Rejecting "The Book of Enoch"
by James Bowen
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I have edited this document without altering its informational content.
— Richard
"The Book of Enoch" is claimed by many to have exclusive, important, and necessary knowledge. They claim that its being left out of the "biblical canon" is a conspiracy to lead people away from these essential truths. It is said that Enoch alone was given an accurate calendar on which we can base the festivals and Sabbaths. Many doctrines have been created based on this book and its content. So was "The Book of Enoch" divinely inspired? Does it contain essential knowledge? How can we know?
Fortunately for us, Yahowah gave us the answer. In Dabariym, misnamed "Deuteronomy" by Christians, Yahowah told us specifically how to tell if something is from him or not.
Let me start by stating that the burden of proof is on the one claiming to speak for God. Everyone claiming to speak on behalf of God should be viewed as being errant until proven otherwise. With that in mind, my methodology was to assume that "The Book of Enoch" was not from Yahowah, and then examine it in that light. I am by nature a skeptic, and I applied that skepticism here.
So what is Yahowah's test. It is found in Dabariym, chapter 18.
Words / Dabarym / Deuteronomy 18:20-22 —
"Surely ('ak - indeed, emphasizing the point), the
person who proclaims a message on behalf of a deity (naby' - a prophet) who ('asher - relationally) oversteps their bounds and
speaks presumptuously and contemptuously (zyd - has an inflated sense of self-worth,
demonstrating self-reliance while taking liberties to defy; who arrogantly pretends to know; who insults others and is
disrespectful, displaying pride in the pursuit of personal recognition and acclaim while despising rivals; who rebels against
that which is established and is prone to rage; who seethes with anger and is often furious, overbearing, rude, and conceited
in their plans (here the hiphil stem reveals that the prophet and his statements are one, thereby
sharing a similar effect and purpose, while the imperfect conjugation speaks of their continual and
ongoing influence)) for the express purpose of conveying (la dabar - for
the intent of communicating a verbally or in writing (piel infinitive construct - by design and
intent)) a statement (dabar) in (ba) My ('any) name (shem - proper name, renown, or reputation) which accordingly ('asher 'eth - inferring access,relationship, and benefit which) I have not expressly
appointed, taught, guided, nor entirely directed him (lo' tsawah - I have not provided the
totality of his instruction, nor assigned, constituted, decreed, prescribed, or ordained for him, deliberately and
demonstrably making him My understudy (piel stem and perfect conjugation))
to (la) speak (dabar), and (wa) who
('asher - relationally) speaks (dabar) in (ba) the name (shem)
of other ('aher - different and additional, even subsequent) gods ('elohym), indeed, then (wa) that prophet (ha naby' - that individual who
proclaims a message on behalf of that false deity), he (huw') is deadly (muwth - devoid of life and destructive).
"And if (wa ky) you actually say ('amar - you genuinely ask over the course of time (scribed in the qal
imperfect)) in (ba) your heart (lebab - your inner nature and attitude), 'How ('eykah) shall we actually and consistently know (yada' - shall we continually possess the information required to genuinely distinguish, discriminate,
understand and acknowledge (here the qal stem was used to convey actually, genuinely, and literally
while the imperfect conjugation reveals that the ability to know is ongoing, consistent, and
continual irrespective of time)) accordingly, if the ('eth ha - whether
the) statement (dabar - written or spoken communication) which ('asher - under the expectation of a beneficial relationship) he speaks or writes (dabar - his complete testimony (here the perfect conjugation requires us to examine the totality of the person's written and spoken communication
while the piel stem reveals that our perceptions of the object's writings, Yahowah's Towrah in this
case, suffer the effect of the false prophet's testimony)) is not (lo')
Yahowah's (
- יהוה)?'
"If that which ('asher) is deliberately spoken over
time (dabar - has continually orchestrated through written or spoken communication (with the
piel stem the subject influences the object, and with the imperfect
conjugation the consequence is ongoing)) by the one who proclaims the message (ha naby' - prophet who claims divine inspiration) in (ba) Yahowah's ( - יהוה) name (shem - reputation and renown) is not literally and
consistently present and established (lo' hayah - is not actually instituted and existing
(qal imperfect)), or it does not actually come to be (wa lo' bow' - does not consistently arrive (such as a predicted harvest) or literally happen (such as a
specifically described event) (qal imperfect)), the message (ha dabar - the written statement and spoken communication) which ('asher - from the perspective of a beneficial relationship) he (huw'), himself, has deliberately spoken to influence (dabar - the totality of what he has communicated orally and in writing to effect one's perceptions
regarding the object, which is Yahowah (piel perfect)) is not (lo') Yahowah's ( - יהוה).
