This article deals with Enosh and the beginnings of the ‘Cult of Yahweh’.

 

The story of the garden may be discussed from several viewpoints.  Yet in all of it, one great lesson is taught, but one which is not always mentioned—the resultant breakdown in the generations.  Generations are not easily rebuilt and the corruption of generations becomes a part of the heritage of man, profusely chronicled throughout the Hebrew Bible.  We observe this in the story of Cain and unto the seventh generation where we meet Lamech (Cain VI), perhaps the most wretched of human beings.

 

The next notable character in the line of Adam and Eve is Seth.  In verse 4.25, scripture says that Adam lay with his wife again and that she bore a son and named him Seth.  Seth means ‘Granted’.  “For,” she said, “God has granted me another son in place of Abel.”  Eve has finally named aright.  Eve mentions God first, she is “granted” a son by God.  In that Seth takes the place of the righteous Abel, in essence, Eve has designated Seth after righteousness.

Seth & Adam now become the patriarchal wisdom teachers.

Seth, in turn, passes these branches of knowledge to Enosh (Enos). Enosh receives godly knowledge from his father, Seth, but also from his grandparents, Adam and Eve.  Enosh knows about the Garden and the Fall, and he knows about the expulsion from the Garden.  Conflicts will mar Enosh’s ministry. 

For the first time, a complete biblical generation exists on earth—grandfather, father, son, and daughters as well.  The other sons and daughters of Seth, as well as for Adam and Eve, remain unlisted.  Enosh now becomes the inheritor and also becomes the marker of the generations.  Enosh becomes the Righteous Remnant.

 

 

THE GODS 

The earliest presentation of the One True God is presented through Abraham (Abram, 1975 BC), but there are roots that may reach much deeper.  We visit Genesis 1.26, And God said, “Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”  There are two comments that reflect the use of the word “our” in this scripture.  The first refers to the idea of the Trinity, a one God functioning in three parts, each part at one with the other two, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that this is the origin of the use of “our.”  For most Christians this is the straight line origin story of God.

A second explanation presents itself with the creation of a heavenly counsel, created before any act of physical creation took place.  It should be noted that in Genesis all acts of creation up to this point reference what we assume to be the One God, with no mention of others godly beings.  The next verse, 1.27 gives us, “So God created men in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female He created them.”  There is no mention of the word “our” or “us.”  This emphasis in v. 27 is placed on God,”the Carrier-out of His own purpose,”* so we must assume the working hand is God Himself and no other; and if the Christ (the son) exists before the foundation of the earth, we return to an evidence of Trinity thinking (Eph.1.4).

*”…own purpose,” Kregel Companion Bible, 1990).

However, there are other clues, and there have been many commentaries on them.  Ex. 3.14, “I AM THAT I AM,” addresses singular and whole, or one within himself; Ex. 20.3, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” at first glance inferring there are other gods.  The conservative view is that these would be false gods, and are noted so in scripture, and in Judaic history would refer to Mesopotamian gods: Anu (Lord of the Heavens), Enki (Lord of the Waters), Enlil (Lord of the Earth), that is, the gods were nature gods contorted out of the minds of men, or else God is parsed into identities who oversee nature, or creates such beings.  The Judaic belief is One God whole within Himself, with the Christian view being that of the Trinity.

In all of this one thing seems clear, man continues to limp back to the One True God definition of beingness, of which we are a part and fashioned in that image.  Adam is inferred to be created with what we call the soul, or soul-mind (incarnate), and not only created as a physical being. It is then the spirit (the light) is ‘blown’ into him providing completed life, that is, the soul (unknowing) is generated into full life (knowing) by the spirit, the light that gives completed life, thus making Adam a spirit-being, or the fulness of consciousness for the soul.  This refers back to 1.26, “in Our likeness,” and thus completed or whole.

The advent of the Enosh ministry predates Abraham by many hundreds of years.  We can only assume the primordial grasp of God is continued as one being.  The Ruach (Holy Spirit) is blown into Adam and Eve (from God) to give them life, or to bring their soul into full being.  From this it does seem clear that Enosh would have taught the One God Principle, and that there is only room for the Trinity Principle with the further revealment of God, as Christians represent scripture in the new testimony and the later interpretations thereof, beginning with Tertullian, AD 155-200, credited as the first to promote Trinitarianism.

