ENOCH WAS TRANSLATED
There are four distinctive features in Enoch's life that should be in your life and mine:
1. He walked with God.
2. He pleased God.
3. He spoke for God.
4. He was translated by God.
1.) ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD - Gen. 5:22. All we read of the other patriarchs recorded in Genesis 5, is that they "lived" and "died", nothing more. But of Enoch it is added, "he walked with God," and that he was not, "for God took him." What divine dignity and honor is conferred upon Enoch in the midst of moral ruin before the Flood! Let us not be content to live and die upon the earth without enjoying the privilege of walking with God (see Amos 3:3)! Enoch walked with God 300 years (quite a long walk), surrounded by a wicked world and also experiencing the cares and trials of family life. Nothing was permitted, in all his circumstances, to hinder fellowship with God; and he had no written BIBLE! We have (Psalm 119:105).
2.) ENOCH PLEASED GOD - Heb. 11:5. This was the result of his walk with God, for God will not withhold this testimony from those who walk with Him. It is not the testimony of acceptance such as Abel had in common with all who approach God and are accepted through the excellent sacrifice of Christ - Heb. 11:4. This testimony that Enoch had was dependent upon his walk, and if we desire the same, it is dependent on our walk. Enoch must have yielded his will entirely to God "by faith," for it is impossible to please Him "without faith" (Heb. 11:6). If we desire the same result, to please God, it is dependent upon our yieldedness (Rom. 12:1,2).
3.) ENOCH SPOKE FOR GOD - Jude vs. 14,15. Passing through an ungodly world, he faithfully warned of God's displeasure and coming judgment; being convinced of its divine certainty, he vigorously proclaimed the inevitable doom. Future judgment is an important message entrusted in the Gospel today! The world does not realize how near it is to divine judgment, like men in Noah's day who "knew not until the day that Noah entered the ark" (Matt. 24:39). Noah himself preached for 120 years (Gen. 6:3), and when God shut him in the ark, it was then too late to be saved! Is it not our responsibility to "snatch them out of the fire?" (Jude vs. 23). As we preach and witness today, are we faithful in giving the world this message of judgment?
4.) ENOCH TRANSLATED BY GOD - Heb. 11:5. "By FAITH Enoch was translated." Why is this attributed to Enoch as an act of faith? Did his faith spread its wings and bear the patriarch out of this scene and from the natural death he expected? If faith could do this, many a saint would attempt to fly away and be at rest (Psa. 55:6). Yet faith itself can do no such thing, for such power belongs to God alone. It is written of Enoch that "GOD TOOK HIM" (Gen. 5:22). "He was not found, because God had translated him" (Heb. 11:5).
But it is in the realm of faith to BELIEVE GOD, and He revealed to Enoch that he should not taste death (Heb. 11:5), accrediting his translation as an act of faith. This is the basis of ALL faith - GOD AND HIS WORD! Similarly, we today can have faith to rest upon all the divine promise of our translation (I Thess. 4:15-17). Are we living in the power of it and waiting patiently for it? Are we EXPECTING Him? If our Lord came today, how many would say, "Lord, I KNEW IT! You promised to come for me and I was waiting for YOU!" Many saints have died in the faith of this promise, and surely their faith will be accredited to them. Enoch's faith is available today for all who are alive when Jesus comes.
"Wouldn't it be wonderful if Jesus came today?
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were caught away?
To be with Him forevermore and ne'er from Him to stray -
Wouldn't it be wonderful if Jesus came TODAY?"
John Bramhall
Florence, South Carolina
click this link to read about brother Brahmall's ministry and his homecall: http://www.gospelcom.net/uplook/article.php?sid=129