Giants: Sons of the Gods

This is a well written book, a very detailed book, a very well researched book, and a very PRACTICAL book. One might be thinking, "Giants? Interesting, but I don't see the relationship to myself." That thought becomes Van Dorn's greatest asset. He does a remarkable job connecting all the very large dots to tell a story that matters. The amount of research that went into this book, which is displayed in great depth in the end-notes, is truly unbelievable. This is no speculative fantasy - it's a well documented journey that starts with evil, and ends up where it should - Jesus Christ. That's the relationship it carries to us, and Van Dorn's concern for the "story" (true!) that reaches through the entire Old Testament and continues today should make our spines tingle. Early on in the reading of this book, someone asked me what I thought so far, and my response was, "creepy, but in a good way." If what the author presents is indeed factual, (and he makes a very strong case that it is) then the ramifications are truly chilling. Ancient DNA manipulation? Creatures so terrifying that the movie industry wishes they could come up with them? It's all here, and it all speaks to the ancient truth of good versus evil, where ultimately, the King of King's seals the final victory. If THAT isn't practical, I don't know what is. Every chapter builds on the last, and gives a tour of Scripture that so many have missed or glossed over for so many years. If it doesn't convince you fully, it will at least make you think real hard about not only how you view Genesis 6, but the entire world - let alone the Bible! There is so much nonsense and fascination with the supernatual in the world today, it's great to see a book that presents the truth in a way that doesn't over-extend into conspiracy theory, but also doesn't deny that there are things in this world that need to be understood. Overall, the book is WORTH the read, whether you are a skeptic, a believer, or someone just interested in the subject matter, - you won't go away disappointed. Money well spent.

There are a lot of irresponsible sensationalist theories out there on the Nephilim (giants). And Christians are just as guilty of wild speculation as Ancient Alien worshippers. But not Douglas Van Dorn. This book is a refreshing alternative for those who want to study giants in their Biblical context, with a high view of Scripture. He is thorough, responsible, and very readable with his conversationalist style for the intelligent layman. He does an excellent job of laying out the breadth of Biblical material on giants without going into wild speculation. I found his many charts of showing Biblical/non-Biblical comparisons and verse analysis to be helpful in illustrating the points he made with strong visual support. He does a great job of eviscerating the Sethite theory of the Sons of God in Genesis 6. If you want a solid and thorough Biblical and historical introduction to the topic of giants, this book is a good place to start. The Cons: The cover design is amateurish and looks self-published. Also, the author uses multicolored fonts throughout that distracts the read. He follows an apparent pattern of colorizing quotes from sources and proper names with different colors (though not with consistency). Also, I wish he would have critiqued the "divine kingship" theory of Meredith Kline regarding the Sons of God, because I believe this to be a more significant and influential theory than the older Sethite theory. Maybe in an updated revision? Of course, these are only minor irritations that should not discourage you from getting this book because the well-researched and documented content is so helpful.

Very thorough research went into this book. Very detailed. It is very fascinating. I always wondered about the giants. This is from a Protestant perspective in places but since I am aware, it is fine! This helped me get a bigger picture of the spiritual warfare between God and satan. Now I understand why God was trying to wipe out certain people. Really helps explain the battles. God is a loving God for sure!

WOW. Such a WELL researched, interesting, and amazing book. I am so happy to see a baptist preacher talking about the supernatural. I love my church family, but struggle with the fact there is nobody in "mainstream" that will have an intelligent conversation regarding the supernatural aspects of fallen angels, giants, etc. I have my sister reading this book and she is just as amazed and impressed as I am. As a Christian, we have to be so careful of false teachings and yet because of that, as the author states in his introduction, most theologians stay in their box of what they were taught by fellow, respectable theologians, and do not look any deeper. As Douglas points out, the "Seth" view wasn't started until about 1500+/- yrs after Christ... yet that is what most theologians teach. I love how Douglas goes back and researches what our current biblical translations meant to Jesus and his followers. One thing to point out. My sister is an AMAZINGLY strong Christian woman who researches all she reads. When a "red flag" comes up, she does her research to see if what the author says is true. --- In one area Douglas speaks of the modern day reading of Noah's son Ham "seeing his fathers nakedness" and how his brothers covered up the nakedness of their father. -- By reading it in our modern day terms it seems pretty straight forward, yet Douglas takes us back to Leviticus to show what that term REALLY means --- and it is really translated that ,-----Ham slept with Noah's wife! - I pray Douglas continues to write more knowledgeable books on this and other "supernatural" issues in the bible. I hope he continues to bring light to the "mainstream". -- Good Job Mr. Van Dorn! :)