"That prophet (ha naby' - the one claiming to be issuing inspired
statements from God) has spoken and written (dabar - he has conceived
and presented his message (piel perfect - he has completely and deliberately sought to influence))
in (ba - with) arrogance and presumptuousness
(zadown - with an inflated view of himself, self-willed and self-motivated, this morally flawed,
disrespectful, impudent, insulting, and shameless individual has taken great liberty while overstepping all due bounds in
contempt of the established authority): you should not respect or revere him, nor [should you] conspire to rebel with him (lo' guwr min - you should not
fear him, join him, congregate or live with him either)."
Therefore, while piercing and uncomprising, Yahowah's test is nevertheless relatively simple. It contains six elements:
- Is the person a naby' – i.e., are they someone who claims to speak on behalf of Yahowah?
- Is the person zyd – i.e., are they someone who oversteps their bounds, acting presumptuously with an inflated sense of self-worth, demonstrating self-reliance while taking liberties? Are they someone who arrogantly pretends to know something? Do they insult others, being disrespectful, displaying pride in the pursuit of personal recognition and acclaim while demeaning competitors? Are they a person who rebels against the legitimate authority, being prone to anger, someone who seethes with frustration and is often furious, overbearing, rude, or conceited?
- Does the person la dabar dabar ba 'any shem, openly and publicly preach to others, communicating their message in the name of Yahowah?
- Is the person's message 'lo tsawah – i.e., is it inconsistent with what Yahowah has instructed and directed? Does the message conflict with what God appointed, constituted, and decreed? Does it vary from His instructions in any way?
- Does the person dabar ba shem 'aher 'elohym – Do they speak in the name of gods other than Yahowah?
- Does the person hayah – do they accurately convey what is happening and what has happened in the past, and do their predictions of the future bow' – materialize and come to exist as they have described them?
Let's apply the first test: Does the person claim to speak on behalf of God? It is quite clear from reading just the first chapter of "The Book of Enoch" that the author is claiming to be giving prophecy from a divine revelation. So as far as this screening test goes, the book is in the running to either be condemned or studied.
Let's look at the second screening test. Does the person openly and publicly preach their message in the name of God? The very fact that this is a book which has been distributed for more than five thousand years, if its proponents are to be believed, means that it passes this screening test as well.
By having passed both screening tests, "The Book of Enoch" is eligible to be judged by the rest of Yahowah's comprehensive suite of tests. So let's skip to the 4th test in the suite. Is the message they are conveying consistent with what Yahowah has already revealed? I like to call this one, "The Logic Test". If someone claims to speak for Yahowah, and contradicts what Yahowah has already said, then that person is a liar. It is simple logic. It is a standard "If-Then" conditional.
So, is "The Book of Enoch" consistent with Yahowah's Word? Let's examine some of it to learn the answer for ourselves.
Let's start our investigation with the book's depiction of Yahowah's Mal'akim / Messengers (misnamed Angels by religionists). Yahowah's depiction of his Messengers is that they exist as members of an unimaginably huge command and control regiment to which Yahowah issues orders that the Messengers carry out precisely and without question or hesitation. Yahowah uses the Mal'akim to communicate with man, e.g., the mal'ak Gabri'el appeared to and spoke with Dani'el on one occasion and with Miriam on another. Yahowah assigns His mal'akim to guard places and to block mankind from entering in, as with those guarding the entrance to the Garden. At times, He brought some with Him when He took on a human form, like when He appeared to Abraham prior to the judging of Sodom and Gomorrah.
We are told that a number of mala'kim under Halal ben Schakar's leadership rebelled and were cast out of Yahowah's home. (Halal ben Shakar is the actual Hebrew name of the spirit better known as Lucifer and Satan.) We know that they are spiritual beings, though they can take on a physical form by temporarily diminishing their energy into matter.
In addition we can infer that they are not capable of paticipating in a loving relationship because, if they were, there would have been no need for Yahowah to create man to fulfill that purpose. Furthermore, we can infer that they are judged strictly when they transgress. We can further infer that they are not social beings because one has spent almost six thousand years standing all alone while guarding the entry to the Protected Enclosure of Eden. That is about all we are told about the mala'kim in Yahowah's word. Anything else you may have been told about "angels" is pure make- believe and religious hocus-pocus. They are, quite simply, nothing more than tools which Yahowah uses when and as He sees fit.
This is a tonal difference between Yah's Word and "The Book of Enoch". Yahowah tells us little about His spiritual messengers. And there is a reason for that: they are not important to the story or to Yahowah's plan and intention with His Towrah. Yahowah's Towrah exists for the sole purpose of introducing us to Yahowah and His plan to form a family with us. So outside of the role the mal'akim play in that plan, we don't need to know anything more about them. And we are not told anything more because such information is irrelevant.
