Podcast Summary: Was the Book of Enoch BANNED from the Bible...!?

Podcast: Live Free with Josh Howerton (Lakepointe Church)
Date: December 8, 2025
Host: Pastor Josh Howerton
Co-hosts/Guests: Carlos Horazo, Paul Cunningham
Episode Focus:
Examining viral claims about the Book of Enoch, discussing myths about the formation of the Bible, and what Christians should believe about biblical authority, with a heavy emphasis on how these issues relate to faith, culture, and holiday themes.

Main Theme and Episode Purpose

This episode takes on three primary topics:

1. Viral confusion about the Book of Enoch and its supposed “banning” from the Bible.
2. Deep theological dives into the Christmas story—revealing rich Old and New Testament parallels.
3. Responding to modern deconstructionist takes on the origins and authority of the Bible, as popularized by viral social media videos.

The tone is lighthearted, strongly biblical, and deeply pastoral, aiming to equip Christians to process internet controversies with solid truth.

Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Christmas Theological "Deep Cuts" (08:00–45:30)

- Hidden Symbolism and Prophecy in the Nativity Story

• Pastor Josh:
  • Explores prophecies in Malachi about the Messiah having “healing in his wings” and connects this to Jesus’s garments as a rabbi (“kanaf”; 11:16–12:35).
  • “This lady had read Malachi chapter four... She had faith that this is the one who was promised. And so in faith to Malachi, chapter four, she walks up and touches the fringe, the kanaf, of his garment. Boom, she's healed.” (12:22)
  • Bethlehem means “house of bread”—profound parallel to Jesus as "the bread of life." (13:14)
  • Joseph was likely a stonemason (“tekton”), not a carpenter, based on Greek translation and regional building practices (13:33).

- Angelic Announcement to Shepherds

• Significance of Shepherds:
  • Angels appeared to the lowliest (shepherds weren’t considered reliable witnesses; 14:57), symbolizing God's grace to the humble.
  • The shepherds in Bethlehem likely raised sacrificial lambs for the Day of Atonement—the Lamb of God is born into this setting (18:14).
  • Paul: “Whereas Caesar would have come in and pomp and circumstance, the Savior and king of the world comes in in a manger and appears to the lowest of lowly. So it’s this very politically subversive message.” (17:44)

- Jesus as the Fulfillment of the Lamb

• Scarlet Thread through Scripture (21:10–29:35):
  • From Genesis’ animal-skin covering, to Abraham and Isaac, to Passover lambs, through to Jesus’ birth, life, and crucifixion.
  • The manger as a stone trough for animals links to the laying down of sacrificial lambs.
  • Jesus’ unique cry from the cross—“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”—signifies spiritual agony, not mere physical pain.

“Jesus could handle some pain. But there’s one time where Jesus is recorded as crying out... when the sky goes dark, Jesus cries out, here’s why. Because as the sky’s dark for three hours, what’s happening is God the Father was turning his back on the Son so that he could turn his face toward you.” – Josh (29:21)

• Veil Tearing as Theological Symbol:
  • The temple curtain tearing from top to bottom at Jesus’ death reveals open access to God for all believers (29:35).

- The Magi and Daniel Connection

• Josh: Proposes the Magi were descendants of magicians/wise men taught by Daniel in Babylon, awaiting the Messiah based on Old Testament prophecy. “There is a little part of me that wonders if these guys kept the gold that the Babylonian empire plundered from the temple... and they knew that the boy that was going to be born as Lord was actually God.” (33:57–36:24)

2. Applying "Fear Not" – Living as Christ-Followers (36:44–45:57)

• How can Christians obey the command ‘Fear not’?
  • Anchor your mind in God’s promises and not in feelings or anxieties.
  • Use biblical truths as the “wallpaper of your life”—repeat and meditate until it shapes your perspective.
  • Examine your thoughts: “Put that thought in like a cross examination chair and ask the question, who sent you and what kingdom are you coming from?” – Josh (41:09)
  • Recognize that faith places confidence in the promises (“facts”) of God, not merely in current emotions. (43:22–44:24, Paul)

3. Book of Enoch Explored (46:02–71:00)

- Viral confusion and modern fascination

• Multiple listeners and commentators ask: “Why did you talk about UFOs and not the Book of Enoch?” and “Was Enoch banned from the Bible?”
• Recent Rogan podcast clip claims Enoch was removed from the Bible by a political council, replaced by Revelation, and that “hidden” or “suppressed” knowledge abounds (47:23–49:02).

- What is the Book of Enoch?

• Paul Cunningham:
  • Clarifies it’s a pseudepigraphal work (falsely attributed to Enoch, Noah’s great-grandfather), compiled between 3rd–1st century BC (50:43–51:46).
  • “They would put someone else's name who had credibility and authority on their writing... and so therefore we should hold it to be true, but it's actually not.” (51:16)
  • Like “fan fiction” attributed to biblical figures.

