I also need to say that I have omitted to write the source, I hope that those who are the author will forgive me, nevertheless, having read in FB many "quote" fromthe Book of Enoch I decide to post this texts. Thanks be to Yehowah who has given us a brain and a sound mind in Mashiavh Yehoshua.
Book of Enoch
True or
fiction ?
A. There
was an explanation of Genesis 6:4 that
this person found objectionable.
1. “Sons
of God” can refer to angels (Job 1:6) or to
the righteous (Hosea 1:10)
2. Some
claim angels intermarried with humans to produce giant half-breeds, but Yehoshua
stated that angels do not marry - Mark 12:25
a. Makes
sense since angels are spiritual, not physical beings.
3. “Nephilim”
does mean “giants” but it can mean giants in stature or giants in fame, as in
“he was a giant among men.” Genesis 6:4 tells
us which at the end of the verse.
4. Also
notice that the Nephilim came first, then the “sons of God” married the
“daughters of men.” Most purposely ignore the time order.
5. Thus
the conclusion is that righteous people intermarried with worldly people giving
the predictable result of less and less godly people in the world, as stated inGenesis 6:5
B. What
this person couldn’t believe is that the Book of Enoch was not considered.
1. “Why
did the church suppress the Book of Enoch? After all, there are various
references to Enoch throughout the Old and New Testament ... There are those
who believed all the giant offspring and offspring of the fallen angels were
destroyed during the flood. Not true. The Philistines were hybrids, giants i.e.
Goliath. As were most of the races that Joshua and Israel had to conquer once
Israel were freed from Egypt. The giants never went out of existence, they just
went "underground" to return later, now, during these last days. ...”
2. As
the letter continued it got worse, showing an inability to separate fantasy
from reality. For example, at the end he was claiming that Nephilim were
shape-shifters and that the recent X-men movie proves they are making a
re-appearance.
C. But
I want to address the question regarding the Book of Enoch. Why was this book
rejected as Scripture?
II. The
History of the Book of Enoch
A. Listed
as a pseudoepigraphal work. i.e. a work with a false author (or written under a
pen name).
1. There
are a number of these works dating from the time between the Old and New
Testament through the first few centuries.
2. It
appears to have been a writing fad for a while.
3. People
used the names of famous people, such as characters from the Bible, to lend
credibility to the work – to make it appear more authentic.
B. Very
few people actually believe the book to have been written by Enoch.
1. For
it to have existed all those years, it would have had to survive the flood.
2. "I
am aware that the Scripture of Enoch, which has assigned this order of action
to angels, is not received by some. For it is not admitted into the Jewish
canon, either. I suppose they did not think that, having been written before
the deluge, it could have safely survived that worldwide calamity, the
destroyer of all things. If that is the reason for rejecting it, let them
remember that Noah, who survived the deluge, was the great-grandson of Enoch
himself ... There is still this consideration to warrant our assertion of the
genuineness of this Scripture: [Noah] could equally have rewritten it, under
the Spirit's inspiration, if it had been destroyed by the violence of the
deluge." [Tertullian, about 198 A.D.]
C. Tertullian
admits that the Jews never accepted the Book of Enoch as authentic and that
Christians of his time also rejected it.
1. Some
apologists for the Book of Enoch state that the book was well know by early
Christian writers.
2. True,
but they neglect to state that most rejected the book as being from God.
3. Athanasius,
Origen, and Jerome all argued against the book being considered Scripture.
4. In
fact it appears that only Tertullian and Augustine thought the work was
inspired and Augustine waffled on the point.
5. Though
the Roman Catholic Church added twelve books to their Old Testament, this book
wasn’t considered – likely because of the early rejection.
D. Actually,
there are several books that go by the name “The Book of Enoch”
1. Most
refer to copies of a book found in 1773 in Ethiopia.
2. These
copies are a translation of a Greek text that was in turn a translation of an
Aramaic or Hebrew text.
3. Small
fragments of this large book were found among the Dead Sea scrolls
a. Parts
of chapter 2, verses 12-14 and chapter 3 verse 13-16
b. But
the book has 108 chapters.
c. There
were also other documents which cited portions of the Book of Enoch, showing
that the book existed.
d. But
with such small amount of text, it must be emphasized that we don’t know how
the complete book of Enoch read in Aramaic.
4. Most
scholars date the book to between 300 B.C. and 100 B.C.
5. Larger
portions of the book survived in Greek, but again, not nearly the whole. They
also date from a later period (after the church was founded).
