June 15, 2025 • 14 mins
Did Peter and Jude endorse 1 Enoch? This episode explores why both men referenced an apocryphal book, and what it means for interpreting Genesis 6. We uncover how translation choices, literary context, and ancient familiarity — not theological approval — explain their use of 1 Enoch. Learn why these quotes warn of judgment, not angelic lust, and how importing outside fiction into Scripture distorts the message.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the Ready for Eternity
podcast, a podcast and blog dedicated to
inquisitive Bible students exploring
biblical truths that might not be fully
explored in typical
sermons or Bible studies.
(00:20):
My name is Eddie Lawrence.
Jude quoted the
fictional book of 1st Enoch.
Why did he do this?
In episode 61, we studied the question of
who the sons of God are as it pertains to
(00:42):
Genesis 6 1-4. Next in episode 63, we
questioned if the book of 1st Enoch is a
reliable interpretation
of the events in Genesis 6.
In this episode, we'll examine Peter and
Jude's references to 1st Enoch. Jude and
(01:03):
Peter either directly quote or allude to
passages from the apocryphal book of 1st
Enoch. Even so, their references don't
endorse 1st Enoch as an inspired work.
Paul also quoted Greek philosophers, but
this didn't mean he considered them
(01:24):
inspired. Paul quoted the gentile
philosophers Eratus and Epaminides in
Acts 1728 and Titus 1-12. Their
well-known writings helped Paul make his
point to the audience he was addressing.
He wasn't affirming their quoted works as
(01:44):
true, he was simply adapting his message
to resonate with his audience. This is
similar to a pastor using illustrations
from the Lord of the Rings or the
Chronicles of Narnia. They helped
listeners understand the point being
made. No one would assume the teacher
believed the Chronicles of Narnia was
(02:07):
true from a sermon illustration. We all
know these are fictional accounts and
understand that the teacher
is using them to make a point.
Likewise, Peter and Jude knew that 1st
Enoch was fiction, but they quoted it
because their first century readers were
(02:27):
familiar with it. What point was Peter
and Jude trying to make? Peter and Jude
warned that false teachers had
infiltrated the church. They make it
clear that judgment for them is certain.
Both apostles remind believers that such
people will not escape God's justice.
(02:50):
Because 2nd Peter 2 and Jude are so
similar, I'm going to focus mainly on
Jude for clarity and
brevity. Here's what Jude said.
For certain men have crept in unnoticed,
who long ago were marked out for this
condemnation. Ungodly men, who turned the
(03:11):
grace of our God into lewdness and deny
the only Lord God and
our Lord Jesus Christ.
But I want to remind you, though you once
knew this, that the Lord, having saved
the people out of the land of Egypt,
afterward destroyed those who did not
believe, and the angels who did not keep
(03:32):
their proper domain, but left their own
abode, He has reserved in everlasting
chains under darkness for the judgment of
the great day. As Sodom and Gomorrah, and
the cities around them in a similar
manner to these, having given themselves
over to sexual immorality and gone after
"strange flesh," are set forth as an
(03:55):
example, suffering the vengeance of
eternal fire, Jude 1, 4-7.
Those who treat 1st Enoch as a commentary
argue that Jude 6 refers to angels who
left the spiritual realm to mate with
human women. They conflate this with
(04:17):
Genesis 6, 1-4, claiming that both
passages describe the same event, as
further support Prop. 7, which mentions
Sodom's sexual sins.
From this, they conclude that Jude
implies the angels engaged in similar
sexual immoral behavior. However, a
(04:41):
careful reading shows that the passage
compares the penalty for the sins. It
does not compare the sins themselves.
They were citing historic examples of
what happens to those
who rebel against God.
If you read Jude carefully, you'll notice
that he cited in verse 5 the Exodus
(05:03):
Israelites, whose sin was unbelief, the
angels in verse 6, whose sin was leaving
their assigned position,
and Sodom in verse 7, whose
sin was sexual immorality.
