As we’ve seen thus far in our journey through the book of Enoch, the Archangels have shown Enoch
many things, from the many wonders of the earth, the desolate prisons of the Watchers and even an
alternative place where a soul may make their suit - or petition to God over the circumstances of
their demise. Such sights that Enoch has witnessed do not begin to abate as the chapters continue,
for in chapter 24, we see our hero bear witness to yet more incredible sights, including a giant
burning mountain, a fragrant and hallowed tree and of course the Archangel Michael himself.
But firstly in Chapter 23, we are given a rather brief chapter consisting of only a few lines that
tells us of a profound burning fire - a place that Enoch is taken to by the Archangel Raguel.
Enoch tells us, “From thence I went to another place to the west of the ends of the earth.
And I saw a burning fire which ran without resting, and paused not from its course day
or night but ran regularly. And I asked saying: ‘What is this which rests not?’
Then Raguel, one of the holy angels who was with me, answered me and said unto me: ‘This course of
fire which thou hast seen is the fire in the west which persecutes all the luminaries of heaven.”
The place of burning which Enoch describes is not delved into further
and as is characteristic of the book thus far, all we have to rely on is the words of the angels.
Here, Raguel explains that this course of fire which burns day and night is a place that
persecutes all the luminaries of heaven - that is to say - all the stars in heaven. Frequently,
we’ve seen stars associated with angels, both in the bible and associated apocrypha
and so, it’s not so much of a stretch to say that the luminaries addressed here are the angels,
or perhaps the fallen angels. Raguel seeks to tell Enoch that this place persecutes these individuals
and much like the prison of the angels as seen by Enoch, this course of fire may also
be a similar place -a place the angels are punished for their transgressions.
But before Enoch has a chance to recover from this sequence of his journey,
he is zipped to yet another place by the Archangel Raphael, where Enoch describes his
new surroundings in some detail. We are told, “And from then I went to another place of the earth,
and he showed me a mountain range of fire which burnt day and night. And I went beyond it and
saw seven magnificent mountains all differing each from the other, and the stones (thereof)
were magnificent and beautiful, magnificent as a whole, of glorious appearance and fair exterior:
three towards the east, one founded on the other, and three towards the south, one upon the other,
and deep rough ravines, no one of which joined with any other.”
Of this new landscape, Enoch appears to be struck by the appearance of these particular mountains.
Now, as we’ve seen so far in the Book of Enoch, mountains have held some prominence in Enoch’s
descriptions. Not only does he seem keen to mention them whenever he gets the chance,
but he also seeks to illustrate the shapes of these mountains,
their textures, the zenith of each peak and ultimately how big these mountains appear to be.
As discussed in the previous episodes, the mountains have always had some significance
in the bible, for it was upon mountains that many biblical characters sought wisdom
or heard the voice of their God. The idea being here was that the mountains were the
highest places on earth and thus, would be the closest that man could physically go
in his efforts to speak with his God. Mountains therefore were to be revered in some cases,
so it comes as no surprise that Enoch fixates on them so much. In this case however, he may
be forgiven for his mesmerization given that this mountain he sees in chapter 24 is on fire.
This inferno, he tells us, burns day and night, but also that just beyond this, the mountains are
made of glorious stone. Enoch does not appear to go into the significance of this burning mountain,
though believers might draw some comparisons to the burning mountain found in Chapter 8 of the
Book of Revelation, where a burning mountain is thrown into the sea after the second angel blows
his trumpet to signify the end times. In this, we are told, “The second angel sounded his trumpet,
and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea
turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the
ships were destroyed.” (Revelations 8:8-9) With this comparison, it could be said that Enoch is
being shown snippets that appear to Daniel in the Book of Revelation and that Enoch is being
indirectly warned of how catastrophic things will be when the times of Revelation come to
fruition. But beyond this, any ideas regarding this burning mountain are purely speculation.
We also see him talk about how six ‘magnificent mountains’ emerge beyond this burning mountain;
three towards the east and three towards the south and that these are stacked on top of each other,
though he does not declare the specific meanings behind these rock formations.
The seventh mountain in this equation is told to us in the following words,
“And the seventh mountain was in the midst of these, and it excelled them in height,
resembling the seat of a throne: and fragrant trees encircled the throne.”
Here, Enoch relays to us that the tallest mountain amongst the cluster took on the shape of a throne,
that which you might imagine was so immense in size that it was probably reserved for that of
a God. The fragrant trees that surround the throne also provide us with a tranquil connotation, one
that helps paint the picture that Enoch describes as a place that is welcoming and peaceful. Indeed,
this certainly makes a change from the previous environments that Enoch has found himself in,
including the Lake of Fire or The Prison of the Fallen Angels. But amongst these fragrant trees,
there is one tree that stands out the most to Enoch.
