What is the book of Enoch and is it inspired? This book has become popular not only in Christian circles, but also in the secular world due it its incredible stories. The book is usually dismissed by the church, with statments such as: “the canon is closed.” Some even say the 'devil' wrote it to deceive and confuse. Now if the canon is 'closed' a good question then is “which canon.” Who gets to decide which books are included and which are omitted? The Ethiopian Orthodox church has long considered the book of Enoch inspired and authoritative. The original King James Bible included many apocryphal books as does the Roman Catholic canon. We could also use the list of books included in the Septuagint (the bible Jesus used) with all its extra books. See, it is not as clear-cut as we make it to be, and we should not be dismissing Enoch just because we “assume” we cannot possible be wrong on our list of authoritative books.
We usually hear of Enoch in reference to the Nephilim and an in-depth explanation of Genesis 6. This is good, but there is so much more to Enoch’s book than the part about fallen angels getting together with human women. We learn all sorts of interesting tidbits, such as why the Leviticus goat was sent to Azazel. Most significantly, the book of Enoch contains more prophecies of Christ than any biblical book except Isaiah.
The book of Enoch is in a class of its own among apocryphal books. It is by far the most important of them, as it guided many of the New Testament authors in their own writings. This book lines up with the rest of scripture and was highly esteemed by the early Christians. Where do we get the idea that it is anything less than equal to scripture, and authoritative for teaching from? Could it be because it takes us out of our comfort zone and requires change? People who reject the book of Enoch usually only read it with a natural, literal, western-scientific mindset, not realizing many of his visions and parables need to be interpreted spiritually.
Here is a link to the book of Enoch itself, and here are links to PART 1 and PART 2 of a content overview of Enoch's interaction with angels.
Now lets take a look at where the bible quotes it authoritatively:
Jude 1:14-15, “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
Besides the direct quote, Jude also makes several indirect allusions:
Jude 6: “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.”
This verse describes in a nutshell, the main plot of the first section of Enoch, the book of the Watchers. Enoch chapter 6 and onwards describes in detail how the angels leave heaven “their first estate,” to form relationships with human women. As a result, the four archangels Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael, are sent to bind and imprison these rebellious angels until the final judgement.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, we find an incredibly unusual situation. The rich man goes to hell. As for Lazarus, rather than go to heaven like we may think, he is placed within viewing distance of the rich man; which means he is closer to hell than to heaven. Yet, Lazarus has water and comfort while the rich man suffers. The original Hebrew word for “hell” is often “Sheol” which was thought of as a communal grave in the afterlife. Both the righteous and wicked are said to go to “Sheol.” Yet if the good and evil go to the same place, how are the righteous rewarded and the wicket punished. To understand this, we must first read the story of the rich man and Lazarus, and then the detailed explanation in the book of Enoch.
Luke 16:22-23, 26 “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom….. [Abraham said] "between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence."”
According to this passage, Sheol is made up of separate compartments. A luxurious location for Lazarus, and a fiery hellish den for the greedy rich tycoon. Now one thing you must understand, is that Christ did not originate the concept of this “compartmentalized” underworld by any means. He most likely learned it from the book of Enoch. Check out chapter 22:
No where in the Old Testament is there any mention of hell being divided into separate compartments for the righteous and unrighteous with a gulf in between. The only possible source Christ could have taken this from is the book of Enoch.
Enoch's Influence on Jude and Peter
Scholars like to argue about whether Jude borrowed from Peter or Peter from Jude. The truth is, they both borrowed ideas from a third source, which is Enoch. Look at the similar thought pattern across these two passages:
2 Peter 2:10-11 “Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties [literally: “glories”], whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.” (NASB)
[And raise their hands against the Most High],
And tread upon the earth and dwell upon it.
And all their deeds manifest unrighteousness,”
An even clearer case of borrowing from Enoch comes from the following text:
Now some persons may say the “angels who sinned” is simply Peter referring to Lucifer’s rebellion. This cannot be the case however, as Lucifer and his angels were never imprisoned in hell, but actually wander “to and fro” across the earth, as is mentioned in the book of Job for instance.
So then who are these angels Peter is referring to who are imprisoned in hell, if it is not Lucifer and his cohorts? The book of Enoch holds the answer to this. In fact, the “angels who left their first estate” happens to be the Watchers who descended from heaven to couple with human women and teach them the secrets of science, esoteric knowledge, and occultism.
