In keeping with my recent
Noah theme, I wanted to take you back before the flood to the time of Noah's great-grandfather Enoch. The bible only offers a tiny blurb of Enoch's story in scripture.
"And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah. And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Enoch were 365 years. And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." Genesis 5:21-24
"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." Hebrews 11:5
"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, 'Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 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.'" Jude 1:14-15
According to scripture, Enoch lived 365 years and he was so favored by God that he didn't die. Scripture says that God literally "translated" him off the earth. It is widely believed that Enoch was the first person in history ever to be
raptured.
It is also speculated that Enoch will be one of the two witnesses mentioned in the book of Revelations, along with the prophet Elijah. Neither of these men had physical deaths on earth. Hebrews 9:27 says that it is appointed for all men to die
once, and afterwards to face judgement. This scripture serves as the foundation for the theory that these two men will return to earth to face physical death at the hand of the Antichrist.
So how does Enoch play into the story of Noah? Well, Enoch was around during the time of the flood and he also played an intricate part in the judgement of the fallen angels that we discussed in
Genesis 6.
How many of you are familiar with the dead sea scrolls? How many of you are aware that an entire book was found in the dead sea scrolls containing solely the story of Enoch? It's true! In fact, parts of the book have been dated to 300 BC. The
interesting part is that the
Book of Enoch was considered to be lost until the 17th century. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church had actually preserved the book in their bible! Copies were obtained from the Ethiopian Church and brought to Britain in 1773. The copy found with the dead sea scrolls in 1947 only
confirmed the authenticity of the book.
References throughout scripture further authenticate the Book of Enoch and also prove
that the ancients, including Christ himself, were very familiar with the Book of Enoch and quoted from it freely. Look at the scripture I listed above (Jude 1:14-15). The prophecy Jude is speaking of is found directly in the Book of Enoch Chapter 1 verse 9. In fact, the entire book of Jude contains many references to Enochian prophesies, and for this specific reason the book came
very close to being removed from the Bible by the early church fathers. One church father in particular, Filastrius, was so angered by the contents of the Book of Enoch that he condemned it as heresy. Another Jewish Rabbi, Simeon ben Jochai, in the second century A.D. pronounced a curse upon any who believed in the book. It isn't surprising, then, that anything associated with it, might run the risk of being destroyed.
So what is it about the Book of Enoch that is so mysterious? Why was it left out of the Bible and how did it conveniently get "lost" for thousands of years? The answer lies in the story of Noah. If you haven't been following my posts, you might want to go back and read my
previous blog.
The Book of Enoch expounds on the story of a group of corrupt angels who descend to earth on a mountain located in modern day Syria called Mount Hermon.
FUN FACT: Mount Hermon is currently the highest, permanently manned UN position in the entire world. You think they're waiting for a re-descension? Just sayin'....
According to Enoch, a group of 200 fallen angels, called the Watchers, descend on Mount Hermon. Their leader, Semjaza, wanted to mate with the women but didn't want to take the fall for it, so they all make a pact to follow through with it and not abandon the plan. (Enoch 6:3-5) This is the clippet of Genesis 6 that we've talked about
before. The angels mate with the women, taking wives all of which they choose, and the offspring of these encounters became giants, otherwise known as the Nephillim.
The fallen angels taught mankind corrupted versions of the secrets of heaven. They taught them astrology, drug usage and witchcraft. They also taught women the art of cosmetics in order to lure and seduce men, and they taught men the art of war in order to carry out their angelic battles.
At this point, God intervenes and curses the fallen angels, telling them that they will never again be able to come before His throne or enter into the heavenly realm. This strikes overwhelming
fear in the angels and they approach Enoch to plead with God for forgiveness on their behalf.
Enoch, taking pity on the fallen angels, travels to heaven and petitions God on their behalf. God rejects the plea and not only orders that the fallen angels be bound in Tartarus for 70 generations until the time of judgement, but He also places a curse on their descendants as well. Since the Nephillim were born of "spiritual" fathers and earthly mothers, God forbids even the giants from having access to heaven. Upon their death, their spirits were condemned to roam the earth unsatisfied. God labeled them "evil spirits".
According to the Book of Enoch, the angel to whom God ascribed the entire crime, was Azazel. He ordered that Azazel be bound and buried in the desert until the time of judgement. Here, we find another area where scripture corroborates the Book of Enoch.
In Leviticus 16:8-10, the Hebrew Bible says,
"And Aaron shall place lots upon the two he goats: one lot "For the Lord," and the other lot, "For Azazel." And Aaron shall bring the he goat upon which the lot, "For the Lord," came up, and designate it as a sin offering. And the he goat upon which the lot "For Azazel" came up, shall be placed while still alive, before the Lord, to [initiate] atonement upon it, and to send it away to Azazel, into the desert."
Other translations rename the Azazel goat, the "scapegoat". Moses was to sacrifice one goat to the Lord as an offering, and he was to cast all sin on the scapegoat and run it off a cliff in the desert "to Azazel".
In the end, because everything had been corrupted by the angels, God causes a great flood to wipe the slate clean. Noah was pure in his generations, and for that purpose alone, he and his family were spared.
Let me share some of my personal thoughts with you on the story of Enoch, the fallen angels and the giants. Even though this story was denounced by the Christian church and removed from the canonized scriptures, it may have actually carried on in other areas of history. Some of which, are
very well known...
- Most cultures throughout history have a story of a major flood.
- Some archaeologists believe that the highly advanced and yet mythological city of Atlantis possibly existed in the pre-flood world. Could the technological advances of Atlantis been a direct link to heavenly secrets that they were given at the time? (What about the Mayans and their superb knowledge of mathematics?)
- There is also a theory circulating that after the great flood, the evil spirits of the giants re-descended to earth in Greece. The legend lived on in the stories of the 'gods' and 'demi-gods' of Greek Mythology. Even though the story was denounced in Christianity, it became a well known religion on another part of the globe. Coincidence?
- According to the Book of Enoch, the fallen angels were bound in a place called Tartarus. Recognize the name? It's the same place that the Titans were imprisoned according to Greek mythology. The Titans were considered immortal giants of incredible strength. They were considered the first race of demi-gods, and were eventually overthrown by a younger race of demi-gods known as the Olympians.
- Here's another fun fact: God cursed the fallen angels to be bound for 70 generations "until the time of judgement". If you count 70 generations from Enoch, you reach Jesus Christ.
- Scripture tells us that Nimrod was the first person to take on the Nephillim traits post-flood. Genesis 10:8 says that Nimrod began to be a "mighty one". This is the same type of "mighty" that was mentioned in Genesis 6, when it talked about the giants being known as "mighty men of old". It also just so happens that Nimrod was trying to build a portal into the heavenly realm, which God ceased.
- In the Book of Enoch, the fallen angels taught mankind the art of drug usage and witchcraft. Could this have been the origination of the occult? Possibly their attempt to teach mankind how to conjure up their descendants which God cursed as demonic spirits?
- By conjuring up these demonic entities through witchcraft, is it possible that we, in modern times, are bringing back the very forces that were on the earth at the time when God caused the great flood? Scope out my previous blog on the occult practices happening in modern times.
"As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be with the coming of the Son of man." Matthew 24:37