6. The
only whole version are the Ethiopian translations.
a. A
comparison of the Ethiopian translations to the Aramaic and Greek fragments
show the Ethiopian translation is fairly, but not entirely, accurate.
E. Most
scholars note that the Book of Enoch, as it currently exists, is a disjointed
work.
1. It
doesn’t have a unifying flow, such as would be found in the writings of one
author.
2. It
is generally agreed to be a composition of several works by multiple authors,
but exactly who wrote which portions is heavily debated.
III. Why
are people interested in the Book of Enoch?
A. Jude 14-15
1. Notice
that Jude doesn’t state he is quoting from a writing of Enoch
2. Since
multiple Enochs are mentioned in the Bible, he clarifies which one he is
quoting.
B. How
could Jude know what Enoch said 4,000 years later?
1. Jude
is inspired, so therefore the obvious answer is that God told him - I Corinthians 2:12-13
2. Same
reason how Moses, ascribed to be the recorder of Genesis, was able to write
words of people who lived hundreds of years before him.
C. Enoch 1:9:
“And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of His holy ones to execute judgment
upon all, and to destroy all the ungodly: and to convict all flesh of all the
works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, and of all the
hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
1. People
get all excited by this line. Jude must be quoting from the Book of Enoch!
2. Note
that the quote is not a literal reproduction, even allowing for multiple
translations.
3. Jude
says God will judge all and convict the ungodly among them.
4. The
Book of Enoch says God is judging all and will convict all of their
ungodliness. Not quite the same.
D. Is
the Ethiopian copies a bad translation? Then can we trust the rest?
E. Do
we say Jude is bad a quoting? Then it wouldn’t be an inspired book and then
what happens to the support for the Book of Enoch?
F. Did
the Book of Enoch record Jewish oral tradition and Jude supplied the correct
quote? If it was from oral tradition, then it is amazing that the Israelites
managed to preserve the statement that close to accurate for so long.
G. Interestingly,
none of the fragments, Aramaic or Greek, contain Enoch 1:9.
1. The
only version to have it are the Ethiopian copies.
2. There
is insufficient evidence whether the phrase is in the original Book of Enoch or
whether a person knowledgeable of Christianity “enhanced” an older version.
H. Because
the quote in Jude is unstable evidence, people have tried to prop up their
cause by stating that the New Testament is filled with allusions to the Book of
Enoch.
1. By
this, they mean that they compiled a set of catch phrases and conclude that
books using similar catch phrases must come from the Book of Enoch.
2. For
example, several cited the use of the phrase “son of man.”
a. But
this phrase is used heavily in Ezekiel.
b. It
is used in the Psalms a few times in reference to the Messiah
3. A
person trying to forge the biblical style will of course use wording similar to
the Bible. However, it doesn’t serve as proof. You can’t conclude who borrowed
from whom.
IV. Could
the Book of Enoch be Scripture?
A. If
the date of 300 B.C. to 100 B.C. is correct, then it comes during the years of
silence.
1. Amos 8:11-12 -
God said He would stop talking to the Israelites.
2. Micah 3:5-7 -
It was because of all the false prophets. It would prove who was true and who
was false.
3. Malachi
was the last Old Testament prophet. Until the coming of John and Yehoshua,
prophecy disappeared.
a. The
Jews knew this.
b. I Maccabees 9:27:
“So there was great distress in Israel, such as had not been since the time
that prophets ceased to appear among them.”
c. I Maccabees 14:41:
“The Jews and their priests have resolved that Simon should be their leader and
high priest forever, until a trustworthy prophet should arise.”
4. If
the Book of Enoch was written in the years of silence, then it follows that it
could not have been an inspired book because no prophets existed.
B. Could
it have been truly written by Enoch?
1. This
would make it the oldest piece of Scripture – long predating the writings of
Moses.
2. But
there is not one mention of the Book in the Old Testament. Nothing until the
years of silence.
3. How
could ancient writing of God disappear? Would God have allowed it?
4. Psalm 119:152 -
God’s words are forever.
5. Isaiah 40:8 -
God’s words do not fade away.
6. Matthew 5:17-18 -
Yehoshua stated that not the smallest mark of the Old Testament would disappear
before it is fulfilled.
7. Yet
the Book of Enoch apparently was gone for thousands of years, showed up for a
few hundred years and then disappeared again for another 1,500 years or so.
This isn’t what God said about His word!
C. If
it was written during the years of silence, then it’s claim to be written by
Enoch is a falsehood.
