A Hierarchy of Fallen Beings (The Enochian & Heiser Model)
This model explains the origin and nature of different hostile spiritual entities. It distinguishes between the original divine rebels (the Watchers) and the demonic spirits that afflict humanity, which are seen as a direct consequence of the Watchers' sin.
Tier 1: The Fallen Elohim (The Watchers)
These are the highest-ranking and original rebels in this specific narrative.
Identity: Divine beings, members of the heavenly host or "Divine Council," referred to as "sons of God" (bene ha'elohim in Hebrew). In the Enochian narrative, a group of 200 of these beings descended to Mount Hermon.
The Rebellion (Genesis 6:1-4; 1 Enoch 6-7): Their primary sin was transgressing the boundary between the divine and human realms. Led by a figure named Shemihazah (or Samyaza), they lusted after human women, took them as wives, and engaged in unnatural union.
Forbidden Knowledge (1 Enoch 8): Beyond this, they corrupted humanity by teaching forbidden arts and sciences:
Azazel taught the arts of war (making weapons) and seduction (cosmetics, jewelry).
Other Watchers taught sorcery, astrology, and other esoteric knowledge.
Current Status: Imprisoned. According to 1 Enoch and alluded to in the New Testament, God swiftly judged this specific group of divine rebels. They are bound "in the valleys of the earth" or in "pits of darkness" until the final judgment. They are not the entities currently roaming the earth.
Biblical Reference: “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment...” (2 Peter 2:4, ESV). See also Jude 6.
Tier 2: The Nephilim (The Giants)
The monstrous, semi-divine offspring of the Tier 1 rebels.
Identity: The hybrid offspring of the Watchers and human women. The term Nephilim likely means "the fallen ones." They are also referred to as "giants" in some translations.
Nature (Genesis 6:4; 1 Enoch 7, 15): They were terrestrial, physical beings of immense size and strength. Their existence was a perversion of God's created order. They were violent and destructive, consuming the earth's resources and eventually turning on humanity and each other.
Current Status: Physically Deceased. The Nephilim were mortal beings of flesh and blood. Their physical bodies were destroyed during the Great Flood and through their own internecine warfare.
Tier 3: Evil Spirits (Disembodied Nephilim)
These are the primary entities known in the New Testament as "demons" or "unclean spirits." They are the direct result of the deaths of the Tier 2 beings.
Origin (1 Enoch 15:8-12): This is the crucial link from the Book of Enoch. When the Nephilim were killed, their physical bodies died, but their spirits, being of a supernatural origin from their Watcher fathers, could not move on to a designated afterlife. They are thus "homeless" spiritual entities.
Nature: As disembodied spirits, their primary desire is to find a host—to inhabit a physical body. This explains the New Testament phenomenon of demonic possession. They are malevolent, unclean, and seek to torment and corrupt humanity, continuing the destructive legacy of their physical lives.
Current Status: Active on Earth. These are the spirits Jesus and the apostles cast out. They are distinct from the imprisoned Watchers (their fathers). They roam the earth and afflict mankind.
Biblical Reference: The Gospels are replete with examples, such as the account of Legion: “And he asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘My name is Legion, for we are many.’” (Mark 5:9, ESV).
Ancillary Category: Wilderness Demons (The Se'irim)
This category represents territorial spirits associated with desolate and unholy places.
Identity: Often translated as "goat-demons" or "satyrs." The term se'irim is used for these entities that inhabit desolate ruins and deserts—places outside the domain of civilization and order.
Role: They represent the spiritual corruption of the land itself. In the Divine Council worldview, after the Tower of Babel, the nations were allotted to the oversight of lesser elohim (Deuteronomy 32:8-9, LXX/DSS). Many of these became corrupt and were worshiped as the gods of the nations. The se'irim can be understood as spirits loyal to these rebellious territorial gods.
Connection to Azazel: The high priest would send the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement “away into the wilderness to Azazel” (Leviticus 16:10, ESV). This ritual banished the sins of the people to the domain of a powerful fallen being, reinforcing the idea of the wilderness as a spiritually hostile domain.
Keep all this in mind about evil spirits and their association with the wilderness and Jesus the Messiah's temptation in the wilderness.
Summary Chart
Tier
Entity Name
Identity & Origin
Primary Sin / Nature
Current Status
1
Fallen Elohim / Watchers
Divine members of God's council
Abandoned heaven, lusted for women, taught forbidden knowledge.
Imprisoned in darkness.
2
Nephilim / Giants
Hybrid offspring of Watchers and humans
Violent, destructive, consumed the earth.
Physically Deceased (killed in the Flood/war).
3
Evil / Unclean Spirits
Disembodied spirits of the dead Nephilim
Homeless, seek to possess physical bodies, torment humanity.
Active on Earth.
Ancillary
Wilderness Demons
Territorial spirits of desolate places
Associated with false gods and corruption of the land.