The Books of Enoch
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I ENOCH
(On Prophecy)
Enoch 2:1 1Behold, he comes with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon them, and destroy the wicked, and reprove all the carnal for everything which the sinful and ungodly have done, and committed against him.
(On the Heavenly Temple)
“Then I stood still, looking at that ancient house being transformed: all the pillars and all the columns were pulled out; and the ornaments of that house were packed and taken out together with them and abandoned in a certain place in the South of the land. I went on seeing until the Lord of the sheep brought about a new house, greater and loftier than the first one, and set it up in the first location which had been covered up — all its pillars were new, the columns new; and the ornaments new, as well as greater than those of the first, (that is) the old (house), which was gone. All the sheep were within it.” (I En. 90:28-29)
(On Seventy Generations)
“Go, bind Semjâzâ and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgment and of their consummation, till the judgment that is for ever and ever is consummated. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: and to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for ever.”
WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID
Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary
“Ages as Epochs of Time Both Testaments speak of “ages” as undefined periods of history over which God rules (Psalm 90:2; 1 Tim 1:17; Jude 25 ). As with much intertestamental literature, the Apocalypse of Weeks goes farther, in this case dividing history into ten epochs of varying lengths (1 Enoch 91:12-17; 93:1-10). But the canonical writers do not try to calculate when successive ages will begin or end. The Bible may refer to past ages in order to exalt God’s knowledge as Creator in comparison with human ignorance (Isa 64:4; cf. Deut 4:32).
In the New Testament the hidden wisdom of God is repeatedly connected with the gospel, a mystery that he has chosen to reveal after long ages (aion [aijwvn] in 1 Col 2:7; Eph 3:9; Col 1:26; chronoi [crovno”] in Rom 16:25; 2 Tim 1:9; Titus 1:2). According to 1 Corinthians 10:11, Hebrews 9:26, and 1pe 1:20, the present era is the end of the ages. Even while the church anticipates the future consummation, it lives already in the time in which God’s plan of redemption is being fulfilled (cf. 2 Col 1:20). The boundless future may also be regarded as a series of ages. Normally the “ages to come” are invoked by the prophets to underscore God’s unending blessings for his people (Isa 45:17; Dan 7:18). This theme is later taken up by Paul in Ephesians 2:7: “that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”
Barnabus
“Chapter 4.-Antichrist is at Hand: Let Us Therefore Avoid Jewish Errors. It therefore behoves us, who inquire much concerning events at hand, to search diligently into those things which are able to save us. Let us then utterly flee from all the works of iniquity, lest these should take hold of us; and let us hate the error of the present time, that we may set our love on the world to come: let us not give loose reins to our soul, that it should have power to run with sinners and the wicked, lest we become like them. The final stumbling-block (or source of danger) approaches, concerning which it is written, as Enoch says, “For for this end the Lord has cut short the times and the days, that His Beloved may hasten; and He will come to the inheritance.” And the prophet also speaks thus: “Ten kingdoms shall reign upon the earth, and a little king shall rise up after them, who shall subdue under one three of the kings. In like manner Daniel says concerning the same, “And I beheld the fourth beast, wicked and powerful, and more savage than all the beasts of the earth, and how from it sprang up ten horns, and out of them a little budding horn, and how it subdued under one three of the great horns.” (Epistle of Barnabus)
Compare 1 Enoch 1:9 with Jude 1:14-15.
“And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, Till the day of their judgement and of their consummation” (1 Enoch 10:11-12)
Using Luke (Luke 1:1-4; 3:23-37)
01 Enoch
02 Methuselah
03 Lamech
04 Noah
05 Shem
06 Arphaxad
07 Cainan
08 Shelah
09 Eber
10 Peleg
11 Rue
12 Serug
13 Nahor
14 Terah
15 Abrahahm
16 Isaac
17 Jacob
18 Judah
19 Perez
20 Hezron
21 Ram
22 Amminadab
23 Nahshon
24 Salmon
25 Boaz
26 Obed
27 Jesse
28 David
29 Nathan
30 Mattatha
31 Menna
32 Melea
33 Eliakim
34 Jonam
35 Joseph
36 Judah
37 Simeon
38 Levi
39 Matthat
40 Jorim
41 Eliezer
42 Joshua
43 Er
44 Elmadam
45 Cosam
46 Addi
47 Melki
48 Neri
49 Shealtiel
50 Zerubbabel
51 Rhesa
52 Joanan
53 Joda
54 Josech
55 Semein
56 Mattathias
57 Maath
58 Naggai
59 Esli
60 Nahum
61 Amos
62 Mattathias
63 Joseph
64 Jannai
65 Melki
66 Levi
67 Matthat
68 Heli
69 Joseph
70 Jesus
Colin Brown
“a. If aion means duration of the world, and the plural occurs, the idea is obvious that eternity embraces a succession or recurrence of aeons (cf. Eccl. 1:9-10 though here the aeons are periods of the world, and the biblical concept of creation, and hence of the uniqueness of this aeon, ruled out the idea of an unending series).
