The Original Biblical Storyline of
the Watchers and the Nephilim

LOS ANGELES, CA (EPP) - Brian Godawa, the award-winning screenwriter of To End All Wars, began a new saga of Biblical fantasy novels a couple years ago with his release of Noah Primeval to phenomenally positive reviews across the internet and bestseller status on Amazon.

Now that entire series is a bestseller!

Chronicles of the Nephilim is a saga that charts the rise and fall of the Nephilim giants of Genesis 6 and just what their place is in the evil plans of the fallen angelic Sons of God called, “The Watchers.”

These rogue members of God's divine council will stop at nothing to win their war as the Seed of the Serpent against the Seed of Eve. Their diabolical plan starts in the days of Enoch and continues on through the Bible until the arrival of the Messiah himself: Jesus.

The Storyline of Each Novel in the Series

Book 1 Noah Primeval reveals the hero’s journey of Noah that leads to God’s second act of judgment against this evil plan of the Watchers: The Deluge.

Book 2, Enoch Primordial, is a prequel to Noah Primeval that tells the forgotten story of the original descent of the Watchers on Mount Hermon and their introduction of the Nephilim into the created order. Enoch, is God's man to call down judgment on the Watchers and their giant progeny, the Nephilim.

Book 3, Gilgamesh Immortal, is about the giant king Gilgamesh of Uruk in Mesopotamia after Noah’s Flood. Two thirds god and one third man, this mighty warrior embarks on an epic journey to find immortality with his friend and Right Hand, Enkidu, the "wild-born" of the steppe. His quest leads him to Noah in a faraway land, but what he discovers will change history forever.

Book 4, Abraham Allegiant, tells the story of the Watchers inheriting the nations and the rebirth of the Nephilim and their next battle in the war of the seed of the Serpent against the seed of Eve: Abraham. Nimrod, the builder of the Tower of Babel and his diabolical minions lead to Sodom and Gomorrah.

Books 5 & 6, Joshua Valiant, and Caleb Vigilant are the tale of Joshua’s campaign to eradicate the Nephilim from their infestation of ancient Canaan. Can the mighty Og of Bashan, the last of the giant Rephaim, be defeated? What about the Anakim giants who fill the land, and their goal to destroy the Seedline of Abraham?

Book 7, David Ascendant, (Coming 2014) tells the story of how David and his Mighty Men overcame the last of the Anakim giants left in Gaza, Ashdod, and Gath, home of the monstrous Goliath and his gargantuan brothers who are out to get the messianic king of Israel.

Book 8, Jesus Triumphant (Coming 2014) is about, well, it will blow your mind. But suffice it to say, when it comes to spiritual warfare, Jesus was no pacifist.

Talking Points for The Chronicles of the Nephilim:

• This series is at the crest of a new wave of cultural interest in the Watchers and the Nephilim. This fascination with the Watchers and Nephilim touches upon many things from aliens and UFOs to genetic manipulation to the End Times.

• The most imaginative and complete depiction of the angelic Watchers and the Nephilim giants of the Bible anywhere.

• Answers many Biblical oddities that have stumped people for years, such as the true meaning of Leviathan and Behemoth, the explanation of the Tower of Babel, the reason for giants in the Bible, the identity and purpose of the angelic Watchers in the Bible, strange mythical creatures in the Bible like Lilith, Azazel, satyrs, and winged fiery serpents, why Sodom and Gomorrah really was destroyed, the moral difficulty of the Holy Wars of Yahweh in the book of Joshua, the reason for Satan arguing over Moses’ body, the ancient book of Enoch, and much more.

• Explains the spiritual origins of many ancient mythologies.

• A Biblical epic that uses the fantasy genre to express theological truth. Just like Lewis and Tolkien did.

• Maintains high respect for the Biblical text, while filling in gaps with imagination based on Biblical images and metaphors.

• Appendices in every book provide the interesting Biblical and ancient Near Eastern research behind the imagination in the novel. Scholarly and imaginative.

