Week 5: Finishing Enoch
So
what concepts do we find in 1 Enoch that relate to our eventual discussion
about Revelation? To make them clear, lets just list them...
1.
Judgment
- In chapters
18-21, Enoch sees the judgment places of...the Watchers.
- In chapter 22,
he sees a place where the dead dwell until the great judgment, and the
righteous are separated from the wicked (one place for the righteous and
three for different types of sinners). Fire awaits the wicked.
- In chapters 25
and 27, after judgment the righteous experience blessing and the wicked
get torment.1
Throughout
the text, 1 Enoch presents hope for a future blessing. "Although this
blessing can arrive in the form of a blessed afterlife, 1 Enoch's books tend to
emphasize a period of righteousness and refreshment."2
· In
the Apocalypse of Weeks, the eighth week has sinners and oppressors fall into
the hands of the righteous, with the ninth week being a week where the sinners
have departed so the righteous can pursue uprightness.
· The
Animal Apocalypse portrays a time when wild birds and beasts, representing
Israel's enemies, will live together in peace in the house of God.
· All
books foresee a messianic age..."I shall (also) transform the earth and
make it a blessing, and cause my Elect One to dwell in her. Then those who have
committed sin and crime shall not set foot in her." (45:5 OTP)3
3. Eschatological (end times) Tribulation
Final
judgment provides resolution to a world in moral disorder, however, we don't
understand why apocalyptic writings all talk about an escalation of disorder
before the final judgment, called "tribulation." Neither the Book of
the Watchers nor the Similitudes talk about a tribulation, but the Animal
Apocalypse and the Apocalypse of Weeks mentions that apostasy will appear,
wickedness and violence will increase, and cosmic chaos will develop.4
The Animal Apocalypse includes the "sealed books" in 90:20-27.4
5. Astral and Meteorological Phenomena
"For
people who observed annual sacrifices on specified dates, the calendar was a
serious matter; to get things 'wrong' meant" religious error and cosmic
disorder. Also, cosmic order implied an order that transcended the world's
injustice. Therefore, we find that many apocalyptic texts show great interest
in things such as the sun, moon, stars, winds, lightening and storms.5
6. Heavenly Beings
1
Enoch abounds with angels who particularly serve as mediators of revelations to
Enoch. The Book of the Watchers speculates about the Nephilim, a story in the Bible
which is interesting because it does not
elaborate on any details, and begs for more of the story to be told. Many of
the angels throughout 1 Enoch have names and become identifiable creature who
have specific tasks. Some are faithful to God but others rebel.6
7.
Messianic Expectations
Several
sections of 1 Enoch portray messianic expectation. 1 Enoch uses the word
"Messiah" (which means Anointed One); "Son of Man";
"Elect One" (or "Chosen One"), and; "Righteous
One." All of these names are used in the Similitudes, where expectations
of a messiah clearly seen. The Animal Apocalypse and Epistle of Enoch also have
messianic expectation.
In
the Animal Apocalypse, a "Man" appears. His is an angelic figure and
appears as one of seven "Snow-white ones." A second figure, a White
Bull, appears after the judgment. This Bull is born among the snow-white sheep,
"a genetic marvel that signals God's eschatological activity." The
Bull performs remarkable things, resulting in honor given him from all the
animals, and they are transformed into snow-white cows. This signifies hope
that all people will be drawn into God's righteousness, resulting in all people
achieving a state of righteousness.
In
the Epistle of Enoch, an age of a Righteous One brings judgment and redemption.
Like the White Bull, the Righteous One judges with kindness, not with harshness
or violence.
In
the Similitudes, the Righteous One reveals heavenly knowledge, judges the
wicked and gives the world to the saints, resulting in a "glorious
age." It portrays revelation, judgment and redemption.
1
Enoch 48 has revelation, judgment and redemption, but adds the hope of
redemption for Gentiles. It portrays the Son of Man as existing before the
world's creation. Salvation depends no only on living righteously, but in
recognizing the Son of Man. The Similitudes end with an angel revealing that
Enoch is the Son of Man. This ending leaves many questions concerning Enoch
unanswered, especially those relating to his relationship to the messiah.7
8.
