Recently the new movie NOAH starring Russell Crow hit the store shelves and is now available on DVD.
Since it was produced by self proclaimed atheist Darren Aronofsky I did not find it surprising that the movie itself would not be Biblicaly accurate. In fact Aronofsky stated his movie was “the least biblical – biblical film ever made.”
And the seeds of non-biblical teaching are many. It incorporated evolution and portrayed Noah with the heart of an extreme environmentalist with a desire for all humanity to die so the world could return to the peace of Eden. The movie also uses the skin from the serpent in the garden as a talisman of blessing to the next generation. Methuselah has supernatural powers and uses a drug laced tea to send Noah into a dream state, and Tubal Cain (the bad guy) is seen quoting what scripture actually told mankind to do, that is to subdue the earth (Genesis 1:28). The twist is that the movie portrayed this as an evil ambitious goal as opposed to mankind being stewards over the earth as the Bible teaches.
While these deceptions are fairly easy to catch for those submitted to the study of God’s Word (2 timothy 3:15); for those whose knowledge of the historical account of Noah and the flood is limited to childhood storybooks, these false teachings can seat themselves into the conscience of the unsuspecting, cause confusion, and steer them away from the actual Biblical account of why God destroyed the surface of the earth with water approximately 4311 years ago.
What is surprising was a deception that was woven into a prominent part of the movie story line surrounding the rock giants called the Watchers. Their presence alone in the movie raised some eyebrows as there is no mention of stone giants in the Bible. In reality, these beings are talked about in the Bible but not as giants of stone…
In the movie, the Watchers are portrayed as benevolent angelic beings that chose to leave their heavenly abode against “The Creators” wishes in order to help mankind. After being chased into the wilderness, Noah and his family come into contact with one of the watchers who takes them to his leader named Semjaza. Later they are told that the watchers were created as beings of light on the second day of creation and saw when man was created. When they saw how frail mankind was and their fall from grace, they took pity on them and went to earth to try to help man. The Creator became angry because of their actions and trapped them on the earth in the form of rock giants. The stone giants pleaded with the Creator to let them back into heaven but they only received silence. From there they turned their attention to teach mankind about all they knew about creation. But as knowledge and power grew with humans, they became wicked and turned on the watchers, killing many of them. Only one human helped defend the giants, Methuselah who was Noah’s grandfather. Seeing that the Creator was helping Noah, the remaining watchers helped Noah and ends up being the primary builders of the ark. Once the waters started falling on the earth, the Stone Giants help defend the ark from the followers of Tubal Cain who tried to take the ark. For their sacrifice, they are redeemed and allowed back into heaven for helping Noah.
To many, the account of the angelic Watchers (Stone Giants of the movie) is just a thematic sci-fi type of Hollywood flare to heighten the adventure of the Noah story. Not many realize that the Bible chronicles that angels did play a big part in worldwide flood. Not as benevolent beings that came to help man as the movie deceptively portrays but rather to subdue and rule over mankind. We will look at the Bible as the source for this story and also look at the historical book of Enoch which goes into detail about these fallen angels and their leader Semjaza.
What does the Bible say about this event?
[Gen 6:1-8 NKJV]
1 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them,
2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they [were] beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
3 And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he [is] indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”
4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore [children] to them. Those [were] the mighty men who [were] of old, men of renown.
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every intent of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually.
6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7 So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
While the story of Noah usually begins at verse five where the Lord saw the wickedness of man on the earth, the proper context of this historical account begins at verse one. In verse two, scripture states that sons of God took wives with the daughters of men. Sons of God in the original Hebrew translates from the two words בֵּן ben אֱלֹהִים ‘elohiym.
The word ben can mean son, youth, or people. But it can also mean a member of an order, guild or class (Strong’s H1121). The word elohiym appears 2606 times in the old testament. The word can refer to God but also depending on the context can refer to angels (Strong’s H430). So this verse can be read as an order or class of angels saw that daughters of men where beautiful and came down to take them as wives. So from this verse it does not appear the angels came down to help mankind but rather to help themselves to the women of mankind!
When we look at Jude 1:6-7 we also see a reference to this unholy union:
[Jde 1:6-7 NKJV]
6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;
7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
In these two verses we see there were angels who left their domain and gave themselves over to “strange flesh”. The Greek for “strange” is ἕτερος heteros (G2087) and the Greek ford for flesh is σάρξ sarx (G4561). Heteros has a definition of not being of the same nature, form, class, or kind. Sarx means body but also has a definition of “a living creature” whether man or beast. In other words, these angels will be eternally punished for leaving their domain and going after the flesh or body of another kind (humans).
The Book of Enoch
There is a book that exist outside of the Bible called The Book of Enoch. It goes into detail about the fallen angels mentioned in Genesis 6:2. It is from this book where the director of the movie must have gotten the name Semjaza (the leader of the stone giants in the movie). Note: While there are many historical books that can lend information to and corroborate with scripture, they are not part of the sixty six canonical books of the Bible and should not be considered inspired. For more information on the book of Enoch, see “What is the book of Enoch?” at the bottom of this article.
