Enoch's Prophecy & the God Who Took Him

Enoch the Prophet

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Enoch is famous for walking with God. The Bible also tells us that Enoch was a prophet. A prophet is someone God chooses to speak His message.

Jude remembers Enoch. Thousands of years later, Jude wrote, “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also” (Jude 14). Prophesied means spoke a message from God.

The message. Enoch said, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints” (Jude 14). Saints means God's holy ones. Ten thousands means more than anyone could count.

Why the Lord comes. He comes “to execute judgment on all” (Jude 15). To execute judgment means to judge fairly and deal with sin.

The ungodly. The Lord would “convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds” (Jude 15). Ungodly means living as if God does not matter. To convict means to prove someone guilty.

Words matter too. God would also judge “all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude 15). God hears what people say about Him.

A dark time. Enoch lived when the world was turning away from God. By the time of Noah, “the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11).

His own family. Enoch's son Methuselah and his great-grandson Noah grew up in that same troubled world. They heard that God is holy and that sin matters to Him.

A brave voice. Walking with God made Enoch brave. He did not keep quiet when others ignored God. He told the truth because he loved God and loved people.

A warning is a kindness. If someone warns you that a bridge is broken, they are being kind. God warned people about judgment because He wanted them to turn back to Him.

God kept His word. Judgment did come on that wicked world in the flood of Noah's day. What God says, He does.

The Lord will come. Jude used Enoch's words to warn people in his own time. Jesus promised, “I will come again” (John 14:3). He is the Lord who is coming.

No need to fear. People who trust Jesus do not have to be afraid of that day. Jesus said that whoever believes Him “shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).

What we learn. God is a fair Judge, and He warns before He judges. He sent messengers like Enoch because He loves people.

What to do. This week, ask God to make you brave like Enoch. Look for one kind way to tell a friend about Jesus.

Enoch is remembered for walking with God, but Jude adds that he was also a prophet. His message was about the Lord coming to judge, and it was given in a world sliding into violence.

The seventh from Adam (Jude 14). Counting Adam as the first, Enoch is the seventh generation in Seth's line. The seventh in Cain's line was Lamech, who boasted of killing a man (Genesis 4:23-24). The two men show two ways to live.

Prophesied. The Greek word is propheteuo (say: pro-fay-TYOO-oh), to speak out God's message. A prophet's first job was not to predict the future but to tell people what God says.

Ten thousands (Jude 14). The Greek myrias (say: MEER-ee-ahs) means ten thousand, or a number too large to count. Hebrews 12:22 speaks of “an innumerable company of angels” around God.

Judgment on all (Jude 15). The Lord comes “to execute judgment on all.” No one is outside God's justice. Abraham later asked, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25).

Ungodly, four times. Enoch's sentence uses the word ungodly four times: ungodly people, ungodly deeds, done in an ungodly way, by ungodly sinners. The Greek root asebes (say: ah-seh-BAYS) means having no reverence for God.

Deeds and words (Jude 15). God judges what people do and also “all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” Jesus taught that people will give an account for their careless words (Matthew 12:36).

The first fulfillment. The world Enoch warned soon became “filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11), and the flood came in Noah's day. God's warning was true.

The coming Lord. Jude applies Enoch's words to people in the church who were living ungodly lives. The Lord who judged in Noah's day will judge again when Jesus returns. Jesus said, “I will come again and receive you to Myself” (John 14:3).

Jesus the Judge. Jesus said the Father has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). The One who will judge the world is the same One who died for sinners.

Passed from death to life. “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).

Courage to speak. Enoch spoke up in a world that did not want to hear. Walking with God gave him courage, and the same is true for us.

Application. Speak the truth about God with love and courage. Do not be ashamed of Jesus, and pray for friends who do not know Him yet.

The God Who Took Him

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Enoch's life on earth ended in a way no one expected. One day he was gone, “for God took him” (Genesis 5:24). What kind of God takes His friend home like that?

A God who wants us near. God did not only let Enoch walk with Him. God wanted Enoch with Him forever.

Taken by faith. “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death” (Hebrews 11:5).

He pleased God. “Before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5).

Faith first. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Enoch did not earn heaven by being good. He trusted God.

God is real. Whoever comes to God “must believe that He is” (Hebrews 11:6). Faith begins with believing that God is really there.

Faith you can see. Enoch's faith was not only something he said. It showed in the way he lived, day after day, for three hundred years.

God rewards seekers. God is “a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Diligently means carefully and with all your heart. The best reward is God Himself.

Draw near. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). God is glad when people come close to Him.

Friends of Jesus. Jesus told His followers, “I have called you friends” (John 15:15). Like Enoch, we can be God's friends.

Jesus went first. Enoch was spared from death. Jesus went through death for us, rose again and went back to His Father in heaven. He defeated death for everyone who trusts Him.

A place for you. Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).

He will come for us. “I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:3). Many Christians see Enoch's taking as a picture of that day.

Always with the Lord. Paul wrote that believers will be “caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

What we learn. The God who took Enoch welcomes everyone who trusts Jesus. Being with Him is the greatest joy there is.

What to do. This week, talk to God like a friend walking beside you. Thank Jesus for making a way for you to be with Him forever.

Genesis 5:24 ends Enoch's earthly life with God's action: “for God took him.” This section looks at what that shows about God and about the hope of everyone who trusts Him.

Received by God. The Hebrew verb in 5:24 is laqach (say: lah-KAKH), to take or to receive. The psalms use it for God receiving His people. In Psalm 49:15 the writer trusts God to redeem his soul and receive him, and in Psalm 73:24 to receive him into glory.

Moved, not lost. Hebrews 11:5 uses metatithemi (say: meh-tah-TITH-eh-mee), to move from one place to another. Enoch was not lost. He was moved into God's presence.

“And was not found.” Hebrews 11:5 adds that Enoch “was not found, because God had taken him.” People searched. God had already brought him home.

The one exception. Hebrews 11:13 says of the people of faith, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises.” Enoch stands out in that chapter. He walked by faith and was taken without dying.

Faith that pleases (Hebrews 11:6). Faith has two parts here: believing “that He is,” and believing “that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Faith trusts both who God is and what He promises.

Seeking God. The Greek ekzeteo (say: ek-zay-TEH-oh) means to search out with effort. Enoch's three hundred years were three centuries of seeking God.

Elijah. God later took Elijah up by a whirlwind into heaven (2 Kings 2:11). Two men in the Old Testament went to God without dying, and both walked closely with Him.

Jesus, the firstfruits. Enoch escaped death; Jesus conquered it. After His resurrection He was taken up into heaven before His disciples' eyes (Acts 1:9). Where He has gone, His people will follow.

Caught up (1 Thessalonians 4:17). The Greek harpazo (say: har-PAD-zoh) means to snatch up quickly. “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” Many Christians see Enoch as a picture of the believers who will be alive on that day.

Changed in a moment. “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

To die is gain. For believers who die before Jesus returns, death is not loss: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Application. Live today the way Enoch did: seek God, trust His promises and walk closely with Him. The God who took Enoch will keep you too.

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