Gate III — Comparisons, Connections & The Unseen World

Two Battlefields?

Israel stood at the edge of the Promised Land.

To human eyes, the situation was clear.
Across the Jordan were:

• cities,
• kings,
• armies,
• fortifications,
• and hostile peoples.

But after opening the ancient texts, another landscape appeared beneath the visible one.

• Hermon.
• Bashan.
• Rephaim.
• Anakim.
• Nephilim traditions.
• Foreign gods.
• And the Commander of the LORD's Host.

So now we ask the question Gate III was made for:

Let us place the pieces together.

Connection I — The Promise Begins in a Divided World

Remember our earlier Journeys.
At Babel the nations scatter.
Deuteronomy 32 remembers the nations being divided according to a heavenly framework, while:

“The LORD's portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance.”

— Deuteronomy 32:9

Then God calls Abraham.
And what does He promise him?
Descendants. Blessing. And land.
That land is Canaan.

So look at the larger movement:

Perhaps the conquest should not be read as an isolated military event.
It belongs to the much larger covenant story.

Connection II — The Land of the Giants

But why does the biblical text repeatedly emphasize unusual peoples in precisely this region?

The spies see the sons of Anak.
Deuteronomy remembers the:
Anakim, Emim, Zamzummim, and Rephaim.

Og rules Bashan and is remembered as one of the last remnants of the Rephaim.

Joshua later attacks the Anakim.
And some survive around: Gaza, Gath and Ashdod.

Then centuries later—
Goliath appears from Gath.

This is not something imported from Enoch.

The giant thread already exists inside the Bible.

Enoch merely gives us a possible ancient framework through which some Jewish readers understood the older giant tradition.

Connection III — Genesis 6 and Canaan

Now place Genesis 6 beside Numbers.

Genesis says:

“The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward.”

— Genesis 6:4

Then the frightened spies say:

“There we saw the Nephilim... the sons of Anak.”

— Numbers 13:33

We need caution here.

The spies are terrified, and their report is explicitly called an evil report.
So Numbers does not necessarily provide us with a scientific genealogy of the Anakim.

But the connection itself is present in the biblical text.

Ancient Israel associated the terrifying sons of Anak with the older memory of the Nephilim.
That alone is remarkable.

Connection IV — Enoch Fills the Silence

Genesis gives us four mysterious verses.
1 Enoch gives us chapters.

The Watchers descend.
They take women.
Giants are born.
Corruption spreads.
The giants die.
Their spirits remain.

Whether every detail preserves ancient history cannot be established.
But Enoch answers questions Genesis leaves unanswered.

Suddenly the strange fragments form an ancient theological system.

Not canonical proof.
But certainly more than a modern internet theory.
Ancient Jews were already asking these questions thousands of years ago.

Connection V — Hermon

Now we reach one of the most fascinating geographical connections.

1 Enoch places the Watchers' descent at:
MOUNT HERMON.

Why Hermon?
We cannot know whether the tradition preserves an ancient geographical memory or whether Hermon was chosen later because of its religious significance.

But now look at the map.
Hermon rises in the far north of the biblical land.
Nearby lies the wider region associated with: BASHAN.
And Bashan is ruled by: OG.

A king explicitly connected in Deuteronomy with the remnant of the Rephaim.

These are not identical statements.
But geographically...
they are remarkably close.

Connection VI — Bashan was More than a Random Kingdom

Bashan was valuable territory.
Fertile. Powerful. Strategically important.
So Israel had perfectly ordinary reasons to confront its kings.

But biblical and ancient Near Eastern imagery gives the region additional associations.
The Rephaim tradition is connected with it.
Hermon stands nearby.
Later biblical poetry uses Bashan in powerful imagery.
And Ugaritic texts from the wider cultural world know mysterious rpum, often discussed in relation to dead ancestral or heroic figures.

None of this proves:
“BASHAN WAS LITERALLY THE KINGDOM OF DEMONS.”

We should not say that.
But it does suggest that the region carried cultural and religious associations modern readers can easily miss.

Connection VII — The Rephaim and the Dead

This becomes stranger still.

• In Deuteronomy:
  Rephaim are ancient peoples.
• In Isaiah and Proverbs:
  rephaim can designate the dead shades.
• And in Ugaritic texts:
  related rpum appear in contexts involving deceased/ancestral figures.

So the same linguistic world seems to place the term near two categories:

Why?
We do not know with certainty.
Perhaps separate meanings developed.
Perhaps ancient heroic ancestors became associated with the underworld.
Perhaps traditions overlapped.

