city of enoch taken up to heaven city of enoch taken up to heaven

The Book of Mormon and Other Hidden Books. [13] G. W. E. Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch 1, 40:89, p. 130. As the evangelist told the story, when the son was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him (Luke 15:20).. [32] Church History Library, MS 2567. The work of scholars such as George Nickelsburg and Hugh Nibley has opened our eyes to ancient traditions regarding the figure of Enoch, so that we, as Latter-day Saints, have come to realize what a wealth of knowledge the Prophet Joseph Smith provided when he produced his inspired renderings of the first several chapters in Genesis, including the greatly expanded story of Enoch. "The Story of Archangel Haniel Taking Enoch to Heaven." We observed that the Epistle to the Hebrews speaks of Christians gaining access to the heavenly city, which was also referred to as Mount Zion. Get more fascinating insights into the scriptures withThe Pearl of Great Price: A Verse-by-Verse Commentary. The temple, the holy mountain, or the holy city, is the place for ascension into heaven, whether it be literal or ritual. What a blessing it is to live in a day when we are preparing for the return of Zion. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Thus began a vision of what would happen to the earth from then to the Millennium, and where Zion would eventually be located. Maxwell, Neal A. The confirmation of the divine oath with these heirs of promise served to give them hope. During the millennium, the people of Enoch will return to help build the kingdom of God on Earth. In this passage, the speaker proclaims to God, You have illumined my face for your covenant. Genesis mentions two Enochs: one, a son of Cain, who Cain named a city after (Gen 4:17); the second, a decendent of Seth, was "taken by God" (Gen 5:24). Faulring, Scott H., Kent P. Jackson, and Robert J. Matthews, eds. Although these parallels are interesting, we are still not seeing in the ancient texts the idea of entire communities being taken up into heaven, as described in Joseph Smiths revelations. Community is provided access to the heavenly temple by Jesus, their High Priestthey are exhorted to boldly enter the heavenly sanctuary and draw near to Gods throne (4:1416; 10:1925).14. Verse18 indicates that those who have received this covenant have fled in order to take hold upon the hope set before them. The Narrative of Zosimus and the Book of Mormon. Because of this, it is most likely Enoch did not travel to the land of Canaan. There are numerous biblical and pseudepigraphal texts that relate the ascensions of great biblical heroes such as Abraham, Jacob, Levi, Moses, Isaiah, Jesus, and Paul. When these themes are brought together, the following picture begins to emerge: a. The idea of Melchizedek (if not his city with him) being taken up into heaven is not unknown in the ancient literature. [5] G. Ksa, Book of Giants Tradition, pp. We make this interpretation of veil of darkness being spiritual in nature based on similar phrases elsewhere in scripture, for example, Moses 7:56 (the heavens were veiled) and Doctrine and Covenants 38:8 (the veil of darkness shall soon be rent), which imply that this veil will cut off direct communication from heaven. 1 Enoch 1: A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch, Chapters 1-36; 81-108. The Pearl of Great Price: A Verse-by-Verse Commentary. They declared that they were originally from Earth, where they were known as the sons of Rechab. Because they would not obey the wicked King Jehoiakims request that they renounce their covenants and abandon the Lord, they were imprisoned. With Enochs Zion removed from the world, the residue of the people left behind continued to increase in wickednessa downward spiral that ultimately ended with the coming of the Great Flood to cleanse the earth of their iniquity. Vol. In The Angel Bible: The Definitive Guide to Angel Wisdom, Hazel Raven says that Haniel was one of the seven angels Enoch saw come together in a glorious way: "Enoch saw the seven angels before the throne of God as alike (they were also composite rather than single beings and represent countless others). We also know that Enoch did not preach to the Canaanites, a band of people responsible for the annihilation of the people of Shum (Moses 7:7). Enoch was 430 years old at that time. They were seven yet onethe unity of angels. The text of the Book of Genesis says Enoch lived 365 years before he was taken by God. The Son of God died, but then rose from the dead three days later. Lee observes that the early Christian church understood Psalm 110:1 to refer to Jesus, who had taken up his throne on Mount Zion (Ps. Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible. [24] See G. W. E. Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch 1, 90:2829, p. 402. Paulien, Jon. Crispin Fletcher-Louis, Heavenly Ascent and Incarnational Presence? The Doctrine and Covenants, Section 38:4. Translation of 1QHodayota XV:2930 by Newsom in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XL, 214. To use an example that I see as similar, the temporary transfiguration of Christ on the mountain height was, if anything, a preview of his anticipated exaltation and heavenly enthronement. 2. (accessed October 28, 2021). Faith and Scholarship Colloquies 3, 218-31. 254255. Timothy H. Lim and John J. Collins (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 443. . The painting portrays the biblical character Enoch being taken to heaven by God.He was the son of Jared, the father of Methuselah, and an ancestor of Noah.Enoch was a key figure in the Old Testament who was said to live 365 years before he was taken by God to heaven. [15] See, for example, J. H. Charlesworth, Resurrection Beliefs, p. 223, who writes: In the history of the theologies of Israel, resurrection belief is clearly found only in very late literature. Although the texts are highly fragmentary, which makes their full content and purpose difficult to establish, they appear to have been designed to take worshippers on a tour through the celestial realms, introducing them to the angelic priesthood and the songs they sing in praise of God, guiding them through the heavenly temple, and depicting a vision of the glorious throne of God. (Leiden: Brill, 1999), 2:465. It provides deep and powerful insights into crucial Restoration doctrines, particularly doctrines relating to the plan of salvation. I will briefly outline the pattern that I have been able to piece together, drawing on an array of different texts within these collections. Philip Alexander, Qumran and the Genealogy of Western Mysticism, in New Perspectives on Old Texts: Proceedings of the Tenth International Symposium of the Orion Center for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature, 911 January, 2005, ed. Translated by Mayer I. Gruber. The second passage which allegedly becomes a problem if Enoch was taken up alive is John 3:13: "No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man," The idea is that John's Gospel is wrong here if Enoch had, in fact, ascended into heaven. The citizens of the City of Enoch were not limited to one group or tribe of people. Haniel's Role. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2015. https://www.academia.edu/28945654/_Introduction_to_MANI_S_PICTURES_The_Didactic_Images_of_the_Manichaeans_from_Sasanian_Mesopotamia_to_Uygur_Central_Asia_and_Tang_Ming_China_Leiden_Brill_2015_pp_1_19. Haniel's many alternate names have confused some people over which angel really carried Enoch into heaven, so Richard Webster says in his book Encyclopedia of Angels that "Haniel is sometimes thought to be the angel who transported Enoch to heaven" but some people credit other angels. Enoch and all who lived in Zion, his city, were so righteous that Heavenly Father took the whole city up into heaven. The Pearl of Great Price: Verse by Verse Commentary. Hartmut Stegemann and Eileen Schuller (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2009), 155. From the scriptures, we know that Enoch came east out of his homeland of Cainan to preach repentance unto the people. When I first saw the photo that accompanied the inspiring New Years message and invitation for 2022 from President Nelson,[1] I could not help but think of the following verses from the Joseph Smith Translation of Genesis about the city of Enoch (JST Genesis 9:2122): 21 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant, which I made unto thy father Enoch; that, when men should keep all my commandments, Zion should again come on the earth, the city of Enoch which I have caught up unto myself. So Enoch was snatched up from earth to heaven, and then we are told "that he did not see death." A plain reading of Hebrews 11:13 seems to say that Enoch actually did experience death. [23] H. C. Kee, Testaments, Levi 10:5, p. 792. Though he asked God "wherefore am I thy servant?" The archangels also kept the record of all the incarnations of every human being.". 3. 