Chapter 11: Words of Enoch
To learn
about the prophet Enoch, one of the greatest prophets, the Old Testament is not
your best source because it has only four cryptic verses about him. “And Enoch
lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God
after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch
walked with God: and he was not; for God took him” (Genesis 5:21–24). In the
Old Testament, Enoch the son of Jared’s name is found six times. (The
clarification is because there is also “Enoch son of Cain.”)
Neither will
the New Testament add much to your knowledge about Enoch because it has only
three verses about him—a genealogy in Luke and two short statements: In Hebrews
11:5, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not
found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this
testimony, that he pleased God”; and Jude 1:14, “And Enoch also, the seventh
from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten
thousands of his saints.” His name is found three times in the New Testament.
Although the references are few, they validate that Enoch’s life and teachings
were known about and considered valuable in New Testament times.
It is Latter-day
scripture fills major gaps about Enoch’s life and ministry. In the Doctrine and
Covenants, Enoch’s name is found eleven times, in which we learn that “Enoch
was twenty-five years old when he was ordained under the hand of Adam; and he
was sixty-five and Adam blessed him” (D&C 107:48). We read Jesus Christ,
himself, took “the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom” (D&C 38:4). We also
learn that “these things were all written in the book of Enoch, and are to be
testified of in due time” (D&C 107:57). (According to the headnote, this
revelation came April 1835.)
“In due time,”
a scriptural- and for that matter a patriarchal blessing phrase, means
“according to the Lord’s timing.” His timing is His call—next week or in many,
many generations, in this life or the next. In this situation, the prophecy of
the book of Enoch coming forth was already in the process of being fulfilled.
What follows here is a brief account. If you want a more detailed account, I
suggest Dr. Hugh Nibley’s article, “A Strange Thing in the Land: The Return of
the Book of Enoch, Part 1,” Ensign, October
1975).
In 1773,
Scottish explorer James Bruce, traveling in what is now Ethiopia, discovered
ancient texts in a monastery. In the collection were copies of the book of
Enoch written in Ge'ez, the language of northern Ethiopia. In 1821, a professor
at Oxford University, Dr. Richard Laurence, began the first English
translation, which was published in segments until he died in 1838. His
completed work was published in 1883. Another edition by R. H. Charles came in
1912. With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, more copies surfaced in
several languages. The fact that there are many copies indicates that the
people of Qumran valued Enoch’s words. “Many copies of 1 Enoch were found among
the Dead Sea Scrolls. 1 Enoch was probably one of the most authoritative and
popular scripture of the Qumran Community” (inspiredbooks.com/1Enoch.htm).
As was the
case with other Old Testament prophets, the information on Enoch was considered
by many to be folklore for lack of corroborating archeological evidence. Until
James Bruce’s discovery, there were rumors and a few fragments of a purported
book of Enoch but nothing substantive. Commenting on this situation, Dr. Hugh
Nibley wrote,
It was only
when one major text, the Ethiopian book of Enoch, known as 1 Enoch,
was brought to light early in the nineteenth century that scholars started
looking seriously and putting together evidence that brought forth one version
after another—Old Slavonic, Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, etc.—of that same lost book
of Enoch which had so long been viewed as a figment of Gnostic
imagination. After all that, it turned out, the book of Enoch was real.
(Abraham in Egypt)
Not only
does the book exist, but when text from 1
Enoch is put side-by-side with corresponding verses from the book of Moses,
the storyline and vocabularies are remarkably similar. A few examples
illustrate the point:
Enoch Sees Noah Protected by the Hand of God
Moses 7:43—Enoch saw that Noah built an
ark; and that the Lord smiled upon it,
and held it in his own hand; but upon the residue of the
wicked the floods came.
1 Enoch 67:2—At this time the
angels are working with wood (making an ark) and when it is completed, I shall
place my hands upon it and protect it.
Enoch Sees All Things
Moses 7:67—And the Lord showed
Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world.
