Biblegems #268
Jude 14-15 Enoch, the
seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with
thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all
of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and
of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Enoch was Cain’s
first son, and also the name of the world’s first city, which Cain named after
his son (Gen. 4:17). The prophecy of Enoch mentioned in Jude is found in First
Enoch (the first book in a collection of five known today as Ethiopic
Enoch). While the writing of the
existing manuscripts dates back to the 3rd century to 1st
century B.C., the original content is presumed to extend all the way back to
Enoch himself.
The
Book of Enoch was widely read in Jewish and Christian circles in New Testament times,
and portions of all but Book Two have been found among the other ancient Dead
Sea scrolls in the Qumran caves. First Enoch, or “The Book Of The Watchers,”
quoted by Jude builds on the account in Genesis 6:1-4 of the “sons of God”
uniting with the “daughters of men,” resulting in the offspring of giants. The
“sons of God” are identified in Enoch as a band of angels (called “Watchers”)
who are captured by angels sent from God and imprisoned until the Final
Judgment. Jude’s quote from First Enoch (see above) refers to the Day of the
Lord and the outpouring of His wrath upon rebellious mankind prior to that
Final Judgment Day.
While
the Book of Enoch is not inspired Scripture, God in His sovereign wisdom did
inspire Jude to quote from it. God used a book that was popular among
Christians in the first century, including the apostles, to convey certain
truths about the End Times. That does not validate everything written in the Book
of Enoch. On the other hand, the New Testament does refer to a specific group
of angels who:
Jude 6 …did not keep their positions of authority
but abandoned their proper dwelling—these
he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the
great Day…
And
of—
1Pet.
3:19b-20a …imprisoned spirits—to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah
while the ark was being built.
And…
2Pet. 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they
sinned, but cast them into hell (Lit.,
“Tartarus,” which means “pits”) and committed them to chains of gloomy
darkness to be kept until the judgment.
This descriptive language
borrowed directly from First Enoch compares Enoch with the crucified and risen
Christ. Enoch had been sent to the rebellious, imprisoned angels to pronounce God’s
judgment. When they asked Enoch to beg God’s mercy on their behalf, God responded
with the same declaration of judgment. In 1 Peter 3:19, Jesus, crucified but
made alive by the Spirit, “preached” (Lit., “made a proclamation”) to these imprisoned spirits: He
is the true Enoch (by comparison) who walks with God, and has overcome sin,
death and all the demonic powers of evil. In the words of the apostle Paul:
Phil. 2:10 …that at
the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, in heaven and on earth and
under the earth…
Fascinating!
ReplyDeleteDear Pastor Coleman,
ReplyDeleteI think the Enoch Jude was referring to was not the Enoch son of Cain, whose city was named after, but the Enoch son of Jared, and himself the father of Methuselah, on the line of Seth, not Cain's.
If true, then for such a one to have been taken up to heaven during his 4th century of his life, he would be the suitable candidate to receive an accurate prophecy from God.