1. John 17:17 -
God’s word is truth
2. II Timothy 3:16 -
Scripture comes from the breath of God
3. I Corinthians 2:12-13 -
God gives the very words
4. Titus 1:2 -
God cannot lie
5. Thus
God would not record a message under a false name, nor would there ever have
been a need to do so. God doesn’t need the reputation of Enoch to enhance His
message!
D. Does
it match the Bible?
1. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 -
God’s messages are always consistent.
2. Time
line wrong
a. Using
Genesis 5, we know that Enoch was born about 622 years after the creation. He
lived 365 years before God took him - Genesis 5:23-24
b. Enoch 107:2-3 (Enoch
speaking to Methuselah): “'And now, my son, go and announce to thy son Lamech,
that this son who is born is really his, and that this is not a falsehood.' And
when Methuselah had heard the words of his father Enoch -- for he had shown him
everything that was secret -- he returned, after his having seen him, and
called the name of that son Noah, for he will make glad the earth for all
destruction.”
c. Noah
was born about 1056 years after the creation, 69 years after Enoch left the
earth!
d. According
to the Bible, this event could not have happened!
3. Knowledge
about angels wrong
a. The
Book of Enoch has angels marrying earthly women (chapter 6)
b. Mark 12:25 -
Angels don’t marry
4. Knowledge
about the origin of sin is wrong
a. The
Book of Enoch states that the intermixing of angel and human seed created sin
and the angels spread sin by teaching forbidden topics to men. Lamech is told
to hide so that his pure seed could be preserved. God would then wipe the world
with a flood, thus removing sin (chapter 8-10).
b. I John 3:4 -
Sin comes from breaking the law
c. Romans 5:12 -
Sin began when one man broke God’s law and continued because all sin
d. By
the way, the questioner’s statement that the mixed seed was not completely wiped
out by the flood contradicts both the Bible and the Book of Enoch. Only eight
people were saved and the Book of Enoch says that none of the mixed race
survived Iin fact they were supposed to have wiped themselves out before the
flood in some epic battle.)
5. Knowledge
of the realm of the dead is wrong
a. The
Book of Enoch states that the grave is divided into four realms:
(1) Righteous
martyrs, such as Abel
(2) The
righteous who were not martyrs
(3) Sinners
who died without suffering the consequences of their sins
(4) Sinners
who died after suffering from the consequences of their sins.
b. Of
the last group, it says, “but their spirits shall not be slain in the day of
judgment nor shall they be raised from thence” (Enoch 22:13)
c. Luke 16:19-31 shows
hades divided into two states.
d. John 5:28-29 -
All the dead, good and bad will be judged
e. Acts 24:15 -
This was Paul’s hope, a resurrection of the just and unjust
E. It
has internal contradictions
1. Enoch 6:7-8 gives
a list of 19 angels who lead the fall of man.
2. Enoch 69:2-3 gives
a list of 21 angels who were supposed to be the same group. Not only are there
more names, the names are almost completely different!
3. God
could not be behind such a book!
V. The
Book of Enoch is the product of man
A. It
was rightly rejected as uninspired writing.
SECOND TEST
BOOK of ENOCH
2
Facts or fictions ?
Facts or fictions ?
Over time, periodically, people have asked this or
that about the Book
of Enoch. Having been busy with the VW-edition the
past couple years, I
did not wish to be diverted to spend the time to read
it; so have always
answered the queries with, "I don't know".
But now that it is finished,
I took a few hours to skim/read through what I was
able to find posted
on the internet, labeled as "1 Enoch". I
don't know if that means
there's also 2 and/or 3? But what was in "1
Enoch" was 'quite' enough!
1 Enoch is a book full of "doctrines of
demons" (1Tm4:1) and is
dedicated to satan and his demons. Furthermore, I
seriously doubt it was
written by anybody during Enoch's time; Judas' quote,
notwithstanding
(Ju1:14-15); which will be addressed near the end.
I realize that there are theories as to the book's
origins. I don't know
about them, nor do I have time to research the matter.
The book speaks
for itself. Just as most cults and other teachers of
false doctrine can
be ascertained usually within a few minutes of
browsing their materials,
without the need to dig deeply, thus is also the case
with this book. My
reading was on-the-surface, and I found plenty,
without needing to dig
deeply into the "depths of satan". (Rev2:24)
To keep this simple, let's observe the things I
notated as I read, in
order, and then I'll make a few closing remarks. These
examples are
representative of what is in the book. It is -full- of
things just like
what we will observe here:
Section I
1:5 It names
"Mt Sinai". Let's remember that Enoch lived before the
flood,
and was "translated" (Heb11:5) about 700 years before the
flood.
Most of earth's current geological features came about
because
of the flood. Thus, did Sinai even exist before the
flood?
2:3 Mentions
"summer and winter". The seasons did not come to
be until
after the flood. (Gen8:22)
2:3 Speaks
of "rain". Again, before the flood, it did not rain, but
a
"mist" watered the earth. (Gen2:5-6)
4:1 Another
mention of "summer"
6:6 Names
"Mt Hermon". For the same reasons as Sinai (above); did it
yet
exist during Enoch's time? Thus, the notion that it was not
written
by Enoch, but by people after the flood.
10:20 God
telling angels (Michael) to cleanse the earth from sin...not
Yehoshua?
It is "..the blood of Yehoshua Messiah His Son" that
"cleanses
us from every sin." (1Jn1:7)
10:21 With
this cleansing the angels effect...men will be "righteous".
The
Bible says that righteousness comes from God through Messiah.
(2Cor5:21) and it is the "righteousness of God" (Rom3:22); not
angels.
Angels are "ministers". (Heb1:7,14)
13:4 The
demons ask Enoch to intercede for them. Since when? If
anything, Paul informs us that the saints will "judge" the
angels
(demons are fallen angels). (1Cor6:3)
13:7 Mentions
the "land of Dan". Israel did not yet exist.
13:10 Enoch
reprimands the angels. Judas1:8-10 speaks of this. It
would
seem that this passage provides the basis for those Judas
condemns, who "speak evil of dignitaries"; and gives the
example
how Michael, even, would not rebuke satan, but says,
"The Lord rebuke you". (Ju1:9) Since Enoch "walked with
God"
it seems
highly unlikely he would have done this.
Section II
39:1 Holy
children mixing seed with the children of men. I don't
quite
have an answer to this one, because men become "holy"
through
faith in Messiah. And if there are "holy" ones, and
sinners,
the holy ones are not to be "unequally yoked" with
unbelievers. (2Cor6:14) The place
where Scripture speaks of
the
mixing of seed with humanity is in Gen6:1-2, and that was
a bad
thing, part of the corruption, for which reason God
destroyed the world with the flood. The only other similar
kind of
passage in Scripture is Dan2:43; and there, too, the
context
of end events is NOT 'good'.
67:2 Angels
make a "wooden" something-or-other (missing word)...to
"preserve seed" And yet, Scripture is quite clear, that -NOAH-
built
the ark at God's command. (Gen6:14~)
Note:
Throughout the entire book, the emphasis is on 'angels' and
'spirits'. Angels do things, give commands, and are listed and
named.
The kind of recognition given to great men, by listing
and recording names. Not very much at all
about God. It's as if
God is
somehow 'incidental'...but the main activity is being
done by
angels. I suspect, if a person were to study the book
more
in-depth (which I will not do), one would find the seeds
of how
most pagans, catholics, and other liturgically-based
beliefs
view angels. Setting them up to be worshiped. The book
has the
feel of a document intended to 'teach' people about
things
not really intended for man at this time: "..worship of
angels,
intruding into those things which he has not seen.."
(Col2:18)
Section III
This
section seems to plant the seeds for astrology.
There is
a lot of mention of "portals" where the sun and moon
rise and
set throughout the seasons. As I read, I found it
quite
easy to visualize Stonehenge and other such structures
that
exist around the world; how these "portals" could easily
have
been the 'openings' between those stone pillars. I don't
know if
there is any basis to this, but it was easy to see a
potential parallel there.
72:3 Speaks
of how the sun rises and sets...not earth rotating?
72:5 At
night, the sun returns through the north to get back to the
east
72:5 Sun
riding chariot... how pagan is
that?! Josiah, when
cleansing the land of idolatry "burned the chariots of the
sun with
fire" (2Ki23;11)
72:37
Proclaims the sun and moon to be equal in size. Scripture would
not
proclaim such a scientific error.
77:1 South
where Most High will descend...Messiah comes "east to west"
"For as the lightning comes out of the east and flashes to the
west, so
also will the coming of the Son of Man be." (Mt24:27)
80:1 All the
things about the universe, planets (Enoch is even
supposedly whisked off to see the very 'edge' of the universe);
and all
this is being taught to him by the angel Uriel. Seems
somehow
reminiscent of Mormon (the name of a demon) teaching:
that
Adam and Eve traversed to the moon and back.