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Doctrine and Covenants 110:1: The veil was taken from our minds.See also a phrase added to the end of Genesis 9:26 in theJST: and a veil of darkness shall cover him (S. H. Faulring et al., Original Manuscripts, OT1, p. 118; OT2, p. 632. ISSN 2167-8472 (print); ISSN 2167-8480 (online), Provo, UT 84602, USA | 2022 Brigham Young University. For example, Moses, when he ascended Mount Sinai into the presence of God, left the general body of the Israelites down at the bottom of the mountain and even left the seventy specially chosen elders at the halfway point before ascending to the heights. A number of scholars have picked up on the similarity between the Epistle to the Hebrews and a collection of hymns found among the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran and also at the Jewish fortress of Masada. This seems to indicate that communication between heaven and the children of men would be severed due to wickedness. A. Tvedtnes, Hidden Books; H. W. Nibley, Prophetic, pp. 2 vols. and have ceased to cast down their faces. Later in Hebrews, we get more insight into his disappearance: "By faith . However, Enoch and Elijah did not die. Men and angels are to be co-workers in bringing to pass this great work, and Zion is to be prepared, even a new Jerusalem, for the elect that are to be gathered from the four quarters of the earth, and to be established an holy city, for the tabernacle of the Lord shall be with them. Zion as heavenly Jerusalem was taken up by the early church when they read Ps2 together with Ps110 as applying to Jesus.2 Psalm 110:4 is, of course, one of only two passages in the Hebrew Bible that make mention of Melchizedek. 16K views, 545 likes, 471 loves, 3K comments, 251 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from EWTN: Starting at 8 a.m. 274ff; G. L. Mitton, Book of Mormon As a Resurrected Book. The scene also evokes the imagery of Nephis vision (1 Nephi 11:1, 3, 4,8, 25): I was caught away into an exceedingly high mountain . 12. Samuel I. Thomas, The Mysteries of Qumran: Mystery, Secrecy, and Esotericism in the Dead Sea Scrolls (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2009), 209. In chapter 7 of the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith provides us with an extensive account of how Enoch built a city "called the City of Holiness, even ZION" (Moses 7:19). In his book Edgar Cayce and the Kabbalah: Resources for Soulful Living, John Van Auken also credits Haniel as being "the angel who carried Enoch (who, according to the Bible, did not die but was 'taken by God' from Earth to heaven.". [12] Moses 7:62. God made heaven and earth; at last he will remake both and join them together forever. This is the connection that the author of Hebrews makesthat Jesuss priesthood is the priesthood of Melchizedek. 7. A new take on the parable of the lost sheep may change how you see yourself in the church, 5 things Latter-day Saints should know about ancient Christians, 6 temple dresses + accessories Latter-day Saint women will love. So it is possible the City of Enoch could have been around these biblical regions. 2 (Syriac Apocalypse of) Baruch. In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, edited by James H. Charlesworth. In an interesting New Testament parallel, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews mentions the translation of Enoch in his discussion of the faith of the ancients. Elijah was the second man to be taken to heaven in a natural body, Enoch being the first (Gen. 5:24; Heb. An individual, often the leader of the group or community, recounts how he has been taken up into heaven to stand in the divine council; b. Biblical Data: Name of the seventh progenitor of the race in the "book of the generations of Adam"; he was the son of Jared and the father of Methuselah (Gen. v.). Joseph Smith had only 3 years of primary school education. Hopler, Whitney. See also Mackie, Eschatology and Exhortation. Moses 7:27 informs us that the more righteous living between the time of Enoch and Noah were removed from this dismal situation: and the Holy Ghost fell on many, and they were caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion.. (2021, February 8). Though many Latter-day Saints will remember Hugh Nibleys remarkable discoveries in ancient documents relating to the Book of Moses story of Enoch that were published nearly fifty years ago, they may not be aware of exciting new findings. We can see the parallel here between Enoch and Melchizedek of the Joseph Smith revelations, Jesus in Hebrews, and the leader of the Sabbath Songs: in each the leader gains access to the heavenly temple through his faithfulness and is then able to lead his followers in that same path of ascent. Noel Reynolds (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1997), 32374, an expanded and updated version of The Narrative of Zosimus and the Book of Mormon, BYU Studies 22, no. Afterwards my spirit was concealed, ascending into the heavens. I go to prepare a place for you. As Andrew Louth has argued, those Christians who embark on the mystical journey to reach God do so not individually, but as a communityas the body of Christ.17. . Nickelsburg, George W. E., ed. 11:1316). And the Lord said unto Enoch: Behold mine abode forever. Translation by Newsom in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XL, 142. 17. This page last updated: September 16, 2022. 10. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Stained glass design for the Chapel of the Ascension, Bayswater Road, London. Lukes tale of the prodigal son turns out to be not symbolic foreshadowing, but literal foretaste, of a greater reunion. Orem and Salt Lake City, UT: The Interpreter Foundation and Eborn Books, 2021. https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/the-past-and-future-of-the-temple-lot-in-independence-jackson-county-missouri/. Original drawing prepared at the direction of Joseph Smith, Jr. in Kirtland, Ohio, in 1833 by Frederick G. William and mailed to Edward Partridge and others in Independence, Missouri, in June 1833. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2001. 2. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him" ( Genesis 5:21-24 ). The palaces surround a deity with two attendants in a thirty-third palace. Reprinted in J. Smith, Jr., Teachings, December 1835, p. 98; J. Smith, Jr., Teachings 2007, p. 301): Let us now take the Book of Mormon, which a man took and hid in his field; securing it by his faith, to spring up in the last days, or in due time; let us behold it coming froth out of the ground, which is indeed accounted the least of all seeds, but behold it branching forth; yea, even towering, with lofty branches, and God-like majesty, until it becomes the greatest of all herbs; and it is truth, and it has sprouted and come forth out of the earth; and righteousness begins to look down from heaven; and God is sending down his powers, gifts and angels, to lodge in the branches thereof. [13] Likewise, as George Mitton observes, the Book of Mormon as a testimony of the risen Lord is equally fitting since the symbol of its coming forth from the earth is reminiscent of the Lords resurrection.[14], Of course, in contrast to some other ancient religions, evidence for an early Israelite belief in a personal resurrection is controversial. . In this article, I will explore the notion of communal ascent to heaven in ancient Jewish and Christian literature and seek to answer the questions, Can an entire community ascend to heaven? 21. "And Enoch beheld angels descending out of heaven, bearing testimony of the Father and Son; . after his call, the Lord showed Enoch, and us, a little more about the ancient prophet's divine potential: And we find later in Moses that God's promises to Enoch were fulfilled as he led the people of God against their enemies. Detail of MCP. And I said: I desire to behold the things which my father saw. 1 Enoch 2: A Commentary on the Book of 1 Enoch, Chapters 37-82. 17172. Although they do not feature Enoch or his city explicitly, there is a recurring theme in some of the texts that corresponds to the idea of a priestly figure who leads a community of priests in an ascension into the heavenly realm. (NIV) Hebrews 11:5. Jarringly, the Lord immediately followed His welcome promise with a terrible warning of great tribulations that would take place before that day (Moses 7:61). How Does John Portray Jesus as the Way of the Temple? many children into the same glory he possesses (2:10). 11. Son confers family membership on community (they are his siblings)Behold I and the children which God hath given me bringing many sons unto glorynot ashamed to call them brethren (2:1015). 1874. 1, 91-221. Enoch and the City of Zion: Can an EntireCommunity AscendtoHeaven? See Nickelsburgs comments on p. 134 n. 9. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, 1983. The Book of Enoch, which is part of the Jewish and Christian Apocrypha, credits archangel Haniel (under one of her alternate names) with traveling to Earth on assignment from God to pick up Enoch in a fiery chariot and escort him through the flames into another dimension to reach heaven. On the origins of this text, see John W. Welch, The Narrative of Zosimus (History of the Rechabites) and the Book of Mormon, in Book of Mormon Authorship Revisited, ed. New York City, NY: T & T Clark, 2006. . Enoch (/ i n k / ()) is a biblical figure and patriarch prior to Noah's flood, and the son of Jared and father of Methuselah.He was of the Antediluvian period in the Hebrew Bible.. "City of Enoch" (December 1994 Friend) Solve this code to figure out why the people in the city of Enoch were so righteous. Such individual ascent was probably the exception, rather than the rule.22, Alexander goes on to suggest that the leader of this liturgy, much like Enoch, would likely have already made the ascent himself and would thus be qualified to lead his congregation into the celestial realm. 2:1, 11). 1, 517-59. [6] Moses 7:61. Enter your email to receive updates on our LDS Living content, 2022 LDS Living A Division of Deseret Book Company, 5 Things You Probably Didn't Know About the Three Nephites, The Pearl of Great Price: Verse by Verse Commentary. . Cf. The Lord told Enoch that His people would be gathered unto a place which I shall prepare.[18]Jewish tradition echoes these words. 