Source: Michael S. Heiser, Reversing Hermon: Enoch, The Watchers & The Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017), 147–162.
This excerpt explores the idea that Second Temple Jewish beliefs about a great eschatological enemy, similar to the Christian concept of the Antichrist, were influenced by stories of the transgression of the Watchers and the resulting giants (Nephilim). While not explicitly stating the Antichrist would be a giant or descended from them, the text highlights how Jewish thinkers associated this future opponent with Belial (Satan), who some believed led the fallen Watchers, and their demonic offspring. Ancient Jewish and early Christian texts linked the Watchers and giants to figures like Nimrod and even the Greek Titans, suggesting an understanding of the Antichrist as a figure empowered by, or embodying, these evil supernatural forces in a final conflict against God and the Messiah.
The Existence of Pre-Christian Antichrist Theology: The source explains that the concept of a great eschatological enemy of God, which Christians would later identify as the Antichrist, was not new to the New Testament period. Scholars recognize that Second Temple Judaism already possessed a "theological profile" for such a figure. This pre-Christian theology influenced New Testament writers as they described the Antichrist. This Jewish understanding of the great enemy had conceptual links to the narrative of the Watchers' transgression found in 1 Enoch and to Genesis 6:1–4. While there wasn't an explicit claim that the Antichrist would be a descendant of the Nephilim or an incarnation of a Watcher or Satan in 1 Enoch or the New Testament, the underlying ideas were connected. The fully developed doctrine of "Antichrist" as named is Christian, emerging later, but the foundational concept of an imperial tyrant opposing the Messiah was already present in Jewish thought from the Second Temple period.
Old Testament Antecedents for the Eschatological Enemy: Second Temple Jews drew upon specific Old Testament passages to develop their understanding of the great enemy of the Messiah. These passages emphasized victory over enemies and sometimes hinted at tyrannical rulers appearing before a decisive divine victory. Examples include texts speaking of the star from Jacob smiting enemies (Numbers 24:17), the Messiah slaying the wicked (Isaiah 11:4), kings rising up against the Lord and his anointed (Psalm 2:2), and prophecies about oppressive tyrannical kings like Gog of Magog (Ezekiel 38–39) or the "little horn" figures (Daniel 7:8, 24–27; 8:9–11:23–6). Although these passages might not explicitly point to a single enemy figure to modern readers and might require interpreting texts outside their immediate context, Jewish religious leaders of the period did produce a doctrine of a great eschatological enemy from them. An example is the Assumption of Moses, which transforms Psalm 2:2, speaking of kings rising against the Messiah, into a reference to "a king of the kings of the earth" who has supreme authority and persecutes the faithful.
Belial, Demonology, and the Prince of Darkness: A significant element of Second Temple Jewish thought that provides background for the Antichrist concept is demonology. Figures like Belial (also known as Beliar, Mastema, or Semihaza) are presented as leaders of the powers of darkness, serving as parallels to Satan and the Antichrist in New Testament theology. Early Jewish literature, particularly writings like the Enochic Book of Watchers and the Dead Sea Scrolls (such as the Damascus Document and the Rule of the Community), elaborate on evil angelic forces and the struggle between good and evil. In some texts, Belial is depicted as the adversary who raised up opponents to Moses and Aaron. The present age is described as "Belial's dominion" on earth. Belial is contrasted with figures like the "Prince of Lights" (often identified with Michael) and is seen as leading an army of dark powers, both divine and human, in an end-times war. This demonology suggests that Second Temple Jews saw Satan/Belial as potentially being the catalyst behind the Watchers' rebellion, and the Watcher-spirits (demons) as working under Satan/Belial to oppose God and his people.
Connecting the Antichrist to the Watchers and Nephilim: Despite no direct biblical or Enochian text stating that the Antichrist is a Nephilim descendant, a Watcher incarnation, or Satan himself, the source argues there are indications that some Second Temple Jews and early Christians linked the great enemy of the Messiah to the events of Genesis 6:1–4 and the Watcher story from 1 Enoch. This connection is understandable within the framework of their demonology, where the demons were seen as the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim giants, who were the offspring of the fallen Watchers. Therefore, associating the Antichrist with giants or the fallen Watchers meant associating him with the demonic Watcher-spirits. This perspective allows for the possibility that the Antichrist was conceived not just as Satan incarnate, but perhaps as an embodied Watcher-spirit acting in league with Satan/Belial, the leader of the Watchers.
The Human Tyrant Figure: The concept of the great eschatological enemy included the expectation that this figure would manifest as a human commander or tyrannical ruler. The Old Testament antecedents already pointed towards oppressive kings. Second Temple Jewish texts solidified this idea, describing the enemy as a human figure who would oppose God's people. Historical figures like Sennacherib of Assyria, Antiochus IV Epiphanes (who persecuted Jews in the Second Temple period), or even Roman emperors like Nero (as suggested in later texts like the Sibylline Oracles) served as prototypes for this evil human tyrant. The Assumption of Moses explicitly calls this figure "a king of the kings of the earth." Texts like 4QPseudo-Ezekiel describe a "son of Belial" who is a human enemy plotting to oppress God's people. This indicates a belief that the demonic forces led by Belial would work in concert with human nations and be led by a specific human figure who embodies the opposition to God and the Messiah.
The Interplay of Giants, Titans, Babylon, and Nimrod: Second Temple Jewish thought creatively integrated biblical narratives with concepts from Greek mythology. The biblical giants (Nephilim, Rephaim) were sometimes equated or conflated with the Greek Titans and Gigantes, who also rebelled against heavenly authority and were imprisoned (in Tartarus). This conflation is seen in the Septuagint's translation of the Hebrew "rephaim" as "titanes" and the use of "tartaroo" (cast into Tartarus) in the New Testament (2 Peter 2:4) in the context of the fallen angels, explicitly linking them to the Greek mythological punishment. Furthermore, these concepts were connected to Babylon and the figure of Nimrod. Some Second Temple Jews believed that giants, specifically a giant named Belos (identified with Nimrod), survived the Flood and built the Tower of Babel. This connection stemmed from Nimrod being described as a "gibbor" (Hebrew for mighty man, translated as "gigas" or giant in the Septuagint) and his association with the beginning of his kingdom in Babel (Babylon) in Genesis 10. This led to the idea that Nimrod, seen as a giant, was a builder of Babel and potentially descended from the fallen Watchers, or Titans, thereby linking the giant narratives, Greek mythology, and the symbolic center of opposition to God (Babylon) together in their eschatological understanding.