Afterlife and Resurrection
There
is a problem when it comes to judging the people of the earth: many have
already died. Therefore, in conjunction with judgment must come an afterlife of
some sort. In both 1 Enoch and Daniel, judgment requires resurrection. This
appears to be a new idea in Judaism. This idea was not the same as we envision
resurrection today. For the ancient Hebrews, the dead that resided in Sheol
would be resurrected and restored to life in bodily form on the earth. Today we
think of resurrection in connection with "the immortality of the human soul,"
but 1 Enoch and Daniel do not.8
9.
God's Throne or Dwelling
The
vision of God's throne originated before apocalyptic literature did, but
apocalyptic literature starts a pattern of both identifying God's throne in the
"highest heaven" as well as associating it with God's justice.9
10.
Rulers and the Rich
Ruler
and the rich are only seen in the Similitudes and the Epistles, but they show
victimization of people by the powerful and talks of hope for resistance. In
fact, the righteous find salvation because they resent the "world of
oppression." In chapters 62-63, "the kings, the governors, the high
officials, and the landlords" are given over "to the angels for
punishments in order that vengeance shall be executed on them - oppressors of
[God's] children and [God's] elect ones." Judgments concerning the
Watchers may reinforce this message.10
1
Enoch stresses two ideas throughout. The first is a feeling of dissatisfaction. Whether it is on a
cosmic level or a human one, it assesses human existence in the present as
corrupted by evil. Secondly, 1 Enoch shows concern
for order. Injustice flies in the face of order, and 1 Enoch reflects
concerns about disempowerment and violence.11
Oppressed
Communities
Later,
we will talk about apocalyptic literature emerging from oppressed communities.
But for 1 Enoch you have to ask:
- could a
disenfranchised group produce scholarly literature, allude to scripture
and ancient culture, as well as investigate natural science?
- could a
marginalized group produce texts that require both literacy and the money
to provide the necessities of writing, as well as the means to preserve and
modify it so that it would not be lost?
The
answers to these questions could compromise the idea that 1 Enoch was written
by a group that was oppressed. Just something to keep in mind as we go forward
from here.
Next
week we will probably review a few events in the history of the Middle East
that will be important for us to understand as we proceed from this point on.
The next book we will be looking at after that will be Daniel. If you would
like to start reading Daniel, I'd encourage you to do so.
Thinking
About It
Do
you have any overall thoughts about 1 Enoch? Write a few observations,
thoughts, feelings, or anything else you would like to share or discuss with
others. I would really like everyone to write something, especially those of
you who have remained silent. Let us know you're there and what you are
learning.
Notes
1Greg Carey, Ultimate
Things (St. Louis: Chalice, 2005), 27-28.
2Ibid, 28. 3Ibid, 28.
4Ibid, 27-29.
5Ibid, 29.
6Ibid, 29-30.
7Ibid, 30-31.
8Ibid, 31-33.
9Ibid, 33-34.
10Ibid, 34-35.
11Ibid, 36.
2 Comments
Person 1 said:
I think Enoch is interesting - I think it's great to see some texts that aren't part of the Bible, but that could have been. That being said, I also find it a little harder to give the text the full credence that I give books in the Bible. Probably because I've seen and read them for my entire life, while Enoch is new and different.
I also think it's great to see where some of our ideas for the end of times come from. Being able to look into why the authors of these writings wrote what they did is also enlightening.
I think Enoch is interesting - I think it's great to see some texts that aren't part of the Bible, but that could have been. That being said, I also find it a little harder to give the text the full credence that I give books in the Bible. Probably because I've seen and read them for my entire life, while Enoch is new and different.
I also think it's great to see where some of our ideas for the end of times come from. Being able to look into why the authors of these writings wrote what they did is also enlightening.
Lynn said...
I agree. I have trouble giving them credence as well. We assume that the individuals who settled on our canon knew what they were doing and only included texts that spoke truthfully to and about our beliefs. For Christians, at least for the most part, all other "religious" writings are viewed with suspicion. Context is so important I really don't know how our ancestors could determine "true" meaning without it, if that is possible, which we assume it is. Certainly the people that first looked at our Bible as simply another literary work, applying the analytical techniques used on other texts, did us a great favor, in my opinion. It helps us apply context to get at a more likely meaning behind things that can confuse us. That's why this week we are going to look at some history of the Middle East pertaining to the Jews. We need to understand a little about that history if we are to understand what Daniel, Revelation and other apocalyptic texts might be talking about.
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