"The Book of Enoch", on the other hand, focuses heavily on the activity and nature of the mal'akim outside of how Yahowah has instructed them to interact with man. In fact, huge portions of the text take place exclusively within the individual lives of the Messengers and have nothing at all to do with man or man's relationship with Yahowah! This includes a tall tale of how some two hundred of them came to Earth to take wives and father children. It even has them swearing oaths and binding curses to one another; it tells of their women giving birth to giants; it has the mal'akim destroying the work of men; it has Yahowah's messengers sinning against the birds, mammals, reptiles, and fish; and it describes them devouring each other's flesh and drinking each other's blood. According to Enoch 7:6, these activities went on to the point where the Earth—not the people of the Earth, mind you, but the Earth itself—complained about them. One particular Messenger is said to have taught man how to make swords, daggers, shields, and breast plates. The problem with that bogus account is that we have evidence of daggers existing in the Neolithic age, some 4,200 years prior to the days of the man, Enoch. We'll look more closely at that when we discuss point 6. According to "The Book of Enoch", the mal'akim also taught magic, astrology, potions, etc. to man. And apparently, this was all going on without Yahowah having a clue, for Enoch 9:3 declares, "And now to you, O Holy Ones of Heaven, the souls of men complain, saying: 'Bring our complaint before the Most High.'"
The reader can decide for themselves if the Messengers found in "The Book of Enoch" and the Messengers found in Yahowah's Towrah could possibly have been described by the same Spirit. If they were not, then either Yahowah or the author of "The Book of Enoch" is lying. Once again we are faced with inexorable logic, and we see how easily and terminally religious nonsense can be exposed and dealt with.
The tenth chapter of "The Book of Enoch" I find rather interesting. In that chapter we get a retelling of sorts of the account of the Flood which occurred during Noah's lifetime. "Why is this interesting?" you may ask. Well, I'll tell you. You see, Enoch was taken away from this planet about 60 years before Noah was even born (see footnote). That would have been about 569 years before Noah was instructed to build the ark. Also worth noting is that, in the Barashiyth account, Yahowah personally gives Noah instruction regarding the building of the ark, whereas the account found in "The Book of Enoch" reports that a Messenger named Arsyalalyur ws sent to warn Noah. Oh! And there is also this nice little part where God sends forth his Messengers to "restore the Earth". Here's how the bogus book tells it:
10.9 "And the Lord said to Gabriel: 'Proceed against the bastards, and the reprobates, and against the sons of the fornicators. And destroy the sons of the fornicators, and the sons of the Watchers, from amongst men. And send them out, and send them against one another, and let them destroy themselves in battle; for they will not have length of days.'"
10.16 "Destroy all wrong from the face of the Earth and every evil work will cease."
Funny that Yahowah left that little bit out of the Bareshiyth account. And if Yahowah could have had the Messengers restore the Earth, what was the need for the flood? Also note the book of Enoch's focus on fornication, it comes up time and time again. For Example: 106.14 And behold, they commit sin and transgress the law, and have been promiscuous with women, and commit sin with them, and have married some of them, and have begotten children by them. Fornication is not a huge focus of Yahowah's. He is very much against adultery, especially spiritual adultery, and there are certain pairings that He is against, parent/child, man/animal, man/man, woman/woman etc. But beyond that the puritanical taboo of sex is the stuff of religion, not Yahowah. While fornication is mentioned in relation to the flood in Enoch, violence against Yah's creation is not, and that was Yah's stated reason for the flood in Barashiyth. Which is yet another difference. According to Enoch the reason for the flood had more to do with the "Angels" and their offspring and their behavior then anything concerning man. Messengers are not once mentioned in conjunction with the flood in the Bareshiyth account. "The region ('erets - land, ground, area, and territory) in God's ('elohym) presence (paneh - from His perspective) was corrupt (sahat - ravaged, ruined, devastated and destroyed, becoming a putrid and polluted slime pit of corruption and decay), and the land ('erets) was filled with (male'- was overflowing with, was satisfied with, was wholeheartedly in compliance with, and was loudly proclaiming) violence, destruction, and plunder (hamas - terrorism, lawlessness, maiming, cruelty, killing, thievery, injustice, and looting without any moral restraint)." (Bare'syth / In the Beginning / Genesis 6:11) "God inspected (ra'ah - looked upon and viewed) the area ('erets - land, region, and territory), and indeed (ky - truly and surely), it was corrupt and spoiled (sahat - ravaged, ruined, devastated, and destroyed), for ('et) all (kol) related human flesh (basar) treading (darak) upon('al) the earth ('erets - area) had become a putrid and polluted slime pit of corruption and decay (sahat - followed destructive practices, were wasted and devastated, lying in ruins and spoiled)." (Bare'syth / In the Beginning / Genesis 6:12) "God said to Noah, 'I am pruning (qes - limiting, constraining, and diminishing, even putting a limit to, from qatsats, to cut off part of an extremity by shearing) all humans who are related (basar - people who are preachers and messengers) moving about (bow' - coming and going, passing by) before (paneh - in front of) Me. Indeed (ky) the region ('erets) is filled with (male' - is overflowing with, is satisfied with, is wholeheartedly in compliance with, and is loudly proclaiming) terrorism, lawlessness, and cruelty (hamas - violence, destruction, and plunder, killing, thievery, injustice, and looting without any moral restraint) because of (min) their (hym) presence (paneh). Look, here and now (hineh), I will bring ruin to (sahat - catch them in a pit or basin, causing them to decay and decompose, wiping them out by laying waste to) them (hem) along with ('et) the region ('erets)." (Bare'syth / In the Beginning / Genesis 6:13)
