James O. Davis is the founder and president of Second Billion (TM). You are invited to learn more about Second Billion by visiting www.billion.tv.
INTRODUCTION
Enoch appears only three times in the Word of God. In Genesis chapter 5:21-24, we are told of his birth, that he walked with God, that he gave birth to a son, and that he was raptured into heaven. In Hebrews 11:5, we read that he pleased God and that he was translated into heaven. In Jude, verses 14-15, we learn that he preached to the ungodly of his day and warned them of the coming of the Lord in judgment. In these two short verses, Jude refers to what Enoch saw concerning the Second Coming of Jesus in the Book of Genesis, and 6,000 years later, what he saw about the Lord’s coming “with ten thousands of His saints to bring judgment upon this wicked world.”
In Enoch’s day there were two kinds of people on the earth: the descendants of Seth and the descendents of Cain. The descendents of Cain lived for this world. They are found in Genesis four in the marketplaces and cities of art, science and industry. It was man doing man’s thing to build a pain-free, pleasure-filled society.
The descendents of Seth did not live for this world, but for the world to come. They are found in Genesis chapter 5. Here the Word of God does not take us to the marketplace but to the morgue. In fact, throughout Genesis 5 we read, repeated over and over, “And he died…and he died…and he died…” Every time we see those words, we are reminded that the devil is a liar. He had told Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:4, “Go ahead and sin, you won’t die.” God had told them, as sure as you break the commandment of the Lord, you will die.
Even though Genesis began in a Garden, it ended in a grave. It started with a beginning, but ended with a burial. It ended with Joseph dying and being buried because when man sins, man will die.
It is worth noting that the Bible says two things of the Sethites that it does not say of the Canaanites. Of the godly people in the line of Seth, the Word says, “he lived” and “he died.” In between there was always a new birth, there was always life. The Word of God never says the Canaanites lived because they didn’t. The Canaanites were always dying, whereas God’s people, even though the Word records their deaths, says, “they lived.”
You never find in Genesis, chapters four and five, where God recorded that any of the Canaanite deaths were precious in the sight of God. Any time a child of God passes away, however, God makes a record and knows the passing of every saint of God.
Enoch was the seventh from Adam. Instead of a tomb he experienced translation. Instead of death he experienced departure. Instead of a grave he made it to Glory. I believe the life of Enoch is a type of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please note the characteristics of the man named Enoch. We will see there are several similarities with his day, time, and life as compared with our day, time, and lives.
FIRST, SEE THE SURROUNDING GLOOM
At Enoch’s birth, Adam was 622 years old. Seth was 492 years old. Jared was 162 years old. As a matter of fact, Enoch lived alongside Adam for 308 years. We’re going to find out that Enoch was 65 years old, just a young boy. I mean 65 years for that day and time was just a child because people then were living above 900 years. But as sure as man sinned, man’s life was going to be shortened and he would experience death and destruction.
A) An age of permissiveness -- Enoch live in a time of socially permissiveness. There were no restraints on crime. Lawlessness flourished. Immorality was rampant. Marriage was only a convenience, not a commitment. Polygamy was a lifestyle in the day. If ever there was a day like that of Enoch’s, it is today.
B) An age of presumptuousness -- Secularism was the rule of the day. It was an age when men did not follow or obey the Lord. Secularism was the dominant influence. The people were occupied with the necessities of life, eating and drinking. There were also bent toward the niceties of life, marrying and giving in marriage.
Secularism was an influencing then as it is today. People were more interested in the present world than in the world to come; in gold than in God; in silver than in the Savior; in their jobs than in Jesus; in their work than in their word; in the kingdom now than in the Kingdom to come.
And, it was the day of spiritualism. The occults were prevalent and it was a time when ancient myths were forged. The love stories of the gods became so prominent they influenced the religions of the Greeks. Occult practices started then that are still practiced today.
C) An age of progressiveness -- It was an age of permissiveness. It was an age of presumptuousness, and scientifically it was an age of progressiveness. Men were trying to create their own paradise based on science. In Enoch’s day, men began to build great cities that flourished. Populations exploded. It was an age of technological and scientific sophistication, much like our own today. It was during this time that Enoch was translated. He didn’t see a tomb, but he saw the face of God. I believe we are living in the day and hour when we are going to be caught away and we, too, will see the face of our God.