Online Press Materials for Chronicles of the Nephilim:

http://www.godawa.com/chronicles_of_the_nephilim/press_kit_index.html

• • • • •

To schedule an interview with Brian Godawa,

Or to receive a complimentary review copies of any of the Chronicles,

please contact:

[email protected]

(310) 948-0224
Author Bio

Brian Godawa has been a professional filmmaker, writer, and visual artist for many years. His creative versatility was born of a passion for both intellect and imagination, both left-brain and right-brain. The result: Brian is an artisan of word, image, and story that engages heart, mind, and soul. Just think, “Renaissance Man.”

He is the screenwriter for the award-winning feature film, To End All Wars, starring Kiefer Sutherland, and Alleged, starring Brian Dennehy as Clarence Darrow along with Fred Thompson as William Jennings Bryan. Previously Brian adapted to film the best-selling supernatural thriller novel The Visitation by author Frank Peretti for Ralph Winter (X-Men, Planet of the Apes), and wrote and directed several documentaries, including Wall of Separation for PBS.

Brian’s scripts have won multiple awards, and his articles on movies and philosophy have been published around the world. He has traveled around the United States teaching on movies, worldviews, and culture to colleges, churches, and community groups.

His popular book, Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom and Discernment has been released in a revised edition from InterVarsity Press and is used as a textbook in schools around the country. His book Word Pictures: Knowing God Through Story and Imagination (IVP) addresses the power of image and story in the pages of the Bible to transform the Christian life.

His main website is www.godawa.com.

Check out the trailer and other goodies for Chronicles of the Nephilim at:

www.ChroniclesOfTheNephilim.com

Author Photos

Pictures are linked to high resolution files. Click on Image to download high resolution version.

Published Books, Articles, Awards

Published Books

2013 Caleb Vigilant, Embedded Pictures Publishing, novel.

2013 Joshua Valient, Embedded Pictures Publishing, novel.

2013 Abraham Allegiant, Embedded Pictures Publishing, novel.

2012 Gilgamesh Immortal, Embedded Pictures Publishing, novel.

2012 Enoch Primordial, Embedded Pictures Publishing, novel.

2011 Noah Primeval, Embedded Pictures Publishing, novel.

2010 Omnibus V: The Medieval World, Veritas Press, published chapter,

“History of Dramatic Arts.”

2009 Word Pictures, Intervarsity Press, published book.

Hollywood Worldviews, Intervarsity Press, published book, revised edition.

Apologetics for a New Generation, Harvest House, Ed. Sean McDowell, published chapter “Storytelling and Persuasion.”

2002 Hollywood Worldviews, Intervarsity Press, published book.

2002 The Christian Imagination, Shaw, Ed. Leland Ryken, published chapter, “Redemption in the Movies.”

Published Articles

2011 BioLogos Foundation, BioLogos.org. Contributing writer.

1995-2011 CRI Journal, Charlotte, NC, Contributing writer.

Scr(i)pt magazine, Los Angeles, IL, published articles.

Sacerdos magazine, Rome, Italy, published articles.

samizdat.com, French online magazine, published articles.

Reformation in Poland, Poland, published article.

SCP Journal, Berkeley, CA, published articles.

Cornerstone magazine, Chicago, IL, published articles.

Center for Cultural Leadership, LaGrange, CA, published articles.

razormouth.com, online magazine, published articles.

Rutherford Institute Magazine, Charlottesville, VA, published article.

PRODUCED FILMS

2013 Descent of the Gods – (Feature)
Screenplay, Direction, in pre-production.
Golden Leaf Pictures, CA

School’s Out: Academic Freedom vs. Political Correctness – (Documentary)
Screenplay & Direction, in post-production.
Boulevard Pictures, Culver City, CA

2011 Alleged – (Feature) - Screenplay.
Two Shoes Productions, MI

2009 Lines That Divide: The Great Stem Cell Debate – (Documentary)
Screenplay & Direction.
Boulevard Pictures, Culver City, CA

