The Book Of Enoch

Biblegems #268

Question: What do we know about the book of Enoch that was quoted by Jude?

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 3^rd century to 1^st 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…

Identifying “the Spirits in Prison”

Biblegems #267

Question: Who are the “spirits in prison” mentioned in 1 Peter 3:18-19, and what was “preached” to them?

Here is the passage in both the KJV and the NIV (2011), with the most pertinent section underlined:

         1Pet. 3:18-19   For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison (KJV).      

1Pet. 3:18-19 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits (NIV).

Interpretations of this passage have historically fallen into three general categories:

Interpretation #1       Between his crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus went to the realm of the dead in spiritual form and preached to Noah’s contemporaries. Some in this group believe Jesus offered salvation to the spirits of those who died in the Flood. Others in this group believe Jesus’ proclamation was to officially condemn the unbelievers of Noah’s time. A third view within this group is that Jesus preached good news to those of Noah’s day who had already been saved.

         Interpretation #2       Jesus, in His pre-existent, spiritual state, came from heaven to the sinful generation of Noah’s day and preached repentance, which they ignored.

         Interpretation #3       After His death on the cross and burial, Jesus went in the Spirit (either Holy Spirit, or in the spiritual realm) to the disobedient spirits (fallen angels) of Noah’s day, described in Genesis 6:1-4, and proclaimed his victory over sin and death.

The word “spirits” in Scripture can refer to humans, angels, God, or the demonic. Context generally determines what kind of spirit is in view. The context of 1Pet. 3:20 makes it clear that Jesus made His proclamation to spirits “who were disobedient long ago in the days of Noah….” Jude also refers to this same group of imprisoned spirits as “angels who 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” (Jude 6).

The New Testament, then, points to a specific group of angels who are imprisoned by God until the Day of Judgment for their disobedience in the days of Noah. These spirits are not in hell (Gk. gehenna), which is currently empty (Rev. 20:10ff.), but in a special prison called Tartarus:

         2Pet. 2:4   For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell (Gk. tartarus), putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment…

The only such distinct group described in Scripture in Noah’s day would appear to be “the sons of God who went to the daughters of humans and had children by them” (Gen. 6:4). Following His crucifixion, Jesus was made alive in the Spirit and went to these imprisoned angels, proclaiming His victory over sin, Satan and death!

Hell—Literal Or Figurative?

Biblegems #177

Question: Is hell literal or figurative? If it is literal, is it really eternal?

Our word “hell” comes from the New Testament Greek ge÷enna (pronounced “gehenna”). Jesus taught about hell as a very real place:

         Matt. 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

To be “destroyed” in hell does not mean the person ceases to exist. “Destroyed” in the New Testament Greek means “ruined” or “lost.” God created human beings for eternal existence both physically and spiritually. “Death” is the temporary separation of the body from the soul caused by sin:

         Rom. 5:12  …sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men…

But eventually every human being will be physically and spiritually raised from death:

         John 5:28-29  Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.        

Hell is the final destination of those who die without having been rescued (saved) by Jesus Christ (Lk. 19:10). Jesus described this fearful place of physical as well as spiritual torment:

Matt. 5:30 …It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

         Mark 9:43 …It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.

Unfortunately, translators have sometimes supplied the word “hell” in our English Bibles inappropriately. When Peter writes about certain angels already in “hell” (2Pet. 2:4), he’s actually referring to a place called “Tartarus” (tartarw¿saß) where these angels are imprisoned until the Final Judgment.

The same is true of Jesus’ story of Lazarus and the rich man, where “hell” should be translated “hades” (Gk. aˆ‚dhØ), referring to the realm of the dead who are awaiting the Final Judgment (Lk. 16:23).

Hell was designed for Satan and the angels who rebelled with Him against God (Matt. 25:41). Nevertheless, through Adam and Eve humanity fell into that same rebellion. Sin has contaminated the human race ever since, locking all of us into both the contamination of sin and sinful behavior:

         Ps. 51:5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

God—because He is just, holy and all-powerful—cannot abide sinfulness and rebellion in His creation forever. Evil will be purged one day at the Final Judgment, and all sin and unrepentant sinners rendered powerless in hell. As sinful human beings then, our condition is hopeless, except for the way out provided by God alone:

         John 11:25-26  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Did God create Hell?

Biblegems #36

Today’s question is, ‘Did God create hell?’

I suspect that behind the question is another question—“If God did create hell, why?”

Most English translations of the Bible loosely use the term “hell” to frequently translate the Hebrew word “Sheol” and the Greek words “Hades” and “Tartarus.” For example, in 2 Pet. 2:4 “Tartarus” (trans. “hell”) is not hell at all, but a holding area for rebellious angels awaiting the Day of Judgment and their final condemnation to hell. And in Luke 16:23, “Hades,” mis-translated “hell,” actually refers to the realm of the dead who are also awaiting the Day of Judgment. “Hades” is roughly equivalent to “Sheol,” the Old Testament Hebrew term for the realm of the dead.

Hell, according to Jesus, was prepared specifically as a final punishment for the devil and the angels with him who rebelled against God early in creation history. Unfortunately, as Jesus indicates in the following passage, there are many human beings who will also be cast into this eternal fire that was never designed for them: “Then he (Jesus) will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41).

The Bible describes hell as a lake of burning sulfur, where the fire never goes out. The “beast” and the “false prophet” of the book of Revelation are thrown alive into this lake (Rev. 19:20), where they are joined a thousand years later by the devil. There they will all be “tormented day and night for ever and ever” (lit., “into the ages upon ages”)—a hyperbole for eternity.

Some claim that while the fires of hell may be eternal, those who enter there are annihilated, not imprisoned. In other words, the fire is eternal, but the torment is not. This, however, contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture: And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever (Rev. 20:10). Not only is the fire eternal, but the suffering is as well. The “second death” is not a synonym for ceasing to exist. The sad truth is that this is a place of unending torment (Rev. 19:20).

Hell is not only described as an eternally burning lake of fire, but is expressly referred to as “the second death” (Rev. 20:14). It earns this moniker because here death itself will be destroyed: Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14-15).

It is from this horrible end that Jesus came to rescue mankind. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17).