- Was Enoch Ever in the Bible?

• No. Never in Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), never in the Greek Septuagint, never in Catholic Bibles or any Christian canons except the Ethiopian Orthodox Church—whose canon, historically, is much later than often claimed (55:23–57:08).
• Rogan’s “oldest Bible” claim is factually inaccurate. Manuscript history does not support it.
• “If by ‘banned’ you mean, he was in there and then they decided they didn't like it and took it out later: No. If you mean that they considered his opinion and didn't consider it valid, then, yeah...” – Paul (54:25)

- Jude Quotes Enoch—So Does That Give it Authority?

• Jude 14–15 does quote Enoch 1:9. But quoting a non-biblical work as containing a true statement does not mean the whole work is inspired or belongs in the Bible. (60:44–62:20)
• New Testament authors also quote pagan poets for illustrative purposes.

- Warnings About Using Enoch Authoritatively

• “If you think, hey, even though every Jewish community, except for even...Qumran, didn't accept it at the same level... and you're still going to accept as authoritative: by what criteria?” – Paul (66:48)
• Obsession with hidden or speculative knowledge (“rabbit holes”) leads people away from the revelation God has made clear in Scripture and toward endless, fruitless debate (68:09–70:25; 1 Timothy 1 reference).

4. Viral “Deconstructionist” Video on Bible Origins (71:00–96:49)

- Breakdown and Refutation of Common Myths

• Myth 1: “Jesus wasn’t a Christian and didn’t mean to start Christianity.”

  • Jesus fulfilled the Jewish religion (Matthew 5:17) and established a new covenant (Last Supper, John 14:6).

• Myth 2: “The Bible was compiled hundreds of years later by a pagan emperor (Constantine) for political reasons.”

  • Josh & Paul: Council of Nicaea (325 AD) did NOT decide the canon—issue was Arianism (was Jesus created or not?), not scripture. The first full New Testament list appears in Athanasius’ letter (367 AD), with widespread quotations predating Constantine.
  • Early church fathers quoted nearly all New Testament books as authoritative within a few generations of the apostles (78:34).

• Myth 3: “The Bible has been changed through translation/retranslation, argument, and committee.”

  • Manuscript evidence for the New Testament vastly outweighs that for other ancient texts (Plato, Aristotle, Caesar), with 99.5% agreement among thousands of ancient manuscripts (90:03–92:15).

• Myth 4: "Old Testament God is different from New Testament (Jesus) God."

  • Both testaments reveal judgment and grace, and Jesus himself claimed continuity (“before Abraham was, I am;” John 8:58). Marcionism (two gods theory) is an ancient, refuted heresy (93:35).

- The Importance of Scripture’s Authority

• You read the Bible to know how to follow Jesus—the “person” cannot be detached from the “pages.”
• “If the Bible is fallible, good, that means it’s human...the point was never the pages, it was the person. And he still says the same thing today. Follow me and be free.” (Viral Video)
  • Pastor Josh: “How do you figure out how to follow the person? You read the pages.” (96:49)

- Overarching Point

• Christians must stand on the authority, trustworthiness, and sufficiency of the Scriptures as God’s revelation—above “spot inspiration,” deconstructionism, or viral internet claim.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There’s only one answer to how that [the Bible’s unity] can happen. It was written down by men. It was authored by the living God.” – Josh (88:52)
• “If I was a demon, I would love for you to endlessly obsess over things that you can never know for sure instead of the God that...created you to know him for sure.” – Paul (70:52)
• “We search the Scriptures, because they point to Christ, so that we might know Him.” – Josh (82:51)
• “You need to evaluate who sent this thought. There’s a lot of thoughts that you have...but actually their nation of origin is from the kingdom of darkness.” – Josh (41:09)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Christmas “Deep Cuts” Theology: 08:00–45:30
• Living 'Fear Not': 36:44–45:57
• Book of Enoch: 46:02–71:00
• Viral Deconstruction Video Reaction: 71:00–96:49

Structure & Flow

Each section of the episode naturally builds from theological richness (Christmas) to apologetic defense (Book of Enoch, Bible canon), always aiming to ground listeners in historic Christian orthodoxy while identifying and debunking modern myths.

Conclusion & Call to Action

• Christians are urged to focus on revealed truth and deepen their discipleship in community (Rooted small groups).
• Avoid speculative “rabbit holes” that distract from sound doctrine.
• Study, trust, and feast on God’s Word to know Christ and live free.

For further discussion, listeners are pointed to Lakepointe’s resource guides, small groups (“Rooted”), and additional episodes covering topics like the Apocrypha and spiritual myths.

Final Word from Pastor Josh:
“The point was never the pages. It was the person. How do you figure out how to follow the person? You read the pages.” (96:49)