THE SIN OF THE WATCHERS is framed by the Book of 1 Enoch as a violation of the natural order. 

Chapter 2 through chapter 5 verse 3 (3:7 in the SEV) detail all of the ways creation follows a pattern established by God. Then the author turns to the rebellious angels, charging them with faithlessness, rebellion, and speaking “proud and hard words” (or “slanderously grave and harsh words”) against God. Their sin, in other words, is not just disobedience; it’s unnatural! 

It’s clear in chapter 6 that the rebellious Watchers knew that commingling with human women was wrong; their leader, Shemihazah, admitted it in so many words, afraid that he alone would be held accountable for “this great sin.” His colleagues agreed to swear by a mutual oath to proceed. 

This event was remembered for millennia. Sometime around the beginning of the Christian era, a 6,000-pound limestone stela was left inside a temple on the summit of Mount Hermon, where this oath was sworn (1 Enoch 6:6 [3:5, SEV]), commemorating the event. Dr. Doug Hamp published the first new information derived from the Watcher Stone in more than a century in his book Corrupting the Image II. Here’s the link to the excerpt from Derek’s book The Second Coming of Saturn that cites Doug’s new translation. 

The question is whether the Watchers came to Earth specifically to commit this sin or, as Justin Martyr wrote in his Second Apology (c. 161 AD), they were appointed to watch over humanity by God and decided to transgress after they got here. And, as L. A. Marzulli suggested in a 2022 episode of our program The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries, were they talked into this sin by Satan, who wanted Shemihazah—a powerful rival—out of the way? 

Next time (October 27, 2024), we’ll discuss the consequences of the transgression of the Watchers. 

Here is a link to the three-part interview from 2006 with the late Dr. Michael Heiser about Gnosticism and The Da Vinci Code.

Here’s the link to the episode of The Bible’s Greatest Mysteries with L. A. Marzulli about Satan, Shemihazah, and “the angelic suicide mission” to overthrow God (link opens YouTube video).