1 Enoch 21

The prisons of angels (Cosmic prisons)

“And I saw a deep abyss with columns <of heavenly fire, and among them I saw columns> of fire fall, which were beyond measure alike towards the height and towards the depth.  And beyond that abyss I saw a place which had no firmament of the heaven above, and no firmly founded earth beneath it: there was no water upon it and no birds, but it was a waste and a horrible place.” (1 Enoch 19:11-12)… “The angel said: ‘this place is the end of heaven and earth: this has become a prison for the stars and the hosts of heaven.’” (1 Enoch 19:14)

“And I proceeded to where things were chaotic.  And I saw there something horrible: I saw there neither a heaven above nor a firmly founded earth, but a place chaotic and horrible.  And there I saw seven stars of the heaven bound together in It, like great mountains and burning with fire. (1 Enoch 21:1-3)… “‘These are the number of the stars {of heaven} which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and are bound here till ten thousand years, the time entailed by their sins are consummated.’” (1 Enoch 21:6)

Besides Enoch’s empirical descriptions of the places he is taken to, he also describes the places as “chaotic and horrible”.  Chaos and horror do not have an empirical shape or color which can be described; but this place is not just a waste outside of existence as anybody may be able to calmly imagine by just closing your eyes or whatever.  But this true wasteland outside of existence and creation is necessarily chaotic… and horrible.  Just as right after God created the heavens and the earth in Genesis, it was “without form and void”. 

“An from thence I went to another place, which was still more horrible than the former, and I saw a horrible thing: a great fire there which burnt and blazed, and the place was cleft as far as the abyss, being full of great descending columns of fire: neither its extent or magnitude could I see nor could I conjecture.  Then I said: ‘How fearful is this place, and how terrible to look upon!’ Then Uriel answered me, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: ‘Enoch, why hast thou such fear and affright?’ And I answered: ‘Because of this fearful place, and because of the spectacle of pain.’  And he said <unto me>: ‘This place is the prison of angels, and here they will be imprisoned for ever.’” (1 Enoch 21:7-10)

When I read the description alone, I ask myself, “well, what is so terrible about really long columns of fire?”  But the reason why long columns of fire do not frighten me is because I can’t imagine how long they are.  Not even Enoch could imagine their length, though he was looking at them, and this is exactly the reason why he was afraid.  According to Enoch, this place was terrible to look upon; the visual of the place alone caused him distress.  The place was not filled with blood and gore, it was a waste, and yet it was horrible.  This says that there are things that can cause the mind more distress than earthly ideas of pain.

This prison of angels is not like any human prison we have here on earth, these places are true horror.  Their horror is indescribable, meant to torment angels.  No human horror can compare to the horror that Enoch saw in this vision.  This brings to mind that in hell, there are horrors worst than physically damaging the body, as you see in horror movies; but these horrors penetrate the soul even unto a cosmic level.  The places that Enoch described caused psychological distress just by looking at them, and God knows the distressing properties of the human mind and how to trigger these alone.  He doesn’t need to change anything in the world around you to make you go insane.  Furthermore, these places torture you in places you did not even know you had.  Just as the Great wonders of heaven are unimaginable, so are the horrors of these places.

January 29, 2012