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1 Enoch

About this book
Chapter 21

1 I went on to where things were chaotic. 2 There I saw something terrible: I saw neither a heaven above nor a firmly founded earth, but a place that was chaotic and terrible.⁠ 3 There I saw seven stars of heaven bound together in it, like great mountains and blazing with fire. 4 Then I said: 'For what sin are they bound, and why have they been thrown in here?'⁠ 5 Then Uriel, one of the holy angels who was with me and was their leader, said: 'Enoch, why do you ask, and why are you so eager for the truth?⁠ 6 These are among the stars of heaven that transgressed the command of the Lord, and they are bound here until ten thousand years, the time fixed for their sins, are completed.'⁠ 7 From there I went to another place, still more terrible than the first, and I saw something dreadful: a great fire there that burned and blazed, and the place was split open as far as the abyss, full of great descending columns of fire.⁠ I could see neither its extent nor its size, nor could I guess at it. 8 Then I said: 'How fearful this place is, and how terrible to look at!' 9 Then Uriel, one of the holy angels who was with me, answered me and said: 'Enoch, why are you so full of fear and fright?' And I answered: 'Because of this fearful place, and because of the sight of this pain.' 10 He said to me: 'This place is the prison of the angels, and here they will be held forever.'⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 21:6 and Revelation 20:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

Revelation 20 describes Satan being bound in the abyss for a set period of time before final judgment, apocalyptic language that echoes 1 Enoch 21 where rebellious stars are confined in an underground prison until their sentence is complete.

Passages

1 Enoch 21:6

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
4 Then I said: 'For what sin are they bound, and why have they been thrown in here?' 5 Then Uriel, one of the holy angels who was with me and was their leader, said: 'Enoch, why do you ask, and why are you so eager for the truth? 6 These are among the stars of heaven that transgressed the command of the Lord, and they are bound here until ten thousand years, the time fixed for their sins, are completed.' 7 From there I went to another place, still more terrible than the first, and I saw something dreadful: a great fire there that burned and blazed, and the place was split open as far as the abyss, full of great descending columns of fire. I could see neither its extent nor its size, nor could I guess at it. 8 Then I said: 'How fearful this place is, and how terrible to look at!'
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Revelation 20:3

New Testament
1 Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain. 2 He seized the dragon—the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan—and tied him up for a thousand years. 3 The angel then threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.) 4 Then I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... The anger and hostility of Satan toward the people of God are here said to be based on his awareness of the temporal limitations God has placed on his activities. According to the eschatological schema of Revelation 20:3, Satan is to be released for a short time (μικρὸς χρόνος) after his thousand-year confinement (in parallels in Jewish apocalypses, the evil angels are not released but are bound until the time of judgment; see 1 Enoch 18:16; 21:6). In Revelation 17:10, the period of activity of the seventh king is described as ὀλίγον (here used as an adverb of time), meaning a “short [time],” again reflecting the foreordained eschatological plan of God ..."
David Aune, Word Biblical Commentary: Revelation 6-16 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017), 726.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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  • In 1 Enoch 21:6 does it literally mean ten thousand of what we measure years present time?

    Lucas Oliver, August 27, 2024

  • I want to know how many stars that came from heaven and reached to the mountain

    Lubega Steven, January 15, 2025

1 Enoch 21:6 and Revelation 20:3

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