The Discussion and Analysis on 1 Enoch - Research Paper Example

RESEARCH PAPER ON ENOCH Introduction This research paper is an analytical work, which addresses the use of apocalyptic language and imagery in Enoch as presented as a reserved book of the Jewish and Christian religions. The paper would be detailed on how the author of the book uses language and theme and how the combination of these two are presented from a literary perspective where other forms of literature such as imagery are well spiced up into the book to make it fit to be referred to as an apocalyptic book. Further more, the research paper shall dwell more on how basic findings and results put forth by the author of the book fits into our modern day setting of apocalyptic studies across various theological institutions around the world. This final point is indeed an important component of the paper because it is only when there can be a justification of the essence of the book being analyzed in today’s contemporary world that the whole discussion or study of the life of Enoch can be considered as relevant to the 21st century theology student (Shump, 2009)1. The book being analyzed is identified through the standard bibliographic format as follows: The Reluctant Manager. The Book of Enoch, Chapters 1 – 60, 2008. http://reluctant-messenger.com/1enoch01-60.htm (accessed November 17, 2012). Contents Whiles some scholars give two major and distinct divisions to the book, others give five distinct divisions. From the perspectives of the school of thought that gives two major divisions to the book, they hold the opinion that the first division deals with the fall of the Watchers, who happen to be the angels who fathered the Nephilim (Gardener, 2009)2 while the second division deals with the visit that Enoch had to the Holy Place of heaven. From the school of thought that holds the assertion that the book can be viewed from five major divisions; they label the first division as ‘The book of the Watchers’ and claim that these are made up of the first 36 chapters of the book. This is followed by ‘The book of parables of Enoch’, which covers chapters 37 to 71 and otherwise known as the similitude of Enoch (Hamilton, 1967)3. The 72nd to 82nd chapters are known as ‘The Astronomical Book’. This is so called because it is said to be made up of the Heavenly Liminaries, sometimes standing as the name of the third major division of the book. ‘The Book of Dream Visions’ is the name given to the fourth division and it is made up of chapters 83 to 90 whiles ‘The Epistle of Enoch’ concludes the book with chapters 91 to 108. Indeed, the school of thought that holds the divisions of the book into five sections give a clearer and more defined enlistment of the main points of the book as presented by the author. In other words, the main points of the book are made up of the account of the watchers, the parables of Enoch, the heavenly luminaries, the dreams of Enoch and finally the epistle of Enoch. Thesis Indeed, reading through 1 Enoch chapters 1 to 5, one can easily realize that those five chapters form the basis of the book, otherwise known as the introduction of the book. This cannot be disputed much as it lays bare the thesis of the author as well. Right from the early parts of the book, we read of the sharp condemnation that Enoch supposedly gave to the angels, who were described by him as fallen angels. The writer clearly makes the attitude and nature of the fallen angels known to the reader in a manner that would make the reader appreciate the fact that the theme or thesis of the book was on final judgment (Shump, 2009)4. By final judgment, reference is being made of the fact that the writer had a strong convection that nothing could ever be hidden from the sight of God and that for whatever deed that a person puts up on earth, he or she was surely going to reap the results from the Almighty God, who is the final judge of all actions. Another critical attention that this thesis telling the tentative reader is that God is superior to all creatures and that His might and power to judge was not limited to humans alone but to angels as well. There are scholars who actually believe that it is for the sake of the fact that God wanted mankind to have a better understanding of his might and power over all creatures that he gave Enoch this apocalyptic message to send to the people of the world. But it was not all who embraced the thesis as it is reported that one Filastrius found the theme of final judgment, including the exposure of the nature of the fallen angels so infuriating that he openly condemned the book (Hamilton, 1967)5. This indeed shows and justifies the point that the thesis was explicitly stated and not implied. Discussion Canonicity of 1 Enoch So much debate has been going on about the canonicity of the 1 Enoch. From this perspective also, there are two major schools of thought that will be seen. These are those who see 1 Enoch as a canon and those who see the book as non-canonical. Indeed, our discussion would bring us to the realization that it is rather the minority group of theological scholars who consider 1 Enoch to be canonical. These are a few religious sects including the Beta Israel, Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church ((Ursery, 2005)6. Apart from these groups no identified religious sect considers 1 Enoch to be canonical. To this end, the book is generally regarded as non-canonical and that is the description that will be given to the book in the course of our present discussions. A number contextual reasons could be given among reasons why both the Jewish and Christian religions see 1 Enoch to be non-canonical. The first of such reasons is the fact that there are several parts of the book, especially in its early parts that make