Compare that with: 9.6 See then what Azazel has done; how he has taught all iniquity on the earth and revealed the eternal secrets that are made in Heaven. 9.7 And Semyaza has made known spells, he to whom you gave authority to rule over those who are with him. 9.8 And they went into the daughters of men together, lay with those women, became unclean, and revealed to them these sins. 9.9 And the women bore giants, and thereby the whole Earth has been filled with blood and iniquity. 9.10 And now behold the souls which have died cry out and complain unto the Gate of Heaven, and their lament has ascended, and they cannot go out in the face of the iniquity which is being committed on the earth. AND 10.1 And then the Most High, the Great and Holy One, spoke and sent Arsyalalyur to the son of Lamech, and said to him: 10.2 "Say to him in my name; hide yourself! And reveal to him the end, which is coming, because the whole earth will be destroyed. A deluge is about to come on all the earth; and all that is in it will be destroyed. 10.3 And now teach him so that he may escape and his offspring may survive for the whole Earth." 10.4 And further the Lord said to Raphael: "Bind Azazel by his hands and his feet and throw him into the darkness. And split open the desert, which is in Dudael, and throw him there. 10.5 And throw on him jagged and sharp stones and cover him with darkness. And let him stay there forever. And cover his face so that he may not see the light. 10.6 And so that, on the Great Day of Judgment, he may be hurled into the fire. 10.7 And restore the Earth which the Angels have ruined. And announce the restoration of the Earth. For I shall restore the Earth so that not all the sons of men shall be destroyed because of the knowledge which the Watchers made known and taught to their sons. 10.8 And the whole Earth has been ruined by the teaching of the works of Azazel; and against him write: ALL SIN."
Something else which is complete contradiction to all of Yah's Word is:
"10.21 And all the sons of men shall be righteous, and all the nations shall serve and bless me and all shall worship me."
Now to be fair worship may be a translational error, but that brings up a whole other issue with the book. We have none of it in Hebrew, so we are reliant upon translations of translations. But what we can infer with a little knowledge of Hebrew is "bless" here would likely have been barak, which in Hebrew means kneel down, lowering yourself to greet, and is something which Yahowah constantly does for us, but never asks us to do for him. So yet another strike here. And that is not the only time where man is blessing God: "12.3 And I Enoch, was blessing the Great Lord and the King of Eternity. And behold, the Watchers called to me - Enoch the scribe - and said to me:" "25.3 And he answered me, saying: "This high mountain, which you saw, whose summit is like the Throne of the Lord, is the throne where the Holy and Great One, the Lord of Glory, the Eternal King, will sit, when he comes down to visit the Earth for good."
Forget for a second there is no mountain on Earth which fits this description, Yahowah will never come down to visit the Earth for good. He will come reign during the 1,000 year kingdom, but after that he is going to destroy this earth and this heaven and create a new one. Let's look at the book of Enoch's introduction to the birth of Noah. In the 106th chapter we are told that Methuselah choose a wife for his son Lamech, and she became pregnant and bore a son. Okay, so far in keeping with Bareshiyth, but then: 106.2 And his body was white like snow, and red like the flower of a rose, and the hair of his head was white like wool. And his eyes were beautiful and when he opened his eyes he made the whole house bright, like the Sun, so that the whole house was exceptionally bright. 106.3 And when he was taken from the hand of the midwife he opened his mouth and spoke to the Lord of Righteousness.
Funny that doesn't get mention in the Bareshiyth at all. You would think in the small little region that Noah lived a guy who's eyes lit up a room and was talking when he was born would have drawn some attention, and when this guy started saying that God told him there was a flood coming, people might have listened.
It gets better though as Lamech is afraid and runs cowering to his father. He begs his father to go talk to Enoch about it. Which Lamech does: 106.8 And when Methuselah heard the words of his son he came to me, at the ends of the Earth, for he had heard that I was there. And he cried out, and I heard his voice and went to him. And I said to him: "Behold I am here my son, for you have come to me."
Yup, Lamech traveled to the ends of the earth to meet with Enoch, the same Enoch we are told in Bareshiyth had been taken by Yahowah 69 years prior to this event. Enoch goes on to tell his son all about the upcoming flood that will occur in Noah's lifetime and that Noah will be the one to survive it.
