Finding Fantasy in the Bible part 2 #ourauthorgang

by Rebecca Tran

 In my last blog post on this topic, I discussed the nephilim or human-angel hybrids. This legend comes directly from passages in the Bible. The only matter up for debate here is specific interpretations of the word. That is a topic for another day and probably better left to theology scholar, not a pharmacist who writes fantasy at night.

This week instead I thought we would discuss a legend that arises from the “unofficial” books of the Bible. As discussed previously those books did not meet the specific criteria to become an official canon of the scripture.

The book of Enoch was lost for almost 2000 years. The writing it contained was so taboo that most of the copies were deliberately destroyed. Although, some copies survived and were rediscovered in Ethiopia in the 18th century. They were later translated and gave more detailed accounts of the Nephilim, and the Watchers.

The fallen watchers were a group of 200 angels that descended from heaven to earth. They lived among humans, married human women and taught humans many subjects that they were not supposed to. The information was supposed to build naturally as humans evolved instead the fallen angels forced it on them all at once.

Enoch describes God’s wrath on his fallen children. The leaders of the group were forced to watch their families kill each other while, the remaining fallen watchers were chained and locked in the

“valleys of the earth.” Their sentence was to last for 70 generations or until their or the final judgment depending on the translation. This same event is mentioned in the Bible Jude 1:6-7, however, the supporting details are lacking. Enoch gives a detailed account of the events surrounding their punishment.

When starting to research the sequel to my paranormal romance, For Their Sins, it seemed like the perfect obstacle for my Heroine to overcome. Who knows what would happen if you unleashed 200 angry fallen angels. Unfortunately, the novel is still a work in progress, it’s in my ‘to do’ pile though and I can’t wait to get back to it. In the meantime, ForTheir Sins is available now.  The companion short story, Unlike the Rest, is always free.

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Finding Fantasy in the Bible #OurAuthorGang

By Rebecca Tran 

Finding fantasy in the Bible may sound like heresy to some, and I am not suggesting by any means that the Bible is a work of fiction. I am in fact a christian with great faith. What I am referring to is reading between the lines. You can find inspiration in how and why the Bible was written; what was included and what was left out of this holy text. For me, all it took was a little research and basic understanding of how the Bible came to be.

I've found material for three novels in the Bible. One novel only used a small piece while the other two wouldn't exist without it unfortunately only one is completed so far. During this two part blog, I will show you some of the discoveries I made. Hopefully, you will find it as interesting as I did and inspire you to draw inspiration from one of the oldest books in history.

When researching anything in the Bible, you first have to understand how it was constructed. I say this because their are "unofficial" books of the Bible in existence. Those are writings made by christians or followers of Christ that didn't make the cut to be official canon of scripture. That criteria were as follows:

1. Written by a recognized prophet or apostle
2. Written by those associated with a recognized prophet or apostle
3. Truthfulness in the writing
4. Faithfulness to previously accepted canonical writings
5. Confirmed by Christ, prophet, or disciple
6. (original)Church usage and recognition  (For more info)

Nephilim are nothing new they were mentioned in books before and had a movie made out of them. They are humans born of angels, and yes according to the Bible they existed. However, they weren't 
handsome teenagers with mystical powers or even 300 year old vampires. They weren't even the good guys.

Nephilim according to the Bible were a race of giants. They were evil and led to the downfall of man. Some scholars argue that they were prolific breeders and so corrupt that they led to the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah. It was the Nephilim that God wanted to destroy in the flood. Of course, there is debate everywhere that God did not succeed in killing all the Nephilim. The Promised Land was inhabited by them before the Israelites arrived, and Goliath was supposedly one. For more information here are three sites with interesting arguments. 1. 2. 3.

When I needed a way to re-invent vampire lore in "For Their Sins" Nephilim gave me the perfect opportunity. Who better to track down the world's worst sinners than descendant's of angels. Only this time everything was done with God's approval and under his control.

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