By Your FAITH #6 - Enoch
This post is the sixth part in a series called: "By Your Faith". In this series we are going through Hebrews chapter 11; studying the faith of many prophets and other important Old Testament people. Today is the second of those prophets: Enoch.
Our topic today is: Enoch (verses 5 & 6 in Hebrews Chapter 11)
Enoch is such an important prophet. He is only one of two people who did not died a physical death because God took them up to heaven (the other person besides Enoch who was taken directly to heaven was Elijah - see 2 Kings 2:11).
Let's begin by refreshing our Old Testament knowledge. Remember, there were two "Enochs" - one was bad and the other was good. The "good" Enoch is referenced in verse 14 of Jude (see below).
click HERE to read JUDE part#4
(which also includes an exact quote from the book of Enoch appearing in Jude)
Firstly, let's read about the lineage of both Enochs.
1. Enoch the son of Cain (bad Enoch).
" And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch.”
Genesis 4:17
2. Enoch was the son of Jared and was seventh from Adam (good Enoch).
"Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch.”
Genesis 5:18
In "By Your Faith" part#5 we learned how Abel was killed by his brother Cain. "Seth" was the child that Adam and Eve had after Abel's death. This is the genealogy from Seth to Enoch:
Seth→Enosh→Kenan→Mahalalel→Jared→Enoch
Enoch was so faithful and lived his life in such a way that God was pleased with him. God was so exceedingly pleased with Enoch that God took him directly to heaven without Enoch dying a physical death! (see verse below)
I also find it interesting that all 6 before Enoch (Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel and Jared) lived to be around 900 years old!! Enoch on the other hand, was taken to heaven at the age of 365. It's almost like God said "I want you to be with me now - I do not want to wait until your physical days are over." How amazing would that be to live a life that pleasing to God???!!!!!
In verse 6 we learn how to please God (see below):
To please God we must believe that He is real and seek Him earnestly.
We have learned how important Enoch was, so why was the book of Enoch removed from our Bible? The portion of Scripture (Jude:15 - highlighted in white in the first picture under the title page) is an actual quote from the book of Enoch. If we believe that our Bible is inspired by God (see passage below), then why would an actual word for word quote from the book of Enoch not validate that book (Enoch) as "inspired of God"??? So only that one line is inspired by God but the rest of Enoch is not? (I'm being sarcastic - sorry).
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,”
2 Timothy 3:16
We also should not add to nor take away from God's Word (lookup Deuteronomy 4:2). That's why I believe that Enoch should NEVER have been removed from our Bible (The book of Enoch still remains in the Ethiopian version of the Bible).
The Book of Enoch (1 Enoch) describes the visions and dreams that Enoch had detailing the Fall of the Watchers (the fallen angels who left their heavenly homes, going against God to father children with human women). These hybrids (angel/humans) were called Nephilim and they were giants.
First Enoch is so important for clarifying who the Nephilim were and what happens when they die, as well as important for clarifying the true Biblical cosmology of the earth.
Here are a few excerpts from 1 Enoch in both of those categories (about the Nephilim and then about Biblical cosmology):
"And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and
flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon the earth, and on the earth shall be
their dwelling. Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are
born from men and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin; they
shall be evil spirits on earth, and evil spirits shall they be called. {As for
the spirits of heaven, in heaven shall be their dwelling, but as for the
spirits of the earth which were born upon the earth, on the earth shall be
their dwelling.} And the spirits of the
giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on
the earth, and cause trouble: they take no food, but nevertheless hunger and
thirst, and cause offences. And these spirits shall rise up against the
children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them."
1 Enoch 15:8-12
The entire chapter 78 of 1 Enoch is truly amazing, talking about the pathway of the sun and the moon. Also, seasons and the calendar - but I have only included the first 7 verses as an example:
"And the names of the sun are the following: the first
Orjârês, and the second Tômâs.
And the moon has four names: the first name is Asônjâ, the
second Eblâ, the third Benâsê, and the fourth Erâe.
These are the two great luminaries: their circumference is
like the circumference of the heaven, and the size of the circumference of both
is alike.
In the circumference of the sun there are seven portions of
light which are added to it more than to the moon, and in definite measures it
is transferred till the seventh portion of the sun is exhausted.
And they set and enter the portals of the west, and make
their revolution by the north, and come forth through the eastern portals on
the face of the heaven.
And when the moon rises one-fourteenth part appears in the
heaven: [the light becomes full in her]: on the fourteenth day she accomplishes
her light.
And fifteen parts of light are transferred to her till the fifteenth day (when) her light is accomplished, according to the sign of the year, and she becomes fifteen parts, and the moon grows by (the addition of) fourteenth parts."
And fifteen parts of light are transferred to her till the fifteenth day (when) her light is accomplished, according to the sign of the year, and she becomes fifteen parts, and the moon grows by (the addition of) fourteenth parts."
1 Enoch 78:1-7
As you can see by today's study - Enoch's faith was truly amazing. Let's strive to live a faithful life that is pleasing to God.
By Your FAITH (Previous posts in this series)
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