Every now and then readers of the Book of Enoch get a challenge by people who use one of the sayings of Jesus Christ which they construe to mean Jesus might have denied Enoch’s ascension into heaven. I do not like to publicise this use of the verse but just to point out that there is another way to understand Jesus’ saying in the Gospel of John. Jesus frequently, as John recorded, emphasised the importance of His words as coming from someone well acquainted with God the Father since nobody else on earth at the time had come from Heaven. Once it is recorded that He used a phrase to say He alone had ascended into Heaven. The usual saying recorded is that He alone had come from Heaven. He usually spoke in the context of His immediate hearers and how things were to them. They would never hear Enoch speak on earth because Enoch was in Heaven. The only person they would hear testify who had both come from Heaven and at some time or times ascended into Heaven too was Jesus. Jesus was not denying the ascension of Enoch nor of Elijah. Colloquially He was speaking of those present on earth as He spoke and in that context only He out of all those present on Earth at that time had ascended into Heaven and come from Heaven. Daniel had written of Him being brought into the presence of God the Ancient of Days. Enoch had written about such occassions too. Both Daniel and Jesus alluded to the writings of Enoch and Jesus also alluded to the writings of Daniel. Be cautious how you understand the words of Jesus and how you regard the understandings others have of His words.
