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Enoch or the Book of Enoch is a collection of writings ascribed pseudonymously to the Hebrew patriarch Enoch. It is also called the Ethiopic Enoch, because it is preserved in its entirety only in Ethiopic, a Semitic language formerly spoken in Ethiopia. This book is a composite of distinct sections written by different authors at various times during the 2d and 1st centuries BC. Scholars have concluded that the original composite was written either in Hebrew or in Aramaic. Soon afterward, it was translated into Greek. The Ethiopic translation is thought to have been made from the Greek about AD 500. Portions of the Ethiopic Enoch survive in Greek, Latin, and Aramaic, the last discovered at Qumran, in Jordan. Enoch is the lengthiest work included in the Pseudepigrapha.
Answer for yourself: What is meant by “pseudepigrapha”?
“Pseudepigrapha” comes from Gr. pseudepigraphos, meaning "falsely ascribed". This term is used for many Jewish and Christian writings that appeared in the latter days of the Old Testament and continued well into Christian times; they were attributed by their authors to great religious figures and authorities of the past.
Pseudepigrapha exist in the canon of the Old Testament, for example, Ecclesiastes (associated with Solomon), the Song of Solomon, and Daniel. Protestants and Jews, however, customarily use the term Pseudepigrapha to describe those writings that Roman Catholics would term Apocrypha-that is, late Jewish writings that all scholars consider extra-canonical. Among such works are the Book of Jubilees, the Psalms of Solomon, the Fourth Book of Maccabees, the Book of Enoch, the Fourth Book of Ezra, the Apocalypse of Baruch, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, all of which are ascribed to canonical worthies of the Old Testament, date from intertestamental times, and have not been preserved in their original Hebrew or Aramaic. Fragments of other, hitherto unknown Pseudepigrapha, preserved in Hebrew or Aramaic, have turned up among the Qumran material.
The Book of Enoch was translated by Richard Laurence in 1821 from scrolls found hidden in caves in Ethiopia in 1773. These scrolls were evidently hidden in the same historical period as the Dead Sea Scrolls. The book is divided today into 7 sections:
The early Christians esteemed the Book of Enoch highly, but except for their infrequent references to it, little was known about the work until three complete manuscripts in Ethiopic were discovered in northeastern Africa in the late 18th century. Modern scholars consider it significant because many of its concepts, and even its terminology, are strikingly similar to later eschatological concepts and apocalyptic books and passages in the New Testament. This is strong evidence that those who later went on to become Christians had Enochian “beliefs.”
Although the Book of Enoch is considered as apocryphal, but it was clearly known to early Christian writers as the following quote from 1 Enoch 1:9 indicates: "In the seventh (generation) from Adam Enoch also prophesied these things, saying: 'Behold, the Lord came with his holy myriads, to execute judgment on all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners spoke against him'." Jude 14-15
The Book of Enoch was not included in either the Hebrew or most Christian biblical canons, but could have been considered a sacred text by the sectarians. The original Aramaic version was lost until the Dead Sea fragments were discovered." "The original language of most of this work was, in all likelihood, Aramaic (an early Semitic language). Although the original version was lost in antiquity, portions of a Greek translation were discovered in Egypt and quotations were known from the Church Fathers. This fact is very important as this demonstrates the influence on the early Church Fathers of the Book of Enoch on their religious beliefs on the Messiah. The discovery of the texts from Qumran Cave 4 has finally provided parts of the Aramaic original.
In its present form the Book of Enoch is made up of various elements belonging to different dates and a diversity of authorship and more properly should be spoken of as "Books" of Enoch. One part belongs to the earlier Book of Noah. The following is a small sampling of Mr. Charles' quite long and detailed Introduction:
. . . To describe in short compass the Book of Enoch is impossible. It comes from many writers and almost as many periods. It touches upon every subject that could have arisen in the ancient schools of the prophets, but naturally it deals with these subjects in an advanced stage of development. Nearly every religious idea appears in a variety of forms, and if these are studied in relation to their contexts and dates, we cannot fail to observe that in the age to which the Enoch literature belongs there is a movement everywhere, and nowhere dogmatic fixity and finality. And though at times the movement may be reactionary, yet the general trend is onward and upward. In fact the history of the development of the higher theology during the two centuries before the Christian era could not be written without the Book of Enoch.
From what has already been said it is clear that no unity of time, authorship, or teaching is to be looked for. Indeed, certain considerable portions of the book belonged originally not to the Enoch literature at all, but to an earlier work, i. e. the Book of Noah, which probably exhibited in some degree the syncretism of the work into which it was subsequently incorporated. This Book of Noah clearly embraced chapters 6-11, 54-55, 60, 65-69, 106-107. . . .
Conflicting views are advanced on the Messiah, the Messianic kingdom, the origin of sin, Sheol, the final judgment, the resurrection, and the nature of the future life. There is an elaborate angelology and demonology, and much space is devoted to the calendar and the heavenly bodies and their movements. Babylonian influences are here manifest and in a slight degree Greek. . . . "
Here we have a quote from a highly esteemed Biblical researcher that the Book of Enoch, the main writing of the Qumran community, was highly influenced by Babylon and Greek thought and religious ideas. This explains why concepts within the Book of Enoch, as written over one hundred years, contains “conflicting teachings” concerning Messiah and the Messianic Kingdom, as well as other things. {pause and think!]!
