The Third Book of Enoch is another biblical apocryphal book, whose origins can only be traced to the fifth century CE.  3 Enoch was supposedly written by Rabbi Ishmael, a leading figure of Merkabah mysticism, who lived after the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.  Hugo Odeberg (1898-1973) edited a critical edition of this work in 1928, 3 Enoch, or the Hebrew Book of Enoch.  Some of the same ideas that there were in 1 Enoch appeared here in 3 Enoch.  Enoch went to heaven in a chariot, was transformed into an angel, and was enthroned in heaven, as well as receiving some cosmological secrets about creation.  The main themes running through 3 Enoch were the ascension of Enoch into heaven and his transformation into the angel Metatron.  This Enoch, whose flesh was turned to flames, his veins to fire, his eye-lashes to flashes of lightning, his eye-balls to flaming torches, received a heavenly transformation into Metatron.  It is impossible to reach a very firm conclusion as to the date of 3 Enoch.  The main problem is the literary character of the work, since it is not the product of a single author at a particular point in time.  This work appears to be from a community tradition which incorporated elements from widely different periods.  Certain rough chronological limits can be established.  3 Enoch can hardly have been written later than the tenth century CE.  This work drew some of its materials from the Babylonian Talmud, so that its final redaction can hardly be earlier than the fifth century CE.  Many of 3 Enoch’s ideas about Metatron and about the heavenly world were known in magical circles in the sixth and seventh centuries CE.  Even though 3 Enoch contains some very old traditions and stands in direct line with developments which had already begun in the Maccabean era, a date for its final redaction in the fifth or the sixth century CE seems appropriate.  Thus, it was probably written after the New Testament but before or during the time of the Quran.  Did you ever think that Enoch was this important?

The Second Book of Enoch is an apocalyptic text, describing the ascent of the patriarch Enoch, an ancestor of Noah, through ten heavens of an earth-centered cosmos.  2 Enoch is distinct from 1 Enoch, and there is also an unrelated 3 Enoch.  The cosmology of 2 Enoch corresponds closely with beliefs about the ancient metaphysical structure of the universe.  Some scholars attribute 2 Enoch to an unidentified Jewish sect, while others regard it as the work of some first-century Jewish-Christians, but it is not included in either the Jewish or the Christian biblical canons.  Thus, 2 Enoch’s composition must be later than that of 1 Enoch. Scholarly efforts have indicated that the Temple was still standing in Jerusalem when this book was written, since there was no indication of the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple.  In fact, 2 Enoch emphasized the importance of sacrificial practices and pilgrimages to this Temple itself.  2 Enoch is also known as “The Book of the Secrets of Enoch”, with its many descriptions of multiple heavens and accounts of battles between angels and devils.  In the first section (chapters 1–22), Enoch, at the age of 365, is taken by two angels through the ten heavens, one by one.  The first heaven is just above the firmament.  The second heaven is where the fallen angels are in prison.  The third heaven is the Garden of Eden.  The fourth heaven is the place of the movements of the sun and the moon.  The fifth heaven is where soldiers of Satan look like human giants.  In the sixth heaven, he sees the angels in charge of governing the cosmos and people.  In the seventh heaven is where the Lord is on his throne.  The eighth heaven is just below the upper firmament in the sky with the constellations.  The ninth heaven is where the change of seasons come from.  The tenth and final heaven is where God’s throne resides and people see God face to face.  In the second section (chapters 23–37), Enoch, now guided by Gabriel, speaks with God in the tenth heaven face to face.  The third section (chapters 38–68) is a list of doctrinal and ethical instructions given by Enoch to his sons.  The last section (chapters 69-73), is sometimes referred to as the Exaltation of Melchizedek.  Thus, some have seen a connection between the Book of Hebrews, chapters 6-8, and this work.  The theological universe of 2 Enoch is deeply rooted in the Jewish Apocalyptic literature of the Second Temple period.  What do you know about apocalyptic literature?

Three books have been ascribed to this Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah, the seventh generation after Adam.  1 Enoch is an ancient Hebrew religious work, attributed to Enoch, but probably dates from about the third century BCE, with the last part belonging to the first century BCE, written in either Aramaic or Hebrew.  Enoch occupied an important position among the Old Testament men of God.  When removed from the earth, Enoch and the prophet Elijah were carried directly to heaven because of their contact with God.  Thus, this apocalyptic writing appeared, purporting to have been composed by Enoch himself, around 200 BCE.  This Book of 1 Enoch was already known to the author of the Book of Jubilees and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, as it became a great favorite in the Christian Church, even quoted in the Epistle of Jude.  Many of the early Christian Fathers used it without hesitation as the genuine production of Enoch, containing authentic divine revelations, although it has never been officially recognized as part of the Hebrew Bible or the canonical New Testament by the Christian Church.  In the twentieth century, Aramaic and Hebrew fragments from four of the five sections of this book were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.  This book was arranged in five sections, just like the Psalms and the Pentateuch.  Section I (chapters 1-36) is mainly concerned with pronouncing God’s judgment on the angels who fell, through their love for the daughters of men in Genesis, 6:1-4, with Enoch’s intercession for them.  There also is a weird description of Hades in this section.  Section II (chapters 37-71) has three parables, or apocalyptic revelations, together with the story of Enoch’s transportation into heaven.  Section III (chapters 72-87) is primarily concerned with furnishing a treatise on astronomy, the secrets of the movement of the stars as revealed to Enoch, who sees with his own eyes their very course, transmitting this information to future generations.  Section IV (chapters 88-90) runs along lines laid down in the first two portions dealing with the problem of sin and the suffering of Israel.  Enoch relates to Methuselah his visions of the deluge, the fall of the angels, and their punishment in the underworld, the deliverance of Noah, the Exodus, the giving of the Law, the conquest of Canaan, the time of the judges, the establishment of the United Kingdom, the building of the Temple, the story of the two kingdoms, the fall of the Northern Kingdom, and the Exile.  This was followed by four periods of angelic rule up to the time of the Maccabean Revolt, the last assault of the gentiles, and the great Judgment.  The last part of Section IV (83-90) contains the prediction of the foundation of the new Jerusalem, the conversion of the gentiles, the resurrection of the righteous, and the coming of the Messiah.  Section V (chapters 91-107) is without any account of the origin of sin but seems to be mainly devoted to the problem of suffering of the righteous and the prosperity of the oppressing sinners.  It denounces evil and utters woes on sinners and promises blessings to the righteous.  Within this section is an older work “The Apocalypse of Weeks”.  Have you ever heard of Enoch?