The Book of Enoch

The Book of Enoch, an ancient Hebrew apocalyptic religious text, is one of the most important non-canonical apocryphal works, and probably had a huge influence on early Christian, particularly Gnostic, beliefs. Ascribed by tradition to Enoch (the great-grandfather of Noah), the texts are dated to around 300-200 BC. Filled with hallucinatory visions of heaven and hell, angels and devils, Enoch introduced concepts such as the appearance of a Messiah, Resurrection, a Final Judgement, and a Heavenly Kingdom on Earth. The text also describes the fall of the Watchers - angels who fathered the angel-human hybrids known as the Nephilim. Interspersed with this material are quasi-scientific digressions on calendrical systems, geography, cosmology, astronomy, and meteorology.