“And after he had become the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. So Enoch lived a total of 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and then he was no more, because God had taken him away.” (Genesis 5:22-24 NKJV)
“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him’; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” (Hebrews 11:5 NKJV)
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT)
Very little is written about Enoch. However, what is written is powerful and challenging. He lived during the Old Covenant, during a time when the human race was living under the rulership of Satan, and yet he walked with his Father God just like Adam had in the Garden of Eden. In the midst of fallen humanity, he was considered a “righteous” man, just like Job was described by God in His conversation wiith Satan. Amazingly, he had direct contact with his Creator and the two of them were so close that when it was time for him to depart from this realm God simply took him. He was spared physical death (if God takes me I will not die).
I have attended many funerals, including that of my wife Melody. At each and every one the main speaker inevitably has stated something to the effect that, “everyone will die.” For many years I held to that belief. When Daddy introduced me to Enoch he challenged me to rethink this foundational belief. he asked me 3 questions…
…First, “If everyone is going to die, then how do you explain Enoch and Isaiah?”
…Second, “Since I clearly told you that life and death are in the power of your tongue, and you will have what you say, when you continually speak that you will die what do you think you will get?”
…Third, “Eric, what do you suppose would happen if you flooded your mind so fully with images of youth and life that you lost all consciousness of aging and death?”
WOW!
Here are my answers (spoken by faith regardless of my thoughts and emotions)…
…First, “Not everyone will die.”
…Second, “Death.”
…Third, “I would halt aging and never die (did I really just say that?).”
I have to also bring up the fact that I continue to hear so many things that oppose God’s desire and design for life that at times it makes me downright mad! Things like…
…I guess God needed another angel.
…God took him.
…God needed her more than I did.
…and on and on we go trying to come up with answers to somehow make death a part of God’s desire and design for those who die. All I can say is, “Please stop it!” Death is my enemy (and my Daddy’s enemy as well). My Daddy is not selfish, taking those that we love from us because he wants, or needs, them more than we do. We do not become angels. And most important of all, my Daddy is not a murderer who kills babies, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, mothers, and fathers; getting away with it because of the “mystery” of being “God.” Please think about this without the blinders of religion. We were given the example of Job so that we would learn just how foolish we become when we allow the traditions of religion to blind us, and the ignorance of the lack of knowledge to open us up to destruction. Daddy brings life and blessing, the enemy brings death and destruction. Jesus brings abundant life. It is the thief (Satan) that steals, kills, and destroys. I had better move on.
The account of Enoch was recorded in Scripture to give me an example of how Daddy intended for me to experience life without death. Yes, you heard that right. It has never been my Daddy’s desire or design for me to die. It may be the “fact” that people die, but the “Truth” is that we were designed to live forever in the physical body in which we were created. Building my expectation for the future on the evidence that I encounter with my senses falls far short of how I was designed to live. As I live by faith, not sight, I build my expectation on revelation, not experience (mine or others).
So, as I have walked down the “Road to Refirement” with my Daddy, He has introduced me to Caleb to wake me up. He has introduced me to Moses to stretch my boundaries. He has introduced me to Abraham to broaden my mind, and open my spirit, to the promise of “youth” that enables me to stand against the ravaging effects af aging. And know He has introduced me to Enoch in order to challenge me to defy death itself.
As I mentioned before, each of these stops along the road lasted for about 6 months. It took Daddy (in His typical longsuffering, patient, loving manner) about 24 months to get me ready to be reintroduced to His Son Jesus for my final stop on the “Road to Refirement.”
Next stop, Mile Marker 5 – Jesus.