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Dhammapada · narration sample

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The Book of Enoch · 23 of 109

Chapter XXIII. The Fire of the Luminaries of Heaven

1.From thence I went to another place to the west of the ends of the earth.

2.And I saw a [burning] fire which ran without resting, and paused not from its course day or night but (ran) regularly.

3.And I asked saying: ‘What is this which rests not?’

4.Then Raguel, one of the holy angels who was with me, answered me [and said unto me]: ‘This course [of fire] [which thou hast seen] is the fire in the west which persecutes all the luminaries of heaven.’

Asked of Guide

Why is the west's fire described as persecuting the luminaries of heaven?

The chapter shows Enoch seeing a relentless western fire that “ran without resting” and Raguel calls it the fire “which persecutes all the luminaries of heaven.” That language treats the fire as an active force that troubles the celestial bodies rather than merely illuminating them.

This scene frames cosmic order as vulnerable to disruptive agents; Raguel explains the phenomenon as part of the heavens’ movements, similar to how Genesis describes lights governing day and night. Readers who want a comparative angle can look to Genesis 1, where luminaries have roles rather than being besieged.

Guide is the guide inside the Gnosis app, where every book on these shelves is free to read. Guide is the part you pay for — your guide has read all of them, and answers about the passage you’re actually on. Ask your guide your own question.