They Saw His Miracles, Yet . . .

December 7 (Numbers 13)
We read about a really puzzling event described in Numbers 13. Upon arriving at the entrance to the Promised Land, Moses sent out 12 spies, one member from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. I assume they were warriors, because he was sending them into a hostile land with little to defend themselves against some of the most ruthless people known on the planet at the time. For nearly five hundred years God had promised that land would eventually be the inheritance of Israel. He had made the promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob numerous times and had Moses record those encounters with God by their ancestors in the book of the law. What we now call the Pentateuch, i.e., Genesis-Deuteronomy was originally only one book.

When the twelve scouts returned, ten of them verified the land was all Moses claimed, but they also reported that the land’s inhabitants were too much for them to conquer. One group was literally giants. They were descendants of Anak, also called Nephilim (see also Gen. 6:4). The Nephilim were a puzzling group of giants in the days of Noah. Some think they were men who had evolved into giants through some kind of selective breeding (for lack of a better way to put it). Others suggest these were the fallen angels referred to in Jude 6 who abandoned their proper abode, intermarried with human women, and had children who turned out to be giants. I concur with this second view simply because of the words of Genesis 6:4, “. . . and also afterward.” The Nephilim before the flood would have all been killed in the flood. Apparently, fallen angels can give up their angelic status and intermarry with human women. At least they have done it at least twice historically if this view is correct. It seems the only explanation that would fit with the testimony of Numbers 13 is that after the flood, more fallen angels (aka Nephilim) intermarried with human women and bore children who were also giants. Thus they are called the descendants of Anak, aka Nephilim.

We know so little about the topic it really doesn’t do us a lot of good to speculate wildly about the myriad of implications these fallen angels might bring to the human problem of sin. I imagine it is significant, but I fear we will not learn any more about it until we see Jesus face to face. It is one of the mysteries God allows us know exists without explaining it to us fully. Of course, Hollywood producers have let their imaginations run wild producing hundreds of movies on the theme. That said, I personally prefer to operate in the realm of what we can discern from such things that teach us more about the nature of our God and His expectations for us. In the story as recorded in Numbers 13 we discover there were ten of Israelites finest who brought a bad report, who made the congregation afraid of the inhabitants of the Promised Land, while only two, Joshua and Caleb, encouraged the congregation to stop worrying about the size of the enemy and concentrate on the ability of their God make them conquerors.

What is so puzzling to me about this incident is that this group of 603,550 Israeli warriors had just seen God completely dismantle the most powerful military in the world, the Egyptians, kill every firstborn of every man and animal in Egypt, part the Red Sea, kill the entire Egyptian army for following them into that sea, bring water from a rock sufficient to satisfy the thirst of a contingent of probably 6 million people total, and water all of their livestock. He had turned one lake of bitter water into fresh water instantly, fed them miraculously with manna from heaven and pigeons who just fell from the sky and died right before their eyes three feet deep for a two mile circumference around their camp. They had already defeated one mighty army with zero casualties of their own. In spite of this myriad of reasons to know God would be with them and to know He was able to give them victory, they turned back from following at the mere suggestion of ten men who didn’t believe.

Imagine, if what I have been claiming for decades is true that there are tens of thousands of such men who have infiltrated the church and are now actually preaching in pulpits across America. Imagine the affect that would have on the rest of the congregations of God’s chosen people who have seen His miracles in their own lives time and again, yet, they cower in the presence of the Nephilim, afraid to contend for the faith, afraid to stand against the fiery missiles of the evil one. Then imagine there are actually some preachers standing in pulpits in America today who are finally teaching what I’ve been claiming for decades. Beloved, if you aren’t being persecuted for your faith, I suggest it’s only because you don’t make it a point to contended for the faith. If you experience no persecution, even in America, it’s only because you have chosen to remain quiet when you have had a chance to expose false teaching or confront any false teachers with the truth of scripture who are trying to lead entire congregations into the pits of hell.

I’ve been called everything but brother by well meaning but entirely misguided and ignorant people who truly believe they are the elect of God. I’ve been called a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a false brother, a liar, a deceiver, and a number of other things I wouldn’t repeat in public. Jesus made it clear and literally hundreds of verses attest to the fact that we are literally in a battle for the souls of men, women, boys, and girls, and the enemy is no longer outside the church. He has infiltrated thousands of churches around the world by now, and is preaching the same ungodly things from pulpits Satan has been preaching for 6,000 years of human history. And tragically, the church universal is so incredibly ignorant of what God’s word actually says, they have become easy targets for the devil's flaming missiles.

I’ll close with this one question that will make my point as well as anything I could conjure. Your answer to it will be a clear indication of your level of knowledge about the God of creation. Do you have any idea how many people God has killed in the 6,000 year history of man, for blasphemy alone (and all of them weren't in ancient times)? Think about that as you watch your friends and loved ones die without ever getting to hear an accurate presentation of the gospel. Think about that as you go to your job or shopping this holiday season and see great multitudes who are going to spend eternity in the lake of fire and brimstone who never got to hear you tell them about Jesus. Think about that, and ask yourself if you’re happy someone had the nerve to snatch you from the burning jaws of hell by telling you about God’s provision for your sin in His Son’s substitutionary death on the cross of Calvary. Finally, ask yourself why you seldom or maybe never have told anyone about God's Son, His perfect life, His sacrifice of Himself on the cross, taking upon Himself the sins of all mankind, and His resurrection. Could it be you're a goat and not a sheep? I pray you'll all have a blessed celebration this season contemplating the miraculous birth of that Son through a young unwed teenage virgin girl who lived two thousand short years ago in that Promised Land, because God finally gave it to the descendents of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Go and serve your King.