 

 

THE MINISTRY OF ENOSH

An historical confrontation is brewing in Anatolia and parts of the Middle East.  The acceptance of the One God Principle (Creator, Unifier) moves across the land.  Generally accredited as the progenitor* of removing pagan societies from beliefs in diverse gods, Enosh focuses mankind on the belief in the One God.  Enosh is accredited with the sowing of the religious seed of Yahweh, usually referred to as the ‘Cult of Yahweh’.  For this writing, Yahweh’s existence is assumed as ‘from before the beginning’.  The root of the word Yahweh is “I Am,” which lends itself to eternality.

*Progenitor within the history of the Jewish people.

 There are academic controversies concerning when the historical period of the Cult of Yahweh* arrives.  Since Enosh’s ministry began before the Flood period, the geologic time might be reckoned from 11,000 BC to 9,000 BC.  Geologists and others have determined widespread flooding in various parts of the world, approximating this historical period or earlier.  Some climatologists think a meteor or comet may have hit the north pole region, others presume severe Earth dislocations, and still others want to hang it on a massive volcanic disruption.

*JSTOR.org provides good info concerning Yahweh.

 

Biblical scholars are more comfortable placing Enosh just before or during the early copper-bronze age (see, Gn. 4.22-26), 4000-5000 BC, as this relates to the biblical timeline of Adam’s generations.  We only know that a number of generations separate Enosh and the flood period.  Obviously, determining such time periods are controversial.  The biblical timeline for sons born is as follows: Adam to Seth, 105 years; Seth to Enosh, 90; Enosh to Cainan, 70; Cainan to Maleleel, 65; Maleleel to Jared, 162; Jared to Enoch, 65; Enoch to Mathusela 187; Mathusela to Lamech, 182; Lamech to Noah, 600.  This biblical timeline gives us approximately 1400 years before the flood [from Enosh to Noah], depending on when Enosh actually began his ministry and at what year the flood struck during the life of Noah.  It is afterward that the sons of Noah emigrate to the land of Shinar, from mountain habitat down onto the plains, then followed by the incursion of Nimrod (Noahide Law) at a later date.

 

It seems clear that Enosh proselytized the belief in the One God, revealed as Yahweh.  The focus on One appears to be not only a universal principle but can be related to on a personal basis, as in a person being at One with God, in God’s presence, or unified with God.  This development in thought reflects a more unified state of mind, promotes higher reason, not to mention a higher perception of life itself.  The enlightened consciousness may produce wide spread development, God to man, man to God, and man to man, as well as basic moral and ethical principles exerted from the “One with God” principle.

What was before different gods for each season now becomes one god overseeing the land, the sky, and the seasons.  With the one-god acceptance, strangers can share beliefs and understand one another more openly.  As for the advancement of mankind, a new spiritual-industrial age dawns with the acceptance of the one-god principle.  Amidst spiritual upheaval, a kind of falling away, it is in these circumstances Enosh is thought to have begun his ministry—“then began men to call upon the name of the Lord (Gn. 4.26).”

At first successful in liberating the pagan mind-set, difficulties soon arise.  With generational knowledge imparted from the ‘branches of knowledge’, Enosh and Seth initiate the study of the Casement of the Earth.*  Some scholars believe Sesostris, then king of Egypt, erected the pillars Josephus mentions.  This second view is interesting since we are later presented with a good deal of information concerning the Casement in the Book of Enoch.  So there seems some tradition within the roots of Judaism and an Egyptian source might not be needed.  It is at some point afterward that men began to worship the planets and stars, much later giving us the Sumerian, Anu, whose abode was Saturn.  With the belief  that the planets are god-like, and even gods themselves, mankind also begins to worship after the creations of God, instead of God Himself.   The work of Enosh begins to become undone.

*Josephus, Ant. 1.2.3.

Chants and incantations, spells, and sorceries take the place of a true-hearted and humble nature toward God and become reduced ‘to getting’, with holiness left to wander.  Improperly naming after vanities (self-centered), eventually, God’s namesake becomes completely profaned.  So it was that man fell into every kind of evil.  The Bible mentions in the prelude to Noah, “Now God saw that the whole world was corrupt [ripe for destruction] and full of violence,” which tells us that whatever Enosh had intended, the revelation had gone awry.

aish.com, search Enosh.

The remnants of astrological beliefs appear in Abraham’s story.

 

 

In terms of the development of the Way, a serious break in enlightened consciousness occurs.  With the belief in the One God, there is one focus.  The mind naturally becomes unified, can readily follow principles, and then moves into broad-based enlightened thinking, thence to the greater individual enlightenment itself.  Wholeness begins to take center stage, which leads to peace (faith) and calm deliberation (wisdom) and opens the door for the spirit to witness.  The whole being of man is engaged.

