In Michael Heiser’s view, the Watchers were divine beings—part of God’s heavenly council, referred to as sons of God or elohim—who served as holy watchers in passages like Daniel 4. Some of these watchers rebelled, descending to earth at Mount Hermon, where they took human women as wives, fathered the giant Nephilim, and taught forbidden knowledge that corrupted humanity, as detailed in Genesis 6:1-4 and expanded in the Book of Enoch.
This rebellion intensified evil on earth, prompting the flood as judgment, with the spirits of the slain Nephilim becoming demons. Heiser argued that Jesus’ mission, especially in the New Testament, included reversing this corruption from Hermon—defeating these fallen powers, reclaiming nations, and restoring divine order.