But this is nothing new since in the 65th Chapter we learn that Noah would have conversations with Enoch as well. For a guy who God took and was no more, he sure hangs out on Earth a lot. Another thing worth addressing is the books use of Law in regards to Yahowah. This may be a translation error, its use in context, specifically speaking of it being violated makes it clear that even if it is a mistranslation of Towrah, that the author was using it as Law, and not as teaching and understanding. 2.1 Contemplate all the events in the sky; how the lights in the sky do not change their courses, how each rises and sets in order, each at its proper time, and they do not transgress their law. 5.4 But you have not persevered in, nor observed, the Law of the Lord. But you have transgressed and have spoken proud and hard words with your unclean mouth against his majesty. You hard of heart! You will not have peace! 33.3 And I saw how the stars of Heaven come out, and counted the Gates out of which they come, and wrote down all their outlets, for each one, individually, according to their number. And their names, according to their constellations, their positions, their times, and their months, as the Angel Uriel, who was with me, showed me. 33.4 And he showed me everything, and wrote it down, and also their names he wrote down for me, and their laws and their functions. 106.14 And behold, they commit sin and transgress the law, and have been promiscuous with women, and commit sin with them, and have married some of them, and have begotten children by them. 63.12 And thus says the Lord of Spirits: "This is the Law and the Judgment for the mighty, and the kings, and the exalted, and for those who possess the dry ground, in front of the Lord of Spirits." 72.2 And this is the First Law of the Lights. The light called the Sun; its rising is in the Gates of Heaven that are towards the east, and its setting is in the western Gates of Heaven. 72.35 And this is the law and the journey of the Sun and its return, as often as it returns; sixty times it returns and rises, that is the great eternal light, which for ever and ever is named the Sun. 73.1 And after this law I saw another law, for the lesser light, named the Moon. 74.1 And another journey, and law, I saw for it, in that according to this law it makes its monthly journey. 76.14 And thus the twelve Gates, of the four quarters of Heaven are complete. And all their laws, and all their punishments, and all their benefits, I have shown to you, my son Methuselah. 78.10 And Uriel showed me another law: - when light is transferred to the Moon, and on which side it is transferred from the Sun. 78.11 All the time that the Moon is increasing in its light, it transfers as it becomes opposite the Sun, until in fourteen days it's light is full in the sky; and when it is all ablaze, it's light is full in the sky. 79.1 And now, my son Methuselah, I have shown you everything, and the whole Law of the Stars of Heaven is complete. I could fill several pages with such examples that make it clear the author's idea is of law and not of teaching and understanding. Which is further evidence to the books late writing. The use of Towrah to mean law did not come about until much later then Enoch's time. It was only as religions were formed around usurping the Towrah's authority that man changed it from teaching and instruction to law.
Furthermore Yahowah's Towrah is scientifically and historically accurate, something that the book of Enoch is not. This brings us to the sixth point of the test, does the person accurately describe what has happened and what is happening and what will happen. We can file this one under common sense as well, if the person can't accurately tell us the past then surely they can't be speaking for God. Well let's see. Enoch 7:2 tells us that women impregnated by "Angels" bore giants. Okay so we have some rather large people in history, who we would call giants. The record, recorded, being 8 ft 11 in. That's a giant to me who stands at 5 ft 9 in. So let's say that's the remnant of a race of "angel" human hybrids who were giants, so back then what maybe 10ft, 12ft tall at full height. Maybe that existed, most hoax findings tend to stick to this more realistic height with the tallest being about 20 ft. But how tall does Enoch claim these giants to be? 7.2 And they became pregnant and bore large giants. And their height was Three thousand cubits. So what's a cubit you might ask. While there is some variance and discrepancy on the matter typically it is somewhere between 17.5 in and 20.6 inches. But to give you context the Ark that Noah would build was 300 cubits, by 50 cubits by 30 cubit. So for the sake of argument and math let's call a cubit 1.5ft, or 18 inches. So 3000 cubits would be 4,500ft tall, .85 miles tall, or 1.4 Kilometers tall. And considering the book of Enoch tells us that the "Angels" were basically breeding like rabbits with humans that means there were hundreds of these nearly mile tall people living. So the author didn't even bother to stay in the realm that hoax creators later would. If there were hundreds of these massive beings, you think we would have sound some remnant of them, some evidence of their existence. I would think the bones of these people would be evidenced somewhere in the fossil record. Heck I don't even know that the flood would have been enough to kill them, it would be like the kiddy pool to someone that big.
