Skip to Content
intertextual.bible
Go to Related Reading
About this book

1 Enoch

About this book
Chapter 63

1 In those days, the mighty and the kings who rule the earth will beg Him for a brief respite from His angels of punishment, to whom they were delivered, so they might kneel and worship before the Lord of Spirits, and confess their sins before Him. 2 They will praise and exalt the Lord of Spirits, saying: 'Blessed is the Lord of Spirits and the Lord of kings, the Lord of the mighty and the Lord of the wealthy, the Lord of glory⁠ and the Lord of wisdom, 3 and Your power is magnificent in every hidden aspect from generation to generation, and Your glory forever and ever: All Your secrets are deep and countless, and Your righteousness is beyond measure.' 4 We now understand that we should praise and bless the Lord of kings and Him who is king over all kings.' 5 They will say: 'If only we had the chance to praise and give thanks and confess our faith before His glory! 6 And now we long for a moment of rest but do not find it: we strive to achieve it but fail; and light has vanished from before us, and darkness is our dwelling place forever and ever.⁠ 7 For we did not believe before Him nor did we glorify the name of the Lord of Spirits,⁠ but our hope was in the scepter of our kingdom, and in our own glory. 8 And on the day of our suffering and tribulation, He does not save us, and we find no time to confess that our Lord is true in all His works, and in His judgments and His justice, and His judgments show no favoritism. 9 And we perish from before His face because of our deeds, and all our sins are accounted in righteousness.' 10 Now they shall say to themselves: 'Our souls are full of illegitimate gain, but it does not prevent us from descending into the depths of Sheol.'⁠ 11 After that, their faces shall be filled with darkness and shame before that Son of Man, and they shall be expelled from His presence, and the sword shall remain before His face among them.⁠ 12 The Lord of Spirits declares: 'This is the decree and judgment concerning the mighty and the kings and the exalted and those who possess the earth before the Lord of Spirits.'

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 63:7 and Apocalypse of Peter 1:44

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Early Christian

Share:

Summary

The Apocalypse of Peter draws on 1 Enoch 63 to describe judgment, where sinners in torment confess too late that they did not believe and plead for mercy, the same speech 1 Enoch gives the kings of the earth.

Passages

1 Enoch 63:7

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
6 And now we long for a moment of rest but do not find it: we strive to achieve it but fail; and light has vanished from before us, and darkness is our dwelling place forever and ever. 7 For we did not believe before Him nor did we glorify the name of the Lord of Spirits, but our hope was in the scepter of our kingdom, and in our own glory. 8 And on the day of our suffering and tribulation, He does not save us, and we find no time to confess that our Lord is true in all His works, and in His judgments and His justice, and His judgments show no favoritism.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Apocalypse of Peter 1:44

Early Christian · Revelation of Peter
43 After this, the angels will bring my elect and righteous, who are perfect in all uprightness, and bear them in their hands, and clothe them with the garments of the life that is above. They will see their desire on those who hated them, when he punishes them, and the torment of every one will be forever according to his works. 44 And all those who are in torment will say with one voice: Have mercy on us, for now we know the judgment of God, which he declared to us beforehand, and we did not believe. And the angel Tatirokos will come and chastise them with yet greater torment, and say to them: Now you repent, when it is no longer the time for repentance, and nothing of life remains. And they will say: The judgment of God is righteous, for we have heard and perceived that his judgment is good; for we are repaid according to our deeds. 45 Then I will give my elect and righteous the washing and the salvation for which they have asked me, in the field of Akrosja, which is called Aneslasleja. They will adorn with flowers the portion of the righteous, and I will go and rejoice with them. I will cause the peoples to enter into my everlasting kingdom, and show them the eternal life on which I have made them set their hope — even I and my Father who is in heaven.
100–150 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Apocalypse of Peter

References

... 6.3.2.4. The Apocalypse of Peter and The Gospel of Peter Composed in the first half of the second century C.E., perhaps in Egypt, the Apocalypse of Peter, an account of his tour of hell, draws on the tradition of which the Book of the Watchers is a fountainhead. The author seems also to have known the Book of Parables. Chapter 4 parallels closely 1 Enoch 61:5, and Apocalypse of Peter 13 appears to paraphrase 1 Enoch 62:15-16; 63:1, 7-9. The motif of Jesus’ journey to the underworld recurs in the Gospel of Peter 39-42, where the object of his preaching is not the spirits in prison (i.e., the fallen angels), but the dead in general. The description of the two angels who accompany Jesus from the tomb is reminiscent of the two angels who accompany Enoch to heaven in 2 Enoch 1 and 3. ...
George W. E. Nickelsburg, A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch Chapters 1-36, 81-108 (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001), 87.

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

Your feedback

1 Enoch 63:7 and Apocalypse of Peter 1:44

Leave a comment

Your questions and comments are welcome!

Comments

Glossary

Search the Library