ENOCH: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Enoch was one of the greatest men who ever lived, and yet we know so little about him. There are two men named Enoch in the Bible; one had a city named for him, and one barely had anything written about him. Those unfamiliar with the Word of God would believe the "great" Enoch was the first person named "Enoch," and for whom a city was named, and of course, they would be wrong. In Genesis 4:17, we read, "And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch." This Enoch was the first born of Cain and his wife; you know, the one everyone wants to know from where she came. Other than his birth and the fact that he was the father of Irad (Gen. 4:18), we know absolutely nothing about him.

And like the first to be named "Enoch," as I have already said, there is little known about him. Here is all that the Scriptures have to say about him: He was the son of Jared; at the age of sixty-five, he had a son named Methuselah; he walked "with God" for three hundred years, and he "was not," for the Lord "took him" (Gen. 5:18-24). He is listed in the genealogy of Jesus (Lk. 3:37). The writer of Hebrews explains what "took him" means, saying God "translated him," because he pleased Him (Heb. 11:5). I don't know about you, but that explanation didn't do much to explain it for me. Finally, we are told that Enoch was the "seventh from Adam" (the seventh generation including Adam) and that he prophesied "the Lord's coming with ten thousands of His saints" (Jude 1:14). That's it.

The Greek word "translated" is μετατίθημι (metatithēmi), is rendered in the KJV as "carry over," "change," "remove," "turn," and "translated" (Acts 7:16; Gal. 1:6; Heb. 7:12; 11:5; Jude 1:4). The English word that best fits the context of Hebrews 11:5, is "removed." In the Genesis passage, with the exception of Enoch, all are said to have died. "Removed" fits with "God took him."

It is tempting to describe Enoch's departure as being the first "rapture." However, I hesitate to accept that view because of my bias concerning the removal of Enoch and Elijah (2 Kgs. 2:11). They are the only Bible characters to be removed from our world without dying first. Because Malachi 3:23 says that Elijah must precede the Messiah's coming, and because Israel did not accept Jesus First Coming, John the Baptist, who did come in the spirit of Elijah, did not fulfill the prophecy (Matt. 7:10-13). So, he's still coming!

My bias is that the two witnesses of Revelation 11:3-12 are the two prophets, the only two men who did not die, Enoch and Elijah. Hebrews 9:27 states that men are "appointed once to die." Neither died. Since the Tribulation is Daniel's Seventieth Week of those "determined" (appointed) for his people, Israel, and since Elijah must precede their Messiah, I believe the two witnesses are Enoch and Elijah. The only question I have is, where are Enoch and Elijah now? They haven't been raptured; they haven't died. Perhaps the answer is found in the phrase "and he was not" (Gen. 5:24). Strange as it may sound, it is possible that these two men have temporarily ceased to exist. They could not be in heaven, as they have yet to be "changed." Paradise no longer exists, and they certainly are not in hell!. The only thing we can know for sure is they existed, and they will exist again. Period.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!