34.2 And there I saw three Gates of Heaven; through each of them north winds go out; when they blow there is cold, hail, hoarfrost, snow, fog, and rain. 34.3 And from one Gate, it blows for good; but when they blow through the other two Gates, it is with force, and it brings torment over the earth, and they blow with force. This reads like something out of the Quran, or as though it were ripped off from a pagan religion. Virtually every part of our globe has been mapped and traveled and there are no gates to heaven out of which winds blow. Furthermore Meteorology has come a long way and we can actually observe wind patterns and understand how wind flow is created. http://www.coriolis-energy.com/wind_energy/wind.html
The 34th through 36th chapter of Enoch speak of many of these "Gates to Heaven" all over the globe, some are to control weather others we are not told what they are there for at all. This reminds me a lot of studying the Quran and Mohammad speaking of the sun seating in a muddy spring. For example I bet you didn't know that the stars are not located deep in space and are always present just not visible during the day, no no no they come out of one of these Gates:
36.3 Through each of these smaller Gates, the stars of Heaven pass, and go towards the west, on the path that has been shown to them.
But it's not just the stars that the book gets wrong. According to Enoch the winds, the sun and the moon are in storehouses in heaven, and God releases them as he sees fit.
41.4 And there I saw closed storehouses from which the winds are distributed, and the storehouse of the hail, and the storehouse of the mist, and the storehouse of the clouds; and its cloud remained over the earth, from the beginning of the world. 41.5 And I saw the Chambers of the Sun and the Moon, where they go out, and where they return. And their glorious return; and how one is more honoured than the other is. And their magnificent course, and how they do not leave their course, neither adding nor subtracting from their course. And how they keep faith in one another, observing their oath. 41.6 And the Sun goes out first, and completes its journey at the command of the Lord of Spirits - and his Name endures forever and ever. 41.7 And after this is the hidden, and visible, path of the Moon, and it travels the course of its journey, in that place, by day and by night. One stands opposite the other, in front of the Lord of Spirits, and they give thanks, and sing praise, and do not rest, because their thanksgiving is like rest to them.
This goes not only against Science which shows us clearly that the moon and sun are always there, and never in a storehouse, but against Yah's Word which shows us that the universe that Yahowah created is not micromanaged by him. The Sun and the Moon are not showing up and going away because Yahowah is declaring that they do. This is very primitive thinking, and not at all in line with Yahowah's amazingly scientifically accurate Towrah. This resembles primitive man's attempt to explain the world around him without any understanding.
Moving on we are told that lightening comes from the stars.
43.1 And again I saw flashes of lightning and the stars of Heaven, and I saw how He called them all by their names, and they obeyed Him. 43.2 And I saw the Balance of Righteousness, how they are weighed according to their light, according to the width of their areas, and the day of their appearing. And how their revolutions produce lightning, and I saw their revolutions, according to the number of the Angels, and how they keep faith with one another. 43.3 And I asked the Angel, who went with me and showed me what is secret: "What are these?" 43.4 And he said to me: "Their likeness, the Lord of Spirits has shown to you; these are the names of the righteous who, dwell on the dry ground and believe in the name of the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever." 44.1 And other things I saw concerning lightning, how some of the stars rise and become lightning but cannot lose their form. Here is another interesting point to gleam from this section, Obey. Yahowah is not about obedience, he does not crave it, he does not desire it, and in fact there is not a single word for it anywhere in His Towrah. Pagan gods want obedience, religious gods want obedience, Hallal Ben Shakar wants obedience, Yahowah does not.
According to the book of Enoch the earth is supported in the sky by four winds.
18.1 And I saw the storehouses of all the winds, and I saw how with them He has adorned all creation, and I saw the foundations of the Earth. 18.2 And I saw the cornerstone of the Earth. And I saw the four winds which support the Earth and the sky.
You would think NASA would have discovered that when the space shuttles started getting blown off course upon exiting the atmosphere. Wind does a lot according to Enoch since it also turns the sky and sets the Sun and stars
18.4 And I saw the winds which turn the sky and cause the disc of the Sun and all the stars to set.
Then we are told about 7 mountains of precious stones:
18.6 And I went towards the south, and it was burning day and night, where there were seven mountains of precious stones, three towards the east and three towards the south. 18.7 And those towards the east were of coloured stone, and one was of pearl, and one of healing stone; and those towards the south, of red stone. 18.8 And the middle one reached to Heaven, like the throne of the Lord, of stibium, and the top of the throne was of sapphire.
"And the middle one reached to Heaven," well this could only be Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. Though guess what, man has been to the top and it's not covered in sapphire. Nor can any of these other mountains be located. And for those who are unaware Pearls are not harvested in mountains, they come from Oysters.
Speaking of the same mountains in another chapter we are told:
24.1 And from there I went to another place of the Earth and he showed me a mountain of fire that blazed day and night.
I'm pretty sure that if there was such a mountain on earth, we all would have heard about it by now.
Once again I could go on and on and fill dozens of pages with this tripe, but really all you have to do is read the book with even a cursory understanding of science and history to see that this is no more inspired then a million other religious explanations for what was not understood at the time of writing.
