The Promised Head-Crusher Vs. the Nephilim | What Are the Nephilim? Part 1 -- Mark Russak (Ep 219)

What are the Nephilim? The Promised Head-Crusher Prophecy was a sentence of doom for Satan: "The Seed of the Woman -- the Messiah -- will crush your head" (Genesis 3:15). In this episode with Mark Russak, we explore the possibility that fallen angels impregnated women in a vain attempt to corrupt the human bloodline and thwart the Messiah from coming. Admittedly, this is difficult to process for the Western mind. Dive deep with us. You decide. Part 1 of 2.

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See the full episode transcript below.

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: THE PROMISED HEAD-CRUSHER ... WITH MARK RUSSAK

Welcome to Jesus Smart, the podcast where we explore how Jesus Christ knows how our lives work best. I'm your host, Brian Del Turco, and today we're diving into a fascinating topic from Genesis 6—one that may reshape your understanding of spiritual warfare, prayer, and the kingdom of God.

Jesus Dynamics: Planning Your Way While God Directs Your Steps

We all have promised territory in front of us right now. Proverbs 16:9 tells us that the heart of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. The Lord has created the heart, and your heart knows. Just take that first step. The Lord works with us as we step into the promises. More is given as you take your first steps.

Proverbs 3:6 promises that when we acknowledge Him—know Him by direct, intimate contact—He will make our paths straight, direct, and smooth.

Understanding Genesis Through Both Word and Spirit

I believe in a hermeneutic that is historical, cultural, and grammatical in nature. We look at context and pay deep attention to word studies—what the Hebrew and Greek mean. But I also encourage wedding that hermeneutic with the hermeneutic of the Holy Spirit, who provides increasing illumination of Scripture.

In First John, we read that we all have an anointing from the Holy One. It's important to engage the Scriptures in community with others and with solid Bible study resources. Hugh Ross, a Christian astrophysicist, says we need a deepening understanding of nature and history. We need both the Word and the wind.

For the complete discussion on biblical interpretation methods and our full conversation about Genesis 6, visit jesussmart.com/giants.

Meet Mark Russack

Brian: I'm excited to bring you today's guest, Mark Russack. He's a media professional and an excellent Bible teacher. Thanks for joining us, Mark.

Mark: Delighted to be here. Thanks for the invitation.

Brian: Give our listeners some background about you.

Mark: I was raised Catholic, but around age thirty, I gave myself fully to the Lord, hungry for more of Him. Professionally, I've been in broadcasting and media. I believe the Lord has given me a gift as a teacher. My mission is twofold: to engage the veracity of Christ and Scripture through honest intellectual conversation, and to offer information Christians can use to share the Gospel within their sphere of influence.

Brian: Excellent. You deal with current events, Christian apologetics, and you value presenting both sides of an argument. We're really in a post-truth time, aren't we?

Mark: Exactly. I like to present different perspectives, bringing in archaeological evidence, eyewitness accounts, and historical records. I equate the listener as being the jury, and I'm presenting the case of the Lord Jesus Christ humbly, letting them decide whether this is truth or not.

Genesis 6:1-4: When Angels Impregnated Women

Brian: Today we're examining the possibility that angels impregnated women in early Genesis. Let me read Genesis 6:1-4:

"It came about when mankind began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Then the Lord said, 'My spirit will not remain with man forever because he is also flesh. Nevertheless, his days shall be 120 years.' The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of mankind and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."

The word Nephilim means "fallen ones," and the Septuagint translates it as "giants."

Brian: What do we have happening in popular culture today with movies featuring hybrid creatures?

Mark: Films like Wolverine depict characters that are part man, part animal with attributes not natural to mankind. You see this in Hollywood movies and television.

Brian: Sometimes the world is more open to supernatural perspectives than the North American church.

Mark: I think that's fair. As Americans, we're bombarded with media and information—almost a sensory overload that dulls our senses and thwarts critical thinking. I think that's by intent and design.

The First Mention of the Gospel and Satan's Strategy

Brian: Genesis 3:15 is what theologians call the proto-Evangelium—the first mention of the Gospel. God speaks to Satan: "I will make enemies of you and the woman, and of your offspring and her descendant. He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." You're contending that in Genesis 6, Satan attempted to corrupt the human bloodline to stop this prophecy. Is that correct?

Mark: That's correct. Genesis 3:15 is the Lord giving Satan his death sentence. Satan knows the Bible probably better than most people. This is a life and death situation for him. If fallen angels went into the daughters of men and created offspring, you're looking at mutant DNA—part human and part angelic. It's not the creation of God. That DNA is now potentially infesting the bloodline of the human race.

Three Interpretations of Genesis 6

Brian: I understand there are three different models of interpretation. Could you take us through that?

Mark: The three theories are: fallen angels as "sons of God," the godly line of Seth marrying Cain's daughters, or mythological symbolism. I contend these are fallen angels—the fallen sons of God.

Genesis 6:4 says there were Nephilim. The root word "nephal" means to be cast down, to fall away. "Havagibion" means "the mighty ones." When translated into Greek, it became "gigantes"—giants. There are many historical records of these giants.

The verse says "when the sons of God came into the daughters of men"—human women. Right there, there's a clear distinction: Nephilim (part human, part angelic), sons of God (angelic), and daughters of men (human women).

Brian: This was the dominant view of the early church and late Judaism, right?

Mark: That's correct.

Brian: Later, beginning with Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, some taught this referred to Seth's line. But I was amazed—the John MacArthur Study Bible, the Spirit-Filled Life Bible, and the Nelson NKJV Study Bible all hold to the ancient angels view.

The phrase "sons of God" appears consistently in the Old Testament referring to angels—Job 1:6, Job 2:1, Job 38:7.

For detailed analysis of the Hebrew phrase "sons of God," complete scripture references, and all supporting evidence, visit jesussmart.com/giants

New Testament Support

Brian: What about the New Testament witness?

Mark: Jude 6 says, "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." They left their assigned area and engaged in fornication with women. Because of that sin, God put them in Tartarus—a level below hell.

Second Peter 2:4 confirms: "God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved for judgment."

Brian: Jude verse 7 mentions "just as Sodom and Gomorrah... indulged in sexual perversion and went after strange flesh." One scholar said in Genesis 6, angels initiated and went after human flesh. In Sodom and Gomorrah, there's an inversion—humans wanting sexual relations with angels visiting Lot.

Mark: That's exactly right. And Jesus himself said it. When asked about signs of his coming, he said in Luke 17:26, "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man." He also mentioned the days of Lot.

Brian: So in Noah's days, you have every sort of sin—and this egregious sin of angels crossing a barrier and having sexual relations with women. This precipitated Noah's flood.

The Book of Enoch Connection

Brian: What about Enoch? He's quoted in Jude, right?

Mark: Jude quotes the Book of Enoch: "Enoch the seventh from Adam prophesied saying, 'Behold, the Lord comes...