(We see this story is briefly referenced in Genesis 6:1-2, “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.”)
Preaching To Spirits In Prison
Now one of the more mysterious bible verses is the one about the “spirits in prison” Christ preached to:
1 Peter 3:19-20 “By which also [Christ] went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”
And yet it makes so much more sense when we consider that Enoch has multiple accounts of the Watchers being imprisoned in hell. Check this out:
Enoch 21:7-10, “And from thence I went to another place, which was still more horrible than the former, and I saw a horrible thing: a great fire there which burnt and blazed, and the place was cleft as far as the abyss, being full of great descending columns of 8 fire: neither its extent or magnitude could I see, nor could I conjecture. Then I said: 'How 9 fearful is the place and how terrible to look upon!' Then Uriel answered me, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: 'Enoch, why hast thou such fear and affright?' And 10 I answered: 'Because of this fearful place, and because of the spectacle of the pain.' And he said unto me: 'This place is the prison of the angels, and here they will be imprisoned for ever.'”
So we learn the angels the Bible speaks of as being ‘imprisoned’ are actually the group of rebellious Watchers.
Matthew 8:28-29, “And when Jesus was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?”
From the above passage we can see that unlike the Watchers, most fallen angels are not imprisoned in hell yet nor are they being tormented. That will come at “the time” (final judgement). For now, they are free to wander the earth, looking for persons and places to gain access to. From using the book of Enoch in tandem with the Bible we can makes sense of some difficult and mysterious concepts. For example, that one class of rebellious angels, the Watchers, are imprisoned in hell while most rebellious angels (Lucifer’s rebellion) are still free to roam the earth.
A Generation To Come
Enoch 1:2 “And he took up his parable and said - Enoch a righteous man, whose eyes were opened by God, saw the vision of the Holy One in the heavens, which the angels showed me, and from them I heard everything, and from them I understood as I saw, but not for this generation, but for a remote one which is for to come”
As the above verse mentions, Enoch was written for the “end times generation,” that explains why it was lost for so many centuries and not rediscovered and translated until fairly recently (1912).
Enoch 12:1 “Before these things Enoch was hidden, and no one of the children of men knew where he was 2 hidden, and where he abode, and what had become of him….”
Look at the hidden meaning embedded. The word “translated” is used to describe how Enoch the person was removed from earth and taken to heaven. It has an alternate meaning however. The book of Enoch has been “translated” for us out of Ethiopic script because of its testimony that pleases God. It now is available for all to read. Enoch 12 is not just referring to the ‘person’ Enoch as having been hidden then translated, but also to the book which was lost from our knowledge for many centuries.
Resurrection Unto Punishment Or Eternal Life
Enoch 62:11-14 “And He will deliver [the sinners] to the angels for punishment, To execute vengeance on them because they have oppressed His children and His elect, And they shall be a spectacle for the righteous and for His elect: They shall rejoice over them, Because the wrath of the Lord of Spirits resteth upon them, And His sword is drunk with their blood. And the righteous and elect shall be saved on that day, And they shall never thenceforward see the face of the sinners and unrighteous. And the Lord of Spirits will abide over them, And with that Son of Man shall they eat And lie down and rise up for ever and ever.”
This passage from Enoch gives a clear picture of the resurrection of sinners and righteous to their reward or punishment. This was not a common belief at the time. The Old Testament lacks a clear teaching on the resurrection. Most Jews believed their covenant with God was only for help in this present world and that they would have no more than the grave to hope for at the end of life. The only OT hint of a resurrection is Isaiah 26:19. We should appreciate the significance of the eternal life Enoch promises for the righteous, as this was a revolutionary doctrine at the time.