Finally let's look at how well Enoch predicted the future. God's signature on any revelation is prophecy. By accurately and precisely describing events before they happen 100% of the time Yahowah proves who he is and that what he says can be trusted. So how does the book of Enoch hold up to the test of prophecy? The book does not contain a single fulfilled prophecy. Proponents of the book claim that its prophecies are for the end times and that they will come to be fulfilled. But anyone can make such a claim. Unless prophecy exists which can be verified to have been written before the fulfillment, and the fulfillment has occurred it is useless as a test. This is why Yahowah's naby always include short and long term prophecies in them. The book of Enoch does not have any of these. Furthermore a number of what are considered to be "end time" prophecies in the book contradict similar prophecies given by Yahowah's naby. In fact the book claims that no other prophet has seen these: 19.3 And I, Enoch, alone saw the sight, the ends of everything; and no man has seen what I have seen. Not to mention as we saw earlier the book contradicts other more reliable prophecy by saying that there is a mountain that will be God's throne when he comes to dwell on Earth for good, which cannot be the case since we are told Yahowah will destroy this earth shortly after the millennial kingdom. Furthermore not even Yahowah has seen the end of everything. Yahowah has seen the end of our universe, but he tells us nothing about the universe to come, why? Because he hasn't experienced that one yet, even he knows nothing about it. Think about it, if Yahowah knew the end of everything and how everything will play out, what would be the point of living? Once we reach the point where Yahowah destroys this heaven and this earth, then we are in the realm of the unexplored and unknown.
So we have covered point 1,3,4,and 6 of Yahowah's test. Let's look at 2. Is the person zyd: someone who oversteps their bounds, acting presumptuously with an inflated sense of self-worth, demonstrating self-reliance while taking liberties, someone who arrogantly pretends to know, who insults others and is disrespectful, displaying pride in the pursuit of personal recognition and acclaim while demeaning competitors, someone who rebels against the legitimate authority and is prone to anger, someone who seethes with frustration and is often furious, overbearing, rude, or conceited?
Does the author of Enoch overstep their bounds? Yes, when you contradict Yah's Word in God's name you are overstepping your bounds. Does the author act presumptuously? Yes, same reason. Does the author have an inflated sense of self-worth? This is a tricky one to answer. The real Enoch of Bareshiyth was chosen by Yahowah to be taken before death and carried to Yah's home. That says a lot about the guy, but given Yah's track record for who he likes to work with egos are usually pretty small, so the real Enoch was likely to be a humble person. That however is not what we see in the book. The Enoch of the book never misses a chance to point out how unique his experience is, of how the "Angels" praised him. According to the book the Angels called him, "Scribe of fighteousness." "Enoch, you righteous man, and scribe of righteousness." Does the author demonstrate self-reliance while taking liberties? For the same reason as the first, yes. By changing and contradicting Yah's Word he is demonstrating self-reliance, his plan is better, and taking liberties with Yah's Word. Does the author arrogantly pretend to know? This is an amalgamation of all the above, so Yes. Does the author insult others, and act disrespectfully? Again, by contradicting Yah's Word, YES. Does the author display pride in the pursuit of personal recognition? This is a yes and no. Since the author is clearly not Enoch of the Barashiyth personal recognition is not their goal, but they are certainly prideful and while they may not have persuade personal recognition they seek to have their words viewed as equal to Yah's. Does the author demean others? This one is actually a no. At least not in the book itself. The author does not really speak of others at all. Does the author rebel against legitimate authority? Yes, see above. Is the author prone to anger, someone who seethes with frustration and is often furious, overbearing, rude, or conceited? While certainly conceited, trying to have his word's viewed as God's Word, at least in the book he does not come across as angry, frustrated or furious. So with few exceptions the author of the book of Enoch fails this portion of the test as well.
Let's look at 5. Does the person speak in the name of God's other than Yahowah. Since we do not have a Hebrew text with which to go back to all we know is that LORD is used throughout the text. LORD is ba'al and is the name and title of a pagan god. Also I am inclined based on the books presentation to conclude that Lord is how the author viewed God, which is clearly not how any scribe of Yah's Word viewed Him. So this would be a half mark against the book since we do not know for sure what words were used in the original writing.
So having examined all 6 points of Yahowah's test how does the book of Enoch hold up? In a game where one strike means you are out the book fails every single part of the test.
So the book of Enoch fails Yahowah's test, but let's look at other reasons we should not trust it. There is absolutely no reason to believe that the book called Enoch was written by the Enoch mentioned in Bareshiyth. In fact believing so requires a HUGE leap of faith that boarders on the same stupidity as religion.
