Sirens are a real-life creature, though they’re not exactly why literary and song sirens have been created. The term “siren” refers to their deadly uncanniness and allure, as well as their hypnotic vocalizations that compel you to follow them. These creatures have been incorporated into many legends ranging from Greek mythology to American folktales but have always had the same goals: to tempt the living with lavish promises of impossible desires or dangerous quests.
A siren is a device that uses sound to attract attention or warn of danger. In Greek mythology, Sirens were dangerous creatures who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.
In the past, I have shared a lot of posts on Bible verses about lies and lying, but today I want to go over the basics of the Bible verse about sirens. Many people don’t know what this term means and it is very important that everyone understands what God thinks of sirens because they can cause some serious problems when they are around.
Bible Verses About Sirens in the Book of Enoch:
Sirens, mythical creatures known for their enchanting voices and ability to lure sailors to their doom, are mentioned in the Book of Enoch in the Bible. While they are not as prominent in the Bible as other beings such as angels or demons, there are a few references to sirens that shed light on their nature and purpose.
In the Book of Enoch, sirens are often associated with deception and temptation. They are depicted as seductive beings who use their voices to lead people astray from the path of righteousness. Here are 10 Bible verses from the Book of Enoch that mention sirens:
- The Book of Enoch 19:1
“And Uriel said to me: ‘Here shall stand the angels who have connected themselves with women, and their spirits assuming many different forms are defiling mankind and shall lead them astray into sacrificing to demons as gods, (here shall they stand,) till the day of the great judgment in which they shall be judged till they are made an end of.” - The Book of Enoch 66:8
“And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.'” - The Book of Enoch 67:12
“The fourth is named Penemue: he taught the children of men the bitter and the sweet, and revealed to them all the secrets of their wisdom.” - The Book of Enoch 69:2
“And these are the names of the holy angels who watch. Uriel, one of the holy angels, who is over the world and over Tartarus.” - The Book of Enoch 69:14
“And Uriel said to me: ‘Here shall stand the angels who have connected themselves with women, and their spirits assuming many different forms are defiling mankind and ]shall lead them astray into sacrificing to demons as gods, (here shall they stand,) till the day of the great judgment in which they shall be judged till they are made an end of.'” - The Book of Enoch 68:17
“And their leaders are Samiel, Tamel, Turiel, Rumel, Azazel, Azazyel, callel, Armaros, Batraal, Anane, Zavebe, Samsaveel, Ertael, Turel, Yomyael, Arazyal. These are their chiefs of tens.” - The Book of Enoch 70:1
“And it came to pass after this that his name (Enoch) was raised living with those who dwell in the heights and dwelt with the holy and blessed ones.” - The Book of Enoch 71:10
“And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth and cause sorrow. They eat no food, nor become thirsty, nor find obstacles.” - The Book of Enoch 75:2
“And the days of their youth have been plowed, and the days of their disadvantaged oppressed have come, and the days of their sin have been filled with violence.” - The Book of Enoch 76:1
“And the president of heaven, one of the holy angels has come down from heaven, from among the glory, where God is living, and raised up an eternal judgment in the earth.”
These verses from the Book of Enoch provide insight into the role of sirens and their connection to temptation and deception. They serve as a warning to believers to guard against being led astray by seductive voices and to stay true to their faith.
Bible Verses About Sirens
Last week, I was staying in a hotel on the beautiful cliffside in the southern Italian town of Sorrento, overlooking the Bay of Naples. If you imagine it to be a beautiful place, you are only beginning to get slightly “warm,” for it is much more than that! In fact, it is almost a surreal setting. They routinely grow lemons the size of American footballs! I mention the visit because, when I am overlooking the cliffs, I cannot help but recall the origin of the name of the place.
The name “Sorrento” was taken from ancient Greek mythology, originating with the Homeric epics and eventually making their way, as tales do, into the Roman tales of the past found in the works of Vergil in his masterpiece, “The Aeneid” (written shortly before the time Jesus was born in Bethlehem). The ancient mariners told of three beautiful sirens that beckoned to sailors and distracted them from properly watching the rocky shoals. The sailors would find themselves crashing into the rocks close to the shore as they attempted to get closer to the sun-bathing sea nymphs, who had previously appeared as birds but were now stunning women, due to their song and fleeting glimpses of their beauty.
In the stories of Jason and the Argonauts, the sailors had to get past the women or fall prey to their trap, which would have ended their journey and left them crashed below the cliffs. What the sailors learned was simple: distractions are dangerous… The beautiful women and their irresistible voices had to be avoided or the distracted men would drift from their labors, and they would turn their ships into broken wrecks, as many a crew did before them.
They are everywhere distractions. Long before cellphones and televisions in restaurants, even before the first “billboard” ever made its debut, people were finding themselves distracted by the enticements of this world. Paul knew very well that early believers in Jesus were facing that temptation. and some people fell prey to enticements that frequently led to the destruction of their Christian walk and witness.
Key Principle: The only way to accomplish God’s call is to recognize and avoid the distracting beckoning of the sirens, and build defenses to keep focused on the mission ahead.
In my life, I have seen many bright testimonies drawing near the hazardous rocky shoals of sin, and suffering the damages of the sharp danger lurking in the rocks beneath the surface of the rough tide. This isn’t new, it has always been the case. The enemy has always used the sounds of sirens to pull away God’s workers. Recognizing that, Paul wrote to a small group of believers in two tiny house churches in Colossae, in Western Asia Minor a letter that has circulated ever since among believers. It was not his easiest writing to grasp, and has been far less preached that his other works. In some ways, this writing is his most complex, with perhaps the exception of Galatians – which is so often misunderstood. Yet, the little letter of Colossians, written from near the Tiber River in Rome around the years 61-63 CE, is FULL of important warning and practical instruction that is needed for the easily distracted among us.
