If you have never heard of or read The Book of Enoch, you should do so. If you aren’t familiar with it, you can get a free copy here: The Book of Enoch.
Why? Because fellow Christians and Americans are reading it for the first time. It is popping up in cultural and theological discussions.
From the website:
The book was believed to have been composed by Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. Most critics and scholars believe it was begun in the second century BC and was a collection of works that includes writings for the first century BC as well. Some believe it contains the actual words of Enoch and that it was handed down through the ages. There is no real way to know for certain if that is so. The only thing we know for certain is that fragments of the book date back to the 2nd century BC.
It is generally believed that the Apostles and the writers of the New Testament were fully aware of the Book of Enoch also called 1 Enoch. In fact, it is directly quoted in the Bible:
Jude 1:14-15 “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, {15} To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him”
Here is Jude 1:1-16 for a fuller context (Berean Study Bible).
Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,
To those who are called, loved by God the Father, and kept in Jesus Christ:
Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints. For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Although you are fully aware of this, I want to remind you that after Jesus had delivered His people out of the land of Egypt, He destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling—these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on that great day. In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal fire.
Yet in the same way these dreamers defile their bodies, reject authority, and slander glorious beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, did not presume to bring a slanderous charge against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” These men, however, slander what they do not understand, and like irrational animals, they will be destroyed by the things they do instinctively. Woe to them! They have traveled the path of Cain; they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam; they have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
These men are hidden reefs in your love feasts, shamelessly feasting with you but shepherding only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by the wind; fruitless trees in autumn, twice dead after being uprooted. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them:
“Behold, the Lord is coming
with myriads of His holy ones
to execute judgment on everyone,
and to convict all the ungodly
of every ungodly act of wickedness
and every harsh word spoken against Him by ungodly sinners.”
These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage.
Go here for a free download to save for future reference: The Book of Enoch.
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