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The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch, Charles translation) · 71 of 141 · tr. R.H. Charles

Chapter LII

LII. The Seven 1 Metal Mountains and the Elect One . CHAPTER LII. l. And after those days in that place where I had seen all the visions of that which is hidden--for I had been carried off in a whirlwind and they had borne me towards the west-- 2. There mine eyes saw all the secret things of heaven that shall be, a mountain of iron, and a mountain of copper, and a p. 70 mountain of silver, and a mountain of gold, and a mountain of soft metal, and a mountain of lead. 3. And I asked the angel who went with me, saying, 'What things are these which I have seen in secret?' 4. And he said unto me: 'All these things which thou hast seen shall serve the dominion of His Anointed that he may be potent and mighty on the earth.' 5. And that angel of peace answered, saying unto me: 'Wait a little, and there shall be revealed unto thee all the secret things which surround the Lord of Spirits. 6. And these mountains which thine eyes have seen, The mountain of iron, and the mountain of copper, and the mountain of silver, And the mountain of gold, and the mountain of soft metal, and the mountain of lead, All these shall be in the presence of the Elect One As wax: before the fire, And like the water which streams down from above [ upon those mountains ] , And they shall become powerless before his feet. 7. And it shall come to pass in those days that none shall be saved, Either by gold or by silver, And none be able to escape. 8 And there shall be no iron for war, Nor shall one clothe oneself with a breastplate. Bronze shall be of no service, And tin [ shall be of no service and ] shall not be esteemed, And lead shall not be desired. 9 And all these things shall be [ denied and ] destroyed from the surface of the earth, When the Elect One shall appear before the face of the Lord of Spirits.' Footnotes 69:1 [Only six are mentioned; see Charles' note in his large edition--EDD.]
Themes
◆Anthropomorphismtheology

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

The Lord of Spirits is described as having a 'face' and the Elect One has 'feet' before which mountains become powerless.

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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 metals are destined to serve the dominion of the Anointed, indicating a divine ordering of material reality toward a specific end.

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◆Hidden Sayingssoteriology

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

Enoch is shown 'secret things of heaven' and 'visions of that which is hidden' which are revealed to him by an angel.

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◆Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

The vision specifies exactly seven mountains made of different metals, invoking symbolic numerology common in apocalyptic literature.

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◆Renunciation Of Wealthethics

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

The text explicitly states that no one shall be saved by gold or silver and that these metals will be destroyed and not desired.

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◆Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

Enoch is carried off in a whirlwind towards the west to see visions of hidden heavenly things, representing a visionary journey.

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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 end times where no one can escape judgment and material defenses are destroyed upon the appearance of the Elect One.

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Related passages · 4 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 8 (part 6)
“1.) "The terrestrial consciousness corrupted the celestial one, and the former became the Turba of the latter. Likewise, the Fiat made the earth and stones out of the eternal essentiality." ( Menschwerdung , i. 9.) "But in the earth we fi…”
Both passages discuss the symbolic significance of metals and other elements, relating them to divine or celestial realms. Passage A describes metals as serving the dominion of the Elect One, while Passage B discusses the divine substantiality of metals and their relationship to the celestial realm.
◆egyptian|The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani)|Chapter 33 (part 2)
“I shall behold sacred things which are hidden, there shall be done unto me holy (37) hidden rites, I shall see what is there; my words shall make full the majesty of Shu, and they shall drive away evil hap. (38) I, even I, am Horus who dwe…”
Both passages describe a mystical journey where the protagonist gains insight into hidden, divine realms and encounters divine beings. They also share themes of divine power and the transformation of the world.
◆finnic|The Kalevala|Rune XXXIXa
“'S SAILING. Wainamoinen, old and faithful, Spake these words to Ilmarinen: "O thou wonder-working brother, Let us go to Sariola, There to gain the magic Sampo, There to see the lid in colors." Ilmarinen gave this answer: "Hard indeed to se…”
Both passages describe a journey to a distant land to retrieve a valuable treasure hidden within metal mountains. They share themes of divine or magical artifacts and the significance of these artifacts in the context of their respective mythologies.
◆gnosticism|Pistis Sophia|Document FIRSTd
“It happened while I am sitting being distant from you [9 ] a little upon the mountain of the Olives, thinking of the arrangement of the service concerning which they sent me, that it was finished: and the Last mystery dispatched not to me m…”
Both passages describe a mystical revelation involving divine mysteries and the role of a chosen figure. They share themes of divine power, revelation, and the transformation of the world, though they come from different traditions.