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THE BOOK OF 1 ENOCH has had a powerful influence on Christian theology. But it\u2019s more than just an explanation of how the Nephilim came to be in Genesis 6.\xa0The second section of the Book of 1 Enoch, chapters 37\u201371, is called the Book of Parables by scholars. It was the last section of 1 Enoch to be written, probably completed toward the very end of the 1st century BC. It contains teachings that are not found in any prior Jewish writing\u2014for example, the forgiveness of sin through repentance rather than the Law, the imminent judgment of God on an evil world, and the coming of a messianic figure called the Son of Man who would execute God\u2019s justice on rebellious angels, evil kings, and wicked landowners.\xa0What\u2019s more, scholars now believe the Book of Parables was written by Essenes\u2014but not at Qumran, where the idea that anyone could be forgiven outside of their community and their rules was inconceivable. The group that wrote the Book of Parables lived in the north, at Mount Arbel near the town of Magdala on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee.\xa0This is near the south end of the valley through which the Jordan River flows between the Mount Hermon and the Sea of Galilee. This valley is the physical Valley of the Shadow of Death\u2014and Jesus declared it so when he moved from Nazareth to make his home at Capernaum on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee\u2014plainly visible from Mount Arbel less than six miles away.\xa0The Essenes of Mount Arbel, who could see Mount Hermon on the northeastern horizon, prepared the ground in the upper Galilee for the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah. And they did it with teachings preserved for us in the Book of 1 Enoch.