The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 1

II. “Ethiopic Enoch” Reveals Pre-Christian Jewish Thinking

The first work we will note is the book of Enoch, known chiefly from an Ethiopic version, and frequently called the Ethiopic Enoch. This should not be confused with the Secrets of Enoch, of later origin—also called the Slavonic Enoch—or with the Neo-Hebraic Enoch, or book of Hanuk which came into existence around A.D. 200. According to Littmann, the Ethiopic Enoch consists of different “layers,” or sections, the oldest about 200 B.C. and the latest about 63 B.C. Some parts were evidently written by a Jew who lived in northern Palestine. Other portions were likely written by a Sadducee. It is difficult to ascertain whether the book was originally written in Hebrew or in Aramaic. In any event, it is the most comprehensive of the Jewish apocalypses. ⁵ As Fuchs says: PFF1 185.3

“[It is] the most magnificent of all apocalypses, the ‘apocalyptic Bible of the time of the Jesus.’ ... It offers most important religio-historical material for the study of the mystic tendency, among the Jews of the Maccabean time, which some pronounce to be already Essene.” ⁶ PFF1 186.1

Its influence on the New Testament times has been far greater than that of all the other apocryphal and pseudepigraphal books together. Charles gives a formidable list of passages in the New Testament which, either in phraseology or in idea, coincide with passages in the Ethiopic Enoch. ⁷ Later, it played a significant part in the formation of Christian Gnosticism, as well as exerting a different influence on Judaism. Around A.D. 300 it began to be discredited by the Christian church. And after the ninth century it was entirely lost until the traveler Bruce discovered two manuscripts of it in Abyssinia in 1773. We shall now notice a number of quotation’s from the book, regardless of their respective late or earlier datings. Because they all belong to the pre-Christian Era, they illustrate the general tendency of Jewish thinking. PFF1 186.2

1. EXPANDS “SON OF MAN” EXPRESSION

In the Old Testament only the book of Daniel contains the expression “Son of man,” which Jesus took upon Himself to reveal—His true relationship toward man and toward God. Here, in the book of Enoch, we find this expression used in a much more comprehensive way than in the book of Daniel. Observe a few passages: PFF1 186.3

“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. Yea, before the sun and the signs were created, before the stars of heaven were made, his name was named before the Lord of Spirits. 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. 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. And for this reason hath he been chosen and hidden before him, before the creation of the world and for evermore .... For in his name they are saved and according to his good pleasure hath it been in regard to their life.” Eth. Enoch 48:2-7. ⁸ PFF1 187.1

In the same chapter he is called “Mine elect” and “His Anointed.” Then in chapter 49, verse 2: “The Elect—One standeth before the Lord of Spirits, and his glory is for ever and ever, and his might unto all generations.” In verse 4, “And he shall judge the secret things, and none shall be able to utter a lying word before him.” And in chapter 46, verse 4: “And this Son of Man whom thou hast seen shall raise up the kings and the mighty from their seats, and shall loosen the reins of the strong, and break the teeth of the sinners.” The Son of Man is coming to judge, and is called the Righteous One. Thus: PFF1 187.2

“And when the Righteous One shall appear before the eyes of the righteous, whose elect works hang upon the Lord of Spirits, and light shall appear to the righteous and the elect who dwell on the earth, where then will be the dwelling of the sinners, and where the resting-place of those who have denied the Lord of Spirits? It had been good for them if they had not been born.” Eth. Enoch 38:2. PFF1 187.3

2. SOMBER SCENES OF DAY OF JUDGMENT DEPICTED

Powerful language is used to describe these events. PFF1 187.4

“And the Lord of Spirits placed the Elect One on the throne of glory. And he shall judge all the works of the holy above in the heaven, and in the balance shall their deeds be weighed.” Eth. Enoch 61:8. PFF1 187.5

“Pain shall seize them, when they see that Son of Man sitting on the throne of his glory. And the kings and the mighty and all who possess the earth shall bless and glorify and extol him who rules over all, who was hidden.” Eth. Enoch 62:5, 6. PFF1 188.1

“Nevertheless that Lord of Spirits will so press them that they shall hastily go forth from His presence, and their faces shall be filled with shame, and the darkness grow deeper on their faces. And He will deliver them to the angels for punishment, to execute vengeance on them because they have oppressed His children and His elect. And they shall be a spectacle for the righteous and for His elect: they shall rejoice over them, because the wrath of the Lord of Spirits resteth upon them, and His sword is drunk with their blood.” Verses 10-12. PFF1 188.2

On the other hand, of the righteous it is said: PFF1 188.3

“And the righteous and elect shall be saved on that day, and they shall never thenceforward see the face of the sinners and unrighteous. And the Lord of Spirits will abide over them, and with that Son of Man shall they eat and lie down and rise up for ever and ever .... And they shall have been clothed with garments of glory, and these shall be the garments of life from the Lord of Spirits. And your garments shall not grow old, nor your glory pass away before the Lord of Spirits.” Verses 13-16. PFF1 188.4