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Instead of recurrence the antithesis of time and eternity combined with the thought of plural aeons to produce the belief in a new and future aeon (or cosmos or kingdom) which will succeed this one but will be completely different from it. For the present and future aeons in the NT cf. Mk. 10:30; Lk. 16:8; Rom. 12:2; 1 Cor. 1:20; Gal. 1:4; 1 Tim. 6:17; Eph. 1:21; Heb. 6:5 (and with kairos instead of aion, Jn. 8:23 etc.).
c. The NT took over this concept from Jewish apocalyptic, e.g., Ethiopian Enoch.
Don Garlington
Some such conception is characteristic of the millennium-like passages in Jewish Apocalyptic. For references, see Mounce, Revelation, 357; G. R. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation (London: Oliphants, 1974), 288-89; J. M. Ford, Revelation: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (Garden City: Doubleday, 1975), 352-54; R. H. Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1920), 2.143; id., Eschatology: The Doctrine of a Future Life in Israel, Judaism and Christianity. A Critical History (New York: Schocken, 1963), 167-361. In Apocalyptic generally, time is schematized according to a predetermined pattern, e.g., 1 Enoch 21:7; 91-107 (interestingly, 1 Enoch 91:16 predicts a new heaven). It is possible that John’s organization of the eschatological timetable finds a formal parallel with Jewish precedents. Even so, the specific meaning of his various time-references must be ascertained by internal considerations. Cf. Beasley-Murray, Revelation, 289.
An idea not unknown in Apocalyptic, e.g., 1 Enoch 10:4-5 (perhaps based on Isa 24:22); 18:12-16; 21:1-10; 2 Enoch 7:1; Jubilees 5:10, or in other religious traditions (Beasley-Murray, Revelation, 286).
Cf. the prominent role of the angel in 4 Ezra, who speaks the mind of God, and the many times angles (good and bad) appear throughout the Enoch literature. Thus, in the Matthean narrative Jesus is the agent of God, while in Revelation the angel performs the same function.” (Reigning with Christ)
Jude
“For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation.”
Joe Machuta (2003)
“Usually, when one examines spurious works, the author will slip and elude to something from the future so specific as to give away that they are really writing about the past. For example, the book of Mormon, claims that the Greek name Jesus was known to the ancient world as the name of the Messiah. This is patently absurd. This book however, was read widely and accepted during the Messiah’s earthly mission and yet, it is locked within the epoch of Adam as it mentions people only up to Noah. It does not mention Abraham, Isaac, nor Jacob, no concept of the nation Israel is in its pages and yet it refers to God’s elect. This is a prophecy of first, the fleshly nation, and then the Spiritual nation of Israel. These prophecies can as easily be identified by biblical fulfillment, as Isaiah 53 is a prophecy of Christ which never mentions His name beyond righteous servant. Yet, all but the spiritually blind know that the reference is to Christ. Man alone, would not be clever enough to write the book of Enoch.”
What was in the minds of canon committee whether Nicea or Carthage, that precluded the Book of Enoch from inclusion?
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It was quoted verbatim by Jude (14,15)
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It was eluded to by Jesus and Paul
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It contains a most inspired parable/prophesy of the Messiah and the destruction of Jerusalem and 70AD
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It explains the workings of Demons. (Yahoo Groups)
Alan Richardson
“.. in the later writings of the Old Testament we find the picture of the healing river, or living waters, which will flow out from Jerusalem in the Messianic Age (Ezek. 47.1-12; Zech. 14.8; Joel 3.18; cf. Isa. 12.3; 33.21), bringing life to the world. St. John, in whose writing Jewish eschatology is adapted to Christian ends with consummate skill, fastens on the idea and represents Christ as the fulfillment of the promise of ‘living water’ (John 4.10) in the latter days: ‘The water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up into the life of the (new) Age’ (John 4:14)… Thus, the conception of life, which the New Testament takes over from later Judaism, is thoroughly eschatological.” (An Introduction to the Theology of the New Testament, pp.71, 72.)
