FUN FACTS
Eyeshadow Caused the Flood
The Second Temple Jewish text, 1 Enoch, gives a detailed account of how angels in heaven rebelled against God and then raped the women of earth. In one tradition, the angel Shemihazah lusted after beautiful women and led a group of two hundred "Watchers" (voyeuristic angels) to produce offspring with them. The women then gave birth to “great giants," who were three hundred cubits in height. The giants consumed all the produce, wildlife, and even attempted to devour humanity, eventually resorting to cannibalism. The storyline goes on to depict another chief Watcher named Asael, who led a group of angels in teaching humanity (among other things) how to make weapons for warfare and how to apply eyeshadow on women. It's true! Enochic Jews believed that the origin of makeup came from angels. As the earth filled with bloodshed and corruption, God declared that he would send a great flood to destroy the earth. Despite their best efforts to kill the mutant offspring, the spirits of the giants remained trapped in the air in order to disturb humanity until their judgement. Hence, the Apostle Paul's New Testament warning about demons living in the air. In the second tradition, the most distinctive feature is the angel Asael’s disclosure of heavenly secrets, just like Prometheus from Greek mythology. In particular, Asael’s group provided knowledge relating to alchemy, sexuality, cosmetology, jewelry. Interestingly, Asael is also the main antagonist in the Denzel Washington movie, Fallen.
Whereas Shemihazah is responsible for reproducing giants, who later attempt to destroy humanity, Asael is responsible for disclosing information, which causes humans to destroy themselves. The addition of the Asael tradition may in fact explain why Shemihazah and the other hosts of heaven rebelled in the first place. By having Asael teach women the art of cosmetics, the newly beautified women appeared attractive to Shemihazah’s angels, causing them to lust and, thus, rebel against God.