I was reading about a new book on (a popular Christian news service) that cites the Book of Enoch, concerning the return of the Nephilim, possibly this year. I do not know if Enoch had written any book, but I can’t help wondering. Enoch supposedly says that at the 70 generations of 70 years is set to expire. What are your thoughts on this theory, and the Book of Enoch?
The major premise of this book is a prophecy from the Book of Enoch that the fallen angels who fathered the Nephilim with the help of human women were to be held in chains for 70 generations and then brought back to be judged and thrown into the Lake of Fire. The event that marked the beginning of their incarceration was the Great Flood, which the author dated at 2800-2900 BC. Then using Psalm 90:10 as his guide he determined a generation to be 70 years in length for a total of 4900 years. 4900 years from 2900 BC is about 2000 AD.
The problem is that Psalm 90:10 established an average lifetime to be 70-80 years, not an average generation. Generation and lifetime are not equivalent periods of time. According to the dictionary, a generation is only the time between a man’s birth and the birth of his first son, which in Biblical times averaged out to be about 40 years.
This is simply another version of the mistake scholars made in saying that the Lord would return 40 years from the rebirth of Israel based on Matt. 24:34 where the word generation also appears. In that case 70 years is the correct measure because the Lord was talking about the lifetimes of those being born then (this generation will certainly not pass away … ).
But the prophecy of “Enoch” clearly states 70 generations, about 2800 years, not 70 lifetimes. If “Enoch’s” prophecy was legitimate, then the judgment of the fallen angels took place around the time of the 1st Coming and is not something about to happen now. Peter mentioned Jesus preaching to spirits in prison who disobeyed at the time of Noah’s flood. (1 Peter 3:19-20) Maybe this is what he was talking about.
There’s a good reason why the Book of Enoch is not included in the Bible. It didn’t pass the tests for inspiration. It wasn’t written by Enoch, it wasn’t written at the time of Enoch’s life, and it contains theological and historical errors that prove it’s not inspired.