The fact is that in the New Testament zoe, or more fully zoe aionios, is an eschatological conception; it is one of the characteristic marks of the Age to Come, like glory, light, etc. In the contemporary rabbinic conception, the Age to Come (cf. Mark 10.30, ho erchomenos aion; Heb. 6.5, ho mellon aion), as distinct from this age (ho nun aion or ho aion hou-tos), was to be characterized by zoe, that is, zoe aionios, the life of the (coming) aion. Thus, what appears in EVV as ‘eternal life’ or ‘life everlasting’ really means ‘the life of the Age to Come’. The phrase zoe aionios need not necessarily imply ever-lasting life (e.g. Enoch 10.10), but the usual meaning is life after death indefinitely prolonged in the World to Come (Dan. 12.2; Test. Asher 5.2; Ps. 501. 3.16; II (4) Esd. 7.12f.; 8.52-54). (An Introduction to the Theology of the New Testament, pp.73,74)
Randall Otto
“In fact, the apocalyptic and pseudepigraphical evidence generally contains a mix of eschatological portrayals which prohibit any clear determination of personal destiny after death. The only text that truly bears any resemblance to 1 Thess 4:13-18 is 2 Esdr 13:24: “those who are left are more blessed than those who have died” (cf., however, 1 Enoch 103:3: “Your lot [those who died in righteousness] exceeds even that of the living ones”). The weight of this isolated text must be balanced by assertions within that same book that the pious departed attain immediate blessedness (7:88-99, e.g.). Indeed, the immediate blessedness of the righteous departed may well be the predominant view of pseudepigraphical literature. 33 While the body lies in the dust of the earth, the soul rises to heavenly bliss at the moment of death, following from the anthropological dualism that marks hellenistic Jewish thought, including the thought of Paul. 34 The Greek thought that influenced Jewish eschatology here converges with that indigenous to Thessalonica. The issue perplexing the Thessalonian church is rooted in its own religious milieu and is provoked by what they view as the powers of darkness at work around them. The church wonders if their departed are “with the Lord”.”
“The theophanies of God in the OT may also be involved here, as Paul recalls such passages as Mic 1:3 and the whole tradition of holy war wherein God is viewed as the commander of the angelic hosts who come as his agents of judgment upon the impenitent (2 Sam 24:16; 2 Kgs 19:35; 1 Enoch 1:8-9; Syb. Or. 2:287, 3:309) and of deliverance of the elect (dead [Luke 16:22; Jude 9] and living [1 Enoch 104; Apoc. Elijah 5:2]).”
That this verse involves a literal rapture of believers is far from necessary, particularly in light of 1QM which may well form the conceptual background for much of this pericope. In the 1QM xiv 2-17 hymn of victory of the sons of light over the sons of darkness (cf. 1 Thess 5:4-5), those who have been preserved from death in battle praise God for their own victory over evil using the metaphor of assumption: “raise from the dust for yourself and subdue gods” (vv 14-15). 49 This metaphorical use of a rapture idea is also found in some other peudepigraphical texts. 1 Enoch 96:2 asserts, “your children shall be raised high up and be made openly visible like eagles,” and “you shall ascend and enter the crevices of the earth” in authority over sinners. 50 Here “the righteous are assured of reconciliation and miraculous protection” in the judgment upon sinners. TMos 10:8-9 says, “Then will you be happy, O Israel! And you will mount up above the necks and wings of an eagle. Yea, all things will be fulfilled. And God will raise you to the heights. Yea, he will fix you firmly in the heaven of stars, in the place of their habitations.” This is likely an allusion to Israel’s exaltation over its enemies. 51 None of the contexts of these pseudepigraphical texts supports the idea of a literal general rapture of believers. Rather, these texts demonstrate the metaphorical use of the assumption motif as divine assurance of protection and victory over evil in eschatological conflict. In his use of harpaz” Paul may therefore be describing the protection of his people and the victory which Christ obtains over evil in the figure of a rapture of the sons of light after the manner of 1QM and certain other pseudepigraphical texts.
“Air” also carried great significance for the Jewish apocalyptic theology of the apostle Paul. In Jewish apocalyptic thought the air was considered to be the domain of evil spirits (Eph 2:2; 6:12) and the lower regions of the heavens were viewed as the place of great struggle between the hosts of Satan and of God (Rev 12:7-12; Mart. Isa. 7:9). The souls of both the righteous and the unrighteous were thought to reside in these lower regions of the heavens, be it in Paradise or Sheol, awaiting the final judgment (2 Enoch 3-20). This meant that the soul had to pass through the realms of the demonic en route to Hades. “Whether it is a question of Satan and the fallen Watchers, or of the demons of the air, the common dwelling place of the evil angels is in the lower zones of heaven, those which are in direct contact with the earth. This has the important consequence for the Jewish Christian world-view that souls must in their ascent to heaven after death pass through the spheres of the demons.” 61 With this in mind, it is equally untenable that Paul would have casually utilized a term with so many notorious associations from Jewish apocalyptic in his response to the Thessalonians, because there is a significant convergence between their concerns in the semantic domain of this word.
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A. Dillmann, Das Buch Henoch (Leipzig: F. C. W. Vogel, 1853) 307; he admits, however, that the images used “are not happily chosen.” R. H. Charles (The Books of Enoch or 1 Enoch [Oxford: Clarendon, 1912] 238) thinks the verse “must be interpolation; it is foolish in itself and interrupts the context.” (The Meeting in the Air)