The Book of Enoch

(Revised 9-9-2008)

Prior to the nineteenth century, scholars had believed the Book of Enoch to be irretrievably lost. Then there was a faded scroll that had been found in the Geez language, and there were some extracts of a few brief chapters in Greek that had also been found. But the original Aramaic version was lost until the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in caves near Qumran in 1947.

The Book of Enoch was composed long before the birth of the Christ Jesus, and some scholars consider it to be one of the most important pieces of Jewish mystical literature. It was once cherished by Jews and Christians alike, but it later fell out of favor because of the opinions of some powerful church patriarchs and theologians, mainly because of its controversial statements on the nature of "fallen angels." And I myself disagree with some of what it says.

Even so, there are some things about it that are important to know now. For example, the Essenes were familiar with it, as was their pupil Jesus. In fact, many of the key concepts used by Jesus in his teaching reflect terms and ideas in the Book of Enoch, and it has become increasingly clear that Jesus had not only studied the Book of Enoch, but adopted its concepts and elaborated on its descriptions of the coming kingdom and its theme of inevitable judgment of "the wicked" -- the term most often used in the Old Testament to describe the kind of people that Jesus so hated: the greedy rich, the tyrants, the money changers, the religious hypocrites, the idolaters, and the Nicolaitans.

Besides that, over a hundred phrases written by the followers of Jesus in the New Testament find precedents in the Book of Enoch. One example is the following quote in the book of Jude from Enoch 1:9: "In the seventh [generation] from Adam, Enoch also prophesied these things, saying: 'Behold, the Lord comes with his holy myriads, to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in such an ungodly way'." (Jude 14-15)

As I’ve written on other pages, I regard such punitive language misguided. But, I must point out that such language was following precedent, because such language has always appealed to men who tend to be patriarchal, judgmental, and punitive. Like a rigid, strict father who doesn’t "spare the rod," that’s the way they think. But it’s not godly, and while serious discipline is sometimes called for in correcting and raising children properly, harsh physical punishment is usually counterproductive and it often merely teaches children to be physically abusive when they become adults.

By the way, because I say such things, some critics have said I have an Oedipus Complex. (That was a term coined by Sigmund Freud, referring to the ancient Greek myth of a King of Thebes who killed his father and was a "mother’s boy," so to speak.) But those critics are misguided patriarchs and theocrats. For God is not a person, not a man, nor a woman. And creating a construct of God as a person is to create an idol in our own image, an egocentric projection. Those who do so tend to assume that "He" loves what they love and hates what they hate. And the idea that God is a male and made sacred and authoritative is at the expense of all females. It is a sexist and outdated idea that has for centuries led to divisive sexual mores, some of which have been and still are harmful.

The fact is that God has both male and female aspects. And besides, as I’ve written on the page titled The Book of Wisdom, the fact is that we actually reap what we sow because of the karmic consequences of our thoughts, words, and actions. But we are human. We make mistakes, and by trial, error, and success, we learn by enduring, suffering or enjoying the consequences right here on earth. That is why the golden rule and universal divine imperative is common to and should be emphasized in all religions: treat others as you would want to be treated if you were them.

However, the reason I speak of the Book of Enoch is because the title of a son of man, the "Elect One," is emphasized in the Book of Enoch and was known by the most knowledgeable original Christians. And, in spite of that, the King James Bible's English translation of Luke 9:35 omits that very important fact. For the King James version states: "And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, 'This is my beloved Son: hear him."

The English translator wanted to make this verse agree with a similar verse in Matthew and Mark. But, Luke's verse in the original Greek is more accurate, and it reads: "This is my Son, the Elect One: hear him." That is very different and very significant, because it reveals that Jesus was a son of God, not the one and only, and he was literally a son of man, the son of Joseph, as I explained on the page about The Virgin Birth Story. And Jesus was one "elected" by God.

The "Elect One" is a term found fourteen times in the Book of Enoch, which also refers to the Elect One as "The Chosen One," as the Book of Isaiah does. It is an elected and chosen one who "dwells in your midst," as promised by Moses, Enoch, Isaiah, and other prophets. And this is different from the term "the elect" when it refers to those who are called by God and found worthy to be chosen for a specific but lesser mission.

However, it is also important to understand that while the spiritually anointed Christ Jesus was an Elect One, it is another "Elect One" and chosen one, another son of man, who Jesus promised would come, but would first be rejected by his generation. And as I’ve explained on the main page and the page titled Prophecies Re: The "One To Come," Jesus was not talking about himself in that instance.

Jesus was talking about this son of man, the messenger for the Spirit of truth, who Jesus said would issue the judgment, guide you unto truth, show you things to come, and glorify the Christ in heaven, because Jesus himself had to "go away and be seen no more," as I have also explained on the page titled Prophecies Re: The "One To Come."

The point here is that all this confirms what I am telling you, that the Christ Jesus was a mortal son of man, the son of Joseph, and Jesus will not come again. And the present son of man fulfills Judeo-Christian prophecy as a witness and servant of God, and a messenger for the Spirit of truth, fulfilling the prophecies of Enoch, Isaiah, and Jesus, as well as many other Jewish prophets and prophets of other religions.