The Book of Enoch & the Bibleنموونە

The Gates Of Hell

Jesus, standing at the base of what is believed to be Mount Hermon/Mount Bashan, declares, “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (ESV)

Scripture has several layers of meaning, and the Greek language of our gospels can lead to even more layers. Jesus talks to Peter here, but Peter is not our focus today. Jesus stands on a rock when making his “on this rock” statement: Mount Hermon. Only a short distance away, the pagan worship center set up in 1 Kings 12 is still in operation at Caesarea Philippi. These worshipers of Pan (a goat demon) are trying to summon imprisoned gods from the underworld. We might ask, why did they think they could summon gods at Mount Hermon?

In the Book of Enoch, we’re told that the fallen angels of Genesis 6 “were two hundred total who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon” (Enoch 6:6 MSV). This is the incursion point for these false gods to challenge the God-given order of creation. Peter and Jude tell us that these angels were locked away. Now, Pan worshipers think they can bring them back from prison through the gates of hell, defying the living God.

Jesus, in Matthew 17, travels to the top of this mountain. His face shines like the sun, his clothes radiate light, and the presence of the Lord descends while Elijah and Moses speak with the Messiah. This dramatic scene is Jesus declaring spiritual warfare against the corruption of satanic forces in the world. Remember, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8 ESV)

A short while later, Jesus is crucified. The Bible says Jesus “being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah” (1 Peter 3:18-20 ESV). Jesus storms the gates of hell and proclaims to the fallen angels His victory; that God truly has a better way of ordering the world than they did. Enoch predicts this event when the fallen angels are imprisoned.

“bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth,

until the day of their judgment and their fulfillment,

until the judgment that is forever and ever is consummated” (En 10:12 MSV).

70 generations? If we count the generations in Luke 3, there are exactly 70 from Enoch to Jesus. Quoting Psalm 68, Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:8 that “when He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives” (NASB). These captives are the fallen angels, defeated once and for all, taken from their temporary prison after 70 generations to face judgment before the Lord Almighty.

By examining the context of Enoch, we understand that Jesus was not just restoring sinful man to God; he was also destroying the works of the Devil. Praise Jesus!