God Took Him
Bob Yandian
The Life of Enoch
Enoch is very important, not only in the Old Testament but also in the New Testament. He is a type of the rapture of the church. What he saw in the time when he was on this earth, the vision that he had from God, was the coming of Jesus Christ to rule and reign. That is the kingdom He will be coming back in.
In 2 Timothy 4:1 and 8, we are told that we are looking forward to His appearing and His kingdom. His appearing is the church, but his kingdom is what the earth is looking forward to. Even though Enoch himself is a type of the rapture he also had a vision of the end times where Jesus Christ would come back to rule and to reign. He made a statement in the New Testament that is not even recorded in the Old Testament. He saw the Lord coming with ten thousands of saints (Jude 14-15.)
Let's take a look at Genesis 4:17, it says: "And Cain knew his wife and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of that city after his son-Enoch."
Cain and his wife had a son named Enoch. At this time Enoch is evil. A good Enoch will come later on in the line of Seth, but there was an evil man named Enoch. This man and his descendants literally led a life of crime and lawlessness. Cain himself was an evil man, he slew Abel. Lamech, that came later on from Cain, started an ungodly line and everybody followed after his ways. It kept getting worse and worse. Lamech was the first polygamist in the Word of God.
By the time we come to Genesis 5:6, just before the coming of the great flood, it said, "The thoughts of men everywhere was continually evil." The descendants of Cain brought about great industry, livestock, music, brass and iron works, and cities flourished. Great population explosion. Religion replaced the faith and worship of people and spiritism and the occult began to flourish. Fallen angels, we find in Genesis 6:1-4, were marrying women, producing giants in the land and something had to happen for God to come and clean up this whole mess. That's where the flood of Noah came in.
Later, Adam and Eve had another son named Seth. Seth was a godly man, but corruption already had a head start with Cain. Cain started producing children before Seth did but Seth's line was godly. In Genesis 4:25-26 it says, "And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, For God, she said, has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also was born a son and called his name Enos. These men began to call on the name of the Lord."
This other line that came now from Adam and Eve through Seth began to call on the name of the Lord. We find again that Seth's line had many believers, but corruption had a head start and they had a long way to go. It's going to seem like corruption is going to overflow and going to overtake the righteousness of men on the earth that came from the line of Seth. The corruption became so great, God sent a flood on this earth to get rid of it because it was Satan's desire to stop the godly line to this earth so Messiah could not come.
God prophesied back in chapter three where he said to Satan that the Messiah, the leader, the one that is going to undo this curse that's been brought in by Adam is going to be undone. He said, He will come from the seed of the woman. Satan tried everything he could to corrupt the line and it looked like he was winning. Cain was the one that followed after his own ways and Abel was the one that followed after God's ways. Because Abel offered a better sacrifice, God gave Cain an opportunity to bring a right sacrifice, but Cain went and killed Abel so God had to raise up somebody else.
Seth was God's answer to start to right the wrongs that were out there. Again, the wrongs were growing stronger in the beginning and here came Seth and his line. It became so strong that God finally had just completely wiped out everybody except for Noah’s family. That's how much corruption had come into the earth.
Rapture and Tribulation
Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. Genesis 5:18-24 NKJV
Enoch literally just disappeared because God took him. Enoch and Noah stand out in this chapter, both as instruments of righteousness. I want you to notice something, Enoch, even though he was born into a righteous line, did not accept the Lord until he was 65 years old. At 65 years old, he had a son named Methuselah and Methuselah was the reason why he turned to the Lord. Even though his line was righteous, he still had to receive the Lord himself. I don't care if you came out of a Baptist family, Charismatic family, a Pentecostal family, or a Methodist family that know the Lord, you still have to get saved yourself. They don’t rub off on you, you're not automatically saved because you're born to godly parents or religious parents. It simply comes back to this; you have to accept Jesus for yourself.
Here's the other point; you might be born into a family that doesn't care a thing about God. Never goes to church, the worst of sinners, but one day you can receive Jesus as Lord and savior. You have a choice to make and even coming out of a good line, there came a time when Enoch had to receive the Lord and it happened when he was 65 years old when he begat Methuselah.
In the genealogy in these chapters of Genesis it says eight times, "And he died." Except for Enoch. Enoch typifies the saints taken out by rapture before the Tribulation, just as Noah was taken out before the time of the flood that hit the earth. The flood speaking of, and a type of the Tribulation yet to come on this earth, Enoch typifies a saint being taken out by rapture before the Tribulation. Noah does not typify the rapture. Noah typifies those who will be born again after we are gone, during the time of the Tribulation. They are saved, they survive the Tribulation and then they begin to repopulate the earth.
With Enoch, the believer was taken out before destruction came. With Noah, the unbelievers were taken out and the believers survived and were left on the earth and went to a new time of repopulation. This is what is going to come.
We, as the church, are going to be taken out of here, raptured out of this earth just like Enoch was. Suddenly here, then suddenly gone. They could not find him. We're going to be taken out of this earth and we're going to be gone one day but then the earth is going to go into a seven year time called the Tribulation. During that time, many millions will be born again. I want you to understand this, even though there was just eight at the time of the flood, Noah and his family. Those eight represent the millions that will be born again during the Tribulation. The Tribulation will be one of the greatest times of evangelism the world has ever seen and hundreds of millions of people, perhaps even billions, will come into the kingdom of God during that time.
