When Enoch had spoken his final words, something extraordinary happened. People from far and near — two thousand of them — heard that the Lord was calling Enoch home, and they came running.
They gathered at the place called Achuzan, where Enoch stood with his sons. The elders of the people, the entire assembly, came and bowed before him and began to kiss him.
"Our father Enoch," they said, "may you be blessed by the Lord, the eternal ruler. Bless your sons now, and all the people, that we may be glorified today before your face. For the Lord chose you above all men on earth. He designated you the writer of all His creation — visible and invisible — the redeemer of human sin, the helper of your household."
Enoch answered with one final speech. He reminded them of the beginning — how God created the visible from the invisible, how He formed man in His own likeness with eyes to see, ears to hear, heart to reflect, and intellect to reason. How He divided time into years and months and days and hours, so that every person might measure their own life, count their deeds — good and bad — and know that no work is hidden before the Lord.
"When all creation comes to its end," Enoch told them, "then all time shall perish. The years will vanish. The months, the days, the hours — all will merge together and cease to be counted. There will be one great age. The righteous will be gathered into it. They will live eternally — no labor, no sickness, no humiliation, no anxiety, no darkness. Only great light."
"Walk before God's face with awe and trembling," he urged. "Serve Him alone. Bow to no idols made by human hands. Walk in long-suffering, in meekness, in honesty, in faith and truth — loving one another — until you depart this age of sorrows and inherit endless time."
"Blessed are the righteous who escape the great judgment," he said. "They shall shine more than the sun sevenfold."
Then the Lord sent darkness upon the earth. A thick blackness covered the people standing around Enoch. And in that darkness, the angels took him — carried him up to the highest heaven, to the place where the Lord waited, and set him before God's face.
The darkness lifted. Light returned. But Enoch was gone.
The people looked around in confusion. They could not understand what had happened. They glorified God and found a scroll on the ground in which was traced the words: "The Invisible God." Then they went to their homes.
Enoch was born on the sixth day of the month of Sivan. He lived three hundred and sixty-five years. He was taken to heaven on the first day of Sivan, remained there sixty days, wrote three hundred and sixty-six books, handed them to his sons, spent thirty days on earth, and was taken up again on the sixth of Sivan — the very day and hour of his birth (Genesis 5:24).
Methuselah and his brothers erected an altar at Achuzan — the place of Enoch's departure. They sacrificed oxen. They summoned all the people. And for three days, they held a great feast — rejoicing and praising God, who had given them such a sign through Enoch. They vowed to hand it down to their sons, from generation to generation, from age to age.
1 When Enoch had spoken these words to his sons, all people far and near heard how the Lord was calling Enoch. They took counsel together:
2 Let us go and kiss Enoch, and two thousand men came together and came to the place Achuzan where Enoch was, and his sons.
3 And the elders of the people, the whole assembly, came and bowed down and began to kiss Enoch and said to him:
4 Our father Enoch, (may) you (be) blessed of the Lord, the eternal ruler, and now bless your sons and all the people, that we may be glorified to-day before your face.
5 For you shalt be glorified before the Lords face for all time, since the Lord chose you, rather than all men on earth, and designated you writer of all his creation, visible (physical) and invisible (spiritual), and redeemed of the sins of man, and helper of your household.
1 And Enoch answered all his people saying: Hear, my children, before that all creatures were created, the Lord created the visible (physical) and invisible (spiritual) things.
2 And as much time as there was and went past, understand that after all that he created man in the likeness of his own form, and put into him eyes to see, and ears to hear, and heart to reflect, and intellect wherewith to deliberate.
3 And the Lord saw all mans works, and created all his creatures, and divided time, from time he fixed the years, and from the years he appointed the months, and from the months he appointed the days, and of days he appointed seven.