This is an excellent, scripturally faithful, study of the odd story in Genesis in which the sons of gods intermarried with daughters of man. How could that be? Rather than bypassing it as an insignificant Biblical story that is too hard to interpret, the author embraces the possibility that created spiritual beings actually intermingled with human beings, and that giants mentioned in Biblical stories (and maybe other forms of demigods?) were the offspring of these forbidden unions. First, let me assure you that Van Dorn is not some kind of imaginative, spiritual wanderer who has created a story in his mind seeking to support it with Biblical arguments. No, rather the author devotes an extensive introductory section carefully exegeting multiple scriptures in an attempt to first understand what the Bible is trying to tell us. He also does an excellent job summarizing how Jews in the New Testament era and Christians have historically interpreted the key passages in Genesis. I know Doug personally and assure you that he views scripture as the authoritative, inspired word of God and would loathe the mishandling of scripture or speculation that detracts from the Glory of Christ ; in "Giants" he seeks to derive his understanding of this story from what the text says. Van Dorn allows that there are different ways of interpreting this story in Genesis, but holds out that the most Biblically faithful way to view it is that spiritual and human beings did in fact conceive offspring, which were giants. Holding to that view he then re-examines the Biblical narrative from pre-flood times through the time of Abraham and the patriarchs, Israel's conquest of the land of Canaan to the famous story of David and Goliath and uncovers whole new levels of understanding and nuance in these Biblical narratives, if in fact sons of gods really did come down to earth and marry daughters of men. Following from this interpretation of the Biblical storyline, Van Dorn traces the age old struggle between the offspring of Eve and Satan, culminating – as the promise to Eve was given – in Jesus Christ, the only begotten (an important word here) Son of God achieving total and complete victory over Satan. Van Dorn’s writing is supported by the work of others. He is not the sole voice exploring this weird possibility, but rather provides extensive references, footnotes and appendixes citing the scholarship of others from the modern era all the way back to extra-biblical commentaries and texts prior to the time of Jesus. Be warned, for those of us so engrossed in the physical realm, this book stretches the mind to consider what is really possible and what really exists in the spiritual realm. Read the book and draw your own conclusions. Carl Nelson President, Transform Minnesota: the evangelical network

The author has extensively researched the topic of giants. He investigated every possible source of information on the topic. As I read his research, I did not come to the same conclusions as the author. The author named various Bible Characters as a giants. Sodom and Gomorrah is an example of men lusting after various entities. God stopped this city for their sins. I am not convinced that all the characters named as giants were giants or that they were engaged in sinful activities. I agree with the final conclusion that Christ is the victorious warrior over evil.

From the time I first read it as an early teen, I've been fascinated by the implications of a plain, straightforward reading of Genesis 6:1-4. In four short verses, it recalls matter-of-factly a time before the Biblical flood when divine beings intermingled with human women producing gigantic offspring as a result. But this isn't an easy pill for the church to swallow, and many pastors and teachers either avoid the subject entirely; skirt around its edges; or go to great lengths to put together artificial constructs like the "Sethite" theory to avoid any hint of supernatural involvement. In the fall of 2005, I was fortunate enough to hear (now) Dr. Michael Heiser discuss this whole passage in a segment of the "Coast to Coast" radio show, and in that interview, he clearly laid out the proof that the plain reading is the correct one. Rather than "science fiction" or a "distortion" of "true Biblical teaching", it's what the text actually states and means. Furthermore, it was the prevailing view from before the time of Christ up until several centuries afterword. In "Giants: Sons of the Gods", Douglas Van Dorn pulls together a plethora of Biblical and extra-Biblical sources to lay out the entire scenario such than any layperson can follow the reasoning. Furthermore, he provides an extensive section of endnotes so that readers can check out the sources he uses for themselves. What makes this book even better is the fact that he shows the Genesis 6:1-4 portion is but a small take on the subject which is far more extensive than most Bible readers would ever begin to imagine. In fact, it forms the backdrop to the meta-narrative of the Bible: the war between Good and Evil captured succinctly in an even earlier reference: Genesis 3:15. In short, the Hebrews are involved either directly or indirectly in many conflicts with giants (Hebrew: Nephilim) or their descendants throughout much of the Old Testament. In the New Testament, the battle continues, but with the demons. In the end, there will be a final, climactic battle between the "seed of Eve" (the Messiah) and the adversary (Satan) in which Evil will be vanquished. Against this backdrop is played out the greatest story of love ever told. If you're a Bible believer, you need to purchase and read this book, because sadly, much of today's organized church is asleep at the switch, hypnotized by the baubles and distractions dangled before them by the Adversary, and woefully ignorant of the Book they claim to believe. If you're a skeptic, you need to read this book as well, and step back and weigh carefully what it presents against what's been played out on the stage of history over the millennia, and what's continuing to play out today at an increasingly furious pace. The time is drawing short; the war is intensifying. At the end of the day, we will each have allegiance to one side or the other; there will be no middle ground. This book will help you to see that larger picture, and to go in and clearly establish it with scripture, and reading it will be time well spent!

The topic of this book is way too complex to be covered in one trade book. Dorn tries, and I think succeeds, in making his case that the Genesis 4 Giants are indeed physical giants that were somehow engendered by spiritual forces or "Watchers" by means of, perhaps, genetic manipulation or metaphysical manipulation. At first the notion seems ludicrous but, for over two thousand years Christians have accepted that God "overshadowed" the virgin Mary in order that God Himself could be born a Son of Man or Son of Adam. The fallen Angels, of coarse, are not God but nevertheless have the power to appear in physical form and even eat and, thus it would seem, have the power to manipulate material energy. Perhaps manipulating DNA and/or the normally fertilized ova of human mothers isn't so ludicrous. Perhaps this whole phenomenon was Satan's primary offense against God's prophesy that the woman's seed would crush his head. Perhaps Satan was trying to transform all seed of women into his seed. What better way to spoil God's plan of redemption for mankind and prevent his own destruction and loss of dominion. Perhaps this seed or genetic frontline of attack is what is in view when God describes Noah as "perfect in his generations"--that his (and presumably his wife's) genome was not contaminated with any trace of Satan's agenda. In any case, Dorn makes a compelling case by dealing with every known objection to his proposition and exploring the scriptures thoroughly and also much etymological evidence. But, as I said, the topic is too complex and needs way to much more in-depth research and exploration for one book to be more than a survey of the propositions. I'm intrigued but I'd like to see more.