Last spring, my wife and I were in Rochester, New York, for revival services. One afternoon we made the one hour and a half drive to Niagara Falls. We crossed the border to the Canadian side. I had been told that on the Niagara River is a place called the point of no return. There are some dangerous places where one’s life can still be spared, but if you drift too far down the river you pass the point of no return. As we stood watching the water flow over the top, a workman nearby told us the water was 50 feet deep where it began the flow over the top. We watched as large chunks of ice containing voluminous amounts of water fell nearly 200 feet to the river below. The river below was more than 100 feet deep from there on. So, it was over 300 feet from the top of the water fall to the bottom. I could not forget that somewhere nearby was a place of no return.
The civilization in which we find ourselves is rapidly racing toward the point of no return. Sins that used to slink down the back alleys of our cities now parade down our main streets. Sins that used to embarrass us now entertains us. Sins that used to amaze us now amuses us. Things that used to be sacred are now a sacrilege. Men and women around this world have sinned an awful sin and they are quickly coming to the point of no return. There is a time coming when Jesus will catch away His Church and God will judge this world.
Enoch lived in surrounding gloom. As we look around, the signs of the times tell us that Jesus is coming soon. We don’t need to be looking for the signs of His coming because they have already been fulfilled. We need to be listening for the sounds of His coming.
SECOND, SEE THE SAVING GRACE
I want you to see the surrounding gloom, but I also want you to see God’s saving grace. The Bible tells us that Enoch walked with God and begat Methuselah. There was a new birth. Enoch must have had a righteous relationship with Almighty God because God has never walked in the sinful ways of man. Enoch experienced the saving grace of God. For a person to be ready for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, he has to experience the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some say there are many ways to God and heaven, but the Word of God is clear—that there is only one way, one door--Jesus Christ. Enoch walked with God.
Those who walk with God are those who are going to go be with God. Those who are half-hearted, apathetic, cold, carnal, critical, and who care less are not walking with God and are in danger of missing the Rapture. Day in and day out we need to know how to walk with God. If we’re going to be ready when the Lord Jesus returns, we need to learn how to walk with God. Enoch knew God and God knew him. That’s why God took him.
Every day we ought to thank God for the grace He has bestowed upon us. I have tried to define God’s grace. I have looked it up and studied it, but I have never found a better definition than this—God’s riches at Christ’s expense. It was on the Cross that Christ paid it all so we could experience the grace of God. Enoch experienced the simple, saving grace of God and he knew how to walk with God. We need to learn how to walk with God if we’re going to be ready when the Lord Jesus returns.
THIRD, SEE THE SIMPLE GOSPEL
There was surrounding gloom. There was saving grace. But there was also a simple Gospel. Enoch had a simple Gospel to share. The Gospel he shared with his lips was the same Gospel he preached with his life. Our lips and our life need to coincide. What we say needs to line up with the way we really are.
A) The force of his faith -- Enoch is an example of one who both professes and lives the life of a believer. Not only did he know how to walk with God, he also showed others how to walk with God. The Bible tells us the force of his faith. The Word of God says he was well pleasing to God. In Hebrews 11:5, the Bible says that he knew how to please God. He knew how to please God because he know haw to walk with God. He had an impact upon others who knew that he was a godly man.
In some circles, it is socially acceptable for Christians to drink alcohol, to live immoral lives, to live a compromising lifestyle. Sometimes it is very difficult to tell the difference between the lost and the saved. No one doubted the life of Enoch. He lived a life that was pleasing to God. It was a God-fearing, God-worshipping, God-serving life. There must be a distinction in the life and walk of one who has experienced the grace of God. If we are walking with God, we will not be walking with the world. If we are walking with God there will be a difference in our lives. The Bible tells us about the force of his faith.
B) The forth-rightness of his faith -- The Bible also tells us about the forth-rightness of his faith. Enoch said unto those people of his day and time, “Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints to execute judgment upon all.” Enoch did not hesitate to share the gospel and judgments of God with others. We, too, need to share the simple Gospel. We need to share that Jesus saves, heals and fills with the Holy Spirit. We need to tell about the soon coming of Christ and the judgments of God to those who refuse to accept Christ as Savior.
C) The fundamentals of his faith -- Enoch learned something about the fundamentals of the faith. I have been praying that God would teach me what he learned. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6, “Without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him.” As a Christian, as a believer, we need to learn to exemplify faith. I’m not talking about extremism but the kind of faith that is pleasing to the Lord.
