I have been reading the book of enoch lately. This is an apocryphal work which has visions of heaven and hell and parables of the coming messiah. It was written about 2nd century b.c. I just thought I would sum up some of enoch, his book, and biblical connection. Then the parts about the son of man which are strikingly similar to Jesus.
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The early Christian father Tertullian wrote c. 200 that the Book of Enoch had been rejected by the Jews because it contained prophecies pertaining to Christ.[3]
The Greek language text was known to, and quoted by nearly all, Church Fathers. A number of the Church Fathers thought it to be an inspired work, particularly Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origen, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian[citation needed], based on its quotation in Jude.
However, some later Fathers denied the canonicity of the book and some even considered the letter of Jude uncanonical because it refers to an "apocryphal" work (Cf. Gerome, Catal. Script. Eccles. 4.). By the fourth century it was mostly excluded from Christian lists of the Biblical canon, and it was omitted from the canon by most of the Christian church (the Ethiopian Orthodox Church being an exception).
The bible refers to enoch in genesis as walking with god and he is considered the great grandfather of noah. In rabbinical literature it is believed that god took him and gave him the position of Great Scribe. It has even been thought he became the angel Metatron. In the Quran he is identified with Idris "the instructor" and has a similar role as in the jewish tradition.
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Gen 5:22 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters.
Gen 5:23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.
Gen 5:24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
The book of enoch starts with the story of the Grigori or Watchers. Which is a group of fallen angels that sleep with men and produce nephilim. They were led by samayza. All of them taught men secrets of heaven such as astrology and spread wickedness among men. Azazel taught men how to make swords and shields and wage war. This is supposed to be what brought about the great flood.
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Gen 6:1 When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them,
Gen 6:2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.
Gen 6:3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years."
Gen 6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
Gen 6:5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen 6:6 And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
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In Enoch, the Watchers are angels apparently dispatched to Earth simply to watch over the people. They soon begin to lust for the human women they see, and at the prodding of their leader Samyaza, they defect en masse to marry and live among men. The children produced by these relationships are the Nephilim, savage giants who pillage the earth and endanger humanity. Samyaza, Azazel, and the others become corrupt, and teach their human hosts to make metal weapons, cosmetics, and other necessities of civilization that had been kept secret. But the people are dying and cry to the heavens for help. God sends the Great Flood to rid the earth of the Nephilim, but sends Uriel to warn Noah so as not to eradicate the human race. The Grigori are bound "in the valleys of the Earth" until Judgment Day. (See Jude 1:6)
The Watchers story in Enoch is derived from Genesis chapter 6. Verses 1-4 describe the "Origin of the Nephilim" and mention the "Sons of God" who beget them:
The book of enoch is referenced and quoted in Jude.
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Jud 1:6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day--
Jud 1:14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones,
Jud 1:15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him."
The second part is where god takes enoch over the earth and into sheol. It's got some great imagery in it.
For the parts pertaining to the son of man read the second parable. I am going to copy and paste some of them to show the relation to jesus.
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1. And there I saw One who had a head of days,
And His head was white like wool,
And with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man,
And his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels.
2. And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me all the hidden things, concerning that Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, (and)
p. 64
why he went with the Head of Days? And he answered and said unto me:
This is the son of Man who hath righteousness,
With whom dwelleth righteousness,
And who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden,
Because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him,
And whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness for ever.
4, And this Son of Man whom thou hast seen
Shall "*raise up"* the kings and the mighty from their seats,
[And the strong from their thrones]
And shall loosen the reins of the strong,
And break the teeth of the sinners.
5. [And he shall put down the kings from their thrones and kingdoms]
Because they do not extol and praise Him,
Nor humbly acknowledge whence the kingdom was bestowed upon them.
6. And he shall put down the countenance of the strong,
And shall fill them with shame.
And darkness shall be their dwelling,
And worms shall be their bed,
And they shall have no hope of rising from their beds,
Because they do not extol the name of the Lord of Spirits.
The head of days reminds me of a passage in revelations which is supposed to refer to jesus.
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Rev 1:13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.
Rev 1:14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,
Rev 1:15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.
Rev 1:16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
I think the head of days refers to God in this parable because of this passage.
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3. In those days I saw the Head of Days when He seated himself upon the throne of His glory,
And the books of the living were opened before Him:
And all His host which is in heaven above and His counselors stood before Him,
This has lead me to think that the revelations description may have been influenced by this parable because it is a brief description of god. this is all my speculation of course.
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2. And at that hour that Son of Man was named In the presence of the Lord of Spirits,
And his name before the Head of Days.
3. Yea, before the sun and the signs were created,
Before the stars of the heaven were made,
His name was named before the Lord of Spirits.
