The Enigmatic Book of Enoch

The Book of Enoch is one of the most enigmatic writings I’ve encountered. The Book of Enoch is not in the Bible, yet contains some passages that appear to be similar to some passages of the Bible. The Book of Enoch is so highly-regarded by Ethiopian Orthodox Church that they consider it canon. For these reasons and more I felt that the Book of Enoch should almost be considered like a lost book of the Bible. However, I was not ready to proclaim it a lost book of the Bible because I understood that God kept it out of the Bible for a reason.

I encountered an article called “The Book of Enoch Exposed” by David J. Stewart a while back. Stewart posits that the Book of Enoch is heresy and is a book is a satanic deception that is intended to “corrupt God’s word”. This article caught my attention because it was really the first time I encountered an article that forcefully attacked the Book of Enoch, and it is a good thing I found this article because my original feelings about the book were wrong.

Stewart cites Chapter 40 of Enoch which mentions an angel who supposedly is “set over the repentance unto hope of those who inherit eternal life”:

(7) And I heard the fourth voice fending off the Satans and forbidding them to come before the Lord (8) of Spirits to accuse them who dwell on the earth. After that I asked the angel of peace who went with me, who showed me everything that is hidden: ‘Who are these four presences which I have (9) seen and whose words I have heard and written down?’ And he said to me: ‘This first is Michael, the merciful and long-suffering: and the second, who is set over all the diseases and all the wounds of the children of men, is Raphael: and the third, who is set over all the powers, is Gabriel: and the fourth, who is set over the repentance unto hope of those who inherit eternal life, is named Phanuel.’” (Enoch 40:7-9)

Stewart rightly condemns Enoch 40:9 for its unbiblical teaching about the presence of an angel who deals with matters relating to eternal life:

“That statement in itself contradicts everything the Word of God teaches. We read in 1st Timothy 2:5 that Jesus Christ is the ONLY Mediator between God and men, not some angel named Phanuel… “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Repentance is strictly between a man and Jesus Christ alone”.[1]

Stewart also rightly attacks Enoch 48:1-3 because the passage contradicts Revelation 1:8 where Christ said “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty”.

“(1) And in that place I saw the fountain of righteousness Which was inexhaustible: And around it were many fountains of wisdom: And all the thirsty drank of them, And were filled with wisdom, And their dwellings were with the righteous and holy and elect. (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.” (Enoch 48:1-3)

This passage in Enoch implies that Christ’s role as deity is temporary when the Book of Revelation makes it clear that Christ’s role as deity is eternal.

Steweart also attacks other aspects of the Book of Enoch, including the book’s claim that giants/Nephilim were taller than Noah’s ark. I suggest people read the entire article to see many of the scriptural problems that the book has.

My Stance on Book of Enoch

I would not look to the Book of Enoch for a new source of revelation. The book has many eschatological prophecies, but they do not concern anything that the Bible does not already cover. The unbiblical passages of the Book of Enoch destroy the book’s credibility.

Some people have cited a passage like Jude 1:14 to say that a biblical figure thought highly of the Book of Enoch (I know because I mistakenly did):

“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,” (Jude 1:14)

Stewart argues and I now agree that Jude 1:14 is not an endorsement of the Book of Enoch. While Enoch did prophesy those words there is no proof that the prophecy originated from the Book of Enoch. The prophecy simply could have been something that passed from generation to generation.

Finally, I do not believe it is possible for a book to be suppressed from the Bible. To believe that a book has been suppressed from the Bible is to say that man or a spiritual entity is strong enough to prevent the Word of God from being incorporated into the Bible. I do not believe that is possible because God is stronger than man or the spiritual forces of evil. If God wants a certain book included in the Bible it will get included.

Note

1. Stewart, David J. “Book of Enoch Exposed”. 17 Mar. 2009. Last Accessed 28 Oct. 2017. http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Wolves/book_of_enoch.htm. ↩