HERMON
ENOCH, THE WATCHERS & THE FORGOTTEN MISSION OF JESUS CHRIST
DR. MICHAEL S. HEISER
Reversing Hermon: Enoch, the Watchers, & the Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ
By Dr. Michael S. Heiser
© Copyright 2017 Dr. Michael S. Heiser.
All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.
Cover design by Jeffrey Mardis.
Defender Press Print ISBN: 9780998142630
Lexham Press Digital ISBN: 9781683592600
(1903–1992)
This book has been a long time in coming, both in terms of finally producing something for my friend Tom Horn, but also because no book like it exists. Readers will discover in these pages that much time and effort in high biblical scholarship has been devoted to the study of 1 Enoch (more popularly known as “the Book of Enoch”) and its importance for New Testament theology. Hundreds of scholarly journal articles and doctoral dissertations have explored the literary and theological relationships between the two, but to date that research has never been collected and put forth in one volume—for either the academy or interested nonspecialists. I’m thankful for Tom’s encouragement to produce Reversing Hermon to fill that void to some degree.
Thanks are also due to my listeners at the Naked Bible Podcast. Several of the topics covered in this book were enthusiastically received as podcast episodes some time ago. The reception encouraged me to take the step and move forward with this project.
Lastly, the efforts of Kay Anderson were most appreciated. Kay worked quickly and efficiently to proofread the manuscript. Her eye for detail and thoroughness are duly noted.
Genesis 6:1–4 in Its Original Ancient Contexts
The Sons of God and the Nephilim
Taking Genesis 6:1–4 Seriously
The Sin of the Watchers in 1 Enoch and Other Enochian Texts
The Mesopotamian Apkallu, the Watchers, and the Nephilim
Reversing Hermon in the Gospels
The Sin of the Watchers and the Birth of Jesus
The Sin of the Watchers and the Genealogy of Jesus
The Sin of the Watchers and the Ministry of Jesus
Reversing Hermon in the Epistles
The Sin of the Watchers and Human Depravity
The Sin of the Watchers and the Head Covering of 1 Corinthians 11
The Sin of the Watchers and Baptism
Reversing Hermon in the Book of Revelation
The Sin of the Watchers, the Nephilim, and the Antichrist
The Sin of the Watchers and the Apocalypse
The Question of the Inspiration of 1 Enoch in the Early Church
The Dating and Manuscript Evidence for 1 Enoch and the Book of Giants
Scholarly Bibliography on 1 Enoch and the Book of Giants
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About Reversing Hermon: Enoch, The Watchers & The Forgotten Mission of Jesus ChristReversing Hermon is a groundbreaking work. It unveils what most in the modern Church have never heard regarding how the story of the sin of the Watchers in 1 Enoch 6–16 helped frame the mission of Jesus, the messiah. Jews of the first century expected the messiah to reverse the impact of the Watchers’ transgression. For Jews of Jesus’ day, the Watchers were part of the explanation for why the world was so profoundly depraved. The messiah would not just revoke the claim of Satan on human souls and estrangement from God, solving the predicament of the Fall. He would also bring the nations back into relationship with the true God by defeating the principalities and powers that governed them. Jews also believed that the messiah would rescue humanity from self-destruction, the catalyst for which was the sin of the Watchers and the influence of what they had taught humankind. The role of Enoch’s retelling of Genesis 6:1–4 in how New Testament writers wrote of Jesus and the cross has been largely lost to a modern audience. Reversing Hermon rectifies that situation. Topics include: • Understanding Genesis 6:1–4 and the sin of the Watchers in their original context: how the ancient Mesopotamian story of the apkallu aligns with Genesis 6:1–4 was preserved in 1 Enoch and sets the stage for the theme of reversing the evil of the Watchers • How the theme of reversing the transgression of the Watchers colors the gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus, his genealogy, and his ministry • How the writings of Peter and Paul allude to the sin of the Watchers and present Jesus as overturning the disastrous effects of their sins against humanity • How the descriptions of the antichrist, the end-times Day of the Lord, and the final judgment connect to Genesis 6 and the nephilim Though every topic addressed in Reversing Hermon can be found in scholarly academic literature, Reversing Hermon is the first book to gather this information and make it accessible to Bible students everywhere. The book also includes lengthy appendices on the ancient debate on the inspiration of the book of 1 Enoch, New Testament allusions to the book, and academic resources for studying 1 Enoch and the Book of Giants from the Dead Sea Scrolls. |
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