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The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) · 65 of 141 · tr. R.H. Charles

Chapter XLVI

XLVI. The Head of Days and the Son of Man . CHAPTER XLVI. 1. And there I saw One who had a head of days, And His head was white like wool, And with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man, And his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels. 2. And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me all the hidden things, concerning that Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, (and) p. 64 why he went with the Head of Days? And he answered and said unto me: This is the son of Man who hath righteousness, With whom dwelleth righteousness, And who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden, Because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him, And whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness for ever. 4, And this Son of Man whom thou hast seen Shall †raise up† the kings and the mighty from their seats, [ And the strong from their thrones ] And shall loosen the reins of the strong, And break the teeth of the sinners. 5. [ And he shall put down the kings from their thrones and kingdoms ] Because they do not extol and praise Him, Nor humbly acknowledge whence the kingdom was bestowed upon them. 6. And he shall put down the countenance of the strong, And shall fill them with shame. And darkness shall be their dwelling, And worms shall be their bed, And they shall have no hope of rising from their beds, Because they do not extol the name of the Lord of Spirits. 7. And these are they who †judge† the stars of heaven, [ And raise their hands against the Most High ] , †And tread upon the earth and dwell upon it†. And all their deeds manifest unrighteousness, And their power rests upon their riches, p. 65 And their faith is in the †gods† which they have made with their hands, And they deny the name of the Lord of Spirits, 8. And they persecute the houses of His congregations, And the faithful who hang upon the name of the Lord of Spirits.
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Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

[auto] Divine beings are explicitly described with human features: the Head of Days has a head white like wool, and the Son of Man has a countenance like a man.

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Archonscosmology

Malevolent planetary rulers or demiurgic powers that govern the material world and obstruct the soul's ascent.

The passage mentions those who 'judge the stars of heaven' and raise hands against the Most High, echoing the concept of malevolent cosmic rulers.

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Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

A sharp distinction is drawn between the righteous (dwelling with righteousness) and sinners (dwelling in darkness with worms).

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Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

The Son of Man reveals 'treasures of that which is hidden,' implying a state of divine concealment prior to revelation.

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Divine Providencetheology

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

The text emphasizes that the kingdom was bestowed by God and the Son of Man was chosen by the Lord of Spirits.

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Eschatological Judgmentsoteriology

Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration.

[auto] The passage centrally depicts the Son of Man executing final judgment on kings and sinners, sentencing them to darkness and shame.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

The Son of Man is described as the one who 'revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden,' indicating esoteric revelation.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

The Lord of Spirits is portrayed as an active agent who chooses, bestows kingdoms, and judges the wicked.

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Pneumatic Electsoteriology

A spiritual elite who possess the divine spark and are predestined for salvation, contrasted with psychic (faithful) and hylic (material) persons.

A distinction is made between the 'faithful who hang upon the name' and those who persecute them, implying a spiritual elite.

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Renunciation Of Wealthethics

The spiritual danger of attachment to material possessions; wealth as a spiritual obstacle.

The condemned kings are criticized because their power rests upon their riches rather than acknowledging God.

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Sacred Namestheology

Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.

Salvation and judgment are contingent upon extolling and acknowledging the 'name of the Lord of Spirits.'

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Related passages · 6 parallels
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 127
“Section 5 5. It may be objected that the Intellectual-Principle possesses its content in an eternal conjunction so that the two make a perfect unity, and that thus there is no Matter there. But that argument would equally cancel the Matter…”
Shared concept: Cosmic Dualism — Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 2, Section 1g
“Their ultimate nature, which they possess in their own original being, is beyond Mind and beyond all Being and Knowledge. 203 203 Even the Differentiations finally lead us up into the Undifferenced Godhead Where they transcend themselves.…”
Shared concept: Divine Hiddenness — The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 161
“Section 5 5. Still more unreasonably: There are men, bound to human bodies and subject to desire, grief, anger, who think so generously of their own faculty that they declare themselves in contact with the Intelligible World, but deny that…”
Shared concept: Divine Providence — Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity. (derived)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 42 (part 6)
“should have selected a god against whose commandments Jesus was the first one to rise in rebellion. The Planetary origin of the Monad (Soul) and of its faculties was taught by the Gnostics. On its way to the Earth, as on its way back from…”
Shared concept: Archons — Malevolent planetary rulers or demiurgic powers that govern the material world and obstruct the soul's ascent. (derived)
native_american|The Soul of the Indian|Chapter I-b
“Sometimes an old man, standing upon the brink of eternity, might reveal to a chosen few the oracle of his long-past youth. The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget…”
Shared concept: Renunciation Of Wealth — The spiritual danger of attachment to material possessions; wealth as a spiritual obstacle. (derived)
hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 10: The Sermon on the Mount|Section 1a
“The Key <This longer tractate presents itself explicitly as a summary or abridgement of the General Sermons (CH II-IX), and discusses the Hermetic view of knowledge and its role in the lives and afterlives of human beings. The attentive re…”
Shared concept: Pneumatic Elect — A spiritual elite who possess the divine spark and are predestined for salvation, contrasted with psychic (faithful) and hylic (material) persons. (derived)