Additional crossovers between the bible and book of Enoch (R.H. Charles)
New Testament
|
1 Enoch
|
1 John 1:7 - Walk in the light
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92:4 - Walk in eternal light
|
1 John 2:8 - the darkness is past:
|
58:5 - the darkness is past
|
1 John 2:15 - Love not the world nor
the things that are in the world
|
108:8 - love...nor any of the good
things which are in the world
|
Rev 3:5 - clothed in white raiment
|
90:31 - clothed in white
|
Rev 3:20 - I will come in to him and
will sup with him and he with me.
|
62:14 - and with that Son of Man shall
they eat and lie down and rise up.
|
Rev 7:15 - He that sitteth on the
throne shall dwell among them.
|
45:4 - I will cause Mine Holy One to
dwell among them.
|
Rev 20:13 - the sea gave up the dead…
and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them.
|
51:1 - in those days shall earth also
give back that which has been entrusted to it, and Sheol also shall give
back... and hell shall give back.
|
Rev 20:15 - cast into the lake of fire
|
90:26 - cast into this fiery abyss
|
Rom 8:38 - angels… principalities…
powers
|
61:10 - angels of power… angels of
principalities
|
1 Cor 6:11 - justified in the name of
the Lord Yeshua
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48:7 - in his (Messiah’s) name they are
saved
|
Col 2:3 - (Christ) in whom are hid all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge
|
46:3 - the Son of Man… who reveals all
the treasures of that which is hidden.
|
2 Thess 6:15 - King of kings and Lord
of Lords
|
9:4 - Lord of lords… King of kings.
|
Acts 3:14 - the Righteous One (Christ)
|
53:6 - the Righteous and Elect One
(Messiah)
|
John 5:22 - He hath committed all
judgment unto the Son
|
69:27 - the sum of judgment was given
unto the Son of Man
|
Matt 19:28 - when the Son of Man shall
sit on the throne of His glory
|
62:5 - When they see that Son of Man
sitting on the throne of his glory
|
Matt 19: 28 - ...ye also shall sit on
twelve thrones
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108:12 - I will seat each on the throne
of his honor
|
Matt 25:41 - prepared for the devil and
his angels
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54:4-5 - chaines prepared for the hosts
of Azazel
|
Luke 9:35 - This is My Son, the Elect
One
|
40:5 - the Elect One (Messiah)
49:2 - Mine Elect One
|
Comparison Of Astrology With Witchcraft
The bible mocks the forecasting ability of astrologers in several places, but does not directly condemn it. The book of Enoch is the only biblical book that directly condemns astrology and horoscopes, mentioning it was one of the primary things taught to humans by fallen angels. Despite condemning horoscopes, Enoch acknowledges the power of the stars and the spiritual forces behind them. To simply call astrology “fake” is a mistake. Like other aspects of the occult, its power is indeed real. There is no need for us to tinker “under the hood” with these things that were not meant for us. Besides being a form of witchcraft which allows a demonic opening, horoscopes also lead to a passive fatalistic mindset which can lead a person to forget about the power of CHOICE and its impact on one’s destiny. Thus the horoscope becomes a self-fufilling prophecy as you unconsciously act it out.
Enoch 8:3 “Baraqijal (taught) astrology, Kokabel the constellations…. Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon”
Comparisons With The Book Of Revelation
Lets take a look at a passage which is almost identical to one in the book of Revelation. This shows the undeniable influence Enoch had on the New Testament (keep in mind Enoch was written earlier).
Enoch 51:1-2 “And in those days shall the earth also give back that which has been entrusted to it, And Sheol also shall give back that which it has received, And hell shall give back that which it owes. For in those days the Elect One shall arise, And he shall choose the righteous and holy from among them: For the day has drawn nigh that they should be saved.”
Revelation 20:13 “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”
Four Winds
Enoch chapter 76 discusses the four winds and their twelve portals. We will briefly touch on them here. For a more in-depth look, don't miss out on Part 2.
Revelation 7:1,3 “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree….. Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.”
The four winds are not simply physical airstreams or natural phenomena. The gates and their winds are invisible and their power is supernatural. According to Revelation, they have the power to bring immense destruction to the entire planet, both land and sea. This does not make sense unless you are familiar with the passage in Enoch:
Chapter 76:1-4 “And at the ends of the earth I saw twelve portals open to all the quarters (of the heaven), from which the winds go forth and blow over the earth…. Through four of these come winds of blessing and prosperity, and from those eight come hurtful winds: when they are sent, they bring destruction on all the earth and on the water upon it, and on all who dwell thereon, and on everything which is in the water and on the land.”
Seven Angels
The books of the protestant canon only speak of two archangels, Michael and Gabriel. The book of Enoch lets you meet the other two major archangels, Uriel and Raphael. We should not downplay the importance of this. Besides the main four archangels which watch over the four quarters of the earth, there are three more which are commonly found around the throne, making seven in total.
