, and reconfirms what was discussed above concerning the Flood – namely, an otherwise authentic and historically factual occurrence was embellished and reinterpreted by the ignorant ancients over time, in the absence of modern science, thereby coming down to us with a certain degree of accumulated lunacy and impossibility.  Nevertheless, we receive constant confirmation throughout the ancient writings on behalf of the historical reality of the basic plot:  Angels procreated with humans, and then their offspring were destroyed in a flood.

      According to yet another ancient Jewish apocryphal text, 4^th Esdras, there was a certain archangel named Uriel who uttered some rather detailed prophecies concerning the End Times.  Uriel informed us that in the End Times, "Pregnant women will give birth to monsters."[24]  In the same prophecy, Uriel foretold an era leading up to the End Times in which there will be famines, wars, plagues, and tribulations.  Uriel labeled this time "the beginning of sorrows."[25]  Uriel’s description of "the beginning of sorrows" is markedly similar to Jesus Christ’s prophecy concerning the End Times,

 

Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom.  There will be earthquakes in diverse places, famines and hard times.  These are the beginning of sorrows.[26] 

 

Notice here that Jesus used the same phrase that Uriel used – "the beginning of sorrows."  This suggests that Jesus Christ was aware of and agreed with Uriel’s prophecy.  Therefore, it stands to reason that Jesus may have also agreed with Uriel when he said, "pregnant women will give birth to monsters."  Astoundingly, Jesus also states in the very same prophecy, "Woe to those who are pregnant and nursing babies in those days,"[27] which might suggest that pregnancies in the End Times will be abnormal, because of the large number of half-breed children being born.  In the same prophecy, Jesus also states, "Just like the time before the flood… when they were marrying and giving in marriage… it will be like this when the Son of Man comes."[28]  From this, it is widely believed that Genesis 6 will repeat itself in the End Times.  The angels will marry and be given in marriage to human women and produce monstrous offspring.

      In another tradition, Michael the archangel allegedly prophesied that the Antichrist will be a giant, much like the giants of Genesis 6, who resulted from the union of angels with human women.  From this, many have surmised that the Antichrist will not be fully human, but rather a human-angel hybrid.  Here is a quote from the prophecy:

 

His mouth is from fingertip to elbow, his teeth from pinky to thumb, his fingers are like scythes, his feet are eighteen inches wide, and upon his forehead is the label "Antichrist."[29]

 

Nag Hammadi

      From the sands of the Egyptian desert, other accounts of the nephilim are preserved in the Nag Hammadi texts, which are ancient Christian writings.  Among other things, they state that seven angels lusted for Eve and said, "Let's squirt sperm into her," so they chased her, but she turned into the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and so the angels fucked the tree.  Meanwhile, Eve laughed at them because they were stupid.[30]  There are many similar stories from these texts:

 

The demiurge dispatched his angels to have sex with human women, so that they could get them pregnant for fun.[31]

 

The angels got the hots for human women, so they descended as fleshly beings, and then God brought about the Flood.[32]

 

The demiurge sweet-talked Eve into having sex, and so he got her pregnant… and then the seven principalities and some other angels got her pregnant with other children.[33]

 

The demiurge conspired with his principalities, and they gang-raped Sophia… but then the demiurge repented for all the things he had done, so he turned his attention to causing a Flood instead, to destroy human progress.[34]

 

Their children were war mongers and prone to violence.  They were disruptive rebels.[35]

 

The giants made an unsuccessful attempt to build the tower (of Babel).[36] 

 

Related to these is the account of Justinus, who believed that God chose Hercules to be an uncircumcised prophet, and that he got pregnant with a beautiful virgin mermaid who had a nasty snake-like body from the groin down.  This mermaid represents Mother Earth, and she is said to be the root of all evil in the entire universe.  About these ideas, Hippolytus commented, "I've bumped into a lot of heresies, my dear, but this one really takes the cake.  It's the worst I've seen."[37]

 

Beyond Judeo-Christian Literature

      Outside the Judeo-Christian tradition, there existed other ancient traditions which appear to be related to our topic.  For example, Agni, who was one of the Vedic gods of India, is said to be "sprung from two mothers."[38]  Together with his father, Agni apparently had three parents.  This hearkens back to Gilgamesh, who also resulted from some kind of heavenly threesome, since he was two-thirds god and one-third human.

      The Mayans of Central America can also be tied to the Gilgamesh epic because of their particular type of blood sacrifice.  The Mayans physically ripped out the hearts of their victims and offered these hearts as sacrifices to the sun god.  Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu did just that.  The Gilgamesh epic records, "After they killed the heavenly bull, they ripped its heart out and offered it to Shamash (i.e. – the sun god.)"[39]

      Also, Greek mythology records the existence of giants who sided with the Titans in the wars of the gods.  The word Titan in Greek calculates to 666.[40]  There was also a Greek equivalent to Noah named Deucalion.  Writing about 175 AD, the Christian apologist Athenagoras commented on the similarities between the book of Enoch and Greek mythology as follows:

 

If you have already heard about giants from mythological stories, it should not shock you, for the only difference between divine knowledge and human knowledge is this: one is truth and the other is still quite possible.[41]

 

      But science demands more than mythology and mere possibilities.  Science demands proof.  Where is the scientific proof that angels mingled with humans and animals?