Angels of Enoch
There is a branch of extracanonical writings that is rich in angelic lore: the three Books of Enoch, attributed to the great-grandfather of Noah. The Book of Enoch or 1 Enoch survives completely only in the Ethiopic language; 2 Enoch survives only in Old Slavonic and the final 3 Enoch survives in Hebrew.
The final Enoch book is made up of ‘The Dream Visions’, ‘The Book of Heavenly Luminaries’ and The Parables’ or The Similitudes’ and fragments of ‘The Book of Noah’. The three Enoch books were written down between 200 BCE and 100 CE by various authors with differing religious standpoints. The texts were omitted from the Bible, but they have been widely quoted over the centuries by church authorities.
Enoch was a key figure in both Christian and Jewish angelic lore. His vivid and detailed descriptions of Heaven and his intricate angel theology may have provided inspiration to other writers — St John’s vision in the ‘Book of Revelation’ is a prime example.
Enoch’s mystical text, the Book of Enoch, opens with a dream-vision in which he is asked to intercede with God on behalf of the fallen angels, those who left their heavenly home. Enoch lists all the ‘fallen angels‘ by name and their part in the ‘fall’.
He sees fiery Cherubim (1 Enoch: 17) `who were like flaming fire, and when they wished they appeared as men’. He was shown the places of the luminaries and was taken by Archangel Michael into the higher heaven and shown the workings of the universe and the whole of creation. In another section he describes the place of final punishment for the fallen angels.
There are fragments of other journeys that Enoch makes with the angels to the `Tree of Wisdom’ and ‘Garden of Righteousness’.
In 1 Enoch 70: ‘The Final Translation of Enoch‘, we see Enoch transformed into Archangel Metatron. As Metatron, he is the most important angel in the Merkavah texts. His name means ‘throne-sharer’ or lesser Yahweh (God).
Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Angels of Enoch
June 13th, 2009
Ever thought of doing a drama or performing some short skits at your next youth group gathering or evangelistic outing Christian plays can mightily influence believers and nonbelievers alike in bringing revelation and truth about God and faith. … Christian Resource
June 16th, 2009
Nevertheless, the Church has always protested whenever composers allowed those earthly thoughts and emotions to enter the temple and dominate the music. … Church Music