The Book of Enoch Commentary - Chapter 43
The Book of Enoch Commentary - Chapter 43
CHAPTER 43 source
Abraham 3:1 And I, Abraham, had the Urim and Thummim, which the Lord my God had given unto me, in Ur of the Chaldees;
2 And I saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it;
There were man great and very great "starts" near the throne of God. Of course, stars here is a type of the noble and great ones Abraham speaks of at the end who were present at the onset of the creation of this world. The whole chapter is a buildup to this pre-Earth scene where Abraham is shown degrees of glory between stars and those degrees are likened to man's progression.
Abraham 3:16 If two things exist, and there be one above the other, there shall be greater things above them; therefore Kolob is the greatest of all the Kokaubeam that thou hast seen, because it is nearest unto me.
The Lord then likens this order of stars to mankind:
Abraham 3:19 And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all.
20 The Lord thy God sent his angel to deliver thee from the hands of the priest of Elkenah.
OK verse 20 wasn't necessary - or was it? The Angel of the Lord who delivers Abraham is the "Elect One" from 1 Enoch. This section of 1 Enoch referred to as "The Parables" is in fact all about this Angel - likewise, the Angel is also very much central to Abraham 3 - a fact that has somehow remained obscured to the saints all this time. Consider this Angel - the "Elect One" is the one who Enoch is later shown in this section to be the "Concealed One" who was chosen and concealed from the beginning. Note the final verses of Abraham 3 - the one "like unto the Son of Man" is the "Elect One" - the selfsame angel who rescues Abraham from Elkenah. "Here am I send me" links straight back to the ordinance of the seraphim in Isaiah 6 which also links back to Enoch Chapter 39, which I previously covered here and here.
Abraham 3:22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;
23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.
24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
28 And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.
What a coincidental thing to mention in conjunction with stars, orders, and light! Now - with all this in mind, consider these two quotes from Joseph Smith regarding the sign of the son of man - which is in fact a sign of this "Elect One" who is the Davidic Servant who is also the Holy Ghost.
D&C 88:92 And angels shall fly through the midst of heaven, crying with a loud voice, sounding the trump of God, saying: Prepare ye, prepare ye, O inhabitants of the earth; for the judgment of our God is come. Behold, and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
93 And immediately there shall appear a great sign in heaven, and all people shall see it together.
Consider the Bridegroom is in fact the newly crowned and exalted (and extolled) Son of Jesus Christ - the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant.
“Judah must return, Jerusalem must be rebuilt, and the temple, and water come out from under the temple, and the waters of the Dead Sea be healed [see Ezekiel 47:1–9]. It will take some time to rebuild the walls of the city and the temple, etc.; and all this must be done before the Son of Man will make His appearance. There will be wars and rumors of wars, signs in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, the sun turned into darkness and the moon to blood, earthquakes in divers places, the seas heaving beyond their bounds; then will appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in heaven. But what will the world do? They will say it is a planet, a comet, etc. But the Son of Man will come as the sign of the coming of the Son of Man, which will be as the light of the morning cometh out of the east." Joseph Smith - History of the Church, 5:336–37
Again, we have both "light" and Astronomy aligned to signs in the heavens that reveal the goings on ... on Earth.
"How are we to see it? As the lighting up of the morning or the dawning of the morning cometh from the east and shineth unto the west, so also is the coming of the Son of Man. The dawning of the morning makes its appearance in the east and moves along gradually. So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. It will be small at its first appearance and gradually become larger until every eye shall see it. Shall the Saints understand it? Oh yes. Paul says so [1 Thes. 5:4-5]. Shall the wicked understand? Oh no. They [will] attribute it to a natural cause. They will probably suppose it is two great comets coming in contact with each other. It will be small at first and will grow larger and larger until it will be all in a blaze, so that every eye shall see it." (Joseph Smith's Commentary on the Bible, ed. by Kent P. Jackson, 112-113)
This second quote attributed to Joseph Smith suggests a more gradual sign. "Comet" is used in both quotes, and the gradual approach along with the "light" and "blaze" visible to all indicates the reasoning behind calling this phenomenon a "comet." Note, Joseph Smith doesn't specifically state there are two comets but that folks will suppose it's two great comets coming in contact with each other. Why? I'm guessing there will either appear to be two objects, or rather the object is brighter than a comet and thus can only be explained by being such a phenomenon as witnessing two comets traveling in tandem.
CHAPTER 43 source
1. I beheld another splendour, and the stars of heaven. I observed that he called them all by their respective names, and that they heard. In a righteous balance I saw that he weighed out with their light the amplitude of their places, and the day of their appearance, and their conversion. Splendour produced splendour; and their conversion was into the number of the angels, and of the faithful.
2. Then I inquired of the angel, who proceeded with me, and explained to me secret things, What their names were. He answered, A similitude of those has the Lord of spirits shown thee. They are names of the righteous who dwell upon earth, and who believe in the name of the Lord of spirits for ever and for ever.
CHAPTER 44
Another thing also I saw respecting splendour; that it rises out of the stars, andbecomes splendour; being incapable of forsaking them.