1. Let's assume that the Enoch of Bareshiyth wrote a book. 2. We then have to assume that said book was carried from him and given to Noah who took it with him on the Ark. Only a few generations removed, so not too big of a stretch. 3. Then we have to assume that Noah kept up with it, and passed it down from there to each generation to Abram. 11 Generations. Getting to be a bit bigger of a stretch, but the Towrah was passed down through many generations, but there is a difference which we will discuss soon. 4. Then we have to assume that Abraham passed it to Yitshaq, and Yitshaq to Yaqob and Yaqob to his sons. Still not too big of a stretch. 5. Then we have to assume that it was taken with and carried through nearly 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Now we are getting to a pretty big stretch. Especially for a mostly illiterate people. What little they knew of would have been passed word of mouth, and not in much detail. 6. Then we have to assume that Moshe had it when he led the Yisraelites out of Egypt. If you allow for all the others to be true this would not be a stretch since the book would be revered and something you would want to take with you. 7. That they had it when they entered the Promised Land. Same 8. Oh and by the way during this WHOLE time, not one person ever bothered to mention it, Yahowah never speaks of its existence, and not one copy or fragment or quote form it can be found anywhere until centuries later. Here is where it really falls apart. If Enoch wrote a book it would predate the Towrah and would have been the first reveled Scripture. Pretty big deal, you think someone, somewhere would have bothered to mention it, that some fragments would be found with some of it.
That is the biggest crux of the issue. The idea that this book survived so many generations and changes, existed somehow amongst an illiterate slave society, and is never mentioned. Yahowah speaks very little of Enoch in the Towrah. We are told who is father is, who is son is, how many years he walked the earth and then that he is taken. He is a very minor character. Had he wrote the first piece of inspired text you would think Moshe would have noted that, Yahowah would have confirmed that this book that they had carried for generations came from this Enoch, but no not a mention of the book. We aren't even told that Enoch was literate, let alone that he had written a book.
Then you have the fact that we do not have a single copy of it in Hebrew. We have a few Aramaic scraps that were found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls, something that tends to give an inappropriate air of authority to them. Much if not most of what was found in the Quwmran caves was not divine writ, but rather man's musings. The little bit of Yah's Word which has been uncovered there is a blessing no doubt, but most of what was found serves only to give us a view of history.
The most complete text of Enoch is a Ge'ez text which dates to 18th century, though there are fragments dating as far back as the 15th century. Also worth noting is that in the Dead Sea Scrolls of Enoch there are large portions of text which do not correspond to any of the Ge'ez text indicating that what we do have of the book is heavily edited.
We know from the DSS findings and other text around that era that a book known as the book of Enoch existed then, but the evidence is that few if any believed it to be the Word of God.
So the Ge'ez text is untrustworthy, and the Aramaic is so limited in what actually exists that no book could be compiled, and nothing understood because there is not enough to gain contextual understanding without the use of the Ge'ez text. So it makes trying to study the book of Enoch, even if it were inspired by God, a fools folly.
In addition Yahowah makes habit of being very repetitive in His message. He wants to be clear and accurate. If there is something in it so important, life or death as many who promote the book claim, how come Yah never mentions it again? The feasts are mentioned throughout the Towrah, the Sabbath is mentioned time and time again, and everything important to Yahowah is mentioned more than once and in more than one place. This repetitiveness not only ensures that we can clearly understand Yahowah's intended message, but also makes it much more difficult for man to corrupt that message. So why is there so much unique to the book of Enoch that is not mentioned once anywhere else in the Towrah if it is that important?
There is a reason that virtually everyone who has honestly analyzed the book of Enoch has concluded that Enoch is pseudepigraphical - an author assuming the identity of some ancient notable perhaps in an attempt to attract curious readers. And that it is indeed a late writing. It would be as if I were to write a book today about and from the perspective of King Author which claimed to be written by King Author, the book would be written in a modern writing style, and use modern words and use words as they are meant now and not as they were meant at the time of King Author. It would be clear to anyone reading it that the book was not in fact written by King Author and while it may be a good story or not no one would take it serious.
= יהוה = ee-ah-oh-ah = Yahowah
Song / Mizmor / Psalm 19:7
Yahowah's Towrah is complete and entirely perfect, returning and restoring the soul. Yahowah's testimony is trustworthy and
reliable, making understanding and obtaining wisdom simple for the open-minded and receptive.
Yahowah's (
- יהוה) Towrah (torah — teaching, guidance, direction, and instruction) is complete and entirely
perfect (tamym — without defect, lacking nothing, correct, genuine, right, helpful,
beneficial, and true), returning and restoring (suwb —
transforming) the soul (nepesh — consciousness). Yahowah's testimony ('eduwth — restoring and eternal witness) is trustworthy and reliable ('aman — verifiable, confirming, supportive,
and establishing), making understanding and obtaining wisdom (hakam
— educating and enlightening oneself to the point of comprehension) simple for the open-minded and
receptive (pethy — easy for those who are receptive).
Generated using plain text file editor NoteTab Pro 7.2
Footnote:
Downloadable Timeline of the Lives of the Patriarchs
For Microsoft Office 97-2003 - patriarchs.xls
For Microsoft Office 2010 & up - patriarchs.xlsx
For LibreOffice / OpenOffice - patriarchs.ods
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