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1 Enoch

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Chapter 46

1 And there I saw One who had a head of days, and His head was white like wool. With Him was another being who had the appearance of a man, and his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels.⁠ 2 And I asked the angel who accompanied me and showed me all the hidden things, about that Son of Man, who he was, where he was from, and why he accompanied the Head of Days? 3 The angel answered and said to me: 'This is the Son of Man who possesses righteousness, with whom righteousness dwells, and who reveals all the hidden treasures, because the Lord of Spirits has chosen him, and his status is foremost before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness forever.'⁠ 4 'And this Son of Man whom you have seen will raise up the kings and the mighty from their seats, and the strong from their thrones, will loosen the reins of the strong, and break the teeth of the sinners.'⁠ 5 'And he shall depose the kings from their thrones and kingdoms because they do not praise and honor Him, nor humbly acknowledge where the kingdom was bestowed upon them.' 6 'And he shall humble the faces of the strong, and fill them with shame. And darkness shall be their dwelling, and worms shall be their bed, and they shall have no hope of rising from their beds, because they do not praise the name of the Lord of Spirits.' 7 'And these are those who judge the stars of heaven, and raise their hands against the Most High, and tread upon the earth and dwell upon it. And all their deeds manifest unrighteousness, and their power rests on their riches, and their faith is in the gods which they have made with their hands, and they deny the name of the Lord of Spirits.' 8 'And they persecute the houses of His congregations, and the faithful who depend on the name of the Lord of Spirits.'⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 46:3 and Colossians 2:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

1 Enoch describes the Son of Man as the one who reveals hidden treasures reserved by God, a role connected to divine authority. Colossians follows this pattern by declaring that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Jesus.

Passages

1 Enoch 46:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 And there I saw One who had a head of days, and His head was white like wool. With Him was another being who had the appearance of a man, and his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels. 2 And I asked the angel who accompanied me and showed me all the hidden things, about that Son of Man, who he was, where he was from, and why he accompanied the Head of Days? 3 The angel answered and said to me: 'This is the Son of Man who possesses righteousness, with whom righteousness dwells, and who reveals all the hidden treasures, because the Lord of Spirits has chosen him, and his status is foremost before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness forever.' 4 'And this Son of Man whom you have seen will raise up the kings and the mighty from their seats, and the strong from their thrones, will loosen the reins of the strong, and break the teeth of the sinners.' 5 'And he shall depose the kings from their thrones and kingdoms because they do not praise and honor Him, nor humbly acknowledge where the kingdom was bestowed upon them.'
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Colossians 2:3

New Testament
1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face. 2 My goal is that their hearts, having been knit together in love, may be encouraged, and that they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this so that no one will deceive you through arguments that sound reasonable. 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
80–85 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Colossians

References

"... Central to apocalyptic thought was the view that certain events, especially those connected with the kingdom of God and the Messiah, had been hidden in God's eternal purposes but were now revealed to the seer (compare, for example, 1 Enoch 46:3), and of course such an idea was susceptible to development along lines in which it became associated with esoteric knowledge available only to an elite. But for Paul, as for Jewish apocalyptic, 'hiddenness' was a historical and not a mystical concept. That which was hidden was not yet revealed. Because he knew that God's plan of salvation had been fulfilled in Christ Paul could see that the mystery hidden for ages had been revealed (Colossians 1:26, 27) but that it also unfolds in two stages so that part remains hidden, awaiting revelation at Christ's final coming (3:4). This concept overlaps with another apocalyptic motif we have frequently encountered, that of future salvation being present in heaven until its revelation ..."
Andrew T. Lincoln, Paradise Now and Not Yet: Studies in the Role of the Heavenly Dimension in Paul's Thought with Special Reference to His Eschatology, SNTSMS 43 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981), 129.

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 46:3 and Colossians 2:3

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