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Chris Vail's avatar

The Bible started out as a Canon of books suitable to be read aloud from the pulpit. Originally the book of Enoch was a part of that Canon, but it got dropped in the 4th Century. By the end of the 4th Century the book of Revelation got added to the Canon, even though up to that time it had only been read by heretics (probably Ebionites). Of the Christian Scriptures, the books of James, Jude and Revelation are Jewish. Martin Luther had a problem with James and Jude because of their emphasis on the importance of works (Luther advocated "faith only", by which he meant credulity, not fidelity). Jude, by the way, cites Enoch.

Enoch got dropped because it featured a timeline that ran from Creation to Judgement Day (a 7,000 year period). In Jesus's day people expected the immanent arrival of the Son of Man at the head of an army of angels to prepare humanity for the Millennium. By the 4th Century Christianity had become legal and part of the establishment, and it was clear that the Son of Man was late.

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