| From
the Church on the Hill
by D. Eric Williams Pastor, Cottonwood Community Church pastor@cottonwoodcommunitychurch.org Genesis Chapter 5 provides us with a genealogical record of the sethian line from Adam to Noah. Near the end of the list we meet someone named Enoch who, according to the Bible, lived 365 years before he disappeared because God took him away (Genesis 5:24). The Bible has little to say about Enoch. In the Old Testament he is mentioned only in the genealogies of 1 Chronicles outside of Genesis. In the New Testament, Enoch is found in the genealogical record of Jesus. He is one of the heroes of the faith in Hebrews chapter eleven and quoted as a prophet in Jude verse fourteen. It is the quote found in the letter of Jude that has caused some misunderstanding concerning the life and times of Enoch. It appears Jude's quotation comes from the pseudepigraphic text known as the first book of Enoch. The treatise is also called the Ethiopic Enoch and was apparently written in the second or third century before Christ (there is a second book of Enoch also known as a Slavonic Enoch likely originating in c. 14 century and a third book of Enoch written in Hebrew that may have been written as early as the second century). The book of Enoch is an apocryphal text decidedly unbiblical in overall character - Jude's use of it notwithstanding. The first book of Enoch is best known for its description of the angelic "watchers" who came to earth and sired a race of giants with human women. According to the book, Enoch was sent to these watchers with a prophetic word of judgment. The book also discusses Enoch's visions of heaven, the apocalyptic future, the Son of Man, the Messiah and the end of days. The only real value in the first book of Enoch is historical. That is not to say the book is historically accurate; far from it. Rather, it provides us with a look into the mind of second Temple Judaism. This is helpful because it gives us some insight into the intellectual atmosphere of the New Testament. While we must not use apocryphal or pseudepigraphic texts to guide us in doctrine they may be helpful in understanding some of the cryptic references found in the New Testament. For instance, Jesus routinely called himself the Son of Man. Clearly, his audience had some understanding of what he meant by that. On the other hand, modern readers do not have the same context as the first century audience and so it is often thought Jesus was simply referring to his humanity. This is true in part, but in the context of first century, second Temple Judaism, the appellation "Son of Man" held greater significance than mere human genesis. Unfortunately, there are Christians who claim the books of Enoch gives them profound insight concerning the angelic order. These are the same people who were "greatly blessed" by books like Heaven Is for Real. These are people who decide what is true based upon how it "resonates with their spirit." But that is not the appropriate way to discern truth. Part of the problem is a fascination among some Christians with Angels and Demons. The Bible has little to say about angelology or demonology and so the curious Christian is forced to look elsewhere. Thus the reliance on the books of Enoch (and other non-canonical texts) to fill out the biblical account. Paul addressed this ungodly fascination with spirit realm when he said, Don't tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They're a lot of hot air, that's all they are (Colossians 2:18, MSG). Truly, if God had wanted us to know more about the angelic realm he would have given more information in the Bible. We will return to this topic next week. |
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