THE BOOK OF ENOCH

The book of Enoch was rejected by the Roman Catholic Church and considered as Apocryphal and this is easy to understand due to the complexity of the things it tells about and the dread and strangeness it must have provoked in Catholic Christians who were already far away from the contact with the apostles. However, even though it has been expurgated from Catholic usage, it is in the book of Enoch that we find the narrative about the angelic world and the relationship between men and angels written in a prophetic tone. Only careful reading today can make us see the beauty and value of a book that comes very close to the narrative style of Daniel and John the Evangelist when he writes in Patmos. "Enoch walked with God, after he begat Methuselah, three hundred years; and he begat sons and daughters." Genesis 5:22

In more than one respect the Book of Enoch is an important factor in these investigations. Being one of the oldest specimens of apocalyptic literature; reflecting in its different parts the convictions, feelings, and longings of the people of God at different stages of their development; written in imitation of the spirit of the prophets, with religious purposes and spiritual objects; it can safely be said to be an invaluable aid to the understanding of the religious and moral atmosphere in which the Saviour lived.