Book Review:The Rise and Fall of The Nephilim by Scott A. Roberts

Offering us a chance to take a closer look at the Nephilim mentioned in Genesis is a great idea. The topic is interesting and timely and Mr. Roberts is a good storyteller. I wish I could say he has written an excellent book on the subject but his lack of integrity in his personal approach to scripture brings confusion to a topic he is attempting to shed light on. Starting with the Holy Bible, the Book of Enoch and Jubilees, he uses the right resources, but his interpretations of his sources are disappointing. Jumping back and forth between calling the Nephilim angels and aliens, as well as categorizing them as "lesser gods," when they were created to be God's servants, only serves to hide the truth about their origins and purpose.

It would take a book to clear up unfounded claims made by Mr. Roberts in this book so I'll limit myself to only discussing a handful or so. 

1. Serpent Seed Theory: This theory is unsupportable in Genesis or anywhere else in scripture. If Cain was truly the son of Eden's serpent (Fallen Angel or Satan), why wasn't he a giant or a mighty warrior like the sons of the other fallen angels mentioned in Genesis and the Book of Enoch? Why was Cain upset when his offering was not acceptable to God? Why would he even make an offering? Why would he care if God rejected it? And, why would God need to put a mark on Cain to protect his life if he was a mighty Nephilim?
2. The Fall Involved Adultery: Are we to believe that Adam let the serpent seduce Eve in his presence? If Eve's sin was adultery, what was Adam's sin? Contrary to Mr. Robert's assertions, Adam's sin brought death into the world because he sinned willfully; whereas, according to Paul, Eve sinned because she was deceived by the serpent. (Deceived not seduced!) The story of the fall is clearly told in Genesis. The sin was disobedience and did not involve sex. No decoder is needed to understand the passage.
3. Daughters of Men: Remarks about the "daughters of men" throughout the book were sexist! It was implied that the women were lusty and chose to have relations with the fallen angels. (You know how women are!) Their perversity defiled the earth and led its destruction in the flood. It seems there is always a reason to blame women. The Holy Bible; however, says the fallen angels saw them and "TOOK" them. If it was humanly possible to stop them, why weren't the men intervening to save them? And, why does the Bible say, "men's thoughts were continually evil"?
4. Moses:  Mr. Roberts paints Moses as a power hungry, arrogant, "Egyptianized" sociopath who sought to be a Pharoah-God to the slaves. The Holy Bible says Moses was the meekest man on earth, willing to give up all the wealth of Egypt to suffer with his brethren. Moses was saved from destruction as a baby and called by God to lead the people out of Egypt. Although he was reluctant at first, Moses took on the leadership role in obedience to God.  If the Holy Bible is true, Roberts is wrong, which devalues his book.  
5. Theophany: Mr. Roberts refers to Moses' having "face to face" encounters with God from the pillar of cloud at the door of the tabernacle as one more ploy to elevate himself in the eyes of the people. Then, if that's not bad enough, he "questions" how God could let Moses see His face on those occasions and then turnaround and deny him that same experience on Mount Sinai. The answer is that Moses wasn't asking for the same experience. Moses knew he was seeing a theophany at the tabernacle and he asked YHWH to let him see HIS FACE in HIS ETERNAL GLORY! YHWH refused but allowed him the unprecedented experience of glimpsing HIS BACKSIDE. (A theophany is an appearance of God in a physical form that a man can look upon and relate to. Seeing God as HE IS IN HIMSELF is not allowed for a mortal man.)   
6. Marriage of Jesus:  Without proof it is conjectured that Jesus was married. A rule that rabbis were required to be married is offered as proof. The fact that Jesus was set forth for ministry by His Father in heaven and not by a synagogue seems lost here. The people called Jesus Rabbi because he taught them, not because of an official religious affiliation. 
7. Misjudging the Prophet Elisha: I realize it is politically incorrect nowadays to hold people accountable for their actions but that was not the case in ancient Israel. Mr. Roberts attributes evil behavior to Elisha when his encounter with a group of mocking youths leads to their deaths. Roberts fails to see the incident from a divine perspective. Elisha had been the Prophet Elijah's servant. When God miraculously took Elijah to heaven in a whirlwind, Elisha received a double portion of God's Spirit operating in his life compared to Elijah. That means he was a powerful prophet in Israel and should have been treated with the utmost respect by all the people. However, in this incident a large gang of youths mocked Elisha as he walked past their town. They taunted him saying, "Go up, baldhead. Go up." This was blatant disrespect for him and for God's act of taking Elijah to heaven. (It is also possible they were consistent trouble makers and Elisha had prior experience with the, had heard of them, or was given spiritual insight concerning their prior deeds.) At any rate, after some time, Elisha pronounced judgement on their actions and 2 female bears came out of the woods and killed 42 of them. (42 is not a few. That's a gang!) Roberts needs to rethink his comments on this passage and on many others.   
8. For Christian Fundamentalists "nothing exists outside the bounds of written scriptural text". I disagree with this statement (and several others Mr. Roberts makes about Christians) because it is mistaken. We do believe facts that contradict scripture are wrong. However, we are not so closed minded as to believe that scripture covers everything that's out there. There are many avenues to discover various aspects of the truth. Nature itself, rightly observed, reveals much.  And, the Holy Bible mentions additional resources like the Book of Enoch, Jasher and Jubilees, which expand our knowledge of certain issues lightly covered in the scriptures. These books are available today (in the last days-- like the days of Noah-- which Mr. Roberts referenced so many times) because God has preserved them for us according to His plan. And they are worth reading. 

I was disappointed by the disparaging remarks about God's nature, His Word, the church and Christians scattered throughout the book. Mr. Roberts could have expressed his doubts and questions in less derogatory terms if he chose to. He speaks out of both sides of his mouth. Early on in the book he says, "I still cling to my Judeo-Christian roots," and acknowledges his belief in the Trinity. But, he follows these statements with complaints about being "someone's toy." Then he ends the book by announcing that his research has exposed him to information that has overwhelmed his faith and left him with serious doubts. I can only say that when one removes the cornerstone, the building will collapse.

The fallen angels and the Biblical giants reveal a clear pattern of spiritual warfare that impacted the early earth and continues today. Satan can transform himself into an Angel of Light to deceive his victims. Certainly his followers can transform themselves into secular aliens to deceive mankind in the last days. Evolution has laid a strong foundation to get people to fall for such a lie. If Scott Roberts had been true to the Bible and brought in more UFO information with theories as to how fallen angelic beings posing as aliens could be attempting to undermine the Christian faith with their deceptive alien disguise that would have been truly helpful to unaware Christians and sceptics alike. Many are unaware of the genetic manipulation and seeding reportedly going on. He missed a great opportunity.  

And how about giving God and the early Jews some credit for slowing the corruption of the post flood world by killing off so many wicked giants when they conquered Canaan? No one seems to go there!

Shredding foundations of faith and offering nothing substantial to replace them helps no one, not even Mr. Roberts. He needs to realize he has fallen prey to the deception inherent in his subject matter and truly return to his former faith. There is no God other than YHWH. He knows the end from the beginning and the proof is found in His Word. It is filled with prophecies that have already been fulfilled and many that are yet to come. Allowing ancient corrupted copycat religions and legal systems to undermine one's faith is foolish. The truth stands above all!

There is much to be learned but I advise readers to beware the false reasoning underlying much of Mr. Roberts "doubtful" conjectures.

"For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." Eph 6:12 NLT

"Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.  For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority." Col 2:8-10 NLT

I can't really recommend this book because it may shake your faith. If you choose to read it, I advise you to reread all scriptures referred to and to discard the dross.