But for The Triune Gates this is precisely the kind of connection worth showing.
Not: “We have solved it.”
But: “Why do these pieces keep appearing beside one another?”

Connection VIII — Og: The Last of Something Old

Then we encounter Og.

Deuteronomy does not simply introduce him as another king.
It specifically tells us:

“Only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim.”

— Deuteronomy 3:11

Then it preserves the dimensions of his enormous couch or bed.

Why?
Apparently because Og represented something memorable.
Something ancient.
Something unusual.

Israel is not merely defeating: King Number 27.

The biblical narrator identifies Og as a surviving remnant of an older people.

WHAT IF...
Og's defeat symbolically represents the closing of an ancient chapter?

Not proof that Og himself was a pre-Flood Nephilim.
The Bible never says that.
But within the narrative...
something old is being removed from the land.

Connection IX — And Then a Heavenly Commander Appears

Now return to Joshua.

Israel crosses the Jordan.
Jericho stands ahead.
And before Joshua attacks—
he encounters a mysterious warrior.
Sword drawn.

Joshua asks:

“Are you for us, or for our adversaries?”

The answer:

“No; but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.”

— Joshua 5:13–14

That answer is fascinating.

Joshua wants to know: Which human army are you supporting?

The figure effectively reframes the question.
He commands another army.

THE HOST OF YHWH.

Then Joshua is told to remove his sandals because the ground is holy.
Exactly the sort of language associated with Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush.

Something far greater than ordinary military strategy has entered the story.

Connection X — Who is the Commander?

Christians have long debated this figure.
An exalted angel?
The commander of God's heavenly host?
A manifestation of God?
A pre-incarnate appearance of Christ?

The text does not explicitly say: “This is Jesus.”
So neither will we.
But the holy-ground language makes the encounter extraordinary.

And its timing matters.
Israel is about to begin the conquest.
Then—
THE COMMANDER OF A HEAVENLY ARMY APPEARS.

At minimum, the biblical story reminds us that Israel's earthly army is not the greatest army present.

Connection XI — Jericho Does Not Fall Like an Ordinary City

Now look at the first battle.

If Joshua were simply writing a military handbook, the strategy is bizarre.

The Ark—the symbol of God's covenant presence—is at the center.
The priests participate.
The battle has the appearance of: warfare + sacred ritual.

Jericho is conquered militarily—
but the story deliberately portrays God as the true source of victory.

The conquest begins almost like a declaration:
THIS LAND WILL NOT BE TAKEN BY HUMAN STRENGTH ALONE.

Connection XII — Holy War or Divine Judgment?

This is also where we need an important boundary.

The conquest narratives have sometimes been abused as justification for later human violence.
But within Scripture, Israel's situation is presented as a specific covenant-historical judgment, not a universal command for believers to conquer territory.

Genesis says God waited generations:

“the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

— Genesis 15:16

Israel itself is warned that if it follows the same practices—
the land will cast Israel out too.

— Leviticus 18:24–28

So Israel is not given a racial or moral blank cheque.

The Judge of Canaan is also the Judge of Israel.
That distinction matters.

Connection XIII — What was Canaan Worshipping?

Ancient Canaanite texts reveal a world populated by divine beings.

The biblical writers repeatedly warn Israel against these gods and their worship.

So the conquest involves another conflict that will continue long after Joshua's battles finish:
ALLEGIANCE.

Who owns Israel's worship?
YHWH?
Or the gods of the surrounding nations?

This is why Joshua's final speech is so important:

“Choose this day whom you will serve.”

— Joshua 24:15

The deepest battle for the Promised Land was not merely over who occupied the land.

It was over:
WHO WOULD BE WORSHIPPED THERE.

Connection XIV — The Giants and the Gods

Now we can cautiously combine the ancient traditions.

• 1 Enoch says:
  rebellious heavenly beings produced giants.
• Jubilees knows:
  the same basic tradition and later hostile spirits.
• The Bible remembers:
  Nephilim, Anakim and Rephaim.
• Canaanite religion remembers:
  divine beings and mysterious dead/heroic rpum.

Could these traditions preserve fragments of an ancient worldview in which:

were not completely separate categories in people's minds?

Possibly.

But this is precisely where we mark the line:

INTERESTING CONNECTION — NOT PROVEN HISTORY.

We do not need to force the pieces together.
Their proximity is interesting enough.

Connection XV — What if the Giants Became God-Kings?

Now we can make a more daring jump.

Ancient cultures frequently remembered legendary rulers and heroes as beings greater than ordinary humans.

Some kings claimed divine ancestry.
Some heroes were said to descend from gods.
Some dead rulers received cultic honour.

