If someone were to ask you which period in history has had the most profound effect on humankind, what would you say? Many would answer that it is our present era of technology that will ultimately have the greatest impact. Others would suggest that it was the industrial revolution. But for me, it’s that moment in time that historians refer to as ‘the dawn of civilization,’ which resulted in the ancient nation of Mesopotamia. Before you balk at this, think of all the many ideologies from that period that remain with us today. Our religions, our wars, even our fantasies are connected to that era. Mesopotamia is where you will find the origins of Judism, Christianity, Islam, angels, demons, superheroes and villians (even vampires).
Looking back five thousand years, sorting through the framents of those lost civilizations, you can’t help noticing that something pretty significant was indeed taking place. The species that had existed as hunters and gatherers for hundreds of thousands of years suddenly began settling in one place, cultivating the land and even governing themselves. They came up with irrigation, armor, algebra and the wheel. They had knowledge of our solar system that even modern technology wasn’t able to confirm until the 1970s. They built super-structures that would present a challenge to architects today. And, perhaps most importantly, they began to read and write.
From those first ancient records we find numerous accounts of ‘angels’ descending from ‘heaven,’ bringing knowledge and culture to the people of Mesopotamia. These superior beings, which many worshiped as ‘gods,’ were said to have mated with the women of Mesopotamia and fathered a fearsome new breed of giants they called Nephilim. Some historians theorize that these otherworldly visitors may have been aliens, whereas theologians believe they were spirit creatures rebelling against God. While we may never know exactly who they were or why they came, I think there is reason to believe that they were here.
Testimonies of their offspring, the Nephilim giants, are too widespread to discount, dating back to the very first piece of literature ever found (The Epic of Gilgamesh) and continuing to the time of Christ. The giants are brought up again and again in the Old Testiment, first in “Genesis” and then later in the books of “Numbers” and “Joshua.” Other, apocryphal texts describe the giants in even greater detail, such as in “The Book of Enoch” and “The Book of Giants.” Meanwhile, far away in ancient Persia, we find fragments of documents describing something called ‘daeva,’ which initially meant ‘god’ but appears to have changed at some point to mean ‘false god’ and was later used synonymously with ‘monster,’ ‘devil’ and ‘giant.’ The daeva was a despicable creature born out of ‘the lie’ (these were the ancient beginnings of Zoroastrianism). Finally, in another land thousands of miles to the west of Mesopotamia, we find the first references to the Greek gods, where giants also played a part. Though written testimony is often considered the least reliable of archaeological discovery, I think it’s significant that three separate nations, all speaking different languages, are describing the same phenomenon at the same time.
What were these ‘angels,’ ‘daeva’ and ‘gods?’ And what became of their notorious offspring, the giants? Did they possess souls, like us? And, if so, what happened to them when they died?
It is interesting to note how public opinion began to shift in all three of those ancient civilizations after several generations with these visitors. What seemed like a dream come true was quickly becoming a nightmare. Legends sprang up everywhere of ‘evil spirits,’ not belonging to this earth, haunting the living and sometimes even taking over their bodies. Terror spread throughout the ancient world of this new threat of possession.
The more I research this, the more I wonder: Is it possible that the numerous claims of demons, daeva and djinn (all of which appear to be describing the same phenomenon) could be connected to those hybrid souls of the Nephilim?
In my Legacy of the Watchers series, I present my theory about what happened all those years ago and how those lost Nephilim souls—or ‘the hidden ones,’ as the Ancient Arabians referred to them—remain with us today. I’ve spent nearly seven years gathering information from every available source, combining science, history and mythology. Strangely enough, the pieces seem to be fitting together rather nicely, and it’s even starting to make perfect sense… to me, at least.
Hopefully it will for you too.