“The days of their life shall be unending, and the days of the holy without number.” Eth. Enoch 58:3. PFF1 188.5

The earth will be cleansed from all iniquity and defilement from sin and punishment, and the righteous shall dwell upon it in peace and under abundant blessings. PFF1 188.6

“And then shall all the righteous escape, and shall live till they beget thousands of children, and all the days of their youth and their old age shall they complete in peace.” Eth. Enoch 10:17. PFF1 188.7

“And all the children of men shall become righteous, and all nations shall offer adoration and shall praise Me, and all shall worship Me.” Verse 21. PFF1 188.8

At the same time the book is full of the more somber scenes of the great day of judgment. The books in heaven will be opened (chapter 47:3), wherein every sin is recorded each day (chapter 98:7, 8). And when that day approaches, trembling and fear will fall upon the sinners (chapter 102:13); a great slaughter will begin so that the blood will reach to the breasts of the horses (chapter 100:3). PFF1 188.9

3. STATE IN DEATH, AND THE RESURRECTION

On the question of death, consciousness in death, and resurrection, divergent and contradictory ideas appear. Sometimes the book speaks of a general resurrection, sometimes only of a partial one. So, for example in chapter 51, verses 1 and 2 we find a clear statement of the resurrection: PFF1 188.10

“And in those days shall the earth also give back that which has been entrusted to it, and Sheol also shall give back that which it has received, and hell shall give back that which it owes. For in those days the Elect One shall arise, and he shall choose the righteous and holy from among them: For the day has drawn nigh that they should be saved.” ‘ PFF1 189.1

Some verses teach that the wicked will be consumed: PFF1 189.2

“And I will give them over into the hands of Mine elect: As straw in the fire so shall they burn before the face of the holy: as lead in the water shall they sink before the face of the righteous, and no trace of them shall any more be found.” Eth. Enoch 48:9. PFF1 189.3

“Yet the sinners shall be destroyed before the face of the Lord of Spirits, and they shall be banished from off the face of His earth, and they shall perish for ever and ever.” Eth. Enoch 53:2. PFF1 189.4

The kings and mighty, however, must expect a severer punishment. In chapter 54, verse 1, Enoch sees a deep valley, with burning fire, into which are cast the kings and the mighty; and then he sees iron chains of immeasurable weight prepared for the “hosts of Azazel,” to take them and cast them into the abyss of complete condemnation. PFF1 189.5

4. ORIGIN OF SIN AND CORRUPTION

Sin and corruption are caused by the evil angels. So in chapter 10, verse 8: “And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.” Therefore for the angels is no forgiveness. “Ye have wrought great destruction on the earth: And ye shall have no peace nor forgiveness of sin.” Eth. Enoch 12:5. PFF1 189.6

In chapter 10, verse 11 and onward we read of the binding of Semjaza, a mighty angel, and all his associates for seventy generations. On the day of judgment they shall be led off to the abyss of fire, to the torment, confined forever in the prison. PFF1 189.7

5. THE UNDERWORLD AND TORMENTS OF THE ACCURSED

On the other hand, we find in Enoch a forerunner of Dante’s Divine Comedy. He is led by an angel through the heavens and through the underworld, and gives a detailed description of the mountains of God and the tree of life and the other plants of the new earth. He receives an insight into the secrets of nature, and into the heavenly storehouses of rain, hail, and thunder. And during these wanderings through the heavens he comes to Sheol. There are four hollow places, deep and wide and very smooth. He does not know what they indicate until he is instructed that they are prepared for the spirits of the children of men who are dead. But these spirits are able to make suit in the courts of heaven. (Eth. Enoch 22:2-6.) PFF1 190.1

So, according to Enoch, Sheol is no longer a place where the dead are unconscious, and not aware of what is happening on earth, but where they are fully conscious, and where they can raise their voices in clamor, as Abel does against his brother Cain. Here in these hollows the spirits are set apart, for the spirits of the righteous are a bright spring of water. The unrighteous endure great pain. They are set apart till the great day of judgment, when there will be scourging and torments for the accursed forever. (Verses 9-12.) PFF1 190.2

These few statements, out of a book of 105 chapters (according to Charles’s edition), suffice to show the general tendency of this literature. It assuredly contains a good number of passages which would almost appear to be taken from New Testament thought. On the other hand, we notice a radical departure from the original ideas of the Old Testament, especially in regard to death and the life hereafter. These new ideas, expressed in Enoch, really laid the groundwork for many concepts found later in the Christian church, which kept countless millions under their spell. PFF1 190.3