4. He shall be a staff to the righteous whereon to stay themselves and not fall,
And he shall be the light of the Gentiles,
And the hope of those who are troubled of heart.
5. All who dwell on earth shall fall down and worship before him,
And will praise and bless and celebrate with song the Lord of Spirits.
6. And for this reason hath he been chosen and hidden before Him,
Before the creation of the world and for evermore.
This seems to go along with jesus' claim that he was around at the creation. I also find it interesting that he would be the light of the gentiles. Since judaism at that time only believed the chosen would be saved and it was jesus message that allowed gentiles to be saved.
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Because the Elect One standeth before the Lord of Spirits,
And his glory is for ever and ever,
And his might unto all generations. p. 68
3. And in him dwells the spirit of wisdom,
And the spirit which gives insight,
And the spirit of understanding and of might,
And the spirit of those who have fallen asleep in righteousness.
4. And he shall judge the secret things,
And none shall be able to utter a lying word before him;
For he is the Elect One before the Lord of Spirits according to His good pleasure.
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5a. For in those days the Elect One shall arise,
2. And he shall choose the righteous and holy from among them:
For the day has drawn nigh that they should be saved.
3. And the Elect One shall in those days sit on My throne,
And his mouth shall pour forth all the secrets of wisdom and counsel:
For the Lord of Spirits hath given (them) to him and hath glorified him.
4. And in those days shall the mountains leap like rams,
And the hills also shall skip like lambs satisfied with milk,
And the faces of ⌈all⌉ the angels in heaven shall be lighted up with joy.
5b. And the earth shall rejoice,
c. And the righteous shall dwell upon it,
d. And the elect shall walk thereon.
In other parts of the book of enoch it speaks how the Elect one will raise the elect from sheol and leave the wicked there. It seems to mirror the belief that jesus will raise the dead and give them heaven and the wicked will perish in hell.
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3. And I asked the angel who went with me, saying, 'What things are these which I have seen in secret?' 4. And he said unto me: 'All these things which thou hast seen shall serve the dominion of His Anointed that he may be potent and mighty on the earth.'
9 And all these things shall be [denied and] destroyed from the surface of the earth,
When the Elect One shall appear before the face of the Lord of Spirits.'
The Elect one/ Son of man/ Anointed.
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Christ is the English term for the Greek word Χριστός (Christós), which literally means "The Anointed One." The Hebrew word for Christ is מָשִׁיחַ (Maš*aḥ, usually transliterated Messiah).
Christ is refered to as the son of man 88 times in the new testament. this is also used in daniel to denote the messiah.
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Dan 7:13 "I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
Dan 7:14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Jesus himself references daniel.
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Mat 24:30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Jesus called himself son of man more then any other title. I think that when jesus refers to himself as son of man he is not only using it in regard to daniel but also the book of enoch.
The Book of Enoch is any of several pseudepigraphal (falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed authorship is unfounded) works that attribute themselves to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah; that is, Enoch son of Jared (Genesis 5:18). Enoch is also one of the three people in the Bible taken up to heaven while still alive (the only others being Elijah and Jesus), as the Bible says "And Enoch walked with God, and he was not; for God took him." (Genesis 5:24; see also Hebrews 11:5). Most commonly, the phrase "Book of Enoch" refers to 1 Enoch, which is wholly extant only in the Ethiopic language.
The biblical book of Jude quotes from the Book of Enoch in verses 14-15, "Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him."" But this does not mean the Book of Enoch is inspired by God and should be in the Bible.
Jude"s quote is not the only quote in the Bible from a non-biblical source. The Apostle Paul quotes Epimenides in Titus 1:12 but that does not mean we should give any additional authority to Epimenides" writings. The same is true with Jude, verse 14. Jude quoting from Enoch 1:9 does not indicate the entire book is inspired, or even true. All it means is that particular verse is true. It is interesting to note that no scholars believe the Book of Enoch to have truly been written by the Enoch in the Bible. Enoch was seven generations from Adam, prior to the Flood (Genesis 5:1-24). Evidently, though, this was genuinely something that Enoch prophesied " or the Bible would not attribute it to him, "Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men"" (Jude 14). This saying of Enoch was evidently handed down by tradition, and eventually recorded in the Book of Enoch.
We should treat the Book of Enoch (and the other books like it) in the same manner we do the other Apocryphal writings. Some of what the Apocrypha says is true and correct, but at the same time, much of it is false and historically inaccurate. If you read these books, you have to treat them as interesting but fallible historical documents, not as the inspired, authoritative Word of God.
There are 2 books of Enoch, which one are you referring to ?
One is from the second Century Ad and the otherone as old as the book of Job.
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The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. Zephaniah 1:14
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The Book of Enoch
