Thanks for being patient with me in my slow response to the problem I posed last week from Jude 14,15. I had to try to come up with an answer you would accept(just kiddin). My point in presenting the problem is to make us aware that there are genuine problems we must face as christians and that we do not help bring people to faith by glossing over such matters with a "nobody knows" or "well I just believe". It may be that we eventually conclude that nobody knows, but it should be after investigation of the problem and not before.

Also we should not make statements that informed people would immediately reject along with rejecting our credibility. The following is a quote from Jude 14, followed by 1Enoch 1:9:

Jude 14 "Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: See, the Lord is coming with thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him."

1 Enoch 1:9 "Behold, he will arrive with ten 10 million of the holy ones to execute judgment upon all. He will destroy the wicked ones and censure all flesh on account of everything that they have done, that which the sinners and the wicked ones committed against him"

While our English translations of the two texts are not completely parallel, the thought is and is similiar to N.T. translation of Old Testament texts. There were several editions and translations of 1 Enoch and it is difficult to know which text Jude quoted from. Most scholars believe that 1
Enoch was written originally in Hebrew or Aramaic and later translated into Greek and Ethiopic.

1 Enoch seems to have been written primarily to explain Gen. 6:4 where Scripture says that the sons of God married the daughters of men. Some interpreters have explained the sons of God as descendents of Seth. However, it seems that the dominant view among both Jews and Christians of the first two centuries of the Christian era was that the "sons of God" were angels. In Job and several other Old Testament texts, sons of God was used to describe angels. 1 Enoch is the first source of which we are aware that goes into great detail in explaining that the sons of God were angels and the consequences of their marrying women.

According to Enoch, the offspring of the union between sons of God and the daughters of men were the nephilim or giants. The rebel angels who left heaven to have sex with women influenced the earth in a very evil way which resulted in the corruption of human flesh which caused God to send a flood. The angels were ultimately bound in tartaurus to await the final judgment. John's appeal to the binding of Satan in Rev.20:1ff and Peter and Jude's reference to the binding of the spirits seem to reflect the same understanding as found in 1 Enoch(cf. 2 Pet. 2:4-6 and Jude 5 ff., as well as 1 Pet. 3:18-22).

No biblical scholar to my knowledge would deny some type of connection between Jude and 1 Enoch, but not all are agreed on the exact connection and the meaning of the connection. The following possibilites are usually presented, but not all have the same likelihood of success in explaining the relationship:

1. Jude was written before 1 Enoch and the author of 1 Enoch used Jude.

2. 1 Enoch was written first and Jude used 1 Enoch.

3. Both used an earlier oral tradition that claimed to come from pre-flood Enoch who walked with God.

The first view is endorsed by Guy N. Woods in his 1962 commentary in the Gospel Advocate series. This view can easily be dismissed because fragments of 1 Enoch have been discovered at Qumran which have been carbon dated back to 100 b.c.. Woods probably thought he was offering an explanation that would help support biblical inspiration, but when we offer interpretations that prove to be so obviously wrong we actually lose credibility.

The third interpretation cannot be totally disproved, but the evidence for it is non-existant.

The second interpretation is the only one that harmonizes with the evidence available to us.

If we conclude that Jude quotes from a non-bibical book and uses the verb "prophesied" in his description of this author's quote, are we faced with the following dilemma: either 1 Enoch was inspired and should be in the bible or Jude is not inspired and should not be in the bible. Furthermore no scholar(liberal or conservative) to my knowledge would claim that the Enoch, 7th from Adam really spoke those words. Some would argue that a hint of such a saying might have been passed along through Noah and his family on through the centuries until about 200 b.c. when the author of 1 Enoch included it in his text, but few take this suggestion seriously.

An examination of Christian interpretation of this matter in the first couple of centuries illustrates the problem. Earliest interpreter from about a.d. 100 to 250 concluded that Jude was inspired and so was 1 Enoch. By a.d. 350 most had concluded that 1 Enoch was not inspired and that as a result Jude was suspect. Jude was one of the last books to be accepted as inspired and much of the reluctance was based on his use of 1 Enoch, as well as a writing called "The Assumption of Moses". Jude 9 refers to Michael's quarrel with Satan over the body of Moses. The Old Testament does not contain that story, but early christians referred to the just mentioned work as containing it. Of course, "The Assumption of Moses" is not viewed as inspired by the early christians and is no longer extant. These two quotes from non-biblical sources made it tough sledding for Jude, but ultimately it made its way into the canon of Scripture.

Martin Luther and some of the other reformers came to question some of the books that had been accepted by the church councils as inspired. Carroll Osburn of Abilene Christian University has questioned Jude's canonical status because of the issue we are discussing.

Some facts to consider:

1. There are many references in the bible to writings not contained in Scripture. Check out the following texts: Esther 10:2; 2:23; 1Chron. 27:24; 2 Chron. 26:22; 1 Chron.29:29; Num.21:14; 2chron.33:19; 2 Chron.20:34; 2Chron. 12:15; 2 Chron.13:22; 2 Chron9:29; 2 Chron. 12:15; 1 Kings 11:41; Josh. 10:13.

2. We know that Paul quotes Greek poets and even describes one as a prophet of the Cretans (Titus 1:12).

3. A truth can be contained in a book when not all in the book would be argued as true. I often quote points from authors to support an argument, while I would take issue with the author on some other matter about which he wrote.

4. We don't know as much about some matters as we may think we know. One such matter is the inspiration of scripture and how that works. We know that Luke researched other written documents and oral traditions before he wrote his Gospel, yet we trust that he wrote what God wanted Him to write. Was Luke inspired? Faith says he was, but he did research before writing so that he didn't just sit down at the table waiting for the Holy Spirit to start moving his hand on the papyrus or parchment.

After exhausting our knowledge and theories we will still be left with questions, but so is the athiest and critic of scripture. We need not be afraid of facts, but we should be skeptical of a faith that is willing to ignore the facts, and we should realize that such a faith will not win many serious questioners. We must be prepared to give an answer even if the answer may not be totally satisfying to others or even ourselves( cf.1Peter 3:15).

If this essay has raised further questions or failed to make sense to you, please blog me with your frank and even brutal responses. I will try to love you even if you have a problem with my conclusions. I said I would try, but try not to make it too hard for me, o.k.