Enoch

Who Was Enoch in the Bible?

There are two Enochs in the Bible. The first Enoch is the son of Cain, mentioned in Genesis 4. Cain is the son of Adam and the brother of Abel. Cain killing Abel is the first recorded murder or homicide. In verse seventeen, "Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he built a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch."

We read about a second Enoch in Genesis 5. Enoch is the son of Jared, who is the son of Mahalaleel. Mahalaleel is the son of Cainan who was the son of Enos who was the son of Seth. Seth was the son of Adam. So, Enoch was Adam's great, great, great, great-grandson.

At age 65, Enoch had a son named Methuselah. Afterward, Enoch walked with God for 300 more years and had children. Then, Enoch was not. God took Enoch to heaven. Enoch did not die. He was raptured up.

Enoch's son Methuselah was the oldest living man who lived to be 969 years old (Genesis 5:26). Enoch is the great-grandfather of Noah. God commissioned Noah to build an ark before the flood that destroyed all humanity and animals except those in the ark (Genesis 6-9). Noah also walked with God (Genesis 6:9).

Enoch is one of two people listed in the Bible who God took and did not die. The other is Elijah, who God took to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). Elijah knew he would leave this earth dramatically.

What Happens in the Book of Enoch?

The book of Enoch is an ancient Hebrew apocalyptic religious text. There are three books of Enoch, their contents discussing demons, giants, angels, and why the flood was morally necessary. None of the books of Enoch are included in the traditional Christian Bible. For this article's purposes, we will focus on the first book of Enoch.

Some translations of the book of Enoch are easier to follow than others. Enoch 1 is consistent with the fall of the watchers, or angels, as referenced in Genesis 6:1-2: "The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair and took them as wives." Even though this element may be consistent with some references in the Bible, this does not necessarily mean it is inspired Scripture. Many writers often allude to events that are true to reel people in or to give their writing credibility.

The book of Enoch goes on to describe the fallen angels having children with the daughters of man, thus creating giants. Much wickedness comes from the giants (along with other sins mentioned in the book, such as witchcraft).

Enoch 1 also describes dialogues between God and different angels, like Raphael and Gabriel, who are charged to help execute judgment. The book of Enoch lists about 200 fallen angels.

The Bible refers to Lucifer's fall from heaven in Isaiah 14:12, and Revelation 12:4 describes the dragon (Satan) and his tail drawing a third of the stars from heaven. Based on these two scenes, many Christians believe Satan took a third of the angels with him when he was banished from heaven. However, the Bible doesn't specify whether that third of the angels was 200 angels or a different number.

It is worth noting that the closest the Bible gives to an exact number of angels in heaven is in Revelation 5:11:

"I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands."

If this is a literal summary of all the angels in heaven, that would make the angel population at least one hundred million (ten thousand times ten thousand), not to mention the thousands of thousands.