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I will now speak something concerning Enoch. It will be like a kind of gleaning. I do not know when Enoch repented, and what he did before he was sixty-five years old. But we know that he began to walk with God at the age of sixty-five after he begot Methuselah. We know nothing about his life before sixty-five. But we know that after he begot Methuselah, he had a change. It might have been due to seeing a prophecy. He lived to three hundred sixty-five years of age. The remaining three hundred years he walked with God. The name of his son must have a deep significance. The name Methuselah means "at the time of his death, that thing will occur." After Enoch begot Methuselah, he surely would have sought earnestly before God about the name of his son. Surely God showed him the coming great tribulation. He was surely warned and became fearful.
It is interesting that Noah preached righteousness, while Enoch preached judgment. Noah preached the way of salvation because God revealed the ark to him. Enoch preached judgment because he received revelation through the name of his son. We can only preach the things that have produced an effect upon us. Through faith, Noah prepared an ark. Through faith, Enoch received the benefit of walking with God.
It is good if we know that sinners, the flesh, and the world will all be judged. Peter said, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements, burning with intense heat, will be dissolved, and the earth and the works in it will be burned up" (2 Pet. 3:10). If this is the end of the world, are we still going to love it? Will anyone deposit money into a bank when he knows that the bank is going to go bankrupt? If the bank is going to go bankrupt, no one will want to deposit his money into it. Since we know the end of the world already, and that it will be burned, we should not love it anymore. Enoch realized the meaning of the name "Methuselah"; he was watchful and was therefore raptured. Now we will consider a few things about Enoch.
Did Enoch walk with God because his environment was better than others? No. Let us first consider the environment in his home. Genesis 5:22 says, "And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters." Some have said that preachers can walk with God all day long. But how can those with many household responsibilities walk with God? But what does the Bible say about the first man who walked with God? He walked with God and begat sons and daughters. Some have asked how one can walk with God when he works in a factory, and only hears the sound of machinery all day long. But Enoch walked with God for three hundred years and begat sons and daughters. He was not free from household responsibilities. The life which we received is not expressed only in smooth environments; it can be expressed in every environment. We can walk with God not only in a smooth environment but in any environment. The complexity of family chores and a great number of children cannot stop a man who truly walks with God from doing what he is doing. A believer can walk with God not because his family burdens are little or his business responsibilities are light, but because he can be free from the entanglement of these things in contrast to the unbelievers. He can walk with God in such circumstances. It was possible for Enoch to walk with God under such circumstances.
Not only was Enoch faced with a condition in his family, but the environment of the age was also very dark. At the time of Enoch, Adam was still alive. In Genesis 4, we see that the tribe that came from Cain was still around. What was it like? "And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah" (v. 19). Lamech was the first one to break God's law of monogamy. From that time on, polygamy was practiced. The name Adah means "beautiful"; she was given to adornment. The trend was already becoming evil, and women were striving to be fashionable. "And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle" (v. 20). This is the first case of cattle farming for profit. "And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ" (v. 21). By then, men began to give themselves to music and entertainment. "And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron" (v. 22). The artificers in brass and iron made weapons. By then warfare had started. However, in the midst of such an age, Enoch walked with God.
Is it not today's picture that men indulge in their lusts, scheme for wealth, give themselves to music, and brandish weapons? God tells us that in such an age, Enoch walked with Him for three hundred years. What about us today? Are we walking with God? Mr. G. H. Pember from England is a man deep in the Lord. A few decades ago, he prophesied that men would pay more attention to music, higher knowledge, and the wielding of weapons, while there would be an unprecedented movement for women's rights. What about today? We know that his words have come true. Under such circumstances, we should walk with God.
Hebrews 11:5: "By faith Enoch was translated so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For before his translation he obtained the testimony that he had been well pleasing to God." How was Enoch raptured? He was raptured because of his faith. What did Enoch do to make himself well pleasing to God? He walked with God; before his rapture he obtained the testimony that he had been well pleasing to God. He was well pleasing to God because he walked with God, and he was translated because of his faith. Every one of us should walk to such an extent that we become well pleasing to God, and every one of us should believe in Him to the extent that we become raptured.
