1 Enoch 48

XLVIII. The Fount of Righteousness: the Son of Man—the Stay of the Righteous: Judgement of the Kings and the Mighty.

1And in that place I saw the fountain of righteousness Which was inexhaustible: And around it were many fountains of wisdom: And all the thirsty drank of them, And were filled with wisdom, And their dwellings were with the righteous and holy and elect. 2And at that hour that Son of Man was named In the presence of the Lord of Spirits, And his name before the Head of Days.*i.e. when Enoch was beholding these visions. The Parables assert the actual pre-existence of the Son of Man. See vv. 3 and 6, xlvi. 1, 2, xlix. 2, lxii. 7. Cf. 4 Ezra xii. 32, xiii. 26. 3Yea, before the sun and the signs were created, Before the stars of the heaven were made, His name was named before the Lord of Spirits. 4He shall be a staff to the righteous whereon to stay themselves and not fall, And he shall be the light of the Gentiles, And the hope of those who are troubled of heart.*Isa. xlii. 6, xlix. 6. He will become their light through his future coming and character being made known to them. 5All who dwell on earth shall fall down and worship before him, And will praise and bless and celebrate with song the Lord of Spirits.*even his deniers, lxii. 6, 9, lxiii, xc. 37. Cf. Ps. lxxii. 9, 11; Phil. ii. 10. 6And for this reason hath he been chosen and hidden before Him, Before the creation of the world and for evermore. 7And the wisdom of the Lord of Spirits hath revealed him to the holy and righteous; For he hath preserved the lot of the righteous, Because they have hated and despised this world of unrighteousness, And have hated all its works and ways in the name of the Lord of Spirits: For in his name they are saved, And according to his good pleasure hath it been in regard to their life. 8In these days downcast in countenance shall the kings of the earth have become, And the strong who possess the land because of the works of their hands, For on the day of their anguish and affliction they shall not (be able to) save themselves. 9And I will give them over into the hands of Mine elect: As straw in the fire so shall they burn before the face of the holy: As lead in the water shall they sink before the face of the righteous, And no trace of them shall any more be found.*Cf. Exod. xv. 7, 10. Gehenna is here visible to the righteous, cf. xxvii. 2, 3, xc. 26, 27; 4 Ezra vi. 1, but not so in En. lxii. 12, 13; Rev. xx. 14; or in the last clause here – 'no trace'. Really the Parables transform the conception of Gehenna, and the spectacle is only temporary in this verse. 10And on the day of their affliction there shall be rest on the earth, And before them they shall fall and not rise again: And there shall be no one to take them with his hands and raise them: For they have denied the Lord of Spirits and His Anointed. The name of the Lord of Spirits be blessed.*Ps. ii. 2. In O.T. Messiah is not an exact technical term, but is used of the Davidic kings, and even Cyrus (Isa. xlv. 1). It is first found in the later sense in the Parables here, xlviii. 10, lii. 4: then in Pss. Sol. xvii. 36, xviii. 6, 8; 4 Ezra vii. 29, xii. 32; 2 Bar. xxix. 3, etc.