Prophetic Dream 6-6-21 Please watch!

Thanks for your response Marcio. I understand that it’s quoted in Jude, but as I mentioned above the only thing that we can reasonably ascertain from that is that the specific quote is true, not that the entire book is inspired. Especially considering that the book of Enoch was not written by Enoch, but rather it is currently held that it was composed in 2nd century BC.
It’s also important to note that the early church did not consider it as part of the inspired word of God.

I have read some of it, but do need to finish it. My concerns largely relate to the fact that it’s not written by Enoch but is rather falsely attributed to him; that the Hebrews didn’t have it as part of their bible; that the early church didn’t consider it as part of their scripture; and that it reads like the other apocryphal books that were rejected from the canon of scripture – not in terms of content, but the style of writing.
I think we should be careful with elevating it to the position of scripture – particularly with the warnings not to add or take away from God’s word as presented in Deuteronomy 4:2 and Revelation 22:18-19.

I am open to the prospect that I am wrong about this, and if I am then I pray that God would show me, but in my research thus far (which isn’t just from asking here by the way) my concerns have not been adequately addressed.

Anthony, I have seen no evidence that the book of Enoch was not written by Enoch. It was already held as very valued by the Essenes before Christ. I don’t hold much credence in modern Bible scholars who routinely try to discredit most of Scripture. I also can’t go by what the early church, a few hundred years after the time of Jesus, accepted as Scripture. In the time of Jesus, the book of Enoch was part of the the books that were valued as inspired by God because Jude quotes it. If Jude is quoting it as being true, then one simply cannot conclude that the rest was false. That would be cherry picking to suit some preconceived agenda. It simply does not make sense that Jude quotes it as part of Scripture and true from Enoch, but the book was fake. The Jews after Christ did not accept it as Scripture because it has a lot of Messianic prophecies that point to Jesus. The book itself says that it was for the people in the end times (my paraphrase). So it is understandable that it is not part of what centuries of people have studied from. It is for our time and the Ethiopians preserved it as their canon for our benefit. It is the “first” book of Enoch that I am referring to. Books II and III are not considered true books of Enoch.

Before I get into my response I do want to say thanks for engaging with me on this topic, I’m grateful for your thoughtful and thought provoking responses. Please note that while I may come across as hostile in my questions that is not at all my intention – sadly tone can’t effectively be demonstrated in writing… I’m trying to seek the truth on this matter and can only base it on the research I have been able to do.

But once again, just because a select line is quoted it does not follow that the rest of the work is inspired – we can only safely regard that line as being true. Again, do you hold that the works of Epimenides are the inspired word of God? If not, why not? Because Paul quotes it as being true in Titus 1:12, he also quotes Epimenides and Aratus in Acts 17:27-28, so the same question applies to that – by the logic you’re applying we should consider their works as scripture because it simply does not make sense that Paul quotes Epimenides and Aratus as being true, but the rest of their works are false.
Direct quotation != being valued as inspired by God.

The oldest manuscript of the first book of Enoch, which is the scrolls found in Qumran, dates to around 300 BC, that’s not something to be dismissed – considering that Enoch is estimated to have lived somewhere within 3300-3000 BC that’s a great deal of time for things to be distorted and forgotten, even accounting for the oral tradition. That doesn’t mean that Enoch didn’t write it, but it provides enough reason to doubt that he did.

The dismissal of the early church, which isn’t just the church from a few hundred years after Christ but also the disciples of the disciples, is questionable. Why not consider what the people closer to the life of Christ than you considered canon?
This question is something I also need to answer, because the early ‘church fathers’ made a number of references to the book of Enoch – whether or not they held it as scripture I am not sure of just yet.

You make a good point regarding the Jews not accepting it because of its pointing to Christ, I have found such dismissal of Isaiah 53 as well.

Thank you for the clarification on which book you were referring to, that’s helpful to know.

I did come across an interesting table which shows parallels between Enoch and select areas of scripture (http://www.burningcoal.com/muse/enoch.html), so I will look into that more and see what I can find.

Once more, thank you for your responses, they really are appreciated. You’ve given me a lot to consider and look into here.

Anthony, I did not see this last response of yours. As for Paul quoting Epimenides (Titus 1:12), Paul calls him “a prophet of their own” and for Epimenides and Aratus (Acts 17:27,28), Paul calls them “some of your own poets.” Paul is clearly quoting them to make a common ground point in a way that his readers would understand. In this context, Paul is not claiming Divine ownership of everything they wrote, because he calls them, “their own” and “your own.” Paul is not raising their entire writings to the level of inspired word of God. It is clear that Paul is writing a disclaimer for both quotations. He is making useful quotations, but that is it. Nothing else should be inferred.

Now compare that with Jude’s quotation,

Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
Jude 1:14,15 NKJV

Jude makes no reference to a disclaimer, but is clearly identifying the exact Enoch he is quoting, and claiming it as a prophecy. This is a direct quotation from Enoch I, and was well known at the time he wrote it. Enoch was no ordinary man. He was so close to God that God took him alive. Is it such a stretch to think that Enoch was a true prophet of God, and that the LORD inspired him to write his book? How could all of those prophecies of the Messiah be there if it had not been inspired? God bless.