Enoch was the seventh patriarch from Adam. The father of Methusaleh. The great grandfather of Noah. This is all laid out in Genesis, which also states that Enoch lived 365 years before he was “taken by God” – a reference some Biblical scholars interpret to mean Enoch is one of only two men, along with Elijah (and the Virgin Mary in some Orthodox traditions), who were taken bodily into Heaven without experiencing death. But what is the Book of Enoch? That’s the question Hebrew scholar Dr. Ken Hanson took on, as he touched on fragments of the Book of Enoch found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the contents of the book. The Book of Enoch, which Hanson claimed is still a living part of Ethiopian Jewish traditions though it was dropped in other traditions, includes tales of angels, demons, and Watchers; beings who came down and had congress with human women giving birth to the Nephilim, or giants. It’s pared down to a couple of verses preceding the Noah story in the Book of Genesis. But Hanson said it’s a much more detailed story in the Book of Enoch. The Book of Enoch, according to Hanson, includes information that indicates these giants were more than “mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” (Genesis 6:4) Hanson said they were cannibals, who ate human flesh. This, he contends, was one of the many iniquities which saddened God and drove his to flood the Earth.
In tradition, he said, Enoch wrote the book. “But, from a scholarly standpoint, we think it was composed by a group of individuals, which we can call the Enochians – I like to call them the Visionaries – who existed in the first few centuries before the Common Era.” According to Hanson they may have been one of the groups who fell under the umbrella of the Essenes, a group of Jewish mystics who are believed to be the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls; which would explain why fragments of the Book of Enoch were found among those documents. But the book, like the mystic leanings of the Essenes, has been widely shunned by the religious establishment of various faiths. Hanson claimed the main reason for this was not because of any contentious claims about the world before the flood. Hints of those elements can be found in accepted religious texts. Hanson speculated it has more to do with the prophetic visions recorded in the book. “It’s apocalyptic. All of these visions about the end of days, and that kind of stuff, it ruffled a lot of feathers,” Hanson explained. “It still does today.” One of those things is a phrase that’s used in the book, where it explains that Enoch is “transformed into a character called the Son of Man,” Hanson continued, “which is very interesting because this is a term that Jesus uses to describe himself.” Hanson claimed that rather than being a humble term, calling himself the Son of Man instead of the Son of God, Jesus was actually doing “exactly the opposite, (because) Son of Man is a mystical, exalted, very powerful term. Jesus is linking himself to this Messianic character known as the Son of Man.” Hanson then noted that some scholars theorize this means “Jesus is some kind of an incarnation of Enoch.” Though he added he isn’t necessarily quick to suggest everyone accepts it. “All we can do it toss this out there. We’re not telling people what to believe. But we definitely see these kind of, we’d call them today, paranormal experiences.”
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In the second half George took listener questions via email, and calls on open lines. These included questions about other listeners who haven’t called in for some time, George’s pick for greatest boxer of all time (Muhammad Ali) and remembrances from George, Tom, and listeners about the late Lou Gossett Jr – who George had on as a guest nearly a decade ago.
George ended the show with a segment on witches featuring Judika Illes from October 20, 2014.
News segment guests: Heidi Hollis / Kevin Randle