Revelation 1:20 “The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches….”
Revelation 8:2 “And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.”
Revelation 16:1 “And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.”
Revelation is clear that there are seven angels around the throne. The first mention of this was from the book of Enoch however.
Enoch 20 “And these are the names of the holy angels who watch:
Uriel, one of the holy angels, who is over the world and over Tartarus.
Raphael, one of the holy angels, who is over the spirits of men.
Raguel, one of the holy angels who takes vengeance on the world of the luminaries.
Michael, one of the holy angels, to wit, he that is set over the best part of mankind and over chaos.
Saraqael, one of the holy angels, who is set over the spirits, who sin in the spirit.
Gabriel, one of the holy angels, who is over Paradise and the serpents and the Cherubim.
Remiel, one of the holy angels, whom God set over those who rise.”
Seven Mountains
We find "seven mountains" mentioned in the book of Revelation.
Revelation 17:9 “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.”
Enoch 18:6-9 “And I proceeded and saw a place which burns day and night, where there are seven mountains of magnificent stones, three towards the east, and three towards the south. And as for those towards the east, was of coloured stone, and one of pearl, and one of jacinth, and those towards the south of red stone. But the middle one reached to heaven like the throne of God, of alabaster, and the summit of the throne was of sapphire.”
Enoch 24 “And from thence I went to another place of the earth, and he showed me a mountain range of 2 fire which burnt day and night. And I went beyond it and saw seven magnificent mountains all differing each from the other, and the stones (thereof) were magnificent and beautiful, magnificent as a whole, of glorious appearance and fair exterior: three towards the east, one founded on the other, and three towards the south, one upon the other, and deep rough ravines, no one of which 3 joined with any other. And the seventh mountain was in the midst of these, and it excelled them 4 in height, resembling the seat of a throne: and fragrant trees encircled the throne.”
Enoch 32:1 “And after these fragrant odours, as I looked towards the north over the mountains I saw seven mountains full of choice nard and fragrant trees and cinnamon and pepper.”
Enoch 77:4 “I saw seven high mountains, higher than all the mountains which are on the earth: and thence comes forth hoar-frost, and days, seasons, and years pass away.”
According to modern thought, these mountains represent strategic portions of society to be redeemed:
- Government
- Media
- Family
- Education
- Business
- Religion
- Arts & Entertainment
Prophesies of Christ
According to Irenaeus and Tertullian (highly respected early church fathers), one of the main reasons the Jews rejected Enoch from the canon is owing to the mention of God having a son, and due to all the prophecies of Christ contained in it (only the biblical book of Isaiah contains more prophesies of Christ).
Enoch 46:1-3, “1 And there I saw One who had a head of days, And His head was white like wool, And with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man, And his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels. 2 And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me all the hidden things, concerning that 3 Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, (and) why he went with the Head of Days And he answered and said unto me: This is the son of Man who hath righteousness, With whom dwelleth righteousness, And who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden, because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him, And whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness for ever.”
Enoch 48:2-6 “2 And at that hour that Son of Man was named In the presence of the Lord of Spirits, And his name before the Head of Days.
3 Yea, before the sun and the signs were created, Before the stars of the heaven were made, His name was named before the Lord of Spirits.
4 He shall be a staff to the righteous whereon to stay themselves and not fall, And he shall be the light of the Gentiles, And the hope of those who are troubled of heart.
5 All who dwell on earth shall fall down and worship before him, And will praise and bless and celebrate with song the Lord of Spirits.
6 And for this reason hath he been chosen and hidden before Him, Before the creation of the world and for evermore.”
This passage describes the Son of Man as existing before all other created things, being worthy of worship, and destined as the “light to the Gentiles.” This is an undeniable pointer to Christ. It might seem common to us now, but it was an extremely controversial and revolutionary concept during the Old Testament period.
Enoch 49:2-4 “2 For he is mighty in all the secrets of righteousness, And unrighteousness shall disappear as a shadow, And have no continuance; Because the Elect One standeth before the Lord of Spirits, And his glory is for ever and ever, And his might unto all generations.
3 And in him dwells the spirit of wisdom, And the spirit which gives insight, And the spirit of understanding and of might, And the spirit of those who have fallen asleep in righteousness.
