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2 Peter 2:4 KJV — For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
Jude 1:6 KJV — And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
The concept of angels being bound in chains appears in the Book of Enoch:
with them in all their uncleanness. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is
13 for ever and ever is consummated… — Enoch 10:12-13
I understand that the older and less adulterated Aramaic text is different from the Ethiopic one, but in regards to this fragment, they seem tk correspond.
Does the concept of fallen angels being chained until the Final Judgement in the New Testament come from the Book of Enoch, or does the idea have its source in the Old Testament? If it does come from the book of Enoch, then how does this affect the idea of the divine origin of the Bible?
Thank you.
Anonymous
The writers of the New Testament were fully aware of the book of Enoch, thereby Peter and Jude, could be viewed as having Enochian scripting. Augustine was not a fan, thus our theology we follow today is heavily Augustinian. The book of Enoch was also not written in the holy language of Hebrew which automatically excluded it from the OT canon of scripture. The Ethiopian church however accepted it.
Anonymous
Karsten Wille Considering all this, should the Book of Enoch be taken as the inspired word of God? In short, no. There is much evidence that the Book of Enoch is not part of the Bible.
Let’s start with Jude 14–15, because a popular claim suggests that these two verses quote the Book of Enoch and therefore show that this book is “missing” from the Bible.
Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
This passage is very similar to a passage in the Book of Enoch. However, notice that Jude didn’t mention the Book of Enoch—he didn’t write, “the Book of Enoch says.” Instead, he quoted Enoch’s prophecy, which, while not recorded elsewhere in the Bible, could very well have been part of the knowledge and traditions that had been passed down at that time. There is no proof that Jude was quoting from the Book of Enoch, which itself could easily have been quoting something else.
Another reason is that the Book of Enoch is a pseudepigraphic work, which, as we’ve seen, means that it falsely used Enoch’s name. Enoch lived more than 3,000 years before the book was written. The Lexham Bible Dictionary confirms that “‘pseudepigrapha’ literally means ‘falsely ascribed writings,’ and refers to works that falsely claim to be written by a specific author.” The very title of the Book of Enoch is a lie.
A third reason is that the canon of the Old Testament was completed by Ezra and Nehemiah in about 420 BC. This is likely 100–200 years before the Book of Enoch was written. Romans 3:1–2 says that God entrusted the Hebrew Scriptures to the Jews, and according to them, the Book of Enoch is not a part of those inspired Scriptures, which they call the Tanakh.
Additionally, the Book of Enoch contains far-fetched information that the Bible refutes. For instance, it describes fallen angels having sexual relations with human women to produce a race of giants called “Nephilim.” This is a popular but incorrect—even potentially blasphemous—belief that some try to add to Genesis 6. Our telecast titled “Six Myths About Angels and Demons” explains and debunks the concept of fallen angels fathering giants. This is just one example of dubious information in the Book of Enoch that does not align with the Bible.
Lastly, there is abundant evidence that the Bible is a complete book, inerrant in its original form. The Book of Enoch contains material that can pique the interest of those with “itching ears” who want to “hear some new thing” (2 Timothy 4:3; Acts 17:21). Such “juicy” materials are especially dangerous when they attempt to corrupt understanding of God’s true word.
Anonymous
Troy Day All very good arguments. I critically appreciate a lot of this in my most recent publication from ‘Greatness University’.
Anonymous
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Angelic-Host-Investigating-Angels-Literature/dp/191316411X/ref=sr_1_2?crid=FZYAZQ3N60DR&keywords=Karsten+wille&qid=1690554990&sprefix=karsten+wille%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-2