Is a Book Missing from the Canon?

 

Most say, no.  But I say there may be one—a very important one.

 

The following is excerpted from my book, The Perfect Ending for the World, pp-165-166.

 

Enoch’s ‘70th Generation’ Prophecy

During the four hundred year period after the writing of the last Old Testament book (circa 400 B.C.) and prior to the birth of Jesus, other prophetic books were written that were never later canonized by the Church—i.e., made part of the Bible. One of these was the Book of Enoch. It is also called 1 Enoch or the Lost Book of Enoch. Most likely, it was preserved by oral tradition from an ancient date and written down by an unknown scribe some time between 200 – 80 B.C.

 

In New Testament times, this Book of Enoch was a well-known prophecy in Jewish circles. Fragments of at least eight separate copies have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Interestingly, the early Church held it in high regard and gave it almost canonical status. More than fifty verses throughout the New Testament appear to come word-for-word from or were possibly influenced by the Book of Enoch. Several early church writers quoted from it. And, it was used in the Church until the 3rd century, when it disappeared.

 

The book begins like the book of Revelation with an angel speaking to Enoch predicting “the day of tribulation,” the coming of “the Holy Great One,” and the “judgment upon all.” The angel, however, tells Enoch that this prophecy is “not for this generation, but for a remote one which is for to come” (1 Enoch 1:1-3).

 

Most Christian scholars maintain that this “remote” time still is in our future. But according to 1 Enoch 10:12, this judgment would occur exactly “seventy generations” from the man Enoch’s generation (see Gen. 5.18-24).

 

In the New Testament book of Jude, Jude both cites the man Enoch of Genesis 5 and quotes directly from the prophecy of the Book of Enoch. Hence, Jude intimates that the origin of this prophecy was the seventh patriarch, Enoch. Contextually, the book of Jude discuss “certain men,” there and then present in that 1st century, “whose condemnation was written about long ago” (Jude 4, 11-13). It refers to Enoch’s same impending “judgment on the great Day” (Jude 6). By inspiration, Jude writes and quotes 1 Enoch 1:9, thusly:

 

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone . . . .” (Jude 14-15)

 

The question is, when would this coming and the judgment of all take place? It’s not difficult to figure out. The Book of Enoch had said it would be “seventy generations” from Enoch’s time. These generations are chronologically listed in Luke’s gospel (see Luke 3:23-37). Since Luke said he had “carefully investigated everything from the beginning” and desired “to write an orderly account . . . so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:3-4), we can have confidence in his records. If we count backward through Luke’s “the-sons-of” generations, starting with Jesus’ generation, we discover that there were exactly seventy generations back to Enoch. Thus, Jesus’ generation was that 70th generation from Enoch’s generation. That means Jesus’ generation was the time period predicted by the Book of Enoch for the Lord’s coming in judgment and the judgment of all.

 

So what happened to this highly esteemed Book of Enoch? It was never canonized and disappeared around the 3rd or 4th century A.D. Consequently, it became known as the Lost Book of Enoch. A complete manuscript wasn’t discovered until A.D. 1768 in Ethiopia.

 

Some theorize that its precise time prophecy was too radical (and past in fulfillment) for the Church’s futuristic-oriented canon committees. It surely didn’t fit with their idea that Jesus’ coming in judgment was still future. It is further speculated that the Catholic Church destroyed all copies and that is why it only survived in Ethiopia. Others reason that it contains contradictions with other church doctrines and that its origin was the work of several writers. Therefore, it couldn’t pass canonization requirements.

 

Of course, the Book of Enoch has not been considered inspired Scripture. But there are two significant exceptions: 1) It was somewhat regarded as inspired in Jude’s time. 2) Jude’s direct quote turned 1 Enoch 1:9 into Scripture. So surely it has some merit.

 

What cannot be overemphasized is that the Book of Enoch’s 70th-generation prophecy is in complete harmony and perfect consistency with the plain, natural, and literal understanding of Jesus’ “this generation” time prophecy, and with the contemporary expectations of the inspired New Testament writers. All three sources bear a powerful and uniform witness to the 1st-century A.D. as the time of Jesus’ coming on the clouds in age-ending judgment.

 

For more on The Perfect Ending for the World – go to Amazon.com and “Look Inside.”