The Book of Enoch has gained interest and popularity as we pass through these Last Days. Many look to it as if it is inspired Scripture with equal status with the book of Genesis or any other book in the Bible. Others admit that it is not inspired Scripture, yet they continually quote it and find "additional truth" in its uninspired pages. If the Book of Enoch is inspired, why is it not included in our Bible? If the Book of Enoch is not inspired, why do people read it and recommend it to others?
The Book of Enoch's Claim to Fame Those who support the inspiration of the Book of Enoch will point out that Jude 13-14 quotes from the Book of Enoch. "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 (Jude 13-14)." What is ignored is the fact that Jude does not quote from the Book of Enoch. Jude quoted Enoch. There is a tremendous difference between these two things. The Holy Spirit inspired Jude to write the words of Enoch, even though there was no written record of these words. Jude did not quote from a book that, at its best, is suspect. This reasoning is not the only thing to consider about the Book of Enoch. There is much more! The Book of Enoch's Discovery The Book of Enoch is NOT of ancient origin, as would be required if the book were written by Enoch. Historians tell us that the origins of this book range from 200 B.C. to 200 A.D. The Book of Enoch was discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls, along with most books of the Old Testament and several apocryphal books. The dating of the Dead Sea Scrolls can go as far back as 140 B.C. and as late as 70 A.D., after the fall of Jerusalem, depending on which set of caves in which the scrolls were found. The knowledge that the Book of Enoch was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls causes some to immediately assume that the Book of Enoch must be inspired since the Jews accepted it and hid it with other scrolls of Old Testament writers. What we must understand is that the Jews who possessed and hid these scrolls were part of the Essenes rather than the traditional orthodox Jewish community. The Essenes were the smallest of the three Jewish communities during the inter-Testament period. The other two Jewish parties were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Essenes were unique for several reasons. First, they promoted communal living, contrary to Old Testament teaching. The Essenes prohibited their priesthood from marrying and practiced daily immersion. Another interesting point is that this Jewish sect was mystical in its outlook and practice. That final point regarding the Essenes explains why they possessed the Book of Enoch. The Book of Enoch is mystical, meaning "sacredly obscure or secret; remote from human comprehension (Webster's Dictionary 1828)." Much like the Gnostics who twisted first-century Christianity, these Essenes twisted Old Testament Judaism to teach that they were the only ones with secret knowledge from God. Some things are mentioned in the Book of Enoch that are found nowhere in the Scripture, as we will mention later. The Book of Enoch's Problems I have not done an extensive study throughout the Book of Enoch. Instead, I read through the first chapter (a total of eight verses) and found enough discrepancies with the Scripture to discount it in its entirety. Let's consider a few of these discrepancies. First, the Book of Enoch begins by telling us that Enoch talked with God on account of the angels. "...This the angels showed me...Upon their account I spoke and conversed with him, who will go forth from His habitation, the Holy and Mighty One, the God of the world... (The Book of Enoch 1:1, 3)" This is not in harmony with the Scripture. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we find angels conversing with the saints on account of the Lord God, rather than the other way around. The Book of Enoch subtly makes the angels of greater power and importance than God Himself. This is a slight that the Holy Spirit would never allow to occur. Jesus tells us what the Holy Spirit would do in New Testament ages: "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me (John 15:26)." The Holy Spirit will identify and exalt Christ rather than a created being, such as an angel. You may think that this argument against the Book of Enoch is trifling, but we need to recall the words of the apostle Paul: "But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord (2 Corinthians 10:17)." It is of utmost importance to recognize who is being exalted by the Scripture and by the life of the believer (including ourselves). If we find that other than Christ is exalted, we can be assured that we are not headed in the right direction in our thinking, decisions, and doctrine. The Book of Enoch is guilty of exalting the mystical angel above God Himself. Another interesting point is how the Book of Enoch addresses "the High and Mighty One" as "the God of the world." Nowhere in the Old or New Testaments do we find this terminology used to describe the God of creation. We do, however, find a very similar expression used to describe someone else. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:4, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Notice how Satan is described as the "god of this world." That is so similar to the terminology that is used in the Book of Enoch. That ought to frighten every born-again believer away from accepting this book as legitimate in any fashion. The third problem point for the Book of Enoch is that it disagrees with the prophet Zechariah and New Testament prophecies regarding the place in which the Lord will descend from heaven back to the earth. "Who will hereafter tread upon Mount Sinai; appear with his hosts; and be manifested in the strength of his power from heaven (The Book of Enoch 1:4)." According to the Book of Enoch, Christ will return to the earth via Mount Sinai. Yet, Zechariah tells us, "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south (Zechariah 14:4)." There is a difference of 159 km (99 miles) between Mount Sinai and Jerusalem. This is not a simple discrepancy that can be easily ignored. Isaiah 31:5 says, "As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it." Is this not a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus returning to defend repentant Israel after the Tribulation Period? The prophecy of Acts 1:10-11, concerning Christ's return, says, "And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." When the prophecy says that Jesus will return "in like manner," it not only means that Christ will descend from the heavens, it also means that He will descend to Jerusalem; the same place form which He ascended. The conclusion that we must draw from these glances into the Book of Enoch is this: "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them (Isaiah 8:20)." These dissimilarities between the Book of Enoch and the Scripture (Old and New Testaments) tell us that this book did not come from the Lord by way of inspiration. Instead, we must conclude that the Book of Enoch is of human origin. The Book of Enoch's Dilemma Even after the clear presentation that the Book of Enoch is not inspired Scripture and is contradictory to the Bible, there is still an issue to face. What about Jude's quote from the Book of Enoch. These quotes are similar, but they are not identical. "Behold, 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 (The Book of Enoch 2:1)." "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 (Jude 14-15)." It is interesting to note that the Book of Enoch only refers to "he," while the Bible refers to "the Lord." This, in itself, is not conclusive but, it is suggestive. Who would like to be a high and mighty one like the Most High? It is Satan who desires to be recognized as being just like Almighty God. We never find Satan addressing himself as "the Lord" or "Jehovah," but we often find him inserting himself into positions that are reserved for the Lord. Another interesting note regarding the similarity, yet disparity, of these two quotes, is the consideration of other seemingly similar quotations. Back in Genesis 3:1, the serpent said, "Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" This is very similar to what God said to Adam, yet it is different enough to cause doubt. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he almost quoted Scripture. He made subtle changes that would cause doubt. Subtle changes are Satan's specialty. It should come as no surprise that Satan would subtly change a quote from a man of God to cause people to doubt what is truth and what is error. The dilemma is answered when we recognize the subtle ability of Satan to quote and misquote men of God. He does so to dupe the believer into swallowing other error that is hidden away in the Book of Enoch. The Error of Holding an Uninspired Book Some believers readily admit that the Book of Enoch is not inspired by God, but they continue to read it to "gain further illumination" regarding Bible prophecy and truth. This is acceptable, isn't it? NO! God has given to us what we need to know, even though He doesn't explain everything we would like to know. There are two reasons why God reveals things to us through His Word. First, God reveals things to us through His Word so that we will believe on Christ. "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name (John 20:30-31)." Second, God reveals things to us through His Word so that we will obey Him. "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law (Deuteronomy 29:29)." When we being to read the Book of Enoch to "gain insight" into what God has done or will do, we have gone outside of the stated purpose for which God gave His Word. We are indulging our curiosity and opening ourselves to the distraction and blinding of Satan (2Co 4:3-4). Another issue to consider is this: since the Book of Enoch is NOT inspired by God, why does it contain mystical imagery, such as angels and visions? You see, if the Book of Enoch contained historical matter, we might tolerate it for the sake of understanding the culture and worldview of the time. Instead, the Book of Enoch is all about supernatural things, which could only be correctly recorded for us through the inspiration of God (2Ti 3:16). With the lack of inspiration of the Book of Enoch established, the details concerning angels and visions become doubtful. Either the details given were dreamed up by man or they were provided by Satan. In either case, there is no benefit to the believer, and there may be great harm. John warns us against taking everything at face value. Instead, he warns us to "...try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world (1 John 4:1)." We cannot blindly take the Book of Enoch at face value, hoping for some spiritual benefit along the way. Our brief test of the Book of Enoch plainly shows that it is not of God and cannot be trusted. Since the Book of Enoch is not of God, believers must stay away from its mystical content and protect themselves from the efforts of Satan to blind the lost and hinder the saint.
1 Comment
Olivia Taylor
3/9/2022 04:26:54 am
Appreciate your writing this. I've never seen a copy of the book of Enoch or been interested in it, but for some reason a friend has mentioned it and seemingly been drawn to it. I can't find a reason to waste time on it when I can't find time to read all the good things available.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
About Jerry JacksonJerry has been writing for many years now. He has written tracts for several churches, as well as his ministries in Papua New Guinea and in Canada. He has had the opportunity to have many of his articles published in several Independent Baptist periodicals over the years. His main goals are to teach truth and lift up the Saviour. Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|