The Book of Enoch (Forgotten Books) [Paperback]

This has been gathering dust on my shelf for a few years now, and I've only just got round to reading it. The five books of 1st Enoch range from the utterly fascinating to sure-fire cures for insomnia.

Written between the old and new testaments, it gives a fascinating insight into what some Jewish groups believed at that time (for example, several editions of Enoch were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.)

Anyone with an interest in the New Testament could learn a lot by reading Enoch. Attitudes of people in the gospels have clearly been coloured by the content and even vocabulary of Enoch. And, of course, it's even quoted in Jude and 2 Peter. Parts of it are so startlingly similar to the book of Revelation that it must surely have provided a visual vocabulary for the writer of that book.

For the background and relevance of Enoch, I *highly* recommend "Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period" by Larry R Helyer. It provides a great survey of a wide range of this and other books, from the 'Testament of Moses' to Josephus, and from the Dead Sea scrolls to Philo - and much more!

I just got this book yesterday, but I can't put it down. This book is full of Messianic prophecy that predates Christ by thousands of years. Jude in his inspired epistle says that the book was written by Enoch himself. If you are a believer of the inspired Word, then this should cause you to sit up and think. It also explains the origin of the demons, and it's not what you've always been taught. The early church all accepted this view of the origin of the demons. I won't spoil it for you. You'll have to buy the book. Here's a hint: We Bible believing Christians accept the worldwide flood of Noah as literal, we then see many flood legends around the world in the collective memories of many people groups. We also see many legends around the world in the collective memories of many people groups in regards to Nephilim. In various mythological tales from Rome and Greece, we read of the god's coming down and having relations with women and bearing demi-gods. The early Christians were aware of these stories and of their true origins. They also knew what demons really were, and what Peter meant in his second epistle when he said that the angels that had sinned were sent to Tartarus (hell in the KJV). All this and more is made clearer by reading the book of Enoch. This book has many verses that are almost the same as those found in Scripture. I have been writing them down in the book as I come across them. Many are from the book of Revelations. Some are from the Gospels and some are from the Epistles. This gives me the distinct impression that the writers of the NT were aware of and in agreement with the Book of Enoch. Here are a few examples: 1 Enoch 50:2 On the day of affliction on which evil shall have been treasured up against the sinners. Romans 2:5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. 1 Enoch 51:1b ...Sheol shall give back that which it has received, and hell shall give back that which it owes. Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them 1 Enoch 63:6 (speaking of the unrepentant rulers of the earth) And light has vanished from before us, and darkness is our dwelling place for ever and ever. Jude 13 (speaking of false prophets) ...to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. Jude also speaks in this verse of the "wandering stars". 1 Enoch speaks of the stars also. I could go on and on with the Biblical references and perhaps I will add to this review over time. It just seems to obvious to me that the Biblical writers were reading and using this book. The only downside is that parts of the book may be lost, and other parts added to it over the millenia. It seems that although this book was inspired it was not God's good pleasure to keep it wholly intact. I feel that this book should be regarded as very important, and I personally regard it as at least a deuterocanonical book. That is, at least of secondary importance after the 66-73 books of the universally accepted books. In saying that though, this book is accepted as canonical by the Ethiopic church, which has at its foundation one the Apostles.

This impressive translation is a true masterpieceand worthy of the uttermost attention. Any book that had the Church "Fathers" as spooked as this one did demands to be read. Unlike the mostly ridiculous Gnosic gospels also excluded from the Bible, this ancient Jewish text carries a divine authority that demands it be taken seriously. The very fact that the prophecies of Enoch were fulfilled to the letter in the timeframes suggested, should be reason enough for Christans to want to study it. The prophecy concerning the judgement of a wicked generation, seventy generations from Enoch (Christ's contemporary generation according to the gospel of Luke) found a devastating fulfillment in the fiery destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, exactly as Christ predicted would befall his own generation!The majority of Christians may not accept Enoch as scripture but clearly Christ and his disciples did and I'm sure that Christ would agree that the majority are rarely, if ever right. Why not read these texts for yourself and make up your own mind what you believe? Maybe, as more and more Christians explore the Jewish roots of their faith, true Christianity will be restored and the foundations of "Churchianity" will be trampled into the dust where they belong! A truly compelling read and I very much urge you to try it.