The Book of Enoch’s apocalypse of the animals dream vision primarily concerns the history around the ancient Israelite kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and the tracing of their stories through into modern and future times. It has one great lesson concerning the human experience, and the work of God. It shows that the Judah kingdom of the southern tribes of the ancient Israelites were centred on the house of God (in Jerusalem), and how the northern tribes, the Israel kingdom, forsook this house of God, moving away from it not just physically from its location, but spiritually in the devotion of service to God. In so doing, these northern tribes became spiritually blinded, and the dream follows the historical outcomes of this. “Israel has sinned” is a meaningful and gravely sorrowful exclamation of God, through to today. The turning away of his followers from the Holy Spirit’s work in His living temple of believers, this is so lamentable to God, and still today it leads but one way, to an eagle of war souring in the sky overhead, and the gravity of events on the ground below. In the vision of Enoch the tribes forsaking the work of building the temple were punished by God handing them over to a very long succession of unseen angelic lords, right up until today. Under these ‘shepherds’ as the dream portrayed them, these blinded ‘sheep’ are attacked by the beasts of prey around about in the surrounding nations. It still continues to this day. Eventually the lord over all will come to the rescue, once the succession of their angelic minders have run their course, but only after a time of terrible wrath, but first action of this lord will be to judge the angelic rulers for allowing excessive deaths, and second action will be a similar condemnation of the blinded of the sheep. After this will come a joyous time when the remaining sheep all gather to God and stay with God and His Son forever. Now we can learn how God regards with sadness but also punishment the forsaking of the work of the Holy Spirit in building His temple of believers even today. He still says of it, “Israel has sinned”. The eagle overhead even today is the sign. It still leads to condemnation because it leads the strays to spiritual blindness. God looks forward through it all to a day of the return of His Son to the sheep, and after judgment, eventually to eternal fellowship with those who gather to His temple work and remain faithful. Amen.
