“Enoch was son of Jared and fathered Methuselah. The text of the Book of Genesis says Enoch lived 365 years before he was “taken” by God. The text reads that Enoch “walked with God: and he was no more; for God took him.” (Genesis 5:21–24) *

This is what I learned about Enoch early on in my “Bible as Literature” class in high school. I was intrigued and the name of Enoch stayed with me ever since. “Walking with god” took on so many different meanings; he was transported to heaven and his physical body never died, or that he died painlessly because of his “righteousness” were two classical interpretations. As I’ve learned, there are other views of who and what Enoch might be. 

In Judeo-Christian circles, he is considered the “scribe of judgement.” He’s considered the author of “The Book of Enoch,” an apocryphal work which was followed by the “Second Book of Enoch.” The Book of Enoch is considered by the Western Christian church as non-canonical, or non-inspired (a.k.a revealed) works. Some Orthodox sects see it as canonical, and most scholars of Judeo-christian literature find it of either historical or theological value. The Book of Enoch is considered to be, technically, five independent pieces of work, written between 300 B.C.E. and 100 C.E. The five independent pieces are seen as (with Wikipedia links): 

• The Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1–36)
• The Book of Parables of Enoch (1 Enoch 37–71) (also called the Similitudes of Enoch)
• The Astronomical Book (1 Enoch 72–82) (also called the Book of the Heavenly Luminaries or Book of Luminaries)
• The Book of Dream Visions (1 Enoch 83–90) (also called the Book of Dreams)
• The Epistle of Enoch (1 Enoch 91–108)

These books talk about first the fall of the angels who were alleged to have fathered the Nephilim, as described in Genesis. The rest of the books are writings about Enoch’s revelations about and travels to heaven, either via visions or dreams. Some of the concepts discussed in these books are interesting and could have been controversial to the first Christian church leaders. The books contain histories of the fallen angels and their interaction with human kind, Enoch’s travels through what might be considered the underworld and heaven, a discussion about the Tree of Life, who the seven archangels were, parables on living, descriptions of heavenly bodies and their movements, and much more.

Fragments of The Book of Enoch can be found in other writings of the old and new testaments, other apocryphal works, and in the Quran. The Second Book of Enoch is also known as “The Secrets of Enoch,” and tells the story of how Enoch was transported to and through heavens, and further relates tales of the war of angels. There is a Third Book of Enoch which exists, and the Book of Giants, which is attributed to the same time period and relating to the same topics. 

So, Enoch has a lot of interesting things going on with him, his life, and his afterlife; so much so that it has inspired many and decidedly different tangents to esoteric teachings. We know that Enoch, or Idris as he’s known in the Quran, was known to have been lifted up to heaven, as noted in the Christian Bible.  The Quran contains two references to Idris; in Surah Al-Anbiya (The Prophets) verse number 85, and in Surah Maryam (Mary) verses 56-57:

• (The Prophets, 21:85): “And the same blessing was bestowed upon Ismail and Idris and Zul-Kifl, because they all practiced fortitude.”
• (Mary 19:56–57): “And remember Idris in the Book; he was indeed very truthful, a Prophet. And We lifted him to a lofty station”.

Some Jewish scholars think that Enoch became the head of the angelic host, Metatron. Edgar Caycee, a Christian fundamentalist and traveler to “the realms of the dead,” has a very elaborate reincarnation lineage of Jesus Christ, of which Enoch was one incarnation. To Caycee, Enoch was also Hermes (Thoth), the priest Joshua, and a few other incarnations. While this is interesting, we have not addressed the idea of “Enochian.” What is it?

Enter John Dee and Edward Kelley (a.k.a. Talbot). Much has been written about John Dee, and much of it dismissive. However, he was an extremely learned man with a fervent desire to heal the rifts between the Catholic Church, The Church of England, and the Protestant sects in mainland Europe.

He was a devout man, and while we might understand how this can all work together, he was a scientist, alchemist, and occultist. In his desire to mend the religious wounds of the time, he sought to discover the original language, the language of God and Angels. In doing so, he felt that he could bring about the unification of humanity.

Not being a medium or scryer himself, he turned to both his son, Arthur Dee, and eventually to Edward Kelley, a younger alchemist and spirit-medium. For eight tumultuous and energetic years, they worked together with Edward relating the Angelic language to John Dee through a series of seances and spirit conferences. Dee’s writings have been republished and in the web archives and by some publishing houses. Copies also exist in the British Library.

The language that Dee and Kelley uncovered or created (some debate exists, of course), was called by Dee the “Angelic” or “Adamic” language, as it was the supposed language that God used to create the universe, that Adam learned from God, and what Adam used to name all living things. The idea of an antediluvian, singular language was very popular at the time in the Western world, and seeking it was one of Dee’s highest priorities. He was a mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, cartographer, and navigator. Even though he is known more for his “magical” leanings, he was an extremely well educated man. He was also a follower of Neo-platonic ideals.

If one reads some of Dee’s journals or diaries of this work, one can see some of the occult influences that came into Freemasonry at a later time, and are evident in several Masonic rituals, especially in the English rites and Scottish Rite higher degrees. Elias Ashmole, who was the first to document the date of his speculative initiation, followed Kelley and Dee’s work closely. In fact, he reproduced some of Kelley’s documents and created a Biography of John Dee. Ashmole’s notation of his speculative initiation has undergone a fair amount of scrutiny, which will not be replicated here. He seemed to have an influence with many people who were swirling around the Speculative Masonic world.

It’s hard to believe that someone of Ashmore’s experience in the sciences and esoteric studies could not have influenced an organization he was a member of for decades. He’s well known for having written “The Institution, Laws, and Ceremonies of the Order of the Garter” in 1672 as well as being a member of the Royal Society. The author in the book noted below that “Ashmole was a joiner,” and joining a society of Freemasons seemed to be the thing to do at this time in England. It’s somewhat apparent that as his time as a Freemason went on, he did exert further influence. An excellent book to read about this time period, and about John Dee, Kelley, and Ashmole is “The Golden Builders,” by Thomas Churton. It is a deeper historical account of these persons than can be given here.

I think we may safely say that John Dee and Edward Kelley put the “Enoch” in Enochian, which begs deeper insight into who Enoch was, and why he “went with God.” Another excellent book is “The Book of Enoch,” by Weiser Books, and author R.H. Charles. The most recent publication is 2003. We’ll close with this small excerpt from that book:

103:2 “I know a Mystery | And have read the heavenly tablets, | And have seen the holy books.

* which some Christians interpret as Enoch’s entering Heaven alive. (Wikipedia)