2 Enoch 40:1—Now therefore, my
children, I know everything; . . . my eyes have seen from the beginning even to
the end, and from the end to the recommencement.
Enoch clothed with glory.
Moses 7:3—As I stood upon the mount,
I beheld the heavens open, and I was clothed upon with glory.
2 Enoch 22:8–10—The
Lord said to Michael, Take Enoch, and extract (him) from the earthly clothing.
And anoint him with the delightful oil, and put (him) into the clothes of
glory. . . . And I gazed at myself, and I had become like one of the glorious
ones, and there was no observable difference
(strongreasons.wordpress.com/2009/01/27/the-book-of-enoch-and-the-book-of-moses).
By far the
best scriptural source on Enoch is the Pearl of Great Price where his name is
found sixty times in 111 verses from Moses 6:21 to Moses 8:19. In those verses
are enough details to fill many books. Much of the text is in Enoch’s own
voice, giving information that only the person who lived the experiences could
know.
The cursory
summary that follows touches on only a fraction of the richness of those 111
verses.
Enoch was
blessed to be born in a “land of righteousness” (Moses 6:41), and his father
Jared taught him in “all the ways of God” (verse 21). When he was sixty-five,
Enoch began to receive remarkable visions. He recounted his first vision
experience: “As I journeyed from the land of Cainan, by the sea east, I beheld
a vision; and lo, the heavens I saw, and the Lord spake with me, and gave me
commandment” (verse 42). Enoch’s response to what he saw and heard demonstrates
his character. “When Enoch had heard these words, he bowed himself to the
earth, before the Lord, and spake before the Lord, saying: Why is it that I
have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me;
for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?” (verse 31).
The Lord
expressed confidence in Enoch, who did not feel qualified because he was young,
hated, and slow of speech:
Go forth and
do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and
it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my
hands. . . . Say unto this people: Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God
who made you. Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I
justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from
their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.
(verses 32–34)
Along with
these promises, the Lord instructed Enoch to prepare himself for more. “And the
Lord spake unto Enoch: Anoint thine eyes with clay, and wash them, and thou
shalt see. And he did so” (verse 35). “Thou shalt see,” suggests that Enoch was being called as a seer and would see both past and future, which is exactly
what happened. Enoch “beheld the spirits that God had created; and he beheld
also things which were not visible to the natural eye” (verse 36). The people
who heard Enoch recognized this truth “and from thenceforth came the saying
abroad in the land: A seer hath the Lord raised up unto his people” (verse 36).
Enoch did as
he was commanded and bore testimony throughout the land: “The Lord which spake
with me, the same is the God of heaven, and he is my God, and your God, and ye
are my brethren, and why counsel ye yourselves, and deny the God of heaven?” (verse
43). He testified of the creation and that “by [Adam’s] fall came death” (verse
48) which we “cannot deny” (verse 45). Enoch, as great missionaries do, bore
witness of their sacred writings. “A book of remembrance we have written among
us, according to the pattern given by the finger of God; and it is given in our
own language” (verse 46). Enoch taught the plan of salvation and warned the
people about Satan. He testified of Jesus Christ, “the only name which shall be
given under heaven whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men” (verse
52). He called the people to repent and be baptized and promised: “Ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (verse 52). He also taught the power of
prayer, admonishing the people to ask “all things in his name, and whatsoever
ye shall ask, it shall be given you” (verse 52).
Although
some of the people realized that Enoch was a seer, his preaching received mixed
responses. “And it came to pass that Enoch went forth in the land, among the
people, standing upon the hills and the high places, and cried with a loud
voice, testifying against their works; and all
men were offended because of him” (verse 37; italics added). The power of God
with which Enoch spoke caused the people to tremble, and they “could not stand
in his presence” (verse 47).