I'm not sure who is speaking here to Enoch. I've glanced over the prior chapters several times, and this first "parable" ends here at Chapter 44. Let's start at the end here in true first / last style. "Becomes" splendour is the process of a man becoming a God via the Davidic Covenant. I will be his father - He shall by my son (1 Chronicles 17:11-15.) He's not a son yet ... but there will one day be such a declaration as mentioned in the Psalm: Thou art my son. This day have I begotten thee.
"Being incapable of forsaking" sounds a lot like that moment in a time a conditional servant becomes an unconditional inheritor "to go no more out." This is that very moment in time where a soul is no longer capable of falling as the devil himself did.
The content here chapters 33 and 33 is incredible as it is very similar to Abraham 3 from the Pearl of Great Price. In Abraham 3, Abraham is also shown the stars and Astronomy and even a form of Astrology where we have both here and in Abraham a lesson in humanity that is reflected in the stars. In Enoch, we have the stars and their names likened to the angels and to the names of the righteous. We also see how "splendour" produces "spelndour" - I take this to signify the process of exalting man where existing light (Gods) produce new light - Gods.
Abraham 3:1 And I, Abraham, had the Urim and Thummim, which the Lord my God had given unto me, in Ur of the Chaldees;
2 And I saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it;
There were man great and very great "starts" near the throne of God. Of course, stars here is a type of the noble and great ones Abraham speaks of at the end who were present at the onset of the creation of this world. The whole chapter is a buildup to this pre-Earth scene where Abraham is shown degrees of glory between stars and those degrees are likened to man's progression.
Abraham 3:16 If two things exist, and there be one above the other, there shall be greater things above them; therefore Kolob is the greatest of all the Kokaubeam that thou hast seen, because it is nearest unto me.
The Lord then likens this order of stars to mankind:
Abraham 3:19 And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all.
20 The Lord thy God sent his angel to deliver thee from the hands of the priest of Elkenah.
OK verse 20 wasn't necessary - or was it? The Angel of the Lord who delivers Abraham is the "Elect One" from 1 Enoch. This section of 1 Enoch referred to as "The Parables" is in fact all about this Angel - likewise, the Angel is also very much central to Abraham 3 - a fact that has somehow remained obscured to the saints all this time. Consider this Angel - the "Elect One" is the one who Enoch is later shown in this section to be the "Concealed One" who was chosen and concealed from the beginning. Note the final verses of Abraham 3 - the one "like unto the Son of Man" is the "Elect One" - the selfsame angel who rescues Abraham from Elkenah. "Here am I send me" links straight back to the ordinance of the seraphim in Isaiah 6 which also links back to Enoch Chapter 39, which I previously covered here and here.
Abraham 3:22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;
23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.
24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
28 And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.
What a coincidental thing to mention in conjunction with stars, orders, and light! Now - with all this in mind, consider these two quotes from Joseph Smith regarding the sign of the son of man - which is in fact a sign of this "Elect One" who is the Davidic Servant who is also the Holy Ghost.
D&C 88:92 And angels shall fly through the midst of heaven, crying with a loud voice, sounding the trump of God, saying: Prepare ye, prepare ye, O inhabitants of the earth; for the judgment of our God is come. Behold, and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
93 And immediately there shall appear a great sign in heaven, and all people shall see it together.
Consider the Bridegroom is in fact the newly crowned and exalted (and extolled) Son of Jesus Christ - the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant.
“Judah must return, Jerusalem must be rebuilt, and the temple, and water come out from under the temple, and the waters of the Dead Sea be healed [see Ezekiel 47:1–9]. It will take some time to rebuild the walls of the city and the temple, etc.; and all this must be done before the Son of Man will make His appearance. There will be wars and rumors of wars, signs in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, the sun turned into darkness and the moon to blood, earthquakes in divers places, the seas heaving beyond their bounds; then will appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in heaven. But what will the world do? They will say it is a planet, a comet, etc. But the Son of Man will come as the sign of the coming of the Son of Man, which will be as the light of the morning cometh out of the east." Joseph Smith - History of the Church, 5:336–37
Again, we have both "light" and Astronomy aligned to signs in the heavens that reveal the goings on ... on Earth.
"How are we to see it? As the lighting up of the morning or the dawning of the morning cometh from the east and shineth unto the west, so also is the coming of the Son of Man. The dawning of the morning makes its appearance in the east and moves along gradually. So also will the coming of the Son of Man be. It will be small at its first appearance and gradually become larger until every eye shall see it. Shall the Saints understand it? Oh yes. Paul says so [1 Thes. 5:4-5]. Shall the wicked understand? Oh no. They [will] attribute it to a natural cause. They will probably suppose it is two great comets coming in contact with each other. It will be small at first and will grow larger and larger until it will be all in a blaze, so that every eye shall see it." (Joseph Smith's Commentary on the Bible, ed. by Kent P. Jackson, 112-113)
This second quote attributed to Joseph Smith suggests a more gradual sign. "Comet" is used in both quotes, and the gradual approach along with the "light" and "blaze" visible to all indicates the reasoning behind calling this phenomenon a "comet." Note, Joseph Smith doesn't specifically state there are two comets but that folks will suppose it's two great comets coming in contact with each other. Why? I'm guessing there will either appear to be two objects, or rather the object is brighter than a comet and thus can only be explained by being such a phenomenon as witnessing two comets traveling in tandem.
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