The Book of Enoch: What Was and What Was Not

"Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him."

Genesis, 5:24, NRSV

In the traditions regarding creation, we would normally say that anything that El creates, he never completely annihilates. If you have been made, he won't destroy you utterly, even if you might wish he did un-make you. Now, we look at this passage, and the first interpretation out of my mouth would be that with El there is an exception to every rule, and that Enoch was the exception to this rule of creation and was annihilated. However, then we have the next problem, "because God took him," which does not suggest divine punishment.

This little passage represents a massive riddle, and it is one of the major reasons that Enoch has been such a special focus among apocryphal literature among Western Scriptures. In the Catholic tradition that I was raised in, there is one and only one passage that a Catholic may read from any, "Book of Enoch," and it appears in the Pastoral Letter According to Jude. In fact, the Catholic Church lists the Book of Enoch as the only worse heresy than the Gnostic heresy, and by canon law - today! - you can be formally excommunicated for owning or reading the Book of Enoch.

Formal excommunications are rarely served - even less today than before - but I've seen it happen several times in my life. One of the problems is that even as an apostate - I have to admit - these particular individuals had become pretty scandalously offensive in their behavior. I myself have received no formal papers - but there is really no need.

I have less chance for an absolution in confession - living the mostly pure life I live today - than when I exited drug rehab with a host of grave sins on my soul at 20. I'm informally excommunicated - latentiae sapientum - to be specific. That would roughly translate as, "holding censured knowledge." I didn't get that part of canon law in my Catholic education, but I managed to find the appropriate legalism for my apostasy at the VIS website.

There was a particular Book of Enoch that has been extant for a very long time in Western history, and it is the one quoted in the New Testament. There are libraries full of versions of the Book of Enoch, but that version has always been the most popular version. The simple reason for that is that in the West, part of pietism - once the monotheistic absolute set in - was the worship of angels, and that particular Book of Enoch intends to explicate the mysteries of the Heavenly Hosts.

That particular form of the Book of Enoch is considered the most blasphemous book ever written by Catholic canon law, except for that passage in the Pastoral Letter of Jude, and that passage is Scripture, the Word of God Himself - Who Is God Himself - by Catholic dogma. Further, it should be noted that Jude was the name of the betrayer of Christ the Savior, and that this letter represents something a little special in Christian Scripture. That was noted all throughout Catholic history by scholars and writers within the Catholic faith, and I learned this in my Catholic education.

Let us quote the poignant passage from the Pastoral Letter of Jude:

"It was about these that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying 'See the Lord is coming with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all, and to convict everyone of all the deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.'"

Jude, 1: 14 and 15, NRSV

Being the obedient Catholic that I am, I've skimmed over the Book of Enoch in question, and it is interesting, but not of much use to me. What we really see is that angels fill the place that pagan gods might have - bringing iron or certain crafts to the new generations of Adam, and we see that there is a judgment made as to which angels will be imprisoned by their maker and which will continue to serve him. The judgment is one dependent on their behavior regarding man, and the prophecies of this mysterious Enoch.

It might be worth noting that in the Western tradition, the real meaning of "prophecy," was "one who spoke the words of God." Today we think of, "prophecy," as an oracle or divination into the future, but whether the prophet was a Major Prophet chosen from among a very small few, or a minor prophet or prophetess chosen out of many other madmen or madwomen, the prophet was never intended to be an oracle in Western tradition. He (or more rarely, she) was one who spoke, "the true words of God."

Another aspect of the Book of Enoch is that its long lists of names and their associated crafts or auspices make it a great deal like a Dark Age grimoire. In the Dark Ages, the, "grimoire," was a certain category of text that listed familiar spirits and their uses. It is actually likely that the Book of Enoch had this aspect before the Dark Ages - and of course - there are other more ancient versions of texts similar to the Dark Age grimoire.

So now we've introduced the Book of Enoch, and we will move on to John Dee and Mr. Edward Kelly, of Enochian Magic(k) fame. The two are indeed intimately connected. Also, - it is beyond the pale how silly people are. Also - the Enochian Magic(k) is a big target for swindlers. We'll go over it. It is rather strange, even for Western history.