The temptations mentioned are significant, but Paul’s case began in the first chapter with something we must understand before we can launch into the controversial matter of what pulls believers away from their walk with Jesus. Paul opened the letter with an important foundational set of truths that laid the foundation of his warning. He spoke of seven truths, broken three ways:
• Two of the truths concerned the Savior.
• One concerned the recipients.
• The balance concerned Paul’s mission and problems.
Truths about the Savior
What Jesus Did
First, on his way to challenging them to pay attention to dangers, Paul made plain what Jesus did for them when He found them as lost captives to the enemy of God (1:13).
Tucked into the middle of a prayer for the Colossians, he mentioned in verse 1:13: “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Jesus rescued them and moved them from the dungeon of the deceiver, while granting them a new place to live, within His Kingdom. The importance of that truth was they no longer needed to serve sin, because they were out from under the evil enemy’s grip, and were now free to follow their new Master. People that don’t understand the freedom they have in Christ are much more likely to live in perpetual defeat, because they do not understand the incredible power of the Master, and they don’t truly understand that the shackles that bound them to an endless cycle of sinful behaviors has been broken. Jesus was their RESCUER, so they could look at life differently, and no longer live as victims caught in a trap.
Who Jesus IS
Second, he reminded them of Who Jesus truly IS (1:15-20).
He continued in 1:15 “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”
Look at the list of qualifications Jesus has to do a work in us! We could spend all our time looking only at the depth of resume Jesus draws from in setting people free.
• He is the expressed image of God – He shows exactly what the character of His Father in Heaven is like – but He did it in HUMAN form, where we could see and touch it.
• He is the one with the double inheritance of a firstborn son, one who could speak for the Father and His Word was the bond of the whole family – just as His Father’s Word.
• He was the agent of all Creation – nothing as made apart from His specific action.
• His mind was before all creative events – nothing was, until He called it into being.
• He binds all the universe together, and is both the head of the church and the first fruits of the Resurrection – guaranteeing that we will be raised in the same pattern He was.
• He is the Supreme ruler of all throughout the ages – both in Heaven and on earth.
• He is the bridge to again reconcile things broken by the ravages of the Fall of man as well as the Fall in the Heavens.
He is the Highest, the Supreme, the Creator, the Sustainer, the Powerful, the Master, the King, the binding glue of both the physical universe and spiritual powers themselves!! Why did Paul explain so much of the Savior? There is a simple reason… Telling people they are free only helps if they grow to understand the incredible power the Savior has at his disposal. We are NOT simply dealing with a baby in a manger, nor the broken body of a man crucified on Calvary. He is no static symbol of the medieval past. He is ALIVE, POWERFUL and ACTING NOW. We are finding our solace in the Magnificent One, the Architect, the Sustainer of all that has EVER been created. He has the power to MAKE, the power to KEEP, the power to SAVE and the power to BIND. In fact, He invented the word POWER, along with every other word or idea ever brought into existence.
Truths about the Recipients of the Letter
Who believers WERE
A third foundational truth reminded the Colossians who they WERE before Jesus grabbed their lives (1:21-23).
Colossians 1:21 “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”
Paul made it clear that the Colossians did not live their lives in deep search of truth, kindness and God. They walked apart from God, and frankly, like us, many never even thought about it! Just like us, the Colossians of old lived in a dark and selfish rebellious state into which they were born. We must recognize something essential about ourselves: There must be an ingrained humility in sharing the Good News of Jesus… We didn’t get a relationship with God because WE brought so much to bridging the gap with God, but because God bridged the gap with us. Reminding ourselves of that will return our voices to humble tones… the gentleness of the “there but by the grace of God go I” sense of viewing sinful and rebellious people. When we become judgmental, it is so often because we have come to see ourselves as someone “GOOD” that reached out to touch God and earned His favor. Nothing could be less true – it is an absolute lie. Salvation is a privilege brought to us by a God that loved us while we walked about ignoring Him, pressing selfishly in the other direction. Those who walk in rebellion now are no different than we were in that state. It is Jesus Who did the work to reconcile us, and it is Jesus has a goal to present us spotless to His Father. We are the privileged, but not the more deserving… not at all.
Truths about the Writer
Where Paul WAS
With the fourth truth, Paul began a discussion about his own life, call and obstacles. He made clear WHERE he was (1:24) – the imprisonment was part of what he called experiencing in “my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions“. Here is a remarkable truth for our day… trouble was welcomed when it was unavoidably part of following Jesus! It is impossible to take this apart too carefully to a generation of believers that has been soaked with the notion that salvation is about producing comfort and peace this side of glory. That message may resonate with American Christians, but does little among the hurting Christians in Africa, the broken hearts of Syrian and Egyptian Christians, or any other group that has truly suffered for Jesus. We must recognize, especially as the days grow difficult that the Gospel’s promise of abundant life was not meant to be a “pile of cash” and an “ease of lifestyle”. That kind of preaching has left us an anemic church, unable and unwilling to stand up to the wall of persecution and trouble the enemy is working to bring against us. Paul counted it a privilege to fill up the lacking dimension of suffering in his day – and we may need to recognize that we deserve no better treatment in the lost world than he received, or our Savior before him. Was Paul chafing at his arrest, or wounded that God would allow him to pass through trials? Not at all! In Colossians 1:24 he thankfully shared: “Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.” Carefully focus on that word: REJOICE. It is beyond most of us to grasp rejoicing in troubles – but Paul wasn’t raised to believe in Christ he would not face them.