So we see him citing examples of three
different kinds of sins, but his point is
(05:25):
that all of them were either destroyed or
reserved for judgment.
Each group commits different sins, yet
all receive punishment. Jude uses this to
show that the punishment of the false
brethren he warns about is just as
certain. Nothing said by Jude or Peter
(05:48):
suggests that the angels' sins were
sexual in nature. Read this passage and 2
Peter chapter 2 verses 1-9 very
carefully, and notice that neither say
the angels' sins were sexual in nature.
Peter gives us no hint of what their sin
was, and Jude only says that they left
(06:10):
their assigned domain.
Again, the emphasis in this passage is
not on the sins committed per se, but on
the judgment that God meets out to people
or angels who defy Him. This is a passage
where your Bible translation choice may
(06:31):
affect your interpretation.
Aside from 1 Enoch, the assumed sexual
nature of the angels' sins is partly due
to the wording of verse 7
in modern Bible translations.
More recent translations make it appear
that the sins of Sodom are similar to
(06:52):
those of the angels.
Take the ESV for example.
Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the
surrounding cities, which likewise
indulged in sexual immorality and pursued
unnatural desire, serve as an example by
undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
(07:12):
The key phrase here is the word
"likewise," which likewise indulged in
sexual immorality. It seems to me that
the way modern translations have rendered
this leaves one with the impression that
the sins of the angels and the sins of
Sodom and Gomorrah were both sexual in
(07:34):
nature. I think the King James and the
New King James may be more consistent
with Jude's intent. That is, they are
more consistent with the context.
The King James and New King James
versions suggest that the words "similar
manner" or "likewise" are referring to
(07:55):
the example of their punishment and not
the nature of their sins. Whereas in the
more modern translations, likewise
suggest that the comparison is between
the sin, not the punishment.
Let's look at how the
New King James words this.
(08:16):
As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities
around them in a similar manner to these,
having given themselves over to sexual
immorality and gone after strange flesh,
are set forth as an example, suffering
the vengeance of eternal fire.
I encourage you to pick up a King James
(08:37):
or New King James and read this for
yourself because this is
something better seen than heard.
But the phrase in the New King James that
says "having given themselves over to
sexual immorality and gone after strange
flesh" is set off by commas. In other
words, it's a parenthetical thought. What
(08:58):
I'm going to put up on the screen for
those of you who are watching as opposed
to listening, is this verse where I have
replaced the commas with parentheses to
emphasize that parenthetical nature. What
this shows when you see it visually is
what Jude is linking together by the word
"likewise" or "similar manner" is the
(09:20):
punishment, not the sins. The words
inside the parentheses describe what
Sodom and Gomorrah were guilty of. Sodom
and Gomorrah serve as examples, just like
the previous two examples of unbelieving
Israel and the angels who abandoned their
realm. I think this is a case where the
King James Version and the New King James
(09:42):
Version get it right because their
translation fits the context. It's not
the sins that were the same, but the
penalty of their sins were the same.
Proponents of the idea that angels mated
with human women say that Jude's comments
directly connect to the religious fiction
(10:03):
documented in the Second Temple period
book of 1 Enoch. In doing so, they import
non-canonical ideas into Scripture,
claiming Peter and Jude endorse the
fictional worldview of 1 Enoch.
One can't read the Bible and the Bible
alone and come to the conclusion that
(10:24):
Jude and Peter are portraying the angels'
sins as sexual in nature. To reach this
conclusion, one has to import this view
into the Bible from an outside source.
And let's be clear, no one in the early
church or in the Jewish community
considered the book of 1 Enoch to be
(10:46):
inspired. The same is true today and not
even the people who advocate this idea of
angelic human mating claims that the book
of 1 Enoch is inspired or belongs in the
canon. 1 Enoch records a fictional
account of 200 angels who left heaven for
the express purpose of mating with the
(11:07):
human women they lusted for.
This is a fictional interpretation of
Genesis 6, verses 1-4, based on
Mesopotamian pagan mythology.
