Are the demons the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim?

Answer

As a preliminary step, we recommend reading our articles on “Who were the sons of God in Genesis 6:1-4?” and “Who were the Nephilim?” Understanding that the sons of God were fallen angels and the Nephilim were the hybrid offspring of fallen angels and human women, the question arises: What happened to the spirits of the Nephilim after their demise, whether by the flood or in the case of potential post-flood Nephilim (Genesis 6:4;Numbers 13:33), after the flood?

Some theories suggest that the spirits of the Nephilim lingered on the earth and transformed into what we now know as demons. It is assumed that as angelic-human hybrids, the spirits of the Nephilim differed from the human soul-spirit, enabling them to exist in this realm without a physical form. This concept could potentially elucidate why demons seek to inhabit human bodies, thereby gaining corporeal control. It could also provide insight into the fallen angels’ perspective, who are outnumbered 2-1 by the holy angels as seen in Revelation 12:4, motivating them to bolster their ranks.

The notion that demons originated from the Nephilim is partly due to a misconception regarding the identity of the “spirits in prison” mentioned in 1 Peter 3:19 (also referenced in Jude 6). Some mistakenly interpret the “spirits in prison” as all the fallen angels who defied God. If all fallen angels were incarcerated, an alternative explanation for the existence of demons would be necessary, hence the reliance on the Nephilim theory. However, it is evident that not all fallen angels are imprisoned. Satan, the chief instigator of the angelic rebellion against God, remains at large. The question arises: Why would God permit the leader of the rebellion to roam freely while detaining the angels who followed him?Allowed Satan in the rebellion? No, it makes more sense to understand the “spirits in prison” as the fallen angels who took part in an additional rebellion, namely, the sons-of-God/daughters-of-men incident. The fallen angels who paired with human females are the ones who are imprisoned. There is no solid biblical reason to dismiss the notion that the demons are the same beings as the fallen angels.

The concept that the demons are the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim is also derived from the book of Enoch, which provides extensive information about the Nephilim. It is important to remember that, although the book of Enoch contains some truth (Jude 14), it is not the inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God. We should never base a belief solely, or even mainly, on extra-biblical literature. Therefore, with no necessity to account for the existence of demons apart from the fallen angels, and with no clear evidence in Scripture for the spirits of the Nephilim persisting on Earth, there is no solid foundation on which to equate the demons with the spirits of the Nephilim. While the concept is plausible, it cannot be directly inferred from Scripture, and thus should not be regarded as the most suitable explanation of the origin of the demons.