4 And he shall judge the secret things, And none shall be able to utter a lying word before him; For he is the Elect One before the Lord of Spirits according to His good pleasure.”
The next verse is a clear parallel to the book of Revelation, where Christ returns to earth as The Word, fights with the sword proceeding from his mouth, and destroys the wicked with the breath of his lips.
Enoch 62:1-2, “1 And thus the Lord commanded the kings and the mighty and the exalted, and those who dwell on the earth, and said:
' Open your eyes and lift up your horns if ye are able to recognize the Elect One.' 2 And the Lord of Spirits seated him on the throne of His glory, And the spirit of righteousness was poured out upon him, And the word of his mouth slays all the sinners, And all the unrighteous are destroyed from before his face.”
Enoch 71:14-16, “14 And he (i.e. the angel) came to me and greeted me with His voice, and said unto me ' This is the Son of Man who is born unto righteousness, And righteousness abides over him, And the righteousness of the Head of Days forsakes him not.' 15 And he said unto me: ' He proclaims unto thee peace in the name of the world to come; For from hence has proceeded peace since the creation of the world, And so shall it be unto thee for ever and for ever and ever.
16 And all shall walk in his ways since righteousness never forsaketh him: With him will be their dwelling-places, and with him their heritage, And they shall not be separated from him for ever and ever and ever.”
In the above passage, the Son of Man title is used again; this was Christ's most common title while on earth. No other biblical text uses the term “Son of Man” in a messianic sense. The fact that Christ uses this term so often can be interpreted as an endorsement by Christ, of Enoch’s book.
Enoch 105:2 “For I and My son will be united with them for ever in the paths of uprightness in their lives; and ye shall have peace: rejoice, ye children of uprightness. Amen.”
This is the clearest pre-Christ text clearly stating that God has a son. Throughout the Old Testament there are subtle hints of the Trinity here and there, but never anywhere near a definitive statement. In Enoch we have an undeniable, clear-as-day passage stating Christ’s sonship with God. The value of this is immeasurable.
Dating of Enoch
Some object that the book of Enoch was written only in 300-100 B.C. so it could not have been written by Enoch himself, who lived thousands of years earlier. This totally misses the point. Much biblical knowledge was carried on through oral tradition throughout the generations. The fact that these stories were written down only later does not invalidate them by any means. Assuming the 300-100B.C. dating is true, this does not mean the book is “fake” by any means. Many of the original bible books were lost during Israel’s rebellion. Even the central Torah books were missing until being discovered by the priest Hilkiah during the cleaning of the temple.
The apocryphal book of 2 Esdras has an interesting take on how the lost bible books may have come about:
“So I took the five men, as he commanded me, and we went into the field, and remained there.
And the next day, behold, a voice called me, saying, Esdras, open thy mouth, and drink that I give thee to drink.
Then opened I my mouth, and, behold, he reached me a full cup, which was full as it were with water, but the colour of it was like fire.
And I took it, and drank: and when I had drunk of it, my heart uttered understanding, and wisdom grew in my breast, for my spirit strengthened my memory:
And my mouth was opened, and shut no more.
The Highest gave understanding unto the five men, and they wrote the wonderful visions of the night that were told, which they knew not: and they sat forty days, and they wrote in the day, and at night they ate bread.
As for me. I spake in the day, and I held not my tongue by night.
In forty days they wrote two hundred and four books.
And it came to pass, when the forty days were filled, that the Highest spake, saying, The first that thou hast written publish openly, that the worthy and unworthy may read it:
But keep the seventy last, that thou mayest deliver them only to such as be wise among the people:
For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the stream of knowledge.
And I did so.”
According to this narrative, the priest Esdras (Ezra) had a period of intense spiritual inspiration where he was able to rewrite many of the lost books of the Bible as well as some apocryphal books. This may have been when the book of Enoch was written. Just because Enoch himself may not have directly penned the current version of the book that bears his name, does not mean the book lacks divine inspiration. Many of the bible books were written by authors long after the events took place. The writers relied on divine inspiration to piece together the fragments of stories passed down through history, into the current version of the Bible we have now.
After all we have looked at in this study, I hope you will reconsidered your view of Enoch. Some apocryphal books are useful "only to gain historical context of bible times." The book of Enoch is so much more than this. I hope you are convinced it is inspired of God, authoritative, and one of the most important biblical texts ever written.