Although Jude and Peter borrow phrases
from 1 Enoch, they do so because it was a
familiar piece of literature in their day
and it helped them to make their point.
(11:30):
To impose these mythological stories from
1 Enoch upon the text of the Bible would
be like building a system of theology
based on the popular but fictional notion
of St. Peter guarding the pearly gates.
The first four verses of Genesis 6
concern the multiplication of mankind,
(11:52):
which is exactly what the genealogies of
the two prior chapters communicate.
There is no suggestion in these four
verses that anything
sinful was happening.
Anything in this text, nor in any other
Bible passage, indicates that a bunch of
amorous angels invaded the earth because
(12:13):
they were hot to trot for human women.
There is no historical evidence
indicating that the Jews of Jesus' day
believed the events of 1 Enoch were true.
In fact, the book of Jude was disputed by
some early Christians. Its canonicity was
doubted BECAUSE it quoted from apocryphal
(12:34):
books. At most, we could say that some
Jews may have believed something like
this. A good Bible student will not allow
uninspired, non-canonical fiction to
dominate his or her conclusions about
biblical texts. I'll leave you with the
(12:54):
words of John Sailhammer from his
commentary on Genesis 6.
There is little to arouse our suspicion
that the events recounted are anything
out of the ordinary. As a summary of the
preceding chapter, this little patch of
narrative is a reminder that the sons and
daughters of Adam had greatly increased
(13:15):
in number, had married, and
had continued to have children.
The impression it gives is that of an
interlude, a calm before the storm. For a
brief moment, we see a picture of human
beings in the midst of their everyday
affairs, marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day Noah entered the ark, and
they knew nothing about what would happen
(13:36):
until the flood came
and took them all away.
Thanks for listening to the podcast. We
hope this episode has deepened your
understanding of scripture. If you found
this content valuable, please share it
with your friends. For more biblical
studies, visit our website at
readyforeternity.com. That's the word
(13:58):
"ready," the number four, and the word
"eternity." Readyforeternity.com. Be sure
and leave a comment on the Ready for
Eternity Facebook page or reach out on
Twitter. That's all for now. Keep
studying your Bible, growing closer to
God, and getting ready for eternity.
See you next time.
Welcome to the Ready for Eternity
podcast, a podcast and blog dedicated to
inquisitive Bible students exploring
biblical truths that might not be fully
explored in typical
sermons or Bible studies.
(00:20):
My name is Eddie Lawrence.
Jude quoted the
fictional book of 1st Enoch.
Why did he do this?
In episode 61, we studied the question of
who the sons of God are as it pertains to
(00:42):
Genesis 6 1-4. Next in episode 63, we
questioned if the book of 1st Enoch is a
reliable interpretation
of the events in Genesis 6.
In this episode, we'll examine Peter and
Jude's references to 1st Enoch. Jude and
(01:03):
Peter either directly quote or allude to
passages from the apocryphal book of 1st
Enoch. Even so, their references don't
endorse 1st Enoch as an inspired work.
Paul also quoted Greek philosophers, but
this didn't mean he considered them
(01:24):
inspired. Paul quoted the gentile
philosophers Eratus and Epaminides in
Acts 1728 and Titus 1-12. Their
well-known writings helped Paul make his
point to the audience he was addressing.
He wasn't affirming their quoted works as
(01:44):
true, he was simply adapting his message
to resonate with his audience. This is
similar to a pastor using illustrations
from the Lord of the Rings or the
Chronicles of Narnia. They helped
listeners understand the point being
made. No one would assume the teacher
believed the Chronicles of Narnia was
(02:07):
true from a sermon illustration. We all
know these are fictional accounts and
understand that the teacher
is using them to make a point.
Likewise, Peter and Jude knew that 1st
Enoch was fiction, but they quoted it
because their first century readers were
(02:27):
familiar with it. What point was Peter
and Jude trying to make? Peter and Jude
warned that false teachers had
infiltrated the church. They make it
clear that judgment for them is certain.