2 (Slavonic Apocalypse of) Enoch. In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, edited by James H. Charlesworth. 4 I am the same which have taken the Zion of Enoch into mine own bosom. Click Here To 'Like' Meridian Magazine on Facebook. Secret of happiness; self examination; Joseph Smith a man of obedience to God; baptism for the dead; temporal and spiritual one; a dream; order of Enoch, the order of God; a good word for the women. In Journal of Discourses. Who lived there? Learn Religions, Feb. 8, 2021, learnreligions.com/archangel-haniel-enoch-124046. 25. After all, Latter-day Saints have been called, like Enochs people, to more fully engage our hearts and accelerate our labors in a spirit of consecration until the Enochs vision of a true and permanent Zion becomes a reality. Gospel Art Picture: "The City of Enoch" Music: "Follow the Prophet" (Children's Songbook, 110) Video . There are two problems with this argument. When the people of God were attacked, their enemies fled to "a land out of the depth of the sea, and so great was the fear of the enemies of the people of God, that they fled and stood afar off and went upon the land which came up out of the depth of the sea" (Moses 7:14), which could have been anisland or a peninsula in the general region of the City of Enoch. The motif of the ascent of the community to the heavenly realm, although perhaps not as well known as the great stories of individual ascenders, is not as difficult to find as it may initially appear. Aquila H. Lee, From Messiah to Preexistent Son (Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005), 258. They controlled and harmonized everything in Gods creation. The author contrasts the experience of the Israelites under Moses and how they were not able to even touch Mount Sinai with that of the followers of Jesus Christ, who were given full access to Mount Zion. Psalm 110:4 was understood to declare that Jesuss priesthood was related to the priesthood of Melchizedek. 14. And when we come to the picture of the actual end in Revelation 2122, we find not ransomed souls making their way to a disembodied heaven but rather the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven to earth, uniting the two in a lasting embrace. Genesis 5:22-23. (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1985), 2:453, 454, 458. Who Was the Angel Who Guided Moses During the Exodus? (accessed October 29, 2021). Though the Bible gives little detail about Enoch as a person, we find in the Pearl of Great Price that he considered himself "but a lad" and "slow of speech" (Moses 6:31) when he was called by God to be a prophet. Rashi. As a result, the text says, his people wrought righteousness, and obtained heaven, and sought for the city of Enoch which God had before taken, separating it from the earth, having reserved it unto the latter days, or the end of the world; And hath said, and sworn with an oath, that the heavens and the earth should come together (Gen 14:3235, JST). 3 (1982): 31132. James R. Davila, Heavenly Ascents in the Qumran Scrolls, in The Dead Sea Scrolls after Fifty Years: A Comprehensive Assessment, ed. Andrew Louth, The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition: From Plato to Denys (New York: Oxford University Press, 1981), 199200. Everything was gone without a trace. The Book of Enoch chapter 71 1. Tbingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2016. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325807703_The_Book_of_Giants_tradition_in_the_Chinese_Manichaica. 30. 12:2224). org/record?id=c5d54bd0-bede-47cb-b636-3281f30b0d0a (accessed May 19, 2021). Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2004. 1975. Linda McCarthy (1947-): The City of Enoch, 2002. Translation by Newsom in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XL, 165. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/archangel-haniel-enoch-124046. The city of Enoch thus attained a terrestrial . and Do we see this theme in ancient texts, or is this a complete innovation on the part of Joseph Smith as he sought to unite his followers around an inspiring and unifying goal? 24. All in all, this seems to indicate the purely divine nature of this Manichaean Mount Sumru.[3] In addition, Ksa sees the description of the mountain with its tree-like iconography as resonating with the description of the mountain of God and the Tree of Life in 1 Enoch 25:24:[4], Then I answered himI, Enochand said, concerning all things I wish to know, but especially concerning this tree.. Enoch preached repentance to "all the people" except the Caananites because of their wickedness (Moses 7:12). [31] R. Alter, Hebrew Bible, Psalm 85:[12], justice and peace have kissed, 3:206. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Finally, while MCP depicts Mount Sumru with thirty-two or thirty-six palaces at its summit, the plat for the city of Zion prominently featured twenty-four numbered temple sites at its center. Carol Newsom, Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice: A Critical Edition, Harvard Semitic Studies, vol. They lived in the light of God and had a shining appearance. Believed to be originally written in Aramaic in the late 2nd century BCE, the Book of Enoch is attributed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah, who was said to have been taken up to heaven by . Elder Alvin R. Dyer observed that the dimensions of the drawing of the Prophets proposed temple structures for Zion were 610 x 870, thus matching the dimensions of the Latter-day Saints Visitors Center, finished in 1981 and located on part of the Independence Temple Lot owned by the Church (Alvin R. Dyer, Report of Meeting with President David O. McKay, diary, March 10, 1967, accn. Vol. The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson. 1, 615-52. The God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life. They are the only ones in recorded history to skip death. 11:5). 5. Enoch and His People Are Taken Up to God (City of Zion Translated or City of Zion Is Taken Up), by Del Parson; GAK 120; GAB 6; Primary manual 6-06; Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5; Moses 7:18-19, 69. Now, Mani was not the prophet of the restoration, and I believe that some of his assumptions or premises are definitely incorrect, but watching him/them attempting to patch back together what had been scattered is very interesting. Rashi imagines a landscape in which all Israelites will kiss one another., Differing with the Lords previous instruction to Enoch, He delivers His word as a monologuethere is no reply from Enoch this time, only an epilogue from the narrator. Benson, Ezra Taft. Enoch walk. Not only is Haniel "a prince of angels who takes Enoch up to heaven in a fiery chariot in 3 Enoch," but Haniel "also holds the keys to the palaces of heaven," writes Julia Cresswell in her book The Watkins Dictionary of Angels. New York City, NY: W. W. Norton, 2019. (London: Latter-day Saints Book Depot, 185486), 18:303, January 1, 1877. . In this final installment, well continue the story with new details of the ascent of Enochs city to heaven and its return in the last days. 26. Hebrews 9:8. Wissenschlaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 360, ed. : Afterlife Animal Miracles. All rights reserved. There are several versions of this history, but the earliest English translation came long after Joseph Smiths work on the book of Moses. What we see in these texts should be considered the ritual ascension of the human community to heaven, where they experience a vision of Gods throne and are temporarily transformed into an angelified or deified state.21 Scott Mackie and Philip Alexander specifically refer to the Songs as implying a communal heavenly ascent. I will not go into an in-depth description of the content of the Songs but quote here from Alexanders analysis: The communal chanting of these numinous hymns on successive Sabbaths was apparently deemed sufficient to carry the earthly worshippers up to the courts of the celestial Temple, through the nave and into the sanctuary, and to set them before the throne of God. Then Cain built a city and named the city Enoch. The Brill Reference Library of Judaism 18. (accessed May 19, 2021). He goes on to declare that those who walk in the way of your heart listen to me; they are drawing themselves up before you in the council of the holy ones.30. God and His people, the living and the departed, heaven and earth, embrace. This series of articles introduces a new book entitled Enoch and the Gathering of Zion: The Witness of Ancient Texts for Modern Scripture (see review at: https://latterdaysaintmag.com/a-new-biography-of-enoch-and-an-excellent-tool-for-the-book-of-moses/ . Nibley, Hugh W. The Prophetic Book of Mormon. All the inhabitantsgone. Speaking to a community of Christian believers, the author declares, But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, . 27 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1985), 1718. Young, Brigham. (NIV) Genesis 5:24. . 2 vols. Smith, Joseph, Jr. 1938. , And I looked and beheld a tree; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty. In trying to unravel these anomalies, we should recall that the Book of Moses chronicles a transformation of the earthly Zion, symbolically located in the foothills of the mountain of the Lord, into a heavenly Zion, as shown in the annotated figure above. A possible description we have of where the City of Enoch might have been located is in Moses 7:17, which states that the people of Enoch "were blessed upon the mountains, and upon the high places, and did flourish," making it possible that the City of Enoch could have been built somewhere in a mountainous region.