Texts in Conversation
2 Enoch builds on Isaiah's description of divine judgment against heavenly beings who are imprisoned and punished, following apocalyptic traditions where earlier prophetic visions become descriptions of final judgment.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Isaiah 24:21
Hebrew Bible
19 The earth is broken in pieces, the earth is ripped to shreds, the earth shakes violently. 20 The earth will stagger around like a drunk; it will sway back and forth like a hut in a windstorm. Its sin will weigh it down, and it will fall and never get up again. 21 At that time the Lord will punish the heavenly forces in the heavens and the earthly kings on the earth. 22 They will be imprisoned in a pit, locked up in a prison, and after staying there for a long time, they will be punished. 23 The full moon will be covered up, the bright sun will be darkened; for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will rule on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor.
Date: 740–450 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
2 Enoch 7:1
Secrets of Enoch
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 And those men took me and led me up onto the second heaven, and showed me darkness, greater than earthly darkness, and there I saw prisoners hanging, watched, awaiting the great and boundless judgment, 2 and these angels were dark-looking, more than earthly darkness, and incessantly weeping through all hours, and I said to the men who were with me:
Date: 1–100 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Search:
Notes and References
"... Some scholars are content to say that this latter activity is an aspect of Jesus’ postresurrection activity and is not directly linked to the ascension. W. J. Dalton and P. J. Achtemeier, with the aid of Jewish apocalyptic reflection, make their cases for the “preaching to spirits in prison” as proclaiming victory or confirming condemnation to fallen angels, the sons of God (Genesis 6:1–6) now in bondage in one of the heavens Jesus passes through on his ascent to the Father’s presence (2 Enoch 7:1–3; 18:3–6; Testament of Levi 3:2; 1 Enoch 12:4–6; 13:3; 14:3–6; 16:3) ... Although Jewish angelology is far more systematic and imaginative following the exile, several precedents for angel typology suggest themselves in the Old Testament: Isaiah 14:5–23, a taunt against “the king of Babylon”; Isaiah 24:21–22, a symbolic representation of Yahweh’s judgment; and Ezekiel 28:1–19, a prophetic funeral dirge against the “king of Tyre.” With the angels these figures share a common fate: each is stripped of an exalted rank. While the idea of “imprisoned spirits” is unrefined in the Old Testament and pronounced in Jewish apocalyptic, Jude appears to combine typological treatment of the OT with conventional notions of angelology. Apocalyptic mythology frequently exhibits a conspicuous pattern: war erupts in heaven (depicted in astral terms), followed by a spilling over of this rebellion to earth, resulting in ultimate vindication and punishment by the king of heaven ..."
Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids, eds., Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997), 205, 1211.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,