82:13 Angels
have names as "leaders" of the sun/moon/stars. The angels
supposedly are the originators of all the stars, are responsible
for them
in their orbits and existence; and are the basis for
regular
festivities (82:9) Sounds a lot like the
beginings of
astrology and the worship of the "host of the heavens"
(De4:19,
2Ki17:16, 21:3,5, etc) Whereas
Scripture tells us that the
universe
was created by God's "fingers" and that He
"established" them. (Ps8:3) And He set them for "signs
and
seasons". (Gen1:14)
Section IV
83:10 Sun is given personality..."him". Seeds
of sun-worship; as
god's
are assumed to have 'personalities'.
Section V
92:1 Claims
that Enoch "indeed" wrote the book.
100:10 Claims
that God "inquires of the angels" as to one's deeds. It
is Yehoshua
Messiah who knows humanity to the "division of soul and
spirit
and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart." (Heb4:12) Why does
God need angels to inform Him? God
"..knows the secrets of the heart.." (Ps44:21) "O Yehowah, You
have
searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my
rising
up; You understand my thoughts afar off.
You have sifted
through
my way of life and my lying down, and are familiar with
all my
ways. For there is not a word on my
tongue, but behold,
O Yehowah,
You know it altogether." (~Ps139:1-4)
104:1 Says
that angels remember one's good before God. It is Believers
who will
judge angels (1Cor6:3); not the other way around.
106:1~~ Noah born a super-natural being...
106:2 eyes
glowed with sun-like brilliance from birth...speaking from
the
womb... Just the same way pagan demonic entities are
portrayed. When a person is supposedly 'possessed', others know
it
because their eyes glow, and they speak with a different kind
of
voice.
106:6 Claims
Noah was not conceived from human seed...but from angels.
Directly
contradicting Scripture which proclaims, "These are the
generations of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his
generation. Noah walked with God." (Gen6:9)
106:8
Necromancy: communicating with the departed. Methuselah
contacts
Enoch after his translation on behalf of Lamech.
Enoch couldn't have written it: It contains information
that was only
known, or in existence, -AFTER- the flood. Enoch
was raptured 700 years
before the flood. And furthermore, with all these
doctrines of demons
that it contains, such a man who "walked with
God" (Gen5:22,24) would
have had no part with demons in the manner suggested
in this book.
Where the Bible proclaims, "Thus says Yehowah",
this book of "Enoch"
proclaims, essentially, 'thus said the angel/s'.
So, what about the fact that Judas quotes Enoch?
(Ju1:14-15) Indeed,
that quote is found in Enoch 1:9. The book practically
opens with that
quote. Does the fact that Judas quotes it, detract
from the authenticity
of the epistle of Judas? (That's the book just before
Revelation, that
has been incorrectly translation by others with the
'catholic' name
"Jude")
I suspect that the book of Enoch actually likely
contains many of
Enoch's actual words. Just because a book-of-demons
contains some true
statements, does not make the entire work True. Most
false teaching
often contains even as much as 95% truth. Satan and
his minions are busy
deceiving humanity, appearing as "ministers of
righteousness".
(2Cor11:15) In order to appear thus, they have to
proclaim at least
'some' truth. Perhaps the writers of Enoch (whoever
they may have been),
opened with Enoch's well-known quote, for the specific
purpose of
fooling people into believing it to be a credible
work? What better way,
than to put Enoch's "stamp" on the book,
right as it opens! However, the
amount of 'truth' in this book is no-where-near 95%.
It is so full of
falsehood, one is left wondering what may actually be
truth!
But even though the book opens with Enoch's words, and
also happens to
contain some very authentic-seeming 'dreams/visions'
of true things
regarding Israel, the flood, heaven and hell, etc; the
rest of the book
is a work of demons. Certainly, it contains many
concepts which cause
the reader's mind to wander out to the stars of the
ends of the
universe, and for the unwary, could captivate their
soul to accept these
(demonic) "spirits", of which it speaks so
much. Yes, it may contain at
least 'one' actual quote of Enoch, just as satan also
quoted the
Scriptures to Yehoshua when tempting Him (Mt4:6); but
the book, itself, is
from the very pits of hell!
For the Believer in Yehoshua Messiah, who is versed in
the Scriptures, the
Book of Enoch should not even raise any questions, as
to its evilness!
Now that I've read it, it really surprises (amazes) me
that it is even
questioned amongst so-called Messiahians!! Just be a
"Berean" and "search
the Scriptures"... are the things it says,
"so"? (Ac17:11) If you know
the Scriptures, and then read "Enoch", you
will know that it is NOT! No
question!
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