Now let’s pay attention to the sights Enoch reports seeing on his spiritual journey.
18.1 And I saw the storehouses of all the winds, and I saw how with them He has adorned all creation, and I saw the foundations of the Earth.
18.2 And I saw the cornerstone of the Earth. And I saw the four winds which support the Earth and the Sky.
18.3 And I saw how the winds stretch out the height of Heaven, and how they position themselves between Heaven and Earth; they are the Pillars of Heaven.
18.4 And I saw the winds which turn the sky and cause the disc of the Sun and all the stars to set.
18.5 And I saw the winds on the Earth which support the clouds and I saw the paths of the Angels. I saw at the end of the Earth; the firmament of Heaven above.
18.6 And I went towards the south, and it was burning day and night, where there were seven mountains Of precious stones, three towards the east and three towards the south.
18.7 And those towards the east were of coloured stone, and one was of pearl, and one of healing stone; and those towards the south, of red stone.
18.8 And the middle one reached to Heaven, like the throne of the Lord, of stibium, and the top of the throne was of sapphire.
18.9 And I saw a burning fire, and what was in all the mountains.
18.10 And I saw a place there, beyond the great earth; there the waters gathered together.
18.11 And I saw a deep chasm of the earth, with pillars of heavenly fire, and I saw among them fiery pillars of Heaven, which were falling, and as regards both height and depth, they were immeasurable.
18.12 And beyond this chasm, I saw a place, and it had neither the sky above it, nor the foundation of earth below it; there was no water on it, and no birds, but it was a desert place.
18.13 And a terrible thing I saw there, seven stars, like great burning mountains.
18.14 And like a spirit questioning me, the Angel said: 'This is the place of the end of Heaven and Earth; this is the prison for the Stars of Heaven and the Host of Heaven.
18.15 And the stars which roll over the fire, these are the ones which transgressed the command of the Lord, from the beginning of their rising, because they did not come out at their proper times.
18.16 And He was angry with them, and bound them until the time of the consummation of their sin, in the Year of Mystery."
This passage is filled with metaphor. Remember, Enoch is not giving us a lesson in astrophysics, but a description of what he saw in the spiritual realm. So we can’t criticize him for his poor understanding of physical cosmology, he wasn’t in the physical world at the time. Verses one to five are an overview of the trip to the place of imprisonment for the angels who transgressed against God. In another translation, the seven mountains in verses six ans seven are said to be made of metal. That was the basis for Hermetic alchemy. The alchemists claim that the metals each represent stages of spiritual awakening and growth. But anyone who thinks he can make himself like God without divine intervention is fooling himself in the first place. This hubris was the sin of Lucifer.
Verses eight and nine describe the throne of God. Apparently the stibium is the transliteration of the Ethiopian Coptic word for the Hebrew word shaboath. One of the titles of the Most High God is Lord of Shaboath, which we translate into the Lord of Hosts. The burning fire is a good metaphor for the ever luminescent brilliance of the uncreated light of God. This is the light that shone from Jesus on Mount Tabor in Judea when He was transfigured in the Gospels at the Feast of Tabernacles.
Verse eleven contains a description of angels in their natural form, ‘pillars of heavenly fire.’ Remember Enoch’s description of angels in the previous chapter changing form a form of fire into an androgynous form. So the pillars of fire he saw standing around to chasm are the legions of Saraqael, the guardian of the abyss. The pillars he saw falling from Heaven are the angels being cast into prison to await judgment in the Day of Judgment. The book interprets itself if you pay attention.
The strange turn of phrase in verse eighteen, ‘like a spirit questioning me,’ should probably be rendered ‘like an angel teaching me.’ The practice of teaching by asking the student questions is far older than Socrates and his Academy. We still use this method of teaching in the older catechisms of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The wordκατεχίσμος from which we get our English word catechism is Greek for teaching with questions and answers.
Enoch is the first author to refer to angels as stars of heaven. In their natural form, angels shine bright like stars and heaven is another word for sky. So the metaphor fits quite naturally. He tells us the things the angel said about those angels in the abyss or chasm. They are bound until the ‘Day of the Consummation of their sin in the Year of Mystery.’ Why is it called the Year of Mystery? God has not revealed to anyone when that judgment shall be, only that it is coming. Therefore, the exact time remains a mystery until it arrives. We have been given signs to watch for, but dates and hours are not in the prophecies.
It is obvious from this passage that this spiritual chasm, this abyss, was not created for humanity. But God will allow humans to go there if they really want to get away from Him. I do not see the separation of those who hate God from His presence as a vindictive punishment, but rather as a mercy for those who cannot abide in the eternal presence of absolute holiness and purest love. Hell, the place Dante wrote about, is mostly fictitious. The fires of hell are the despair and loathing of the ones who are sent there. And the description that Jesus Gave is echoed in Enoch’s description, ‘outer darkness where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.’
Since this is not the planned end for humanity, why would anyone willingly put himself there? If you are in rebellion to the Creator of the universes, it’s past time for you to change the way you think. Repent and reunite with the One Who loves you enough to die for you salvation from the bondage of sin and death. You don’t have to slide down the slippery slope of the chasm. You can climb the middle mountain to the very throne of the Most High. It’s your choice.
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