use of existing Torah (Bendict, 2004)7. To this end, the independence of the writing could not be justified. A clear example of this is the fact that 1 Enoch chapter 1 is seen to be components of the book of Deuteronomy chapter 33. There are some who also refute it dearly in accepting the narration of the fallen angels as presented by the writer as spiritually inspired. On of such people has been Trypho the Jew who has for long debated Justin Martyr on the issue (Mills, 2002)8. All of this not witstanding, 1 Enocj is considered to be a Scripture and a Holy Book for that matter as it has quotes in the New Testament and Old Testaments alike. Examples are Jude 14, which is a quotation of 1 Enoch 1:9 and II Peter 2:4-5 and I Peter 3:19-20 who make several references to the character of Enoch. Modern Comparison with other Apocalyptic Writings The nature and structure of 1 Enoch and particularly its non-canonicity could easily fit it for modern apocalyptic writings. One of such modern apocalyptic writings that can be compared to 1 Enoch is Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius. This particular book is selected because of its style of writing, the use of imagery, its theme and the general reception it received in the religious cycle. Generally, Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius is a non-canonicity like 1 Enoch and also uses a very strong sense of imagery as used by the writer of 1 Enoch in describing some of the typical happenings that commonly take place in heaven. As we read about 1 Enoch, the writer gave a vivid imagery of heaven and how some angels rebelled and were punished by God. In Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius, the highlight is still on the happenings in heaven with so much light shed on the antichrist and his activities. The writer of Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius gives a vivid detailed account of the rise and fall of the antichrist, the invasions of God and Magog, as well as tribulations that would come ahead of the end of the world (Benamy, 2004)9. In the opinion of most scholars, Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius qualifies as the best modern comparison with 1 Enoch because it could somehow be a continuation of the story of the fallen angels and how they would resurface in the affairs of creation at the end of the world. Like the writer of 1 Enoch, the writer of Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius had his work receiving so much public reviews and criticisms especially as the book was seen to have been written as a response to the Islamic take-over of the Near East (Ursery, 2005)10. Analysis How the author demonstrate his point Having identified the thesis of the book as the final judgment, much credit can be given to the writer as having succeeded in clearly proofing the thesis of the book. This is because the author defiled all odds to boldly present an account of the judgmental consequences that a group of creatures, commonly considered to be the holiest (angels) received when they decided to defy the instructions of the holy God of heaven. It is through this strong stand taken by the author that it is said that the author’s arguments were effective. If for nothing at all; he did not show any acts and signs of compromise in making this thesis explained to the ordinary reader. Even though there are some sections of readers and modern theologians who refuse the accept the account given as spiritually inspired, the fact that the writer could bring attention to the fact that judgment is no respecter of creature alone to deserve such shape criticisms alone speaks volumes of how successful he had been with his thesis presentation. From the point that the author takes his argument, it can clearly be defended that the arguments were very persuasive; especially to the modern day religious person who would want to know what happens to him in the eventual end on the Day of Judgment. This is because if the fallen angels were severely punished, and as seen by the modern apocalyptic literature, they would have a rather more disgraceful end, then any person who reads the arguments would be persuaded to consider his ways against walking the path of evil. Author’s attitude toward the subject The attitude of the writer could be described as one of emotional compassion. This is because the writer attached so much emotions in how he used imagery of the events in heaven that led to the fall of the angels and what the fall resulted in. specific reference of this can be given in the book when the writer uses imagery like ‘stormy sky’ to represent the holiness of heaven, ‘vibrating flame’ to represent a tongue of fire, and ‘world’ to represent evil people (Calloway, 2012)11. The writer also wrote saying “But you shall weep” (1 Enoch 4: 21) to warn readers of his emotions and how compassionate he felt for them. For the fact that the writer was highly emotional and personally compassionate towards his writers, it can hardly be said that he was objective in his presentation. Clearly, the author was subjective to his emotions and feelings. This notwithstanding, he used this as an important tool in scoring a lot of points into attracting his readers to his thesis and his general presentation. In this end, the particular attitude that the author reveals towards the subject matter was an attitude of compassion and scary from destruction. Indeed, the writer and the character (Enoch) were shocked by the attitude of the fallen angels and so were disturbed by their actions. Having known angels to be holy beings, he was shocked to see them go against the instructions of the Almighty God. It was this that he did not want the people of the earth to replicate. In the long run, there is an effect on the way he evaluates