Both apostles remind believers that such
people will not escape God's justice.
(02:50):
Because 2nd Peter 2 and Jude are so
similar, I'm going to focus mainly on
Jude for clarity and
brevity. Here's what Jude said.
For certain men have crept in unnoticed,
who long ago were marked out for this
condemnation. Ungodly men, who turned the
(03:11):
grace of our God into lewdness and deny
the only Lord God and
our Lord Jesus Christ.
But I want to remind you, though you once
knew this, that the Lord, having saved
the people out of the land of Egypt,
afterward destroyed those who did not
believe, and the angels who did not keep
(03:32):
their proper domain, but left their own
abode, He has reserved in everlasting
chains under darkness for the judgment of
the great day. As Sodom and Gomorrah, and
the cities around them in a similar
manner to these, having given themselves
over to sexual immorality and gone after
"strange flesh," are set forth as an
(03:55):
example, suffering the vengeance of
eternal fire, Jude 1, 4-7.
Those who treat 1st Enoch as a commentary
argue that Jude 6 refers to angels who
left the spiritual realm to mate with
human women. They conflate this with
(04:17):
Genesis 6, 1-4, claiming that both
passages describe the same event, as
further support Prop. 7, which mentions
Sodom's sexual sins.
From this, they conclude that Jude
implies the angels engaged in similar
sexual immoral behavior. However, a
(04:41):
careful reading shows that the passage
compares the penalty for the sins. It
does not compare the sins themselves.
They were citing historic examples of
what happens to those
who rebel against God.
If you read Jude carefully, you'll notice
that he cited in verse 5 the Exodus
(05:03):
Israelites, whose sin was unbelief, the
angels in verse 6, whose sin was leaving
their assigned position,
and Sodom in verse 7, whose
sin was sexual immorality.
So we see him citing examples of three
different kinds of sins, but his point is
(05:25):
that all of them were either destroyed or
reserved for judgment.
Each group commits different sins, yet
all receive punishment. Jude uses this to
show that the punishment of the false
brethren he warns about is just as
certain. Nothing said by Jude or Peter
(05:48):
suggests that the angels' sins were
sexual in nature. Read this passage and 2
Peter chapter 2 verses 1-9 very
carefully, and notice that neither say
the angels' sins were sexual in nature.
Peter gives us no hint of what their sin
was, and Jude only says that they left
(06:10):
their assigned domain.
Again, the emphasis in this passage is
not on the sins committed per se, but on
the judgment that God meets out to people
or angels who defy Him. This is a passage
where your Bible translation choice may
(06:31):
affect your interpretation.
Aside from 1 Enoch, the assumed sexual
nature of the angels' sins is partly due
to the wording of verse 7
in modern Bible translations.
More recent translations make it appear
that the sins of Sodom are similar to
(06:52):
those of the angels.
Take the ESV for example.
Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the
surrounding cities, which likewise
indulged in sexual immorality and pursued
unnatural desire, serve as an example by
undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
(07:12):
The key phrase here is the word
"likewise," which likewise indulged in
sexual immorality. It seems to me that
the way modern translations have rendered
this leaves one with the impression that
the sins of the angels and the sins of
Sodom and Gomorrah were both sexual in
(07:34):
nature. I think the King James and the
New King James may be more consistent
with Jude's intent. That is, they are
more consistent with the context.
The King James and New King James
versions suggest that the words "similar
manner" or "likewise" are referring to
(07:55):
the example of their punishment and not
the nature of their sins. Whereas in the
more modern translations, likewise
suggest that the comparison is between
the sin, not the punishment.
Let's look at how the
New King James words this.
(08:16):
As Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities
around them in a similar manner to these,
having given themselves over to sexual
immorality and gone after strange flesh,
are set forth as an example, suffering
the vengeance of eternal fire.
I encourage you to pick up a King James
(08:37):
or New King James and read this for
yourself because this is
something better seen than heard.