So could memories of unusually powerful ancient figures have contributed to later traditions of:

demigods, hero-kings, giants, and divine ancestors?

Perhaps.

This does not prove that Hercules, Gilgamesh or every mythological hero was literally a Nephilim.
That would go far beyond our evidence.

But the recurring ancient motif is striking:

Genesis 6 contains an ancient version of precisely that pattern.
1 Enoch expands it dramatically.
Greek mythology later contains many stories built around divine-human offspring.
Mesopotamian kings and heroes sometimes possess divine ancestry.

Are these independent myths?
Distorted memories?
Shared ancient motifs?

WE DON'T KNOW.

But it is certainly worth asking.

Connection XVI — David Finishes Something Joshua Began

Remember where Anakim remained after Joshua:

Gaza. Gath. Ashdod.

Then generations pass.
A warrior emerges.

From: GATH.

His name is Goliath.
And who defeats him?
DAVID.

This creates a beautiful biblical continuation.

Joshua attacks the giant clans.
Some remain.
Later David confronts their legacy.

And David becomes the covenant king from whose line the Messiah will come.

The giant story has now intersected with:
THE MESSIANIC LINE.

Connection XVII — David's Giant Killers

And Goliath is not the end.

2 Samuel 21 describes further battles with giant warriors.
David's men defeat them.

The chapter concludes that these men were descendants of the giant in Gath and fell by the hand of David and his servants.

So the pattern becomes:

The old giant threat gradually disappears from the biblical story.

That progression is actually inside Scripture.
No Enoch required.

Connection XVIII — From Joshua to Jesus

Now something beautiful happens linguistically.

The Hebrew name Yehoshua/Joshua and the name Jesus are historically connected forms of the same name.

Joshua leads God's people into the land.
Jesus leads God's people toward something greater.

Joshua confronts earthly enemies.
Jesus confronts:

sin, death, Satan, and hostile spiritual powers.

Joshua establishes Israel in a temporary inheritance.
The New Testament speaks of a greater inheritance and greater rest.

Hebrews even says that if Joshua had given ultimate rest, God would not later have spoken of another day.
— Hebrews 4:8

Joshua's story was not the final destination.

Connection XIX — The Giant Behind All Giants

This allows us to look at the entire biblical story symbolically without pretending the original battles were merely metaphors.

Israel faced literal enemies.
David faced Goliath.

But humanity faces enemies no sword can permanently defeat:

And the New Testament says of Christ:

“He disarmed the rulers and authorities…”

— Colossians 2:15

The ultimate biblical victory is not merely over a larger human opponent.

It is victory over the powers that enslave humanity itself.

Connection XX — The Land Was Only the Beginning

Abraham was promised land.
Israel entered it.

But Hebrews later does something remarkable with Abraham.

It says Abraham looked beyond the immediate land toward:

“the city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

— Hebrews 11:10

And Revelation eventually presents:
NEW JERUSALEM.

The biblical promise grows.

Canaan
becomes part of a story eventually reaching toward:
NEW CREATION.

So even the Promised Land was not the end.
It was another gate.

Now Put the Map Together

Look at our Journey from above.

That does not make every arrow historically proven.

Some arrows come directly from Scripture.
Some represent ancient interpretation.
Some are typological.
Some remain deliberately:

WHAT IF?

But the overall pattern is extraordinary.

But There is Another Surprise

Perhaps the most important enemy was never Og.

Not the Anakim.
Not Jericho.
Not even the gods of Canaan.

Because after all those enemies are defeated...
Israel repeatedly falls to something much smaller.

ITS OWN HEART.

Israel can defeat a giant—
and bow before an idol.

Conquer a city—
and abandon the Covenant.

Occupy the Promised Land—
and still desire the gods of the nations.

That is why Joshua ends his life asking not:
“Have we defeated enough enemies?”

but:

“Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”

The greatest battlefield was ultimately not Bashan.

IT WAS THE HUMAN HEART.

And That Leads Directly to the Next Journey

Joshua dies.
The great leader is gone.

Israel possesses the land—
but the conquest is incomplete.

Foreign peoples remain.
Foreign gods remain.

And Israel begins a terrible cycle:

God raises unexpected people.

A woman named:
DEBORAH.

A frightened man named:
GIDEON.

And eventually a man of almost superhuman strength:
SAMSON.

After all our stories about giants...
something ironic is about to happen.

Israel receives its own extraordinarily powerful warrior.

But Samson will reveal a lesson even more disturbing than Goliath:

The giants are fading.
A different battle is beginning.