Brothers from Another Mother

Carson and Shocka are brothers. They really are. Shocka is a Malian bushman, and Carson lives in the bush of Hopkins, SC. Carson is the one on the left in the picture, by the way.(A West African visiting our big metropolis a couple of years ago said Hopkins is the “bush”). Shocka came to faith in Christ a couple of years ago. Carson earlier than that. So indeed they are brothers in Christ. They do have different mothers. Carson’s Mom has blonde hair, Shocka’s not so much.

On the last trip into Mali in late January, Shocka’s Mom came to us with quite a bit of stomach problems. We sent her to a women and children’s hospital in a nearby village, one operated by another Christian organization. They diagnosed her as having serious cancer throughout her intestines with very little time to live. She professed faith in Christ before she returned. I have not had word, but wonder if she has gone on to be with Jesus yet.

Carson and Shocka have the same bloodline, according to the Bible. They both are descendents of Adam by way of Noah. I don’t know what color Adam’s skin was, but I suspect that Shocka’s skin is a little darker, and Carson’s skin a little lighter than what was Adam’s, but he could have been purple for all I know. In my heart I know there is only one race of people, the human race. Thanks to God’s great creativity, there are multitudes of ethnicities of people within that human race. We need to celebrate that together.

By the way, I wish you could know both Shocka and Carson. They are both incredible young men.

Are There ExtraTerrestrials in the Bible? Really?

Mention Genesis 6 to most Bible students and they think of Noah and the flood. But the opening verses present an interesting story of reality that rivals a Stephen King movie. “When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.” (Gen. 6:1-2)

The words “sons of God” translate a word from the Hebrew that means “angels”, and in this context it is apparently “fallen angels,” demonic creatures. We read in the next verse, “Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flsh: his days shall be 120 years.’” God doesn’t seem pleased about this development at all.

We read in verse 4 that “the Nephilim” were in the land in those days. It is a word translated in the King James as giants, apparently because the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the OT), uses a word “gigantes” which looks like giants, but means something quite different. It literally means, “fallen ones”. The word only occurs here and again when the spies return from Canaan and ten spread a bad report saying, ‘the nephilim are in the land.’ It is a reference to the ‘half-breeds’ that are the product of relations between fallen angels and human women.

It is an interesting fact reported in the Bible that is hardly mentioned in most theological discussions. The presence of the Nephilim is apparently some of what angered God enough to send the flood. Noah’s heritage was not marred by an ancestry that included demonic beings.

But don’t take my word for it. Read the account in Genesis 6 yourself. Of these Nephilim, vs. 4 says, “These were the mighty men of old.” Some have suggested this is where we get the story of Hercules, and even of many of the Greek gods. What is it that is said, “Truth is stranger than fiction.”

Someone once told me, “Google is your friend.” So why not google ‘Nephilim’. There are some interesting pictures some have said are the skeletal remains of nephilim. It is interesting, to say the least. Is someone playing the music to ‘Twilight Zone?’