Enoch
received another vision of which he said, “I beheld the heavens open, and I was
clothed upon with glory. . . . I saw the Lord; and he stood before my face, and
he talked with me, even as a man talketh one with another, face to face; and he
said unto me: Look, and I will show unto thee the world for the space of many
generations” (Moses 7:3–4).
Enoch
continued his ministry, and his great faith produced results higher than ever
achieved before or since, of which we are aware. Not only was he the prophet
and seer, but also he “led the people of God, [when] their enemies came to
battle against them” (verse 13). (Enoch as prophet and military leader is reminiscent of men in Book of Mormon—Mormon,
Helaman2, Lachoneus, Moroni.) Mighty miracles contributed to Enoch’s
success in these armed conflicts. “So great was the power of the language which
God had given him” that at Enoch’s command, the earth trembled, mountains fled,
rivers changed course, lions roared, land came up out of the sea, enemies fled,
giants “stood afar off,” and a curse came upon “all people that fought against
God” (verse 13–15). “The fear of the Lord was upon all nations, so great was
the glory of the Lord, which was upon his people” (verse 17).
This era of
individual righteousness and political, religious, and economic stability is
similar to the Nephite period of two hundred years after the Savior’s visit
where there were no contention, envyings, strifes, tumults, whoredoms, lyings,
robbers, murders, lasciviousness, and where the love of God dwelt in every
heart (see 4 Nephi 1:16–17). “Surely there could not be a happier people among
all the people who had been created by the hand of God” (4 Nephi 1:16).
Enoch
received a third vision that encompassed the history of the earth. He saw “all
the inhabitants of the earth” (Moses 7:21). He saw how Satan with “a great
chain in his hand” had veiled the “earth with darkness” (verse 26). He saw
Satan laughing at the misery he caused. He saw “angels descending out of heaven
and bearing testimony of the Father and Son” (verse 27). He saw the Holy Ghost
fall on many. Enoch experienced God weeping and asked: “How is it that thou
canst weep?” (verse 29). God explained his tears were tears of sorrow for the
wickedness of humankind, His creations, who had rejected Him and who were
“without affection” (verse 33). Then Enoch saw both comings of Jesus Christ and
the Millennium. “And Enoch continued his preaching in righteousness unto the
people of God. And it came to pass in his days, that he built a city that was
called the City of Holiness, even Zion” (Moses 7:19).
The Lord
blessed the land, and the people flourished. “And the Lord called his people
Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness;
and there was no poor among them” (verse 18).
The City of
Holiness, or Zion, was the result of Enoch’s labors in teaching, leading,
protecting, and bearing testimony for the longest recorded mission—365 years.
At this point, Enoch and his people were translated. “And Enoch and all his people
walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that
Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went
forth the saying, Zion is Fled” (verse 69).
The
scriptures give us no more information about Enoch’s Zion, except that one man
who seemed worthy to be translated, Methuselah, was left behind. “And it came
to pass that Methuselah, the son of Enoch, was not taken, that the covenants of
the Lord might be fulfilled, which he made to Enoch; for he truly covenanted
with Enoch that Noah should be of the fruit of his loins” (Moses 8:2).
One additional
fact of great interest is that according to the Joseph Smith Translation of
Genesis, after Zion was taken up, other individuals were also translated. In
the time of Melchizedek, those people who “wrought righteousness, and obtained
heaven, and sought for the city of which God had before taken” were privileged
to escape this earth and join the City of Enoch (JST Genesis 14:34).
Enoch’s
unique vocabulary includes thirty-one words and a couple phrases: array,
barren, barrenness, blackness, comforted, curtains, despised, EARTHS, favor,
heat, lad, Lamb, land of my fathers, land of righteousness, misery, north,
PARTICLES, pattern, perished, poured, refuse, RIGHTEOUS, shut, speech, tears,
tempteth, torment, transgressions, unfruitful, valley, woe. (Words not found in
any other scripture are in solid capital letters. The rest are Enoch’s unique
words in the Pearl of Great Price.)
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