But the phrase in the New King James that
says "having given themselves over to
sexual immorality and gone after strange
flesh" is set off by commas. In other
words, it's a parenthetical thought. What
(08:58):
I'm going to put up on the screen for
those of you who are watching as opposed
to listening, is this verse where I have
replaced the commas with parentheses to
emphasize that parenthetical nature. What
this shows when you see it visually is
what Jude is linking together by the word
"likewise" or "similar manner" is the
(09:20):
punishment, not the sins. The words
inside the parentheses describe what
Sodom and Gomorrah were guilty of. Sodom
and Gomorrah serve as examples, just like
the previous two examples of unbelieving
Israel and the angels who abandoned their
realm. I think this is a case where the
King James Version and the New King James
(09:42):
Version get it right because their
translation fits the context. It's not
the sins that were the same, but the
penalty of their sins were the same.
Proponents of the idea that angels mated
with human women say that Jude's comments
directly connect to the religious fiction
(10:03):
documented in the Second Temple period
book of 1 Enoch. In doing so, they import
non-canonical ideas into Scripture,
claiming Peter and Jude endorse the
fictional worldview of 1 Enoch.
One can't read the Bible and the Bible
alone and come to the conclusion that
(10:24):
Jude and Peter are portraying the angels'
sins as sexual in nature. To reach this
conclusion, one has to import this view
into the Bible from an outside source.
And let's be clear, no one in the early
church or in the Jewish community
considered the book of 1 Enoch to be
(10:46):
inspired. The same is true today and not
even the people who advocate this idea of
angelic human mating claims that the book
of 1 Enoch is inspired or belongs in the
canon. 1 Enoch records a fictional
account of 200 angels who left heaven for
the express purpose of mating with the
(11:07):
human women they lusted for.
This is a fictional interpretation of
Genesis 6, verses 1-4, based on
Mesopotamian pagan mythology.
Although Jude and Peter borrow phrases
from 1 Enoch, they do so because it was a
familiar piece of literature in their day
and it helped them to make their point.
(11:30):
To impose these mythological stories from
1 Enoch upon the text of the Bible would
be like building a system of theology
based on the popular but fictional notion
of St. Peter guarding the pearly gates.
The first four verses of Genesis 6
concern the multiplication of mankind,
(11:52):
which is exactly what the genealogies of
the two prior chapters communicate.
There is no suggestion in these four
verses that anything
sinful was happening.
Anything in this text, nor in any other
Bible passage, indicates that a bunch of
amorous angels invaded the earth because
(12:13):
they were hot to trot for human women.
There is no historical evidence
indicating that the Jews of Jesus' day
believed the events of 1 Enoch were true.
In fact, the book of Jude was disputed by
some early Christians. Its canonicity was
doubted BECAUSE it quoted from apocryphal
(12:34):
books. At most, we could say that some
Jews may have believed something like
this. A good Bible student will not allow
uninspired, non-canonical fiction to
dominate his or her conclusions about
biblical texts. I'll leave you with the
(12:54):
words of John Sailhammer from his
commentary on Genesis 6.
There is little to arouse our suspicion
that the events recounted are anything
out of the ordinary. As a summary of the
preceding chapter, this little patch of
narrative is a reminder that the sons and
daughters of Adam had greatly increased
(13:15):
in number, had married, and
had continued to have children.
The impression it gives is that of an
interlude, a calm before the storm. For a
brief moment, we see a picture of human
beings in the midst of their everyday
affairs, marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day Noah entered the ark, and
they knew nothing about what would happen
(13:36):
until the flood came
and took them all away.
Thanks for listening to the podcast. We
hope this episode has deepened your
understanding of scripture. If you found
this content valuable, please share it
with your friends. For more biblical
studies, visit our website at
readyforeternity.com. That's the word
(13:58):
"ready," the number four, and the word
"eternity." Readyforeternity.com. Be sure
and leave a comment on the Ready for
Eternity Facebook page or reach out on
Twitter. That's all for now. Keep
studying your Bible, growing closer to
God, and getting ready for eternity.
See you next time.
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