THE GREAT DISAPPEARANCE
Gen. 5:21-24
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: HER AGE
1. A nurse was writing down necessary information about a new patient, in preparation for her physical examination. Nurse: "How old are you, Mrs. Smith?"
2. Patient: "None of your business." Nurse: "But the doctor must know your age for his records."
3. Patient: "Well, first, multiply twenty by two, then add ten. Got that?" Nurse: "Yes, fifty."
4. Patient: "All right, now subtract fifty, and tell me, what do you get?" Nurse: "Zero."
5. Mrs. Smith replied; "Right. And that's exactly the chance of me telling you my age."
6. We’re going to look at a man who had a problem with age.
B. TEXTS
21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. Gen. 5:19-24, NKJV.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” Hebrews 11:5-6.
C. THESIS
1. That we’re living in the closing hours of human history is obvious. Peter referred to the last 2,000 years as “the last days;” Daniel called our time the “time of the end” (8:17; 11:35).
2. A huge sign of the Coming of Christ is that Israel is a nation again after 2,000 years. This was prophesied in Scripture as a sign of the end.
3. Israel is God’s timepiece; we can gauge our closeness to the end by watching the events in & around that country.
4. We’re going to look at a remarkable person named Enoch and see four characteristics that made him a candidate for a special evacuation from Earth, that all of us should strive for.
5. The title of this message is “The Great Disappearance.”
I. ARE YOU AWAKE TO THE FUTURE?
A. THE GREAT TRIBULATION
1. The 1st characteristic was that he walked with God. In only two places does the Bible say that a man walked with God. Enoch is one and the other was Noah.
2. Both of these men lived prior to the great flood. And both were spared from its choking waters, Enoch by translation and Noah by a boat. This may be symbolic of 2 groups of Saints – Raptured Saints & Tribulation Saints!
3. Many times down through history, God has poured out His divine wrath on the Earth, but God always evacuates His people before His wrath is poured out.
4. Friend, you do NOT want to be on Planet Earth during the Great Tribulation. I cannot over-emphasize that.
5. For seven years, the world will endure unbelievable bloodshed, rampant pestilences, and famines will rack the Earth. The Sun will be destabilized and the entire ecosystem will be disrupted. More than half of all Earth's population will die. But the Rapture will come first.
B. THE RAPTURE
1. Here is what the Bible says:
“But I do not want you to be ignorant…For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up (Gr. “harpadzo”) together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” 1 Thess. 4:13-17.
2. It is imperative that you be ready to evacuate before that time occurs. When will it happen? I don't know. Maybe soon. We just know that the Tribulation will happen. And preceding it is the "catching away" of the bride of Christ.
II. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “WALK WITH GOD”?
A. TO WALK BY FAITH
1. First, he walked by faith (Hebrews 11:5), that is, faith was the worldview in which he walked; “Believed God IS & is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
2. So how can a person WALK with God? First, you must agree with God’s Word. Amos 3:3, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"
3. If you’re going to walk with God, you'll have to go where He goes; NOT your direction, but His.
B. A DISCIPLINED LIFE
1. The 2nd Characteristic of Enoch comes from his name, which means "disciplined." It describes how he conducted his life.
2. Our conduct is involved in our “walking with God.” Don’t fool yourself: you can’t live in sin and walk with God. We live in a generation that wants you to tell them their sin is ok. That’s compromise!
3. Some Christians don’t have a very good name! HUMOR:
a. Like the Christian lady who was on her way back to her seat from concessions at a ballgame. She asked a man at the end of the row, "Pardon me, but did I step on your foot a few minutes ago?"
b. Expecting an apology, the man said, "Actually, you did." She just nodded, "Oh good. Then this is my row."
4. John said, “All who have this hope in them purify themselves, just as He is pure.” 1 Jn. 3:3. If you’re looking for the Rapture, you WILL be trying to purify your life. You can’t stay the same & please God!
C. TO FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
1. But the most important aspect of walking with God is Fellowship with Him (1 John 1:7); "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship..."
2. Enoch & God walked together like Adam & God in the Garden of Eden. They shared their thoughts, joys, and sorrows. They were friends. Jesus declared us to be His friends, if we do what He’s commanded (John 15:13-14).