Every believer will be raptured. But the ones who will be raptured first are surely the overcoming believers. There is no such thing as the whole church being raptured. Only those who are prepared and who wait for the Lord watchfully will be raptured. If you do not have faith, you will not be raptured. You must believe that you will be raptured, and then you will be raptured. If you do not believe that you will be raptured, you will not be raptured. You have to ask God to give you a faith in the rapture so that you can believe that you will be raptured!
It is amazing that Enoch alone had this faith. He had this faith because he walked with God. Faith is connected to the conscience. Once the conscience has a crack, faith will be damaged. Once the conscience has a hole, faith will leak out. Once faith leaks out, one will not be able to be raptured. Many believers cannot believe in the rapture because they have never walked with God. If we walk with God day by day, He will give us faith for the rapture. Many times when our spiritual condition is good, we are comforted at the thought of the Lord's coming. This is one side of the story. Does this mean that we are believing in ourselves? No, we are not, for there is still another side of the story.
The word in Hebrews 11:6 follows that of verse 5. Verse 6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to Him, for he who comes forward to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." This verse speaks of two kinds of believing. The first is that we have to believe that God is, that is, to believe that God is indeed as He says He is. The second is that we have to believe that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. From this we see that there were two steps to Enoch's faith. First, he believed that God is who He says He is, and second, he sought God's presence diligently and believed that God would reward him. Enoch surely sought to be delivered from the coming tribulation. This is why God rewarded his seeking with the rapture.
Have we ever prayed for God to deliver us from the coming great tribulation? Luke 21:36 says, "But be watchful at every time, beseeching that you would prevail to escape all these things which are about to happen and stand before the Son of Man." Many people think that this passage tells us that God will deliver those who are watchful and beseeching at every time from the coming great tribulation. But that is not what this passage says. This is a prayer — a prayer that beseeches in watchfulness at all times for God to deliver one out of the coming great tribulation. This also was Enoch's prayer. Those who pray this way will be raptured. Hence, for us to wait for the Lord's return, we must diligently beseech God to deliver us from the coming great tribulation. Day by day, we should believe that the rapture is near. We should have good conduct so that our conscience will not condemn us and so that we can single-heartedly wait for the rapture. We should believe in God and beseech Him this way. If we do this every day, we will surely be raptured. Now is the time for God to prepare the Enochs. How many of our prayers are answered? Do we believe that we will be raptured? We should at least have an answer to one of our prayers which is the prayer for deliverance from the coming great tribulation. If we have never prayed this prayer, we have to pray it now until God answers us.
Concerning the matter of walking with God, it is well if we have a good beginning, and it is good if we have a good continuation. But the most important thing is that we have a good ending. Many people begin by walking with God, but unfortunately, they are not able to enter into glory! Many people are afraid when they hear about the great tribulation and the judgment. But they do not have a good ending. The rapture is not a historical event that happens suddenly. Rather, we reach the state of being raptured day by day. The twinkling of an eye in 1 Corinthians 15 refers to the change of our body; it does not refer to the change of our life. Rapture is a walking together, not a flying together; we walk with the Lord into glory. One brother said that a Christian's experience in the Lord is sequential; first the death, then the resurrection, and then the rapture. One passes from one stage to another and enters into glory at the end. Many times, it is very difficult to obey in some matters. But the more we die, the more the Lord's life will fill us up, and the more we will advance towards the rapture. I say again: the rapture is not a historical event; it is a gradual rapture which consummates in glory.
Enoch walked with God for three hundred years. By the time he was raptured, he had become well-acquainted with God. One brother said that when many arrive in heaven, they will find God very unfamiliar, for they have never walked with Him on earth. We must walk with God day by day and step by step until we are fully sanctified. The only unfinished part of sanctification should be with our body and not with our spirit. Our spirit must be ready today. May God be gracious to us so that we can walk with God like Enoch did. If Enoch could do it, so can we.
