Prophecy Watchers: "The Book of Enoch and the Last Generation"
Guests: Gary Stearman (Host), Mondo Gonzales (Co-Host, partial), Dr. Ken Johnson (Guest)
Date: March 24, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Gary Stearman converses with prophecy expert Dr. Ken Johnson about the significance of the ancient Book of Enoch and related texts (including the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Book of Gad the Seer) for understanding Bible prophecy—especially as it pertains to the "last generation." The discussion covers translation history, the relevance of these ancient books to modern times, the intersection of extra-biblical writings with canonical scripture, and insights into impending prophetic events.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Book of Enoch’s Historical Context and Prophetic Focus

• Ken Johnson's Translation Work: Ken discusses his modern approach to translating Enoch, noting the text was known and quoted by early church fathers, forgotten, and then rediscovered (primarily through R.H. Charles’ 18th-century translation from Ethiopic).

  • Quote [00:44]: “People keep going back to this because the way things are working at this particular time in history, the Book of Enoch seems more and more pertinent.” — Gary Stearman

• Enoch’s Target Audience:

  • Written specifically for the generation experiencing the Tribulation, the book was deliberately kept outside the biblical canon, intended for separate study and as a warning about the end times.
  • Quote [01:02]: “It’s written for the generation of the Tribulation period, the last generation, and it’s not to be put in the canon per se, but it’s to be kept separate.” — Ken Johnson

• Fulfilled and Future Prophecies:

  • Prophecies about Israeli governors are said to be fulfilled up to Bar Kokhba; more recent sections align with the period of Israeli prime ministers, potentially pointing believers to the broad nearness of prophesied end-times events (without specific dates).
    • Quote [01:31]: “It doesn't give us a date or anything like that, but an approximation of how far we are away from those things.” — Ken Johnson

2. Significance of Discovery and Rediscovery

• Timing of Enoch’s Rediscovery:
  • The delayed re-emergence of the Book of Enoch is perceived as providential, surfacing when its content would be most needed by the final generation.
  • Quote [02:02]: “It’s like God almost held that back, kept it concealed until just a particular time, then it was discovered and printed...” — Gary Stearman

3. Enoch, Jude, and the Second Coming

• Enoch’s Prophecies and New Testament Echoes:

  • Jude directly quotes Enoch 1:9, referencing the Lord’s coming with “ten thousands of his saints,” indicating continuity between extra-biblical and biblical prophecy.
  • Quote [05:41]: “Behold, he comes with ten thousands of his holy ones... to execute judgment upon all.” — (Quoted by Gary Stearman from Enoch, noting Jude 14-15)

• Rapture vs. Second Coming:

  • Ken clarifies the difference between passages referencing the Rapture and those speaking of Christ’s Second Coming and judgment, noting Enoch (and Jude) refer to the latter.
    • Quote [06:44]: “We’re talking about not the Rapture, but the Second Coming... he comes back with tens of thousands of his saints to execute judgment.” — Ken Johnson

4. Dating the Last Generation and Impending Fulfillment

• Calendar Insights from the Dead Sea Scrolls:

  • The Dead Sea Scroll calendar identifies March 2026 as the beginning of the "last generation," a 50-year window during which most major prophecies are expected to unfold.
  • Quote [07:56]: “The last generation on the Dead Sea Scroll calendar begins March of 2026 and is a 50-year period.” — Ken Johnson

• Contemporary Fulfillment:

  • Many minor prophecies have already been fulfilled since Israel's rebirth in 1948, with major events (such as the Gog-Magog war, destruction of Damascus) potentially imminent.
  • Quote [08:53]: “Since [1948] we’ve had all these other prophecies fulfilled, minor ones of course, but... now all of a sudden, in the last 80 some years, lots of things are happening.” — Ken Johnson

5. Ancient Texts, Lost Books, and Canonicity

• Translation Methodology:

  • Ken details his approach: linguistic study, comparison with early church fathers’ writings, and synthesis of multiple ancient texts (Enoch, Jubilees, Gad the Seer).
  • Quote [05:10]: “I started off looking at the early church fathers... they would quote Scripture and then they would quote other books. And so that just led me to look for those other things...” — Ken Johnson

• Genetic Manipulation in Enoch:

  • Ancient texts (including Enoch and supporting Dead Sea Scrolls fragments) describe the Nephilim and pre-Flood genetic tampering, language which aligns suspiciously with modern genetics—a compelling apologetic for the text’s ancient origins.
  • Quote [13:32]: “For those of us today that know how genetics work, you read these ancient scrolls and if it actually happened, that's about the only way it would have happened. So... that's just proof that the Book of Enoch is correct.” — Ken Johnson

• Other Relevant Texts:

  • Ken references his work with fragments of the Book of Gad the Seer (David’s prophet), the Testaments of the Patriarchs, and the Dead Sea scrolls, all of which illuminate or parallel biblical prophecy.
  • Quote [15:09]: “The Book of Gad... chapter 14 is a clear pre-tribulational rapture idea... chapters one and two tell us about how this mystery Babylonian system develops.” — Ken Johnson

• Parallelism with New Testament and Absence of Contradiction:

  • According to Ken, extra-biblical props and the theology of the early church fathers consistently align with New Testament doctrine.
  • Quote [17:11]: “There’s no contradictions that I've ever found in Dead Sea Scrolls... with the New Testament theology; they run perfectly together.” — Ken Johnson

6. The Dead Sea Scroll Calendar and Dating Prophecies

• Calendar Mechanics:
  • Ancient Essene calendar calculations provide precise dating for Old and New Testament events and prophetic range estimates.
  • Quote [19:32]: “It's a really neat calendar. It's very consistent, and you're able to instantly know when things happen in the Old and New Testament because it'll tell you it’s Passover, and five days later, something happened...” — Ken Johnson

7. Authority and Use of Extra-Biblical Writings

• Canon vs. Commentary:

  • Only the 66 biblical books are divinely inspired and canonical; other writings are useful for understanding background, but should always be tested against Scripture.
  • Quote [21:31]: “The Bible is made up of 66 books, and that is the canon. So that’s what's supposed to be public for everyone to read. And we're not supposed to put extra stuff in the Bible.” — Ken Johnson

• Study Advice:

  • Ken guides listeners to first become grounded in the Bible before considering extra-biblical texts, always evaluating them by Scripture.
  • Quote [25:57]: “Make sure that you understand the New Testament well and the Old Testament prophecies, and then begin to look at some of the other things...” — Ken Johnson

8. Apostasy and the End Times

• Mystery Babylon and Apostasy:

  • Extra-biblical prophecies foresee an apostate religious system formed from "factions" within Christianity and Islam—a precursor to the rise of the Antichrist.
  • Quote [16:04]: “Gad talks about the idea that it's not those two religions that are the problem, but factions... that come together to form the mystery religion, which we would probably call Chrislam.” — Ken Johnson

• Rapture Language and Enoch’s Example:

  • The phrase “caught out of the midst” (from 2 Thess 2:3 in Greek) is clarified by Enoch’s own “rapture” and its idiomatic understanding in early church writings, affirming a pre-tribulational view.
    • Quote [26:55]: “The Book of Enoch talks about when he was raptured... when that happens, it mentions that he was taken out of the midst, which means he left the planet. So he was raptured.” — Ken Johnson

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On Enoch's Modern Relevance:

  • [00:48] “The way things are working at this particular time in history, the Book of Enoch seems more and more pertinent.” — Gary Stearman

• Why Read Enoch?

  • [03:45] “We shouldn’t be asking why did Jude want to quote it? We should be asking, why did the Holy Spirit lead Jude to write inspired scripture and quote it in there?... that means we should read it.” — Ken Johnson

• Are We Close to the End?

  • [07:36] “We are definitely getting there, yes.” — Ken Johnson

• On the Book of Gad the Seer & Apostatic Religion:

  • [16:04] “Gad talks about the idea that it’s not those two religions that are the problem, but factions... to form the mystery religion, which we would probably call that Chrislam.” — Ken Johnson

• On the Canonicity of Extra-Biblical Books:

  • [21:31] “The Bible is made up of 66 books, and that is the canon... There are other books... but they're not necessary.” — Ken Johnson

• On Evaluating Ancient Writings:

  • [25:57] “No matter what you look at... compare it to the Old and New Testament and use that as your rule and guide of faith.” — Ken Johnson

• Apostasy and the Antichrist:

  • [16:42] “Prophecy in the New Testament mentions a growing apostasy at the end. Very, very specific apostasy, as a matter of fact, which finally falls into the hands of one man, of course, called the Antichrist.” — Gary Stearman

• Enoch and the Rapture Idiom:

  • [26:55] “The phrase taken out of the midst refers to a rapture... the Book of Enoch actually helped us to understand that.” — Ken Johnson

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Book of Enoch’s Purpose & Content: [01:02] – [03:45]
• Significance of Manuscript Discovery: [02:02] – [03:07]
• Enoch’s Prophecies Quoted in Jude: [05:41] – [07:26]
• Dating the Final Generation (Dead Sea Scrolls): [07:51] – [08:40]
• Prophecy Fulfillment Since 1948: [08:53] – [09:16]
• Ken’s Translation Approach & Lost Texts: [13:32] – [15:49]
• Mystery Babylon, Apostasy, Chrislam: [16:04] – [16:41]
• Dead Sea Scroll Calendar Explained: [19:32] – [20:05]
• Study Guidelines & Authority: [25:57] – [26:31]
• Enoch, Rapture, and NT Idioms: [26:55] – [28:04]

Conclusion

Dr. Ken Johnson and Gary Stearman provide a deep dive into how the Book of Enoch and related ancient sources enrich our understanding of prophetic timing and last-days events. While holding firmly to the Bible as the measure for all doctrine, Ken encourages exploring well-translated, historically contextual extra-biblical writings as powerful supplements for serious students of prophecy—the results, he contends, are striking confirmations rather than contradictions.

Final message:
Ground your faith and discernment in the canonical Scriptures, but don’t fear to examine ancient prophetic voices whose words may have been preserved for just this generation.

For further study:

• Book of Enoch (Ken Johnson’s translation)
• Book of Gad the Seer
• Prophecies in the Dead Sea Scrolls
  (All available via Prophecy Watchers and Ken Johnson’s website)