III. WHAT CAUSED ENOCH’S WALK WITH GOD?
A. PARTLY, THE BIRTH OF HIS SON
1. So how did Enoch’s walk with God get started? “After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God” Gen. 5:22. It was the birth of Enoch’s son that got him thinking about spiritual things.
2. Having children makes you come to grips with many of the key issues of life. Suddenly you find yourself responsible for other people's lives -- your own, your spouse’s, and now your children. That's solemn business. 3. That tiny child’s going to become a carbon copy of you. And you need to be as close to God as you can possibly get.
B. HE KNEW ABOUT THE SECOND COMING
1. The 3rd Characteristic was: Enoch was looking the 2nd Coming of the Christ!
2. “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done...” Jude 14.
3. Enoch was a prophet; he preached to a declining culture! If we want to go in the Rapture, we must be looking for & be ready for Christ’s Coming
for His Church!
C. HIS DESIRE TO PLEASE GOD
1. The 4th Characteristic was that Enoch pleased God by his lifestyle. Walking with God isn’t always easy. It often means walking alone, because the crowd will walk a different direction.
2. When Enoch walked with God, he lived in a terribly wicked time. In fact, God was getting ready to send judgment. The world had gone over the edge into wild living in every form of sin. Walking with God in that day required some heavy-duty determination. Enoch had it!
3. Many people today bow to peer pressure. They don't have the nerve to say, "No, I'm not going to do what everybody else is doing – watching questionable movies, peeping at porn on the internet, drinking an occasional beer/ wine, or laughing at dirty jokes!"
4. Instead, they cave in to what others are doing. That wasn’t Enoch. God’s opinion was the only one that really mattered.
D. HUMOR
1. A priest was attempting to help a man prepare for his death. Whispering firmly, the priest said, “Denounce the devil! Let him know how little you think of his evil!”
2. The dying man said nothing. The priest repeated his order. Still the dying man said nothing. The priest asked, “Why do you refuse to denounce the devil and his evil?”
3. The dying man said, “Until I know which way I’m headed, I don’t think I ought to aggravate anybody.”
4. I hope you all know which way you’re headed; if not, I hope you’ll make that determination before this service ends.
5. Enoch made that determination and one day, God took him home. He just vanished! No death, no burial, no funeral, no undertaker. Just an uppertaker.
IV. WHAT THE DAY OF THE RAPTURE WILL BE LIKE:
1. One glorious day an entire generation is going to experience the Great Disappearance! Every person who’s walked with God will vanish in a split second. Those who didn’t walk with God will be left.
2. A man will leave for his office in the morning. While he’s gone, the trumpet will sound, and his wife will be instantly taken to heaven. He’ll come home and his precious wife will be gone. His children will be gone.
3. He’ll wonder what happened to them. He’ll call his neighbors, his friends – all who remain. They won’t have any answers. They never walked with God, so they don’t know.
4. Deep down, you know that God is a just God, that He will right the wrongs, that He’ll reward the righteous and punish the wicked.
5. There’s some of you who don't think anything will ever happen. Enoch must’ve heard it all when he walked with God, but one day, he was gone.
6. But what about you? Will you be taken? No one will ever ask you a more vital question than that one. When Jesus comes, will He take you to heaven?
CONCLUSION
A. IGNORING GOD’S WARNING!
1. The people of Martinique sent representatives to that smoldering volcano, Mount Pelee, to see what the condition was. They returned and gave false reports and the city slept on, in all its vice/ sin.
2. Nature took warning and the reptiles commenced crawling down the mountainside, birds left their nests, and the cattle and the sheep took warning. But the people ignored the warning.
3. Then old Mount Pelee exploded and about 40,000 people perished. They heard the warning too late.
4. The Lord Jesus Himself said, "Watch therefore, for you don’t know the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man is coming."
B. THE CALL
1. Not everyone wants Jesus to come back! Harry Ironside was preaching in Stockton, California about the coming of Jesus.
2. After the message he went to greet the people at the door. A woman came up to him & said, "How dare you pray like that – ‘Come, Lord Jesus!’ I don't want Him to come. It would mess up all my plans. How dare you!"
3. He said, "Lady, Jesus is coming whether you want it or not!" True! He’s Coming, ready or not!
4. What about you? Can you sincerely pray "Come, Lord Jesus"? Or is there something in your life which isn’t
ready?
5. Prayer for forgiveness of sins & new commitments for obedience and spiritual growth.