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Losing God, and Violence

In Gen. 6.11 and 6.13, “violence” relates to physical violence and assaults.  But the violence against the Spirit of God becomes the greater crime, for this always becomes the precursor to creating a world of physical violence—the inner voice is confused, and frustration within the soul nature speaks violence.  Mankind’s consciousness can begin to move quickly in the wrong direction, and later during Enosh’s generation, the assault on the spirit of God increases.  This perpetration becomes near complete and is related as such in the story of Noah.  That “all men had lived corrupt lives on earth” (Gn. 6.12-13) tells us that the very thoughts of man—his ideas, his attitudes, his motives—became ungodly and thus resulted in a compounded corruption.

If there occurs an abandonment of God, something must take its place.  A rise in false intellectualism will sprout its wings and ascend.*  Fundamental beliefs will become misguided.  After all, the panoplies of the gods must be explained!  Tortuously, proofs and logical arguments based upon pagan notions replace a faith-based direct relationship with God and the enlightened knowledge which follows.  In the pursuit of the many gods, enlightenment becomes subsumed.

*See, Adam & Eve-the self.

The diminishment of God diminishes revealed knowledge, general suppression of the ‘spirit blown into man’ occurs, and following, the kingdom within suffers a pillaging—no longer must you seek but special rites, sorceries, and the like may now take seeking’s place.  With this change in man’s thinking true acts of faith (actions ) then followed by the proofs of faith, leave the arena of man’s experience (Epistle of James, 2.14-26)*.  No longer brought before God, nor reminded of Him, faith demonstrations vanish.  Armed with Enosh’s knowledge men began to think they did not need God.  They looked only to themselves, sorting for themselves the good and the bad, not recognizing their spiritual core.  Their corrupted intellect much resembles the residue of the garden.

*James. 2.14-19: What good is it my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but has no actions to prove it?  Is such “faith” able to save him?  Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food, and someone says to him, “Shalom!  Keep warm and eat hearty!” without giving him what he needs, what good does it do?  Thus, faith by itself, unaccompanied by actions, is dead.  (18) But someone will say that you have faith and I have actions.  Show me this faith of yours without the actions, and I will show my faith by my actions!  You believe that “God is one”?  Good for you!  The demons believe it too—the thought makes them shudder with fear.

(Note the proper use of the word ‘actions’, instead of the usual NT interpretation, ‘works’.  (Quoted above from the Complete Jewish Study Bible.)

Enosh probably taught correctly from the ‘branches of knowledge’—prayers manifest observable effect, speaking in the name of God yielded good results and prospered hope and faith.  People would become acquainted with the idea of the spirit living within, as in ‘blew the spirit into him’, more awake in some than others, but necessarily whole and providing unity.  When man began to use configure knowledge out of his flesh and without God, soon the downward spiral engages.

Another problem (mentioned in Josephus), Enosh must have taught an ancient-mystic form of studying the stars.  This would entail how the heavens encase the earth.  The Book of Enoch, Book III, chapters 71-82, references knowledge of the heavenly bodies and presents the picture of the heavens.  Some scholars think that Enosh may have set up astrological schools of study and may have inadvertently planted the seed for this later downfall of man.

It is doubtful Enosh would have wanted man to worship the stars but to worship Yahweh only.  Yet, once Man takes matters into his own hands the many gods once more begin to proliferate.

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Mankind Regresses

Maimonides, in his introduction to the laws, analyzes Enosh by the result of where men eventually strayed:  “Their mistake was as follows: They said that G‑d created stars and spheres with which to control the world.  He placed them on high and treated them with honor, making them servants who minister before Him.  Accordingly, it is fitting to praise and glorify them and to treat them with honor.”

Josephus writes, “They [meaning Seth and his family] were the inventors of that peculiar sort of wisdom which is concerned with the heavenly bodies, and their order.”  In chapter III he opens with, “Now this posterity of Seth continued to esteem God as the Lord of the Universe, and have entire regard for virtue, for seven generations; but in the process of time they [the people] became perverted, and forsook the practices of their forefathers; and did neither pay those honors to God which were appointed them nor had any concern to do justice towards men [violence].”

