Enoch & Intercession of Saints

Enoch contains a fascinating depiction of the souls of human who were slaughtered, by the instigation of the rebellious angels that taught mankind to make weapons to kill, crying out to the angels of heaven to bring their petitions to God that he might avenge them:

[Chapter 8]

¹ And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all ² colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they ³ were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, 'Armaros the resolving of enchantments, Baraqijal (taught) astrology, Kokabel the constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the earth, Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .

[Chapter 9]

¹ And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being ² shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. And they said one to another: 'The earth made without inhabitant cries the voice of their cryingst up to the gates of heaven. ³ And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, THE SOULS OF MEN MAKE THEIR SUIT, SAYING, "BRING OUR CAUSE ⁴ BEFORE THE MOST HIGH."' And they said to the Lord of the ages: 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, and God of the ages, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of the ⁵ ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages! Thou hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked and open in Thy sight, and Thou seest all ⁶ things, and nothing can hide itself from Thee. Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which ⁷ men were striving to learn: And Semjaza, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the ⁹ women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. And the women have ¹⁰ borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness. And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are ¹¹ wrought on the earth. And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.' (The Book of Enoch, Section I)

This simply provides further evidence that asking for the intercession of heavenly saints, whether angels or humans, is a thoroughly Jewish concept anchored in the correct application of the Old Testament writings. To illustrate this point, I quote from the second book of Maccabees:

“This Nica′nor in his utter boastfulness and arrogance had determined to erect a public monument of victory over Judas and his men.  But Maccabe′us did not cease to trust with all confidence that he would get help from the Lord. And he exhorted his men not to fear the attack of the Gentiles, but to keep in mind the former times when help had come to them from heaven, and now to look for the victory which the Almighty would give them. Encouraging them from the law and the prophets, and reminding them also of the struggles they had won, he made them the more eager. And when he had aroused their courage, he gave his orders, at the same time pointing out the perfidy of the Gentiles and their violation of oaths. He armed each of them not so much with confidence in shields and spears as with the inspiration of brave words, and he cheered them all by relating a dream, a sort of vision, which was worthy of belief.

“What he saw was this: Oni′as, who had been high priest, a noble and good man, of modest bearing and gentle manner, one who spoke fittingly and had been trained from childhood in all that belongs to excellence, was praying with outstretched hands for the whole body of the Jews. Then likewise a man appeared, distinguished by his gray hair and dignity, and of marvelous majesty and authority. And Oni′as spoke, saying, ‘This is a man who loves the brethren and prays much for the people and the holy city, Jeremiah, the prophet of God.’  Jeremiah stretched out his right hand and gave to Judas a golden sword, and as he gave it he addressed him thus: ‘Take this holy sword, a gift from God, with which you will strike down your adversaries.’

“Encouraged by the words of Judas, so noble and so effective in arousing valor and awaking manliness in the souls of the young, they determined not to carry on a campaign but to attack bravely, and to decide the matter, by fighting hand to hand with all courage, because the city and the sanctuary and the temple were in danger. Their concern for wives and children, and also for brethren and relatives, lay upon them less heavily; their greatest and first fear was for the consecrated sanctuary. And those who had to remain in the city were in no little distress, being anxious over the encounter in the open country.” 2 Maccabees 15:6-19

The readers should all be familiar with the prophet Jerome. Onias III was a high priest who had been murdered by Andronicus around 171 BC.

The fact that Judas was given a dream-like vision where he saw that both of these righteous men of God were consciously aware of what was taking place with their people on earth, and were still praying fervently for their salvation, simply confirms the point that intercession of saints is indeed a biblical truth.

Further Reading

Origen on Prayer & Intercession of Saints

Origen & the Worship of Angels

Hermas’ Mediating Angel

PRAYING TO SAINTS

EARLY CHURCH & PRAYERS OF SAINTS