the evidence in the sense that he became so emotional and vivid that some scholars thereafter refused to accept his presentation and evidence. In the view of these scholars, the writer was more personal and imaginative than spiritually inspired (Mills, 2002)12. Others who agree or disagree Generally, there those who both agree and disagree with the writer as there are those who view the writing as canonical and those who view it as non-canonical. But indeed even among those who see it as non-canonical, there are some portions of the book that they quote in canonical scripture as seen earlier in the books of Deuteronomy and Jude in the Holy Bible. On the other hand, some have greatly and sharply criticized the arguments of the writer, totally disagreeing with him. The basis for some of the disagreements could be due to the fact that the writer did not really mention other positions on the issues he presented. More or less, much of his focus in writing 1 Enoch was on the fallen angels and the relation of this to the final judgment. The evaluation of the position taken was done in such a manner that he uses other major components of the book to shed light on the main argument or thesis. For example it can be seen that there are give major divisions of the book namely account of the watchers, the parables of Enoch, the heavenly luminaries, the dreams of Enoch and finally the epistle of Enoch. While the major thesis or argument is within the account of the Watchers, the writer uses other components like the parables of Enoch, dreams of Enoch and the epistle of Enoch to all evaluate the position taken on the subject matter. The writer could thus be said to be straight forward but unfair for taking only a one sided point of argument. Contribution of Book to personal understanding and Apocalypse Indeed, for the fact that the book gives some apocalyptic accounts of hidden secrets of the spiritual world and succeeds in warning the modern day reader to guide his steps into falling against his own maker and God, it can be said that the books is a successful book that contributes to scholarly debates. If for nothing at all, it brings a relationship between the earthly realm and the heavenly realms. This book has indeed given me a better understanding of the topic and issue of final judgment, helping me know that the Day of Judgment is not going to be a day that the mercies of God are going to abound any longer. If for anything at all, I have today to justify the mercies of God available to me. In a final rhetoric therefore, the book has contributed to my understanding of the subject of final judgment. In relation to what Collin (1979) puts up on the definition of ‘Apocalypse’, I would say that 1 Enoch is an apocalyptic literature as it has brought out hidden revelations of the unseen world to the mortal world. It has also succeeded in installing salvation in a lot more people who read the book and caution them about the supernatural world and how sanctified they should uphold to be. Conclusion Apocalyptic literature is a central part of religion in modern theological studies. Indeed, the importance of apocalyptic literature spans beyond any one religion but goes into accounts of several other religions including Islam, Judaism and Hinduism. With Apocalyptic literature, a prophetic genre is given to the whole idea of literature presentation of various religions. But there is no denying the fact that the Christian and Jewish religions have been the group that has embraced apocalyptic literature the most. Their versions of apocalyptic literature because most popular in post-exile Jewish account as well as in early Christianity (Calloway, 2012)13. The discussion and analysis on 1 Enoch has indeed succeeded in outlining the usefulness of apocalyptic literature, whether or not they are considered to be canonical. Presently, the research paper has brought us to a conclusion that 1 Enoch is non-canonical. This not withstanding, the books have been so essential in the Christian and Jewish religions, especially for the fact that they have been quoted in some canonical texts and literature including books in the Holy Bible. What is more, 1 Enoch also has so much similarities and contextual relation to modern apocalyptic literature, which gives the authenticity of the book so much justification to accepted for applicable use. To this end, the research paper will be concluded with a challenge being thrown to modern scholars, theologians and historians to continue the search for apocalyptic literatures and their relevance to modern day religious living. If for nothing at all, it is known that the bible makes it clear that it was not all accounts of Jesus Christ that were recorded in the bible (Gardener, 2009)14. But should these accounts have been recorded, they would have been so important in guiding a Christian step. To this end, the research and study on authentic apocalyptic literature should continue. REFERENCE LIST Calloway, C. G. First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of Jewish History. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2012. Ursery, Darling. “Apocalyptic Reasoning Guidelines”. New York: Theological Press Limited. 2005. Print. Shump, Bennet. "Medieval Apocalyptic Reasoning: An Emphasis on 1 Enoch and the Ethiopian Episcopal. Greek Apocalyptic Literature (2009), 547-561. Benamy, Rodolfo. Perspective of Biblical Prophecy: The Case of Non-Canonical Scripture. London: PrintMark Publication. 2004. Print. Mills, John. Canonicity of 1 Enoch Revisited. Oxford: University Printing Press. 2002. Print. Gardener, Mahatma. “Glimpses of Early Christian Religion.” New York: Ultimate Press Limited. 2009 Hamilton, G. Dennis. Review of the Similitude of Enoch. The Episcopal Magazine. Vol. 3. No 2, (1967), 23 - 54 Read More