 

 

When the practice of godly attribution becomes dissolute, the ensuing mix of the godly and ungodly begets societal disorder, as history has shown the case.   Whatever Enosh taught soon crumbles due to lost understanding and man’s manipulative alterations—man forgets about the pursuit of God’s enlightened message, relationship with Him, and wisdom is reduced to charms, amulets, and incantations.  Man’s worship of God’s heavenly creations prospers diverse astrological religions.

A great falling away from the enlightenment into God becomes inevitable and is one reason the Hebrew Bible warns of divergent spiritual or religious behavior.  In short, history tells us that man once more begins to walk this divergent pathway.  He takes the study of the heavenly spheres as the wisdom itself and the intertwining of these gods—Utu-Shamash, the sun god, to Ishtar, the goddess of sex and love, and Baal—and in the process begins to thwart knowledge and wisdom teachings.

Unknowingly, men begin to worship at the altar of what they can see.  Divinations begin to take wisdom’s place; chants and spells replace godly knowledge, leaving knowledge to lay by the wayside.  It soon occurs that man gives god-like status to the planets and constellations.  Houses of worship become established.  Some of mankind’s earliest writings are prayers and hymns to Nanna (Nannar) the moon god of Sumeria, c. 3500 BC, well after the flood.   Continuing throughout ancient history, and holding such a grasp on mankind, these gods reverberate into the Roman period.

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THE WAY

 

Relative to the teaching of the Way, a serious problem emerges when worshipping a pantheon of gods, or even one god who is part of a pantheon—of a nature the mind cannot be unified in the same manner as it would be while worshipping the One True God.  As previously mentioned, the mind becomes split apart and roams as far afield as the Sumerian hierarchy numbering in the many hundreds, and the later Hittites who named over two thousand gods, producing true collectives.

There are many references Jesus makes relative to this calamity of a split mind.  In Luke 11.17, Jesus tells us, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation.”  The division itself, or divided mind, Jesus brings under scrutiny.  Laws may wander into many places, the spirit remains unified.  The later reference to Satan (v. 18) also implies this division, for Satan seeks first to divide or separate a person from God, and then he captures (see Adam and Eve).  In the Book of Job, Satan wishes to test Job and split him from God and God’s reward.

Luke 11.34, “The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good (whole), your whole body also is full of light.  But when your eye is bad, your body is full of darkness.”  The ‘bad eye’ Jesus mentions refers to giving with a stingy nature, whereas the eye that is whole is a generous giver.  The generous giver, or he who gives from the heart, is complete or whole within his giving and is intended to illustrate God’s generosity.  The ‘bad eye’ is split apart, while giving on the outside he does not give from the inside.

Jesus contested the many legalisms that later developed within Judaism.  These laws distracted from the worship or communion with God, for the laws themselves, were treated as holy.  This obtuse focus on the law could not enhance a relationship with God.  In the teaching of the Way, Jesus instead prospers unity and wholeness focused on the One God and not laws or religiosity.

Finally, and as men would have it, God became only the God of heaven and no longer viewed as the God of earth, and finally, not even the creator of the heavens or the earth.  Further confusion reigned.  Since man could not extirpate himself, this lack within man meant the removal of man, except the righteous few, from the face of the earth.  The world wide flood allegory points to a condition in man concerning how few are truly centered on God.  God centered does not necessarily mean religiously centered.

 

Today we know geologically that a great flood did occur.  Opinions on the date vary.  Some archeologists say 7,000 BC, some say 11,000 BC, and some say further back.*  During this time the moral descent of man through lost consciousness also occurred, and it does seem clear Enosh played some role.  A first flood was ‘sent’, and a third of the earth was destroyed by flood (Midrash Tanchuma Noach 18), which is also reflected in an accurate scripture reference, Amos 5.8, “He Who calls the water of the sea and pours it out on the face of the earth, the Lord is His Name.”  However, this mini-flood does not stop earthbound humans from pursuing further inequities.  God created man, man has now presumed himself to designate God—the Great Flood will soon follow.

*Many scientists denote the flood as ice-age melt combined with turbulent weather.  There seems no definitive science on the flood causation.

Even amidst great calamity, the generations remain preserved.  In like manner, no matter how great the calamity is in anyone’s life, God’s preservation remains available.  The commitment, however, must be made.   Turning back to God or renewing commitment is always perceived by God as a special event.  As we see in the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15.11-32), any return home, no matter the previous situation, is greeted with abounding joy!

Next comes the revelation of a mighty soul, Enoch, and the advent of the Watchers.

 

God  Bless!