2008 Change Your Life (Feature) - Screenplay.
Transcendental Media, Long Beach, CA

Choices You Can Live With (Promo video) – Screenplay & Direction.
Westside Pregnancy Clinic, Los Angeles, CA

2007 Wall of Separation – (Documentary PBS) – Screenplay & Direction.
Boulevard Pictures, Culver City, CA

Cruel Logic (Narrative Short) – Screenplay and Direction.
2008 Emerging Cinematographer Award – International Cinematographers Guild

Secret Believers (Promo video with narrative) – Screenplay.
Open Doors, Secret Believers.org

The Conspiracy Show (Comedy Short) – Screenplay and Direction.
Highway Video Productions

2006 Our First Liberty (TV special) – Screenplay.
Alliance Defense Fund, Phoenix, AZ.

2005 The Visitation (Feature) – Screenplay.
Namesake Entertainment, PeeWee Valley, KY.

2002 To End All Wars (Feature) – Screenplay.
Argyll Film Partners, Culver City, CA.

FILM AWARDS

Alleged

2011 – Best Narrative Feature, Audience Choice Award, FreedomFest Film Festival.
Best Michigan Film Award, Flint Film Festival
Best Narrative Feature, Made-in Michigan Film Festival

Wall of Separation

2007 – Nominated, Silver Gavel Award, American Bar Association.

Cruel Logic (Short)

2008 – Emerging Cinematographer Award – International Cinematographers Guild

2005 – Official Selection: Dusk Till Dawn Fest, Golden Star Shorts Film Fest, Great Lakes Indie Film Fest, Shriekfest, Bluegrass Indie Film Fest.

To End All Wars

2003 – Showcase selection, Cinema for Peace, Cannes Film Festival

2002 – Grand Prize Best Picture Crystal Heart Award, Heartland Film Festival

Commander in Chief Medal of Service, Honor & Pride, Veterans of Foreign Wars

Picture of the Year, Santa Barbara Film Festival

Played in 13 Film Festivals, being given either opening or closing position.

An Interview with Brian Godawa

Q: What is Chronicles of the Nephilim About?

A: Chronicles of the Nephilim is a series of eight books that recount a storyline thread through the Bible that I like to call The War of the Seed. It is based on the first Messianic prophecy in the Bible, Genesis 3:15. God curses the Serpent and says, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring (Seed) and her offspring (Seed);
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”

That enmity is a war of principalities and powers that runs through the entire Bible all the way to the coming of Messiah, the fulfillment of that Seed of Eve. The Seed of the Serpent is first manifest when the angelic Sons of God (called Watchers) mate with the daughters of men in Genesis 6. Their hybrid breed is called Nephilim and they are giants.

I believe this was the beginning of the ongoing attempt of Satan’s minions to stop the coming of Messiah by polluting creation and polluting the human bloodline through which Messiah would come.

I decided to tell only those stories in the Bible that had to do with giants in order to bring this long war into focus. The giants were around in the time of Enoch and Noah, They were around at the Tower of Babel and in Abraham’s day in Canaan, and they were the main enemy that Joshua sought to dispossess from the Promised Land when he arrived. Lastly, Goliath and several other giants sought to kill David, the messiah king, and Jesus provided the final victory over the spiritual principalities connected to this Seed of the Serpent.

It is one of the most neglected storylines in the Bible that many do not even know about. Now, it’s available for everyone in Chronicles of the Nephilim.

Q: What inspired the entire series?

A: It all started when I read Michael S. Heiser’s unpublished book, The Myth That is True. He is a biblical scholar who wrote on the subject of Nephilim and Watchers in the Bible and opened my eyes like Elijah’s servant to see the spiritual war that was hidden in plain sight. I had always considered the Nephilim giants of Genesis 6 to be the strangest passage in the Bible. It seemed so out of place to me because I was unaware of so many other facts. After reading Heiser, I saw the storyline through the whole Bible that I had never seen before. And this wasn’t a gnostic “secret knowledge,” either. It was simply reading it through the eyes of the ancient Hebrews who wrote it. In that context it was plainer than day. So I wanted to bring that exciting and captivating story to entertain and educate Bible lovers all over.

I was also inspired by how ancient Jewish writers would retell Bible stories for their generation. They would embellish what they knew, not to lie or exaggerate, but to use imagination in order to make it relevant to their day. I wanted to do the same, so I chose to write in the genre of Fantasy in order to write novels that would be like watching a movie.

I am not very original. I actually drew from many ancient Jewish legends like the Book of Jasher, Jubilees, The Book of Enoch and other Pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha because they were already so creative.

Q: Why Biblical Fantasy? Do you believe the Bible is just myth?

A: I chose to use the genre of fantasy to highlight the theological nature of the story rather than attempt to write an “historical” account of events about which we know almost nothing. In this case, both fantasy and historical genres would be equally fictional. Fantasy allows me to use the mythopoeic imagery in the Bible literally in order to make the imagination come alive and understand the spiritual import behind the text.

The Bible’s own appropriation of pagan imagery such as the many-headed Leviathan, or the divine Rephaim of Sheol, or satyrs and sphinxes illustrates a mythopoeic interaction with surrounding culture that is a common feature of subversive storytelling: One retells the cultural stories through one’s own paradigm. It’s really what all storytellers do.

I wanted to integrate all the prevailing mythologies of the time period in order to give my metanarrative of their true origins, and illustrate the corrupting process of human nature. It’s not unlike Narnia’s mythological creatures being under the Lordship of Aslan.

Q: Tell us about the Appendices you have in each book

A: The Biblical and ancient Near Eastern research I did for Chronicles of the Nephilim, uncovered so many fascinating theological and spiritual surprises that I knew I just had to provide those who were interested in going deeper with some research meat to chew on.

Michael Crichton used to provide some of his research behind his novels, so I thought I would follow his lead. I put an appendix in each novel explaining the Biblical foundations for some of the imaginative elements in the story. While I clearly engaged in creative license, I based it all on Mesopotamian Canaanite and Biblical memes and motifs. The Divine Council, the Watchers, The Rephaim, Leviathan, Rahab the sea dragon, Lilith, the Anzu thunderbird, satyrs and centaurs, and almost every other character that shows up in the Chronicles were drawn from the mythopoeia of that time period and incorporated into my story with an intent to keep them as close to the original ideas as possible. I even used actual names of giants that were recorded in the Bible as well as other Second Temple texts like the Pseudepigrapha and the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient documents as the names of some of my giant characters.

Q: You are a Hollywood screenwriter. Why is Hollywood fascinated with the Bible these days?

A: Hollywood studios have had a sudden surge of interest in making movies of Bible stories.

There are several of them being developed around town right now. Director Darren Aronofsky’s Noah, Producer Dan Lin’s Moses, Director Scott Derrickson’s Goliath, and others.

The problem is that it takes so long to make a movie and so many of them often never get made. And let’s face it, people are reading less books these days. You’ve got to be interesting and entertaining to keep their attention.

So I decided to take my skill as a screenwriter and apply that style to a series of novels so that it would give a reading experience that would be like watching a movie.

No thousand page plodding historical details, no long interior monologues. Just a short novel fast-paced fantasy action adventure that will keep you on the edge of your seat and leave you with some meaningful spiritual thoughts to explore when you’re done.

Q: What is next for the Chronicles of the Nephilim?

A: The next novel in the series will be David Ascendant, which is about how King David finally got rid of the last of the giants left in the land of Israel after Joshua. As the messiah king, he was a penultimate picture of the coming Messiah. Which is why I have a surprise additional novel after David: Jesus Triumphant. Believe it or not, there are some vestiges of this “War of the Seed” that are not completed until Christ comes as the final Victor over the dark forces that began before the Flood. You will not believe the rest of the story, but it is all based on the Bible.

If you sign up or subscribe on the website you’ll be the first to hear about new developments and volumes of Chronicles of the Nephilim.

Check out the trailers and other goodies for Chronicles of the Nephilim at:

www.ChroniclesOfTheNephilim.com