The Book of Enoch was cherished by early Christians and the earliest of Church Fathers but later condemned by Church Fathers in the fourth century. The "Book of Enoch", like the Book of Seth, and other ancient manuscripts, was denied entrance into the "approved" version of the original Bible by the Nicene Council of 325 A.D.
The Book of Enoch was known to Jesus and the apostles and it is quite apparent that Enoch was a revered and respected writing in the early church. Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian and Origen all spoke highly of it, regarding it as a sacred book, as important as Psalms or Isaiah.
The Book of Enoch had been lost for about a thousand years, when a Scottish scholar named James Bruce noticed the above-mentioned quote from Isaiah, and reasoned that if such a book still existed, Ethiopia was where to look for it. In 1773, he found it and brought back three copies. One was given to the library at Paris, another was presented to Bodleian Library at Oxford. The latter was translated into English and published in 1821, by Dr. Laurence, Archbishop of Cashel, formerly Professor of Hebrew at Oxford. Another copy since surfaced with the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Many concepts are taught concerning the Messiah today. The Jews believe one way and the Christians another. Each religious community has their own documents to substantiate their own religious views. Needless to say, both communities disagree over the Messiah and what is and what is not “prophecy fulfilled.” So, where does one find the truth? What were the influences that caused a change in the beliefs of the Messiah as recorded in the Torah (Law), Prophets, and Writings of the Jewish Scriptures?
Lawrence Schiffman, author of Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, states on page 121: “The parables of Enoch (chapters 37-71) primarily follow the approach of Daniel-with one notable exception: In this text, the expression “son of man” is now applied to the messiah, who is assumed literally to come from heaven and to be pre-existent (an Angel-Messiah as taught by the Essenes).This is not the picture of the Davidic Messiah expected by the Tanakh but by the apocalyptists like the Essenes.
If you have read our website in detail you now know where such foreign concepts concerning the Messiah originated; from sun-worship as the Essenes, in rejection of Judaism and the corrupt Hasmonean Priesthood had taken their rightful position as Priests following the Maccabean victory, moved closer to pagan beliefs than Sinai beliefs.
Scholars have devoted considerable attention to this section of Enoch, focusing one the parallel use of the term “son of man” in the New Testament to describe Jesus. But this section of the text, not found in any of the Qumran manuscripts of Enoch, is believed NOT to have been part of the original book. Yet these beliefs will be ascribed to Jesus by the Essenes following his crucifixion as they made comparisons between Jesus and their Angel-Messiah. Therefore theology was created around Jesus which finds it origin not in Divine revelation but in sun-myths held sacred by the Indo-European nations of the world...like India, Egypt, Iran, Babylon, Assyria, etc.
For many centuries before the time of Jesus there lived a sect of religious monks known as Essenes, or Therapeutae. Numerous bodies of ascetics (Therapeutae), especially near Lake Mareotis, Egypt, devoted themselves to discipline and study, abjuring society and labor, and forgetting it is said, the simplest ways of nature, in contemplating the hidden wisdom of the Scriptures. Eusebius even claimed them as Christians; and some of the forms of monasticism (by Christians) were evidently modeled after the Therapeutae" (Smith's Bible Dictionary, art, "Alexandria").
Answer for yourself: What happened to the Essenes, for after all, we have their existing theological literature from the Dead Sea Scroll?
"An in-depth study of early church history will show you that the Essenes entirely disappeared from history shortly after the time assigned for the crucifixion of Jesus"...Christian Ginsburg, The Essenes: Their History And Doctrines,1864).
Simply said these Essenes became believers and followers of Jesus and entered the Jesus Movement after his crucifixion. One should not forget that what began as a righteous separation from the Temple and movement in restoration of Biblical Judaism by the Zadok priests in the early second century B.C.E. would later evolve into the current "Essenes" of Jesus' day which had repudiated much of Judaism and the Tanakh and had gravitated toward Pythagorean-Buddhist-Indian religious ideas; especially in relationship to a prophetical godman redeemers that had their origin in sun-worship.
Acts 6:7 7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests (Essenic priests as the residue from the Zadoks) were obedient to the faith.
These priests were NOT the traditional Sadducees of the day in league with Rome [they never believed in a Messiah anyway]. These were the Essenic residue of the Zadok priesthood which no longer had control or ties with the Temple. There were thousands of them, and their monasteries were to be counted by the score. C.F.D. Moule, of page 13 of his The Birth Of The New Testament, says: "...we have some idea, through the accounts of the Essenes in Philo and Josephus, and recently, through the Qumran writings of how differently a sectarian, but still priestly, group might be behaving at the same time. Evidently the Qumran sect maintained a priesthood and a ritual organization."
