Open your Bible to Jude 1:14–15. Read it carefully. Jude — the brother of Jesus — is quoting a prophecy. He attributes it by name: "Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men..."
That prophecy is not found anywhere in Genesis. It's not in any of the 66 books of the Protestant Bible, or even the 73 books of the Catholic Bible. It comes directly from the Book of Enoch, Chapter 1:9 — a text that was ultimately excluded from the Western biblical canon at the Council of Laodicea in 364 AD.
Think about what that means. A New Testament author — under divine inspiration, according to most Christian traditions — chose to quote a book that later church councils decided wasn't scripture. The contradiction has never been satisfactorily resolved.
It's Not Just Jude
The influence of the Book of Enoch runs throughout the New Testament. The concept of the "Son of Man" as a divine figure sitting on a heavenly throne — used repeatedly by Jesus in the Gospels — appears extensively in Enoch before any Gospel was written. The description of fallen angels bound in darkness awaiting judgment in 2 Peter 2:4 mirrors Enoch's account almost precisely.
Early church fathers knew the Book of Enoch well. Tertullian, writing around 200 AD, argued passionately that Enoch should be considered scripture. Origen studied it. The Ethiopic church canonized it. In fact, among the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran in 1947, Enoch was represented by more manuscript fragments than almost any other text — suggesting it was among the most important writings in the Second Temple Jewish world.
What Changes When You Read It?
Reading Enoch doesn't undermine your faith in scripture — it deepens your understanding of the world the New Testament authors lived in. The imagery they used, the concepts they took for granted, the apocalyptic framework they inherited — much of it comes from Enoch. When Jesus speaks of angels, judgment, and the coming kingdom, his audience knew exactly which tradition he was drawing from.
The Book of Enoch — Collector's Edition brings this foundational text back into reach, with the complete 1 Enoch (Book of the Watchers, Book of Parables, Astronomical Book, Dream Visions, and Epistle of Enoch) alongside a thorough introduction to its history and influence.
If Jude thought it was worth quoting, it's worth reading.