In the second book of Enoch (also known as the Secrets of Enoch), Enoch shares with his children his experience of being taken up into heaven. He describes ten heavens which I believe ten levels or planes of the invisible reality would be more accurate.
On the first level Enoch saw a very great sea, greater than any earthly sea and he saw 200 angels who rule the stars. (This number reminds me of the 200 million in the book of Revelation and the stars falling to the earth.) Among them he saw the elders and rulers of the stellar orders and the duties they perform. He wrote that they assist those who sail and he saw even more angels working in the treasure houses of the snow and of the dew.
On the second level he saw those angels written of in the book of Jude. Ninety percent of the Nephilim are here bound and hanging, being watched and waiting for their hour of judgment. The rest were allowed to remain with Satan to assist him in his evil schemes. These angels came from the fifth plane. Enoch says that this second level is very dark, greater than any earthly darkness and that these angels had the appearance of this same darkness, weeping incessantly. These angels had asked Enoch to pray and plead with God to forgive and have mercy on them, but God told Enoch that it should be the other way around. Angels should pray for people, not people for angels. These angels knew God’s commands and yet followed their own will as they were led by Satanail, the prince of the fifth level.
In the Bible there are three different words which were translated to the single word, hell. This second plane is the location of one of them. According to Greek mythology it’s called Tartarus. "There followed a terrible war between Cronus, helped by his brother Titans, against Zeus with his five brothers and sisters - a war that almost wrecked the universe. Bound in bitter chains beneath the wide-wayed earth, as far below the earth as over earth is heaven, for even so far down lies Tartarus. Nine days and nights would a bronze anvil fall and on the tenth reach earth from heaven. And then again falling nine days and nights, would come to Tartarus, the brazen-fenced." (Edith Hamilton’s Mythology - Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes) This same Greek word is used in this verse: For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment. (2Peter 2:4)
On the third level, Enoch sees 300 very bright angels taking care of the garden of Eden and who never stop praising the Lord with song. There too are the souls of those who have lived and died a mortal life on earth and those waiting to be born. He describes the surrounding beauty and how pleasing it is to all of the senses. This third heaven the Apostle Paul mentions in his second book to the Corinthians: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know - God knows. And I know that this man - whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows - was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. (2Corinthians 12:2-4)
Then the two angels, Samuil and Raguil, who had brought him this far, took him to the Northern side of the garden. Enoch says that they ...showed me there a very terrible place, and there were all manner of tortures in that place: cruel darkness and unillumined gloom, and there is no light there, but murky fire constantly flameth aloft, and there is a fiery river coming forth, and that whole place is everywhere fire, and everywhere there is frost and ice, thirst and shivering, while the bonds are very cruel, and the angels fearful and merciless, bearing angry weapons, merciless torture, and I said: Woe, woe, how very terrible is this place.
And those men said to me: This place, O Enoch, is prepared for those who dishonour God, who on earth practice sin against nature, which is child-corruption after the sodomitic fashion, magic-making, enchantments and devilish witchcrafts, and who boast of their wicked deeds, stealing, lies, calumnies, envy, rancour, fornication, murder, and who, accursed, steal the souls of men, who, seeing the poor take away their goods and themselves wax rich, injuring them for other men’s goods; who being able to satisfy the empty, made the hungering to die; being able to clothe, stripped the naked; and who knew not their creator, and bowed down to soulless gods, who cannot see nor hear, vain gods, who also built hewn images and bow down to unclean handiwork, for all these is prepared this place amongst these, for eternal inheritance. (2Enoch 10)
On the fourth level Enoch saw the cycles of the sun, moon and stars. He measured their paths and compared their lights. He saw the sun with four great stars on each side of it and a thousand stars beneath each great star. He saw fifteen myriads of angels tending to their business here by day and a thousand by night. He saw the six-winged ones going along with the other angels and a hundred angels were kindling the sun to keep it lit. 400 angels guard the light of the sun which is the crown of the Lord. He saw on the east side of this level six gates and on the west side were six other gates, identical to the first six gates he saw. These are the gates that the sun passes through in the course of a year. He also names two elements of the sun called Phoenixes and Chalkydri who sing and wake the birds with song and rejoicing.
Before going on to the fifth level, Enoch saw in the midst of the heavens armed soldiers with musical instruments serving and singing to the Lord. The delightful singing of these angels was so wonderful and marvelous that it was impossible for Enoch to describe.
On the fifth level He saw many more countless soldiers. These had a human appearance with withered melancholy faces and they were bigger than the giants Enoch had seen on the earth. He noticed that there was no service on this level and that they were all quiet. One of the escorting angels with Enoch said that these giant soldiers are called the Grigori and that their prince is called Satanail. They have been judged with great judgment and weep for their brothers bound on the second level. All of them will be punished on the great day of the Lord because of their leader Satanail and the group that descended on the earth to corrupt and mix with mankind.
Is it possible that this fifth level could become vacant when Jesus returns only to be reoccupied by the elect during the millennial reign of Christ? Only God really knows.
On the sixth level Enoch saw the angels above the other angels called archangels. They were grouped in seven bands and had very bright, glistening and glorious faces that shined brighter than the sun. Here the archangels keep track of all the information in the heavens and on earth; both what the angels do and what the people do and present this information personally before the Lord. Lucifer still works here, but he has been prohibited from descending to the earth since the Crucifixion. When the Anti-Christ comes to the earth, it will be because Lucifer will be cast out from here. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:7-9) Among the archangels are six Phoenixes, six Cherubim and six six-winged ones who never stop singing with one voice, which Enoch again says is impossible to describe.
On the seventh level, Enoch saw that it appeared to look very busy. At first he saw a Great Light, then fiery troops of great archangels, incorporeal forces, dominions, orders and governments. (Here, where the managers of the dominions are, is where Lucifer controls the earthly dominions of politics, economics, education and religion.) He saw cherubim, seraphim, thrones (of the twenty-four elders), many-eyed ones, nine regiments and the Ioanit stations of light. From the sight of these forces a fear overcame him and he trembled with terror. The angels who were escorting him told him to have courage and they showed him in the distance, up at the tenth level, the throne of the Lord God Almighty. Then he saw the cherubim, seraphim and the six-winged ones with many-eyes (the four living creatures) who never depart from before the throne of the Lord singing in a gentle voice: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Ruler of the Sabbath, heavens and earth are full of Thy glory.
This is the place that St. John was carried to and describes what he saw in chapters four through six in the book of Revelation. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. (Revelation 4:8)
Samuil and Raguil, the two escorting angels with Enoch told him that this was as far as they were allowed to bring him and they left. For a moment, Enoch began to fear why the Lord would leave him in this place, but God sent the archangel Gabriel to escort him up to the tenth level. On the way, Enoch looked into the eighth level which is called Muzaloth, changer of the seasons, of drought, and of wet, and of the twelve signs of the zodiac. He passed by the ninth level called Kuchavim, which is where the twelve signs of the zodiac reside.
| God the Almighty Father’s Throne | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Homes for the Twelve signs of the Zodiac | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | The Twelve signs of the Zodiac | 9 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | The Great Light & Mighty Archangels | 8 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | The Archangels | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | The Grigori | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Angels | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Hell | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Tartarus | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Eden | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sun, Moon & Stars | ||||||||||||||||||
| Awaiting punishment | ||||||||||||||||||
| Records are kept | ||||||||||||||||||
| Heaven’s Headquarters | ||||||||||||||||||
On the tenth level, which is called Aravoth, which sounds a lot like Ararat, which means highest peak, he saw the Lord upon His throne. He started to describe the Lord’s face but found himself unworthy and fell bowing to the Lord. Then the Lord told Enoch to have courage, fear not, arise and stand before His face into eternity. Michael, the mighty archangel picked Enoch up and carried him over to face the Lord. The Lord then told Michael to take Enoch’s earthly clothes, anoint him with oil and put him in garments of My glory. After this, Enoch looked at himself and noticed that now he had the appearance of one of the Lord’s glorious ones. Then the Lord summoned Pravuil, the archangel whose knowledge was quicker in wisdom than any other archangel, to show Enoch the books in His store-houses.
Enoch was in heaven for sixty days. He wrote three hundred and sixty-six books of everything he had heard from Pravuil, the other angels and what the Lord Himself had told him. The Lord then instructed Enoch to go back to his family and give the books to his sons so that they can give them to their sons. Enoch spent the next thirty days telling his children of their past, present, near future (the flood) and distant future of their offspring and the fate of the world. Two thousand men from far and near came to his home to listen to him after they had caught wind of his wisdom. They believed that he was chosen by God as the writer of all creation, visible and invisible. After the thirty days, Enoch was taken up to heaven and was ‘no more’ on the earth.
One of the many things I find fascinating is the design of the old castles of the British Isles. The part of the design I’m referring to is the idea of a moat around the castle. This concept reminds me of the parable of the rich man and the beggar. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. (Luke 16:26) The rich man had died some time after the beggar and found himself in hell. Although he was in hell, he could see the beggar in heaven, in the bosom of Abraham. This hell that the rich man was in was knowing that he would never be able to get to the other side of the gulf.
This idea of a gulf separating those at peace and those who were overly concerned with self to be at peace, reminds me of this concept of the Three World Ages. Looking at the big picture, it’s like the fourteen days of the second earth age is that gulf dividing the eternities. From this thought, I consider the event of Israel crossing the Red Sea. For the Christian who trusts in the Lord, the Lord has parted the waters of the gulf or provided a draw-bridge to cross it. Everybody wants to get to God’s castle. The righteous will be guided across, while the wicked will fall and drown trying. The latter thought reminds me of those ungodly children who died in the flood of Noah’s time, they tried to get across by their own way as opposed to God’s way.
Art thou not it which has dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that has made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? (Isaiah 51:10)
The following is paraphrased from the Apocrypha, which is a collection of ancient manuscripts written by some of the original authors of the books in the Bible. Concerned that many people would lose focus of the truth and begin praying to the angels and worshipping them instead of God, these writings were not included or canonized into the Bible.
When the soul departs from the body it returns again to Him who gave it. Then it prays (speaks) to the glory of the Most High:..........
(for the ungodly)
......If it was one of those who scorned and did not observe the way of the Most High, and of those who have despised his law, and of those who hate those who revere God, such spirits shall not enter dwellings but wander about thenceforth in torment, always grieving and sad, in seven ways:
- First...they have scorned the law of The Most High.
- Second...they can no longer make a good repentance, so that they may live.
- Third...they will see the reward destined for those who have believed the agreements of The Most High.
- Fourth...they will consider the torment destined for them in the last days.
- Fifth...they will see that the dwelling places of the others are guarded by angels in profound silence.
- Sixth...they will see that some of them will pass over to be tormented henceforth.
- Seventh...(Worse than all) they will waste away in shame; be consumed in disgrace, and wither with fear, at seeing the Glory of The Most High before whom they sinned while they lived, and before whom they are destined to be judged in the last times.
(Note: Jesus paid the price to escape this. Just believe He did it for you personally. So repent, hunger for goodness to rule your life and have a clean conscience with God.)
The punishment of the Lake of Fire is to cease to exist with no record of existence. This doesn’t happen until a thousand years after the return of Jesus. Until then, those who are barred from coming into the heavenly City of God, must live wandering among the wicked children in a spiritual realm of uncertainty and fear, not floating in a pool of lava and screaming in pain for all eternity.
(For the godly)
First of all, they see with great rapture the glory of Him who takes them up, for they will rest in seven orders:
- First...they have striven with much toil to conquer the wicked thoughts that was formed with them, so that it should not lead them away from life to death.
- Second...they see the labyrinth in which the souls of the ungodly wander, and the punishment that awaits them.
- Third...they see the testimony that He who formed them has borne to them, because when they were alive they faithfully observed the law which was given them.
- Fourth...they understand the rest which they now enjoy, gathered in their chambers, in great quietness, watched over by angels, and the glory that awaits them in the last days.
- Fifth...they exult that they have now escaped what is corruptible and will possess the future as their inheritance, and besides perceive the narrowness and toilsomeness from which they have been freed and the spaciousness they are destined to receive and enjoy in immortality.
- Sixth....it is shown to them how their face is destined to shine like the sun, and how they are to be made like the light of the stars, and be incorruptible thenceforth.
- Seventh...(Greater than all) they will exult boldly, will trust confidently, and rejoice fearlessly, for they hasten to see the face of Him whom they served in life, and from whom they are to receive their reward when they are glorified.
These are the orders of the upright souls.
(Paraphrased from 2nd Esdras (or 2nd Ezra) 7:77-99)
The Apostle Paul says, Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. (2Corinthians 5:6) For some (like myself), understand it as, To be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord.
The book of Ecclesiastes says: Remember Him...before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. (12:6-7)
The silver cord is everyone’s spiritual umbilical cord which connects and keeps our spirit in our physical body. People who have an Out of Body Experience (O.B.E.) can see this silver cord connecting them to their physical body. The difference between someone having an O.B.E. and someone who has just finished their life on earth, is that one has a silver cord and the other doesn’t.