Many have asked the question, “What became of these priestly Essenes?” If we examine this group and their religious beliefs we find:
The origin of the sect known as Essenes is enveloped in mist, and will probably never be revealed fully. To speak of all the different ideas entertained as to their origin would make a volume of itself, we can therefore but glance at the subject. I am indebted to many authors for their informative books on the Essenes who have given us the ability to understand the religious climate of the first century in Palestine; authors like James Charlesworth, Lawrence Schiffman, A. DuPont-Summer, John Allegro, Hugh Schonfield, Millar Burrows, Geza Vermes, Hershel Shanks, and especially Martin Larson for his excellent treatment of the Essenes and their evolution as a sect within Judaism of the Second Temple Period in his many books [The Story Of Christian Origins, The Essene Christian Faith, The Essene Heritage, On The Religion Of The Occident].
What escapes most Christian writers today is that the Essenes contemporary with the Jesus era are completely different in theology and scope from the original Zaddok Priests of Qumran from the early second century B.C.E. which were Torah believers. What began as a righteous "separatist movement" by the Zadok priesthood since being prevented from returning to their rightful priesthood following Israel's victory over Antiochus Epiphanies, they protested the Hasmoneans' control of the Temple and possession of the Priesthood by separating from the Temple cult and beginning a "New Israel" and a "New Covenant" in the desert of Qumran. Sadly, what began as a righteous movement of Judaism will culminate in the days of Jesus and following in a synchronistic Pythagorean-Buddhist-Jewish sect containing a synthesis of religious beliefs built upon astrology and sun-worship mixed with their Jewish heritage; many of these "Essene" beliefs deviated significantly from conservative Torah faith and the traditional Messianic hope. On must look deeper than the superficial accounts of the Essenes provided by Pliny, Philo, and Josephus to acquaint oneself with such facts, as their accounts are somewhat superficial in many aspects and tend to provide only summaries of the sect and their beliefs. In-depth theological analysis of their beliefs is not possible from these accounts; one must be quite familiar with the individual writings to be able to understand the nuances of their theology.
Theophilus Gale, who wrote a work called The Court of the Gentiles, Oxford, 1671, undoubtedly hits upon the truth when he says:
"Now, the origination or rise of these Essenes (Jewish sect of apocalyptic believers) I conceive by the best conjectures I can make from antiquity, to be in or immediately after the Babylonian captivity, though some make them later."
With such an admission one must understand that implied in "Babylonian captivity" is the borrowing of many theological beliefs by the returning Jews from their captors. Needless to say, the Persian victory over the Babylonians only furthered such borrowing of beliefs as these captive Jews were now introduced into the Persian Mysteries and Zoroastrianism. Now it is understandable with the Jewish nation's return by Cyrus to Palestine that another "mixed multitude" was to find its way to Palestine as had once before again possessing a syncretism of beliefs; the irony of the whole story is found that behind the Jewish, Babylonian, and Persian beliefs was an Egyptian religious substrate that had contributed to all of the above as well. The out-working of such beliefs are to be found the new Apocalyptic of the Jewish faith held by some, but not all. Thus we find in the Judaism that developed after the return from Babylonian captivity the multitude of competing "sects" all with varying religious belief systems.
This new Apocalyptic literature consists of those parts of the Jewish Bible and other Jewish and Christian books that embody an apocalypse, or revelation, given through a symbolic vision of the future. Apocalyptic literature concerns the final period of world history, and depicts the final confrontation between God and the powers of evil.
The conflict frequently culminates in a world catastrophe; sometimes a messianic figure is responsible for the triumph over evil. It will be here we find the Essenic Angel-Messiah. Frequently the authors recount history up to their own time in symbolic form (as in Dan. 7:1-8) and then give a vision of the future salvation to be brought by God at the end of the present world. Classic examples are the books of Daniel and Revelation. Passages such as Isaiah 24-27, Zechariah 9-14, and Mark 13 belong to this type of literature. Other examples of literature held sacred by the Essenes are Enoch, Jubilees, and the Apocalypse of Baruch today which can be found in the Jewish Pseudepigrapha, as well as the Apocalypse of Peter in the Apocryphal New Testament.
Many Christian writers trace the origin of the Essenes all the way back to an origin in India (that is where they picked up many of their sun-myths) and were a sort of Buddhist sect. All of these influences will be amalgamated into a complex theological system that found its latest expression among the Essenes of Qumran in the first century A.D. and their literature attests to it. It would be this Essenic literature and their “syncretistic beliefs” about a cosmic godman redeemer which would be later applied to Jesus and be again recorded by them in documents we call today the New Testament.
This knowledge if available to you if you care to study it out. In what follows I will detail through the major writing of this Essenic community, the Book of Enoch, how their religious concepts changed over the two hundred years of their existence and suggest you take special note of the changes in their Messianic beliefs.
What has happened is that many Essenic beliefs which are derived from sun-myths, when applied to Jesus and believed by you, make you an Idolater and you never knew it because you trusted these “writings” called the New Testament; writings which can be proven upon your examination of the facts to contain “theologies” within them that are directly traceable to the pagan sun-worshippers of the world. Now, let us examine the Book of Enoch and note how the "theologies" in it evolve, taking special note of the Messianic variations.