Did you notice what the Word of God said, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”? Without faith in your life there is no way that you can please God. There must be a stretching, a building up, and an increasing of our faith. If we want to build our faith we must get into God’s Word of God and our closet of prayer.
There is a great impossibility. Enoch learned that if he was going to please God he would have to have faith. Do you know how he got faith? He walked with God. The more we walk with God the more faith we will have in God. The better we get to know God, the more faith we will have in God. The more time we spend with our Creator, the more we will trust in our Creator.
There was a great impossibility, but also a grand imperative. The Bible says, “And he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek after him.” Many in the great hall of faith chapter 11 of Hebrews did tremendous exploits. Others, toward the end of the chapter, experienced persecution, pressures and problems--but they never gave up their faith. They died believing. As long as we serve Christ, we must constantly and continually build our faith in Almighty God. The more we walk with God, the greater our faith will become.
As we have looked at the life of Enoch, we have seen the surrounding gloom, the saving grace, and the simple Gospel. But last, we will also see sudden glory.
FOURTH, SEE THE SUDDEN GLORY
The Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:5, “He was translated that he should not see death.” Enoch was not only marked, but He was also missed. The Scripture reads in Genesis, “He was not…” In Hebrews it is stated, “He was not found…” People went out looking for him and they couldn’t find him.
People will miss the believers on the day the Church is caught away, also. People will miss the Church and those who have walked and talked with God. There is coming a day when God will not only reach down for His Church, but for a champion. He will not only reach down for a Bride, but for his Body. When He takes us, people will know that we are gone. They are going to miss us.
They went everywhere looking for Enoch, but Enoch could not be found because God took him. There is coming a day soon that God will reach down and take us all away to be with Him in glory. It is going to be the greatest day of our life when the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords comes back for you and me. It’s going to be the greatest day of our life when the Captain of the conquerors, the Head of the heroes, the Leader of the legislators, the Prince of princes, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Master of the mighty comes back. It’s going to be the greatest day of our life when we are Raptured from this earth to spend eternity with our Lord.
Just as Enoch experienced sudden glory, we will experience sudden glory. Just as Enoch was transformed, we will be transformed. In that day we will exchange our mortality for His immortality. We will lay aside this corruption for His incorruption. Then, there will be no more disease, discouragement, depression or devil to plaque the bodies of God’s people. There will be no more pressures, problems, pain or agony. On that day, we will experience sudden glory. Our bodies shall be changed for we shall see Him as He is. It is going to be the greatest day of our lives when Jesus takes us all away!
There is coming sudden glory. We are living in that day and time. Just like Enoch experienced sudden glory, before we realize it our bodies will be changed and we shall go be with the Lord.
CONCLUSION
Some time ago as a mother was tucking her little girl into bed when the young daughter asked, “Mother, can you tell me the greatest day of your life?”
The mother thought for just a second and then said, “Honey, I can tell you the greatest day in my life. As you know, my father was a man who fought in the Civil War. I remember it as though it was just yesterday. My mother and I were sitting on the porch one warm day. My dad had fought in the war and several months earlier we had gotten word that he had been killed in battle. I was playing with my kitten as my mother and I where sitting in the swing. Ever since Mother lost Father, she had missed him very much.
But that day, we saw someone coming down the long, dusty road that ran in front of our small house. My mother said, ‘Oh, there’s a man coming down the road.’
A moment later she said to me, ‘Sweetheart, I declare that man kind of favors your father.’
After another moment, she said, ‘Darling, I really do think that is your Father.’
At that she burst from the porch, across the front yard, through the picket fence gate, and down the road toward the open arms of my father. I was right behind my mother and jumped for my father’s arm as I often did as a little girl and he would swing me. However, all I found was an empty coat sleeve. I saw the scars of battle on my Daddy’s face and I saw that his body was bruised from the war. I knew that he was missing an arm because of the warfare.
My mother said to me, ‘Little girl, the greatest day in my life was when my Daddy came back home.’
The greatest day of our lives will be when our Commander in Chief, the Lord Jesus, comes back for us. We’ll look into the face of Jesus and see the scars of battle he suffered for us. The only man-made things in heaven will be the scars on the Lord’s body. We will recognize that He fought a terrible battle to save us from our sins. He fought that battle for you and me. The greatest day of our life is yet to come when Jesus comes back to take us home to be with Him!
