¹⁴ It was also about these people that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord has come with many thousands of His saints, ¹⁵ to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” ¹⁶ These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage. ¹⁷ But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁸ that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” ¹⁹ These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. ²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, looking forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. ²² And have mercy on some, who are doubting; ²³ save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. ²⁴ Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen (Jud1:14-25).

Another reason Jude’s epistle is important in the context of what I am disclosing is his direct reference to the Book of Enoch. That citation is one of the reasons many of the early Church Fathers regarded that writing as inspired, indeed some believed to be  a genuine product of that patriarch, the great-grandfather of Noah who according to Genesis “walked with God” (5:24). That even applied to Augustine of Hippo, in view of its citation in Jude, albeit he did more than anyone to ensure that it was rejected from the Canon of Scripture that was formalized around the end of the fourth century.

That was a decision with which I largely concur, albeit for different reasons. For example, contrary to some aspersions, the Old Testament confirms that angelic beings did have sexual relationships with women (Gen6:1-2 cf. Jude1:6) and that the consequential hybrid offspring existed in the form of giants (frequent OT references affirm as much, albeit sometimes obscured in the translation). However, canonical qualification may have validly  been breached by an excessive number of manuscript variations.

God’s intentions for the Book of Enoch

Also, in terms of divine/providential intentions for its utilization by believers, its opening verse indicates it was not intended to provide enlightenment to the Church throughout her historical  pilgrimage; rather it was to be “the blessing of Enoch, by which he shall bless the elect and the righteous who will be living in the day of tribulation when all the wicked and godless are to be removed” (1Enoch1:1). Indeed, one of its prophecies which I believe pertains to the 16^th century Protestant Reformation, infers the existence of the mid-second millennium invention of the printing press, by which “they will alter and pervert the words of righteousness in many ways, and will speak wicked words, and lie, and practise great deceits and write books concerning their teachings” [Enoch chap. 104] . Whilst another prophecy, concerning which I dare infer you may currently be encountering, would require the late 20^th century capabilities of the internet and digital printing (e.g. pdf downloads) to be enacted.

For how else could “books are to be given to the righteous and the wise to become a cause of joy and uprightness and much wisdom. To them shall the books be donated, and they shall believe in them and rejoice over them, and then shall all the righteous who have learnt from them the true paths of righteousness be recompensed”? [En104:10-14]. As little as 50 years ago, it would not have been possible for books to be freely and universally distributed to “the righteous and the wise” who clearly must exist amongst most if not every country in the world.

Regardless of whether or not Noah’s great-grandfather wrote this Jewish apocalypse (in which case it would have to have been by some means preserved through the Flood), there is no controversy regarding it having been written before the human ministry of Jesus Christ, given that it is  quoted in Jude, where he wrote: “Behold, the Lord shall come with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (vv14,15).

Related posts

As to the nature and content of the book(s) to be “given to the righteous and wise”, so extraordinarily foretold in this ancient Jewish apocalypse cited by Jude, these earlier posts may provide further insights:

Re: Enoch as the final piece of the biblical jigsaw  

Re: the age to come

Re: digital printing prophecy:

Re: the fallen watchers/rationale for the Flood.

Amen.