4 And in those he appointed the hours, measured them out exactly, that man might reflect on time and count years, months, and hours, (their) alternation, beginning, and end, and that he might count his own life, from the beginning until death, and reflect on his sin and write his work bad and good; because no work is hidden before the Lord, that every man might know his works and never transgress all his commandments, and keep my handwriting from generation to generation.
5 When all creation visible (physical) and invisible (spiritual), as the Lord created it, shall end, then every man goes to the great judgment, and then all time shall perish, and the years, and thenceforward there will be neither months nor days nor hours, they will be adhered together and will not be counted.
6 There will be one aeon, and all the righteous who shall escape the Lords great judgment, shall be collected in the great aeon, for the righteous the great aeon will begin, and they will live eternally, and then too there will be amongst them neither labour, nor sickness, nor humiliation, nor anxiety, nor need, nor brutality, nor night, nor darkness, but great light.
7 And they shall have a great indestructible wall, and a paradise bright and incorruptible (eternal), for all corruptible (mortal) things shall pass away, and there will be eternal life.
1 And now, my children, keep your souls from all injustice, such as the Lord hates.
2 Walk before his face with terror and trembling and serve him alone.
3 Bow down to the true God, not to dumb idols, but bow down to his similitude, and bring all just offerings before the Lords face. The Lord hates what is unjust.
4 For the Lord sees all things; when man takes thought in his heart, then he counsels the intellects, and every thought is always before the Lord, who made firm the earth and put all creatures on it.
5 If you look to heaven, the Lord is there; if you take thought of the seas deep and all the under-earth, the Lord is there.
6 For the Lord created all things. Bow not down to things made by man, leaving the Lord of all creation, because no work can remain hidden before the Lords face.
7 Walk, my children, in long-suffering, in meekness, honesty, in provocation, in grief, in faith and in truth, in (reliance on) promises, in illness, in abuse, in wounds, in temptation, in nakedness, in privation, loving one another, till you go out from this age of ills, that you become inheritors of endless time.
8 Blessed are the just who shall escape the great judgment, for they shall shine forth more than the sun sevenfold, for in this world the seventh part is taken off from all, light, darkness, food, enjoyment, sorrow, paradise, torture, fire, frost, and other things; he put all down in writing, that you might read and understand.
1 When Enoch had talked to the people, the Lord sent out darkness on to the earth, and there was darkness, and it covered those men standing with Enoch, and they took Enoch up on to the highest heaven, where the Lord (is); and he received him and placed him before his face, and the darkness went off from the earth, and light came again.
2 And the people saw and understood not how Enoch had been taken, and glorified God, and found a roll in which was traced The Invisible (spiritual) God; and all went to their dwelling places.
1 Enoch was born on the sixth day of the month Tsivan, and lived three hundred and sixty-five years.
2 He was taken up to heaven on the first day of the month Tsivan and remained in heaven sixty days.
3 He wrote all these signs of all creation, which the Lord created, and wrote three hundred and sixty-six books, and handed them over to his sons and remained on earth thirty days, and was again taken up to heaven on the sixth day of the month Tsivan, on the very day and hour when he was born.
4 As every mans nature in this life is dark, so are also his conception, birth, and departure from this life.
5 At what hour he was conceived, at that hour he was born, and at that hour too he died.
6 Methosalam and his brethren, all the sons of Enoch, made haste, and erected an altar at that place called Achuzan, whence and where Enoch had been taken up to heaven.
7 And they took sacrificial oxen and summoned all people and sacrificed the sacrifice before the Lords face.
8 All people, the elders of the people and the whole assembly came to the feast and brought gifts to the sons of Enoch.
9 And they made a great feast, rejoicing and making merry three days, praising God, who had given them such a sign through Enoch, who had found favour with him, and that they should hand it on to their sons from generation to generation, from age to age.
10 Amen.
Translated from the Slavonic by W. R. Morfill, M.A.
Further corrected and HTML edited by Adam Jerome, 2002; ©Copyright 2002, Adam Jerome. All rights reserved.
