SOP & Book of Enoch

[Clio]

http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2001/enoch_cal.html

In the footnotes of this article, Item 5

The introduction to the Laurence translation summarizes: "Reverting to the second century of Christianity, we find Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria citing the Book of Enoch without questioning its sacred character. . . . Tertullian, who flourished at the close of the first and at the beginning of the second century, . . . speaks of the author as 'the most ancient prophet, Enoch' an of the book as the divinely inspired autograph of that immortal patriarch, preserved by Noah in the ark. . . . Tertullian adds [that it was] 'disavowed by the Jews like all other scripture which speaks of Christ.' . . . Origen (AD 254) assigns to the Book of Enoch the same authority as to the Psalms [but] affirms that the work of the antediluvian patriarch was not accepted in the Churches as Divine." (Laurence, pp. iv-v). Thus, by the third century the work was beginning to be questioned. R.H. Charles notes that "from the fourth century of our era onward it fell into discredit; and under the ban of such authorities as Hilary, Jerome and Augustine, it gradually passed out of circulation, and became lost to the knowledge of Western Christendom . . ." (The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1913, vol. 2, p. 163.)

[Guest]

http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2001/enoch_cal.html

In the footnotes of this article, Item 5

The introduction to the Laurence translation summarizes: "Reverting to the second century of Christianity, we find Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria citing the Book of Enoch without questioning its sacred character. . . . Tertullian, who flourished at the close of the first and at the beginning of the second century, . . . speaks of the author as 'the most ancient prophet, Enoch' an of the book as the divinely inspired autograph of that immortal patriarch, preserved by Noah in the ark. . . . Tertullian adds [that it was] 'disavowed by the Jews like all other scripture which speaks of Christ.' . . . Origen (AD 254) assigns to the Book of Enoch the same authority as to the Psalms [but] affirms that the work of the antediluvian patriarch was not accepted in the Churches as Divine." (Laurence, pp. iv-v). Thus, by the third century the work was beginning to be questioned. R.H. Charles notes that "from the fourth century of our era onward it fell into discredit; and under the ban of such authorities as Hilary, Jerome and Augustine, it gradually passed out of circulation, and became lost to the knowledge of Western Christendom . . ." (The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1913, vol. 2, p. 163.)

[Gregory Matthews]

Two comments:

1) The fact, if true, that a book was inspired does not mean that it was ever in the Canon of Scripture (Bible). Inspiration and cannonicity are two different issues.

2) The fact that a Biblical writer references a specific book (such as Enoch) does not mean that a book we now know as Enoch was the same book referenced by the Biblical writer.

[Woody]

By the way ... WHICH SOP are we talking about here ?

Rev.19:10 says that "the Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy"

OR are there two SOPs ??

[Clio]

Two comments:

1) The fact, if true, that a book was inspired does not mean that it was ever in the Canon of Scripture (Bible). Inspiration and cannonicity are two different issues.

2) The fact that a Biblical writer references a specific book (such as Enoch) does not mean that a book we now know as Enoch was the same book referenced by the Biblical writer.

In total agreement with both comments Gregory.

[bevin]

Quote:

The fact that a Biblical writer references a specific book (such as Enoch) does not mean that a book we now know as Enoch was the same book referenced by the Biblical writer.

In this case it is not the name of the book that we know, but rather two verses - one in Jude and one in Enoch - that match.

We are fairly sure about the texts of most of the OT books we have today matching those of Jesus day - because of the Dead Sea scrolls and other finds

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch says there are several books attributed to Enoch - and the texts we have date to 160BC, well before Jude was written

/Bevin