When the end of that time comes, just like Noah was spared to go on into a whole new time period these people who are born again during the Tribulation and survived till the end of it, will get to go into the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. All the unbelievers at the end of the Tribulation will be taken off the earth, just like in the days of Noah, when the flood came and took all the evil people away, the unbelievers away, just the believers were left.
Enoch’s Life
At Enoch's birth, Adam was 622 years old. They live together side by side and were contemporaries of each other for 308 years. Can you imagine that? Adam lived long enough to see the results of his sin that was on the earth. He saw it every day. He looked around at the corruption that was there. He must have been overwhelmed by the guilt of what he had done and the decision he had made. He saw it every day, but he still remembered that God had a plan, even amid all that destruction and corruptness that was brought around through his son Cain. But through Adam’s son Seth, there is a whole new line coming up.
At 65 years of age Enoch began openly living for the Lord. He began to walk with God. He gave his life to the Lord at the time that his son Methuselah was born. Amos 3:3 says this, "How can two walk together unless they be agreed?" Enoch and God did not walk together until they became agreed in the first place. Enoch understood God, understood His plan of redemption, gave his life to the Lord and then after that, he walked with God.
Methuselah was the reason for Enoch's conversion. Methuselah's name means, "When he dies, it shall fall." He died the year of the flood. Methuselah was the oldest living man on earth. He lived longer than anybody else, 969 years.
At the time Methuselah was born, Enoch had two visions. He saw the coming flood, but he also saw the coming Tribulation and the second coming of the Lord. He saw that God was going to send rain and cause the waters of the deep to come up and flood the earth completely. Only eight people were going to survive, but there were 120 years during the ministry of Noah that he and his family preached righteousness, but nobody responded until the day he got into the ark.
The rain started coming and the door was closed and the people tried their best to get in but it was too late and by the time that Methuselah was born, God announced to Enoch it's over. God is long suffering, you understand that? Long suffering, but He's not infinite suffering. There comes a time when He finally says, "No" and this is what happened in the Old Testament. Enoch saw the flood coming, the future Tribulation, and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why he named his son, "When he dies, it shall fall." Enoch left a witness to the world.
It Must Be Destroyed
In the New Testament, Jude 14 and 15 here is what Enoch saw that was not recorded back in Genesis.
Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
He saw such ungodliness coming on this earth, but he prophesied against them, that God's destruction would take care of it. The hope we have today is in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The preaching of the Word of God, the power and demonstration of it. But that is only temporary to hold it back. The One that is going to destroy evil will be Jesus Christ Himself. The world system cannot be changed, it must be destroyed.
Jesus will do this by destroying the forces of antichrist. Satan, demons, fallen angels, antichrist, the false prophet, and all unbelievers and religion at the end of the Tribulation will literally be cast off the earth into hell for a thousand years and Jesus Christ will rule. The curse on the earth will be removed and a there will be a thousand years of perfect environment and a perfect leader, this is what Enoch saw. He saw this begin by Jesus Christ coming back, the Lord coming back with ten thousands of saints, that's the church. He had a vision of us coming back with Jesus Christ to execute righteousness and judgment on this earth.
He had a twofold vision. He saw the coming of the flood, but he also saw a vision of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those two events are tied together. In fact, Jesus even tied those two events in chapter 24 and in chapter 25 of the Book of Matthew.
He Pleased God
In Hebrews chapter 11 let's find out what happened. Enoch walked with God despite the world he lived in. Enoch had a testimony he left before men and God and leaves that testimony with us. Hebrews 11:5, speaks of Enoch. It says, "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found, because God had translated him. Before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”
This testimony of pleasing God is so important. You know why? Because this one phrase, "He pleased God" is the only place this phrase is found about anyone in the Old Testament. It says Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, but not that he pleased God. This is the only time it's used.
In the New Testament, it's only used of one person, that's Jesus Christ. God on two occasions said, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." When I go to heaven, the Lord's going to meet me and say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." I trust he's pleased with me, but you know what? Hebrews 11:5 says, God put that stamp of approval on Enoch in the Old Testament and said that he pleased Him.
Before God comes with His saints, He's going to come for His saints. This is what happened with Enoch. He was taken out of here and then later on the flood came. God's going to come for us first, then after we're gone, the Tribulation will begin.
An Abundant Entrance
We're going to go to heaven and we're going to go through the judgment seat of Christ, or as it's better translated by the Greek word, "bema," the rewards seat of Christ. We're going to see rewards for what we did in the flesh. We're told in Revelation 14:13, that when we die, our works follow us. You see heaven is a gift but there are rewards when we get there for what we did on this earth. I don't just want to go to heaven as a gift. When I get there, I want rewards for being faithful to the Lord. May it be said in heaven as it was said of Enoch that we pleased the Lord and he'll say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Don't you want to go into heaven as 2 Peter chapter one says, "So an entrance shall be ministered to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom?" I want an abundant entrance.
I know the Bible has been finished but God keeps chronicles in heaven of those who follow after Him, the heroes of faith. Listen, if we just obey God, do the smallest of things and take care of people, give a cup of cold water in His name, there's a prophet's reward when we get to heaven. That's the type that I want. I think when I get to heaven, stand before the judgment seat of Christ, the book of works will be opened up and all these wonderful things will be there and I'll be rewarded for what I did for the Lord and so will you.
The day is coming soon when the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout the voice of the archangel and we who are alive and remain on this earth, will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.) So shall we ever be with the Lord. We are going to be the “Enochs” that are translated and suddenly taken to heaven. One split second we are here, and the next split second we are gone.
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