Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
A short reference to the life of Enoch is recorded in Genesis 5:18-24. He is also mentioned in Jude 1:14-15. This is what these verses tell us about Enoch:
- Heb 11: - Enoch lived a life pleasing to God. He affected others around him by this faithful testimony.
- Jude 1: - How did he please the Lord? We are told that he delivered prophecies concerning the Lord’s 2nd coming in the last days.
- Gen 5: - He “walked with God”. By this, we know that Enoch had a close relationship centered on communion with the Lord.
In our Hebrews text, we are told that he was “translated” by God. A result of this “translation” is that Enoch “should not see death”. The word “translated” carries with it three ideas…
- To be carried or transported
- To switch sides or transferred from one to another
- To be changed or reshaped
Based upon the definition of “translated”, and the fact that Enoch did not face physical death, we can begin to understand what took place in the life of Enoch:
- God took Enoch immediately from earth to heaven without Enoch experiencing physical death.
- Since he did not experience death, we can assume that Enoch’s soul did not leave his body. Apparently, when God “took” him, He took both his soul and his body. If this is the case, then his body was glorified allowing it to enter into heaven in a sinless condition.
- (If we remember, this same type of event happened one other time in history when Elijah was glorified and taken to heaven without experiencing death - 2 Kings 2:11).
What a wonderful blessing it would be to “bypass” physical death on the way to spending eternity with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The wonderful truth is each one of us, if we have come to a saving knowledge of Christ, possess the possibility that we will never experience physical death. Our faithful Lord promises us that, if we are living when He comes again, we too, will be glorified and taken to live with Him for an eternity! Let’s thank Him today knowing that, it is possible, we will never face death! (1 Cor 15:51-57)
May the Lord bless each one of us as we “Think On These Things”.
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Why did God spare Enoch from physical death?
ReplyDeleteGreat question... unfortunately, I do not have the answer for it. To my knowledge, God does not explain in His Word the specific reason(s) why He translates Enoch. I can guess several different ideas, but they are simply coming from me, so take it for what it worth.... next to nothing! (lol)
ReplyDeleteAnyhow,
1. For certain, we know He did it for His glory.
2. He might have wanted to give us a picture (a visual prophecy, in a sense) to help us more clearly understand what His second coming will be like for those alive.
3. He might have wanted to "prove" Himself for our weak faith. In other words, knowing He could do this for Enoch, this should be an encouragement to believe He will do it for us as well
4. Also, we know for certain, He did it for Enoch's benefit. All things work together for the good of His people. We just do not know the specifics of Enochs life to be able to understand in what ways it worked for his good (besides the obvious benefits).
These are a few of the possible reasons that come to my mind.... I'm sure I've missed many possibilties. I trust if anyone else has an answer to your question, please post it, here. I would really be interested to hear what the readers might think.
Thanks for a great question.... also thanks for your blog. I visted it again this morning, it is a source of blessings to me. Lord bless You!
Oh Rob . . .this was such a wonderful thing to think about! I never thought about it this way before, in relation to how Enoch and Elijah were lifted up without facing physical death. Surely a comfort for those that are squeamish about dying . . .they may not have to. :)
ReplyDeleteGod bless you as you guide our thoughts to Him!
As I was reading this I wondered if you were going where I thought you were.
ReplyDeleteI think of my father-in-law who seemed to have a 'thing' if not fear, about death. He looked for the Lord's coming in the hope of missing death. We were with him in his last hours and as we were leaving for a while, he called me back. I had to bend over and listen intently, but he said "He might not come today, but I'll be seeing Him soon anyway!" As far as we know, they were the last words he spoke.
As you know, I look for His coming and it is one day closer, but if I have to face death, so what? He is with me and will see me through - and the result will be the same: eternity with Him.
What an amazing God!
AMEN.. Throughout my years of counseling with those who knew their time was short.... probably 80 to 90 percent shared with me their fear of the process of dying. They knew they were saved and going home to be with the Lord, but they were fearful of something they had never experienced during their life... physical death. You, my friend, have been blessed with a special measure of God's grace not fearing the unknown process of physicla death. May the Lord be praised. You are so right, the Lrod will be with us and care for us no matter what the process of death might involve. And, obviously, for the saved we can know for certain our eternal destiny will be with Him! Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. By God's grace others of us might receive this added measure of grace as well! Lord bless you.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right... for many, the process of death is a fearful thing. They know they are going home to the Lord, but the process of their spirit separating from their body brings some apprehension. Also, in the case of the death of a loved one.... those left behind are fearful of life without their beloved one. So knowing that, perhaps, we will be "taken up" together is a comfort to the loved ones as well. Lord bless you Debbie!
ReplyDeletePaster Rob, I am just thanking God that I will be with HIM eternally, whether I die physicall first or not! Of course, if I should be alive at the Second Coming, all the better! Thank you for your careful teaching here about Enoch!
ReplyDeleteGranbee,
ReplyDeleteWhat a blessing it is to know we are going home to be with Him! Lord bless.