He tells us, “And amongst them was a tree such as I had never yet smelt,
neither was any amongst them nor were others like it: it had a fragrance beyond all fragrance,
and its leaves and blooms and wood wither not for ever: and its fruit is beautiful, and its fruit
resembles the dates of a palm.” Now, this could be just Enoch’s appreciation of some very pretty
looking trees that also contained an enjoyable scent - one that Enoch had never smelt before.
But some believers may draw comparisons to the trees throughout the bible,
none the least being the tree of life and the tree of knowledge.
We know that God had a fondness for trees, most specifically in chapter 2 of Genesis
where he creates the trees. We are told there, “The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out
of the ground - trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of
the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:9)
With this comparison, it may be rationalized that Enoch was not on Earth at all,
but instead in the Garden of Eden, and that the reason why he found these trees
and mountains so fantastic, was because he had never seen their like before.
Moreover, it should be noted that in the final chapter of Revelation, we see that God’s throne
in Eden (whilst not necessarily described as being formed from a mountain), does indeed
reside near the trees of life and one may be forgiven for conflating them, considering that
the scene described in chapter 22 of Revelation does loosely correspond with Enoch’s vision.
But Enoch appears to notice a tree amongst the other fragrant trees that stands out to him
the most and he voices his regard for the tree, saying “How beautiful is this tree, and fragrant,
and its leaves are fair, and its blooms very delightful in appearance.”
As he ponders on this particular tree, he is joined by the Archangel Michael,
where we are told by Enoch “Then answered Michael, one of the holy and honoured angels
who was with me, and was their leader. And he said unto me: Enoch, why dost thou ask me
regarding the fragrance of the tree, and why dost thou wish to learn the truth?”
It’s interesting that Michael appears to be bemused as to Enoch’s wonder,
which might delineate the difference between man and angel, in that the former is fascinated by
these glorious sights, but to the angels, such things are normal and perhaps even, mundane.
Enoch answers Michael saying, “I wish to know about everything, but especially about this tree.”
And Michael answers by saying, “This high mountain which thou hast seen,
whose summit is like the throne of God, is His throne, where the Holy Great One,
the lord of Glory, the Eternal King, will sit, when He shall come down to visit the earth with
goodness. And as for this fragrant tree no mortal is permitted to touch it till the great judgment,
where He shall take vengeance on all and bring (everything) to its consummation for ever.
It shall then be given to the righteous and holy. Its fruit shall be for food to the elect:
it shall be transplanted to the holy place, to the temple of the Lord, the Eternal King.”
Here, Michael confirms that the throne shaped mountain is the throne of God - one he will indeed
sit upon. As for the fragrant tree that has mesmerized Enoch, Michael explains that no
mortal is allowed to touch it until the day of judgement. Believers may sense echoes of the tree
of knowledge here and draw parallels to Adam and Eve, where they were once told by God not to go
near said tree. Whilst Michaels’ speech to Enoch is much less cautionary, it does beg the question
as to what would have happened if Enoch did touch the tree. Michael does not provide a reason why
this tree should be avoided, unlike God, who tells Adam and Eve that should they eat from the tree,
they would die. Instead, he tells Enoch that this tree is to be transported to the ‘holy place’
where it would provide food for the elect. Unlike Adam and Eve, Enoch does not seem
to be struck by any sense of temptation, but strangely, he does not quiz Michael any further.
The chapter is essentially concluded with Michael speaking of the elect,
saying “Then shall they rejoice with joy and be glad, and into the holy place they enter;
and its fragrance shall be in their bones, and they shall live a long life on earth, such as thy
fathers lived: and in their days shall no sorrow or plague or torment or calamity touch them.”
With this, we understand a little more that this fragrance of the trees
will be in the bones of the elect after the day of judgement and after sin as has been eradicated
from the earth, those chosen few will know this fragrance that Enoch describes so intimately.
In other words, those who are chosen by God and who have answered their divine call
will live with a new found peace and pleasure and will know not of the evils that have come before.
Finally, chapter 24 concludes with Enoch blessing his God for having prepared such an
existence for the chosen few and the righteous and for having promised to give it to them
in exchange for what is seemingly a small gesture of loyalty, love and worship.
Let me know what your thoughts are on today’s episode on the Book of Enoch and as always,
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Until next time!