Many of us must have heard about the Book of Enoch, but it doesn’t exist in the Bible. But how did it come into existence? Who wrote it, and what is the reason behind its rejection in the Christian and Jewish faith? Below, we cover why many in the Christian and Jewish faith stay away from the book of Enoch.
Background
The Bible is divided into two parts, the New Testament and the Old Testament, totaling 66 Books.
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However, the Book of Enoch is not found in the New or Old Testament, with Bible scholars and theologians distancing themselves from this book, and believers, both Christians and Jewish, advised not to use it.
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The Book of Enoch is mentioned in Jude 1:14-15, regarding a prophecy in the Book of Enoch.
The scripture reads, “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.”
If the Book of Enoch was not fit to be included among the Books of the Bible, why the author of the Book of Jude quotes from it?
Who Was Enoch?
From the quote included in the Book of Jude, we learn that Enoch was a descendant of Adam.
He was seven in line from the time of Adam and a great-grandfather to Noah.
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Enoch was a faithful man who walked in the ways of God, in a life characterized by holiness and righteousness.
“After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God for 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more because God took him away.”
Genesis 5:22-24
From the scripture, we learn that Enoch did not die a natural death; God took him.
He is one of the great examples of people in the Bible who pleased God with their way of life.
“By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.”
Hebrews 11:5
However, Bible scholars have established that Enoch, the one Genesis 5:22-24 talks about, is not the author of the Book of Enoch.
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It could be that the book’s author used his name because he was a man with good character.
The Bible does not say much about him but mentions that he was faithful to God.
It could be that the authors wanted to take advantage of this good character of Enoch to make their book acceptable or to popularize it.
Whatever their reason was, their book was not included in the Bible, and believers have been asked to stay away from it.
What Is the Central Theme of the Book of Enoch? What Does It Talk About, and What Did the Author Want to Achieve With It?
The Book of Enoch explains why God needed to send the flood that lasted for forty days and nights during the time of Noah.
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It also focuses on demons, fallen angels, and Nephilim (Nephilim are believed to be children born of fallen angels and humans).
It explains how the angels of God strayed from the will of God and were thrown from heaven, mentioned in Genesis 6:1-4.
“When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.”
Genesis 6:1-4
The Book of Enoch offers a profound illustration of all this. It explains the Nephilim’s Biblical history and humankind’s sinful nature.
The Book of Enoch also talks about prophetic messages of the end times: judgment for sinful people.
Just like the Book of Jude and Revelation, the book of Enoch reveals the events that will unfold in the end times.
The picture of the vision of the end times, God, and Jesus, that the author puts across is almost the same as the vision that John talks about in the Book of Revelation.
Why Stay Away from the Book of Enoch?
1. Not Inspired by God
The Bible in 2 Timothy 3:16 says that all scripture is God-breathed, meaning the authors wrote not what they wanted or wished to write but the very mind of God.
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They were only used as messengers to pass the Word of God to the world through writing.
The Book of Enoch is not in the Books of the Bible because the author was not inspired by God when writing it.
They wrote what they thought people would want to know. The author only seemed to expand sections of some Scriptures.
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For instance, the chapter in the book of Enoch that talks about the Nephilim was only written to give people a deeper understanding of their origin.
The Nephilim are mentioned in Genesis 6:1-4, and the Book of Enoch expounds on this.
We find no mark of the inspiration of God in this.
2. Enoch Did Not Write It
Many Bible scholars and theologians have established that Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah, did not write the Book of Enoch.
When we look at the Books Moses wrote, we can see a chronological flow of events.
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From the time Moses is born to his experience in the palace and delivering the Israelites from bondage, we see Moses’ involvement all through.
The same goes for events in the Book of Joshua, with Joshua is involved in every step of these events.
But when we go back to the Book of Enoch, we find that the author only compiled and expounded on different texts using sections of messages from various authors to come up with the Book of Enoch.
Bible scholars have discovered that the book was written many years after God took Enoch, about 4000 years later.
3. Does Not Align with the Bible
Believers have been advised to stay away from the Book of Enoch because most of its teachings contradict the teachings of other Books in the Bible.
It uses the technique of massive symbolism to create additional doctrines and ideologies that do not exist in the Books of the Bible.
Also, the fact that the authors hid behind Enoch’s name proves they were up to no good.
Their intention may have been to use the name of someone who pleased God so that they could find an easier way to teach false teachings and doctrines.
2 Corinthians 2:14-15 reads, “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”
The authors of the Book of Enoch used the name of a servant of righteousness to introduce teachings that God did not inspire.
Conclusion
Christians and Jews rejected the Book of Enoch; it is only used as a complete version by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
Inasmuch as we may want to read it to delve deeper into certain sections of the Bible, we must do so with wisdom and discernment.
God did not inspire it, and we should not view it as one of the Books of the Bible.
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHY
