The first time God’s angels rebelled

In the very first lines of "Paradise Lost" the poet John Milton asks the Muse to sing “Of Man’s first disobedience” that culminated “With loss of Eden”. The reference is clear: the English poet wants to escort us back to the Garden of Eden, and specifically to witness what led to the eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and the expulsion of humanity from the garden as a result. And although we don't hear the muse's answer to the poet's request, the fact that this magnificent poem exists and that we can read it is - for Milton (and perhaps for us too), proof that the muse did respond to the request.

Right away she, the heavenly muse, turns Milton’s attention to the person who should be blamed for Man’s fall from Heaven, or rather to the fallen angel that tempted Eve and Adam to eat “the fruit of that forbidden Tree, who mortal taste brought death into the world”.

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“Who first seduced them to that foul revolt?”, asks Milton, and promptly answer: “The infernal Serpent” which in Christian theology is Satan.

Lying on the burning lake of hell, a place where fire never sheds light or emits heat, Satan awakens. He discovers that his huge body is chained to the burning ground. And by means of his mighty strength he breaks free from his chains, spreads his huge wings and flies above the horrible scene. The scene that Milton sketches with the steady hand of a craftsman is as new to Satan as it is to us.

It all happens not long after Satan’s three-day war in heaven fails. All the angels who joined with him in trying to conquer God's throne are still with him. But now they are all in Hell, a new and horrifying realm. They are also bound. Above the top of the mountain on which he stands, Satan’s speech inflames his squad of rebel angels. That's right, He tells them, our first rebellion, the war we started in heaven failed completely.

But even after we’ve discovered that God the is a king that could not be toppled, we will never surrender. “All is not lost”, claim Satan. “The unconquerable will, and study of revenge, immortal hate, and courage never to submit or yield”.

Satan’s failed rebellion and the war in Heaven that Milton write about may have occurred before the creation of Adam and Eve, but a long literary history of angelic rebellions against God preceded his great epic poem. The first of those “impious wars” as Milton calls them, was probably the one described in the Book of Enoch I.

The biblical Enoch, son of Jared, is one of those characters the Bible doesn’t feel the need to elaborate on. Most everything we know about him is found in Genesis 5:21-25

Although we don’t know anything about the reasons Enoch became a hero of a vast Jewish and Christian literature, the mysterious and very short description we get in Genesis is a clue: Enoch is an almost unprecedented character in the Biblical scene: A man taken in his lifetime to live alongside God in Heaven. It’s clear why the early Christians were interested in such a figure. Less so for the Jewish writers in the time of the Second Temple. Maybe the mystery that shrouds Enoch was reason enough for them to write about him. And write they did. A vast literature that only two books remain from (possibly three, depend on how you date the third). 

Enoch I is the book that interests us today, and it tells of Enoch mission to the rebel angels. In Genesis 6:1-4, we read about the sons of God who came down to earth to take the daughters of men as wives. At the same time there appears a mysterious race of beings known only as the Nephilim (usually translated to English as giants). This is one of the hardest passages in the whole of the Hebrew Bible. Enoch I takes his very passage and expand it to a marvelous apocalyptic plot. 

One day Enoch wakes up to experience a vision sent from above. He looks at the whole of creation and starts naming God’s deeds in the world. He does not marvel at miracles or wonderous acts, just the opposite: the fact that the trees give their fruits at the correct time, that the seasons turn when they should and that the natural order is preserved each day is a sign that God has kept up his word. And so, should humanity.

To this stern reminder is added a harsh warning in the form of a story about the angels that rebel against God.

With the creation of Adam and Eve and with the passing of the ages (Enoch is seven generations removed from the first couple), the earth became populated. A group of the Children of the Heavens, meaning angels, saw the daughters of men and lusted after them.

At that point an angel named Semjaza intervenes. He is the leader of the group of gazing angels, and with words that hold more provocation than courage; he calls on the other angels to join him in his descent to earth. He is honest about his motives. He invite the other angels because, as he claims, he does not want to be the sole bearer of the great penalty.

In this short description we find a templet for all future angel rebellions in Judeo-Christian literature: a charismatic leader of angels, who has a way with words, collects a group of angels in order to breach a divine command. In future telling this breach will turn to an all-out rebellion, and the leader will be identified solely with Satan. But already in Enoch I there is no doubt: the rebel angels are aware that their actions are against God wishes, and they draw encouragement and strength from the fact that they are many.

And so, it also happens with Enoch I. The disobedient angels carry out their malicious plan. They go down to the land, take the human wives for themselves, and give birth to monstrous offspring called Nephilim. In the Bible, the Nephilim are not mentioned except in a single sentence. Perhaps as a hint that in the mythical past described in the first chapters of Genesis, humans and the giant Nephilim lived together.

In the book of Enoch, the Nephilim are revealed as man-eating monsters, who threaten to destroy the rest of humanity. And they are not even the worst legacy that the angels bequeathed to man. Semjaza, Azazel and the other rebellious angels are described as having taught humanity a series of destructive crafts: while the angel Azazel taught the men to make weapons and war, and Semjaza taught them to do sorcery and magic, other angels who are not mentioned by name are described as having taught the women to wear makeup and jewelry and to do their own spells and charms. It is only the cries of the wretched human beings that stirs God into action.

The screams of men reach the gates of Heaven. Where the four loyal angels of God hear them and decide to act. They are Michael, Uriel, Raphel, and Gabriel. In an effort to preserve God’s dignity they claim that he, the all-knowing, obviously is aware of all that has happened down belove, that he even planed it all, but that now is the time to intervene. In fact, what they are asking is God’s permission to act in his name. which they get, along with specific mission to each of the four.

But first, it’s on Enoch to go to and visit the rebel angels and inform them that their time is near, and God punishment is soon upon them. This threat works, and in complete opposition to the Milton’s Satan, all the angels promise to turn from their wicked ways. Enoch comes back with this promise, which apparently moved him deeply, so much so that he asks that they be forgiven. But God’s decision is final, and the punishment comes shortly.

A huge flood will wipe all that is on the earth apart from one rightful family, Noah’s. and apart from the Nephilim (which is Gabriel’s job to destroy). The rest of the angels will be imprisoned beneath mountains and valleys where they will see no light until the day of judgment. The verdict is known in advance: on that day they will be burned alive. Fun… 

There are so many interesting things to say about the Enoch I, some much that is only hinted at and is developed in future mystical and theological works written by Jews, Christians and even Muslims thinkers, philosophers and poets. The structure of the Heavenly court of God for example, which is only spoken of, never shown… but the most amazing fact of Enoch I, and the whole of Jewish apocrypha (the texts that didn’t enter the Bible), is the way the God prophecy works.

Milton, composing his epic poem in the 17th century, called upon the Muse to help him sing his song, to “justify the ways of God to men.” Enoch I belongs to a completely different literary genre, the pseudepigraphic writings. The book purports to be written in biblical times and to speak from the mouth of Enoch about events he participated in. The divine prophecy – the direct connection between God and men that characterize the time of the Bible that Jews and Christians believed was lost, this connection is still alive and well in Enoch I. God never ceased from speaking to us. Even if he only talks through loyal mediators, the angels.

Some final thoughts:

1. Why do angels rebel?

Milton's Satan insists on painting God as a tyrant. And in doing so he puts forth a line of reasoning that is intriguing to think about. He starts by claiming a truthful claim: God's laws are a given and there is no way to change them or even comprehend them entirely. There is no doubt that Satan was onto something here. It’s not only that we suffer. That there is evil and death in the world – we’ll see in just a second Milton’s explanation for all this. It’s that there’s a being out there who sets up all the rules and never really both explaining them. And if we transgress those mostly unexplained rules, strikes us mightily. Man’s first disobedience is in some sense it’s last: after eating the forbidden fruit, one strike and that’s it: we are thrown from Eden. And for most of humanity that means forever.

What a shame that instead of developing this line of thought, expanding it and giving it more flesh, really revealing this divine reasoning and the secrecy of God, Milton felt obliged to intervene and put the somewhat artificial claim in the Satan's mouth: since God represents the absolute good in everything, we rebellious angels always choose evil - this is our revenge. That’s where evil came from. And sin. And death.

To me at least this is too easy of an argument. And not a very convincing one at that.

In the book of Enoch I, the angels’ rebel because of misplaced sexual lust, and the consequences for humanity are obviously bad. We could also argue that this order by God is also not sufficiently explained. Is the desire of the angels for mating so monstrous that its result is necessarily the creation of a new generation of man-eating giants? Why is man entitled to a partner, while the angels are not? The author of the book of Enoch left no room for doubt, he saw the rebellion of the angels as clearly a negative thing. And in fact, presented us with a vivid and intense example of what happens when beings with celestial powers knowingly violate God's command.

But the Judeo-Christian literature also offers us another, much more toned-down option. It is found in one of the unjustly forgotten books of Jewish mysticism, Hekhalot Rabbati ("Greater Palaces"). In it we are told of the Talmudic sage Rabbi Ishmael, who ascends to the upper worlds to convince God to sweeten the decrees that fell on Israel. He sets out to defend his teachers (Rabbi Akiva among them), whom the Romans intend to kill in great agony.

Rabbi Ishmael's guide in the upper worlds is none other than Metatron, the angel who was Enoch son of Jared in his previous life. In the book of Enoch II, which we have not discussed here, the story of the miraculous transformation he went through when he ascended to heaven is told, a transformation that made him a divine angel. It turns out that Metatron actually had quite an impressive career in the sky. And over time he became God’s second in command.

At one point in the journey, Metatron opens a side room in the halls of heaven and presents its contents to Rabbi Ishmael. The room is full of notebooks and pages, piles upon piles of tottering pages. Rabbi Ishmael does not understand the meaning of the many pages until Metatron explains these are decrees sent from above by God, that the angels hide in this room. The book Hekhalot Rabbati does not stop to ponder this statement of Metatron, which is nothing less than amazing.

Think about it: God sends direct instructions that express His divine will, decrees that if carried out will annihilate the nation of Israel. And the angels, completely on their own accord, decide to push all the decrees into one room from which they will not come into effect. Metatron excuses the reason for this in Israel's prayers that ascend to heaven, but isn't there a clear violation of the divine will here?

We might even say that there’s nothing new here. Nothing that we have not already encountered in the Hebrew Bible. The various prophets of God, and this includes Abraham in Sodom and Gomorrah, defend time and time again the people who have sinned - and God, who decided that this time he had had enough - always relents and does not destroy the people ultimately.

Could it be conceivable that God is not infallible? That he is not always right? Are there instances where going against God's stated intentions could lead to a positive outcome?

It is possible that Milton hints at this himself, when he tells us in the first chapter of Paradise Lost that God knew about Satan's plan to dethrone Adam and Eve, and still he chose to release Satan and his angels from their chains so they can complete their plot. But here we are already nearing that gray and unsolvable area - the question of man's free will in a world where God is all-powerful and all-knowing.

2. On eternity in Christianity compared to the Greek and Buddhist religions:

At the outset of the second book of "Paradise Lost", Satan sits on his throne like an oriental monarch. He presents the problem: what should we to to the God that send us to Hell, and then asks for advice. Although he is described as a despotic king, he tries to show that he is in favor of discussion, that he governs in a parliamentary style, and not in God's tyrannical style. The first angel who volunteers to give his advice is Moloch, and he calls for open war. Another one. What is interesting about this suggestion, so bold at first, is the fact that it soon becomes less confident. Moloch asks, do we really stand a chance? And if there isn't one, if we lose again, what will God do to us that will be worse? The interesting assumption is that the angels - even the most sinful - are creatures of a different order than other beings. They cannot be destroyed. Therefore, their future punishment might be infinite, but it does not involve their destruction. That's why Moloch offers to fight, because even if the fallen angels fail - it's the realization of their boundless revenge.

Christianity assumes that souls are eternal. We find the same principle in Dante’s Divine Comedy: he who sins in life is not destroyed, but instead suffers forever. I am thinking in this context about Buddhism - which sees everything as suffering. This was the great insight that the Buddha reached with his enlightenment: life is suffering. Therefore, the goal in reaching Nirvana is to be freed from the cycle of births and deaths. To be swallowed up in the universe and disappear as one with it. One can speculate why Christianity led to individualism and not the Eastern teachings.

Virgil's epic, the Aeneid, tells us about the river Lethe, the river of forgetfulness. It is one of the rivers of Hell, from which the dead who drink forget their past identity. Indeed, in the ninth chapter of Homer's Odyssey, when Odysseus arrives at the entrance to the underworld to talk to the dead, he performs a strange ritual that restores their memories: He spills blood upon the earth, and the deceased, catching its scent, recall their former lives and engage in conversation with him. In Greek and Roman polytheistic faiths, death signifies oblivion. In contrast, Christianity emphasizes remembrance and reflection upon one's actions in life.

3. Last thought: where do we go from here?

In Enoch I we saw a certain type of angelic rebellion. Not a total rebellion against God and an attempt to oust him, but a violation of an explicit command - a violation that is clear and conscious but much more limited. In a very interesting and profound sense, Milton's Paradise Lost combines these two violations. After the war in heaven, which lasted three days, and the fall of Satan and the disobedient angels to Hell - the understanding sinks in: there is no hope of defeating God in an open war. Therefore, Satan and his angels choose a hidden war, which means taking over the new world created between Heaven and Hell. taking over the Earth.

We find this idea already in the New Testament, in the Book of Revelation, chapter 12, which tells about "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head." This woman “gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter." A dragon tries to kidnap the child, but instead the woman fled into the desert and God takes her son for safe keeping.

In the failed attempt of the dragon/ Satan to kidnap Jesus, we already see Satan’s understanding that he is about to be replaced. He is God's right hand, the angel closest to him (so according to later interpretations of this story), and he understands that the Son of God is about to replace him. His rebellion springs out of jealousy. In Milton's Paradise Lost, it was this jealousy that caused Satan to rebel against God and try to overthrow him from his seat. But when he failed, just as it is described to us in John's vision, "the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.”

Given our limited capacity to determine the precise time of the composition of Enoch I, we must exercise caution in making definitive statements. And yet, if we allow ourselves to assume that this book was written before the Book of Revelation - can we also assume that it is an earlier tradition of angelic rebellion, a tradition that influenced the idea of ​​an all-out and open war in Heaven? I’m not sure that the suffering caused by the band of rebelling angels in Enoch I was something they themselves could have foreseen. But an attempt to oust God from his throne and enthrone Satan in his place is obviously purposefully malicious.

Did the ancient authors who worked within the literary tradition of the rebellions of the angels start out small, and after realizing that they found literary gold - went all out?

In Enoch I, Judgment Day proceeds almost lazily: the disobedient angels who have been imprisoned for a thousand years finally receive their punishment. In Revelation, on the other hand, another future war is being waged, and it is the focus of the plot - a future apocalyptic war in which only at the end, after endless destruction and suffering, Does God once more prevail. What do you think, which of these narratives carries greater dramatic weight? Which appeals more to the heart?

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