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1 Enoch

About this book
Chapter 41

1 And then I witnessed all the mysteries of the heavens, how the kingdom is divided, and how the actions of people are weighed on a scale.⁠ 2 There, I saw the dwellings of the chosen and the holy, and my eyes saw all the sinners being expelled, those who deny the name of the Lord of Spirits, dragged away, unable to endure the punishment from the Lord of Spirits. 3 My eyes also saw the mysteries of lightning and thunder, and the secrets of the winds,⁠ how they are distributed to blow across the earth, and the mysteries of the clouds and dew,⁠ observing where they originate and how they moisten the dusty earth.⁠ 4 I saw hidden chambers from which the winds are dispersed, the chamber for hail and winds, the chamber for mist, and of the clouds, with the cloud above floating over the earth since the beginning of time. 5 I observed the chambers of the sun and moon, where they emerge and return, their magnificent reappearance,⁠ how one surpasses the other in splendor, their majestic orbit, and how they remain faithful to their orbit, adding nothing and taking nothing from it, keeping their promise to each other, as per the oath that binds them. 6 First, the sun emerges and follows its course as commanded by the Lord of Spirits, whose name is mighty forever and ever. 7 Then I saw the hidden and visible paths of the moon, as it completes its journey day and night—one position opposing the other—before the Lord of Spirits, offering thanks and praise without rest, for their rest is in their thanksgiving. 8 For the sun often changes for a blessing or a curse, and the path of the moon brings light to the righteous and darkness to the sinners in the name of the Lord, who separated the light from the darkness,⁠ divided the spirits of people, and strengthened the spirits of the righteous in the name of His righteousness.⁠ 9 No angel can hinder nor any power obstruct; for He appoints a judge for them all and He judges them all before Him.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 41:9 and Romans 8:38

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

Romans 8 says that angels and other cosmic powers cannot prevent the future of the faithful, using language similar to 1 Enoch, where no angel or force can stop God’s judgment. Both reflect a Jewish tradition that imagined a hierarchy of divine beings.

Passages

1 Enoch 41:9

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
8 For the sun often changes for a blessing or a curse, and the path of the moon brings light to the righteous and darkness to the sinners in the name of the Lord, who separated the light from the darkness, divided the spirits of people, and strengthened the spirits of the righteous in the name of His righteousness. 9 No angel can hinder nor any power obstruct; for He appoints a judge for them all and He judges them all before Him.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Romans 8:38

New Testament
36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
55–58 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Romans

References

"... it appears to have been a time of flourishing for speculation about angelology and demonology in Second Temple Judaism. Books which were produced in this period, such as those contained in 1 Enoch, greatly influenced the thinking of early Christians on heavenly powers (including some of the authors of the New Testament). Furthermore, many of the Jewish eschatological traditions which influenced Pauline thought were born in the late Hellenistic period. Even later works which postdate Paul (both Jewish and Christian) may use vocabulary and concepts with which he was familiar ..."
Frederick Christian Wright, “Astral and Angelic Powers in Romans 8:38–39” (diss., Harding School of Theology, 2020), 4–5.

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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1 Enoch 41:9 and Romans 8:38

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