We have reached the apocryphal portion of our study of apocalyptic literature, both Jewish and Christian, in my Thursday Night Bible study at St. Gabriel's.

This was the part of the study, the extra-biblical part, that I wasn't keen on doing. So, the first work is the Book of Enoch and I'm sure I've looked at it before, under Jim, along with the Sibylline oracles and jubilees. But, because I was sick two weeks ago and out of town last week, I entered the study session cold, not having peeked at the text in years. No matter, there was background material to be covered and an attempt to piece this work into the chronology of the canonical texts, namely Genesis.

And Jim is chronically smitten with Genesis 6, that odd story about angels mating with woman and producing a race of giants (see Wisdom 14:6 and Baruch 3:26). The story is immediate followed by the Flood.

And I got to thinking about the conquest of the Promised Land and how early reports claimed that the land was inhabited by giants and how in Judges, God uses water to wipe out the enemy and that the Philistines seemed to be a giant people. And I thought how God still uses water to wipe out our Enemy in the sacrament of Baptism. Of course, Peter made this connection first, 1 Peter 3:20-21 but the reality of it came alive to me on Thursday night.

Next year Jim wants to start the Talmud with us. What an unbelievable challenge.