That said , let’s look at Enoch Section 1- Chapter 6:1-7 which states:
1 And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto 2 them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men 3 and beget us children.’ And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear ye will not 4 indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations 5 not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ Then sware they all together and bound themselves 6 by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn 7 and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it.
We see here that the character Semjaza was not a benevolent angel as the movie portrayed but rather the leader of a group of angels that wanted to mate with human women. Later in Enoch Chapter 10: 1-4 we find out that it was due to this defilement that God decides to destroy the earth and protect Noah and his family to repopulate the earth:
1 Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spake, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, 2 and said to him: ‘Go to Noah and tell him in my name “Hide thyself!” and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come 3 upon the whole earth, and will destroy all that is on it. And now instruct him that he may escape 4 and his seed may be preserved for all the generations of the world.’
Want to research more? Read the entire story of fallen angels and the corruption of mankind from here: (Book of Enoch Chapter 6-10)
So as we see from Scripture and the book of Enoch, these Stone Giant Watchers were not helpers of humanity, far from it. Rather, they were a group of angels that in rebellion to God, left their heavenly abode to fulfill their fleshly lust. These same angels and their demi-god (half angel, half human) offspring called the Nephilim, were the origins of the many false gods and mythologies that propagated after the flood.
Why would the director twist this account of angels and why does it matter? It is one thing for an atheist to deny the existence of God and try to portray the Noah story as a legend or construct of ancient fantasy, but curious why he chose to present the fallen angels as benevolent beings that came to earth to help mankind. While I am not sure of his intentions for injecting this deception into the movie, it is notable that a person who is not submitted to and under the protection of God and His Son Jesus Christ is open to the subliminal suggestions of the evil one.
The apostle Paul warned that the last days would bring a marked increase in false teaching. “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). The last days are described as “perilous times” because of the increasingly evil character of man and people who actively “resist the truth” (2 Timothy 3:1-9; see also 2 Thessalonians 2:3).
Matthew 24:37 states that “as in the days of Noah, will be the coming of the Son of Man”. While in context the verse is talking about the suddenness of His return, does it also point to what was going on with fallen angels and demonic activity during that time? It is interesting that there has been a resurgence of Greek mythology in the last ten year in Hollywood movies. Percy Jackson, Clash of the Titans, Wrath of the Titans, 300, 300: Rise of an empire, Troy, Immortals, Hercules, The Legend of Hercules, are some recent examples of the Greek myth craze. Other “superhero” movies and hits such as the X-Men series all portray humans or half humans with supernatural abilities.
If some person or being showed up one day with those supernatural abilities, how many people would immediately follow after them? How many people who go to church but do not know the Word of God would fall away and go after these false gods? (Matthew 24:24)
That is why it is so important to daily study the Bible. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Tim 2:15) A person who fills there life with the Word of God and submits to it will be able to discern deceptions as they occur and help sound the warning cry for the unsuspecting, that there is a devil going around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour! May God bless you in the name of God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit as you seek Him out through His Word and prayer!
What is the book of Enoch?
The following description of the book of Enoch is provided at www.compellingtruth.org
“The Book of Enoch (also known as 1 Enoch) was an ancient Jewish writing known within Jewish culture. It exists in full today only in Ge’ez, the religious language of Ethiopia, though it likely existed in Hebrew or Aramaic prior. It is believed the early portions of it existed from about 300 BC while the later portions were added by the first century BC.
The writer of this work is unknown. It is based on the biblical character Enoch who is listed in Genesis as the great-grandfather of Noah and was noted as the “seventh from Adam” (Jude 1:14). Along with Elijah and Jesus, Enoch is noted as leaving this world alive and ascending to God. Genesis 5:24 says, “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.” Hebrews 11:5 reiterates that Enoch did not die but was rather taken up by God.
Because the Book of Enoch is quoted in Jude, some have wondered whether it should be considered a book of the Bible. However, the following reasons stand against this view. First, the Book of Enoch existed before the New Testament period and was not accepted as authoritative by the Jewish leaders who affirmed the Old Testament writings.
Second, the Book of Enoch was not authored by the biblical Enoch. While there are biblical books whose author is unknown, there is no biblical book whose authorship is knowingly attributed to a false author.
Third, quoting a book in the New Testament does not require that the book be considered part of the Bible. For example, Paul quoted Greek poets (Acts 17; Titus 1:12) and surely did not consider these sources “biblical sources” or inspired. He instead used these sources to illustrate an idea with his audience. The same was true of Jude’s use of Enoch. His Jewish readers would have been familiar with the Book of Enoch. Jude used this quotation concerning judgment as a warning to his readers, but did not do so to help prove that the Book of Enoch should be in the Bible.
Instead, the Book of Enoch is to be treated like other historical writings. Some of its information is true and some is not. It can be helpful in research, but is not inspired as Scripture.”