OneYearBibleOnline Discussion

Question on readings for Jan. 3:

I'm sure the "matures" know this one's coming:

So what exactly is the protocal, if you will, about going to heaven without dying[?]?! After reading Hebrews 11:4, maybe I get the point, but I am humbly interested in the "learned ones" take on humans taking off/or getting taken off in this way. There has got to be a lot of discussion about this one somewhere!

[Next, I'm going to google "Nephilium"...]

SHORT ANSWER
There is much debate on this question of did Enoch die or not with arguments on both sides. My short answer to this question will have to be Yes, he did die, but by very special circumstances by the hand of God. Hence the phrase of why “He was not.” The details are complex, so for the full answer, please read the Long Answer.

LONG ANSWER
Interestingly, Enoch was the seventh descendent of Adam and Eve in the Bible. He had lived 365 years and then God took him away. What this means will require some work on our part to examining all relevant scripture, referring to the original Hebrew and Greek translations and utilizing some Lexicons.

Genesis 5:21-24 (New International Version)
21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

These verses by themselves do not give us enough information about whether Enoch died or was somehow raptured to heaven. We have addition information in the New Testament in the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 11:5-6 (New International Version)
5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

This initial reading show that the same language is used; “then he was no more, because God took him away” in Genesis versus “he could not be found, because God had taken him away.” in Hebrews. What we also find is that, “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death” Sounds clear cut doesn’t it? He did not experience death, right? He is in heaven with God. Well before we can reach this conclusion, we have other scripture we need to align with what we have here.

There are other verses in the Bible that prevent us from making a quick conclusion of the matter and these come from the mouth of Jesus in John 3:13 and John 1:18.

John 3:13 (New International Version)
13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.

John 1:18 (New International Version)
18No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only (Or the Only Begotten), who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

These words were spoken by Jesus himself at a time when only Christ had seen God. This becomes a major sticking point to just immediately assume that Enoch went to heaven, because Jesus had come from there.

Let’s go back to Hebrews and we find that the apostle Paul mentioned the circumstances associated with Enoch in Hebrews 11:5, along with other men of faith. He commends the pillars of faith in this order; Abel, Enoch, Noah and Abraham and then states:

Hebrews 11:13-16 (New International Version)
13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

So here again we have scripture inferring that Enoch died, since it says that he did not receive the promise of heaven (verse 16) at the time the book of Hebrews was written.

Based on Hebrews 11:5, Hebrews 11:13-16 and Jesus’ statement in John.3:13, "13No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.", how are we to understand the account of Enoch?

Genesis 5:21-24 says that Enoch's days, alive on Earth, ended at 365 years old. The question is, did he die, was he taken to heaven alive, or was he possibly transported to another location on Earth and something else happen to him?

Let’s take a close look at Genesis 5:24, where it says, "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him" and compare the same Hebrew phrase “was not” or "no more" in:

Psalm 37:36 (New International Version)
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
though I looked for him, he could not be found.

Psalm 39:13 (New International Version)
13 Look away from me, that I may rejoice again
before I depart and am no more."

In our Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon we find the following reference to “was not” or "no more"

369 אַיִן, מֵאַיִן [’ayin /ah•yin/] subst n neg adv w/prep. As if from a primitive root meaning to be nothing or not exist; TWOT 81; GK 401 and 4406; 29 occurrences; AV translates as “except”, “faileth”, “fatherless”, “incurable”, “infinite”, “innumerable”, “neither”, “never”, “no”, “none”, “not”, “nothing”, “nought”, and “without”. 1 nothing, not, nought n. 1A nothing, nought neg. 1B not. 1C to have not (of possession) adv. 1D without w/prep. 1E for lack of.

The Hebrew for the phrases “no more” is the same Hebrew as Genesis 5:24. As in the Psalms, the phrase means the person "passed away" or would eventually die. Let’s look at the same phrase in the book of Genesis:

Genesis 42:13 (New International Version)
13 But they replied, "Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more."

This was spoken by his brothers of Joseph. What did they mean “and one is no more”?

Genesis 44:20 (New International Version)
20 And we answered, 'We have an aged father, and there is a young son born to him in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only one of his mother's sons left, and his father loves him.'

Here, the brothers recount their previous discussion about Joseph with Pharaoh. When they first said, "and one is not," they meant Joseph "is dead."

This same sort of language is found in the New Testament where when Herod was seeking to kill the infant Messiah, he ordered the murder of the male children in Bethlehem:

Matthew 2:18 (New International Version)
18"A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”

Shall Not See Death
We still need to decipher what Paul meant in the Book of Hebrews when he claimed for Enoch “so that he did not experience death:

Hebrews 11:5-6 (New International Version)
5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.

It’s important to realize that the Greek for the word death here in this verse can mean either the death of the body or the misery of hell. Here our trusty lexicon comes into service:

2288 θάνατος, ἀθάνατος [thanatos /than•at•os/] n m. From 2348; TDNT 3:7; TDNTA 312; GK 2505 and together with Strongs 1 as GK 115; 119 occurrences; AV translates as “death” 117 times, and “deadly” twice. 1 the death of the body. 1A that separation (whether natural or violent) of the soul and the body by which the life on earth is ended. 1B with the implied idea of future misery in hell. 1B1 the power of death. 1C since the nether world, the abode of the dead, was conceived as being very dark, it is equivalent to the region of thickest darkness i.e. figuratively, a region enveloped in the darkness of ignorance and sin. 2 metaph., the loss of that life which alone is worthy of the name,. 2A the misery of the soul arising from sin, which begins on earth but lasts and increases after the death of the body in hell. 3 the miserable state of the wicked dead in hell. 4 in the widest sense, death comprising all the miseries arising from sin, as well physical death as the loss of a life consecrated to God and blessed in him on earth, to be followed by wretchedness in hell.

We have some powerful verses that apply to all of us who are the Children of God that helps us understand what type of death.

John 8:51 (New International Version)
51 “I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."

John 11:25-26 (New International Version)
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

Now we know that "will never see death" must mean “the second death” of hell.

Hebrews 9:27-28 (New International Version)
27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Revelation 21:8 (New International Version)
8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

Based on Hebrews 9:27, "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, " and Hebrews 11:13, "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised"; we are forced to conclude that Enoch died the first death and quite possibly with the help of God somehow. We have no more information on the how.

Some may ask, well Enoch walked with God and had no sin, so he would not have face the second death. It appears that Paul anticipated this when he wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

Romans 5:12-14 (New International Version)
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

So we have death coming to all men, even those not under the law and even someone who was possibly sinless like Enoch.

So What Was Enoch’s Translation

So now we come to Enoch translation in Hebrews 11:5? Does translation mean that he didn’t die? That’s what some people assume without looking carefully at the root definition. The Bible does not say that Enoch went to heaven when he was translated. Instead, it says he "was not found." According to Strong's, Thayer's and Bullinger's Greek Lexicons, "translate" means "to put or place in another place, to transport, to transfer." Nowhere in the Scripture does ‘translate’ mean to make immortal!

3346 μετατίθημι [metatithemi /met•at•ith•ay•mee/] v. From 3326 and 5087; TDNT 8:161; TDNTA 1176; GK 3572; Six occurrences; AV translates as “translate” twice, “carry over” once, “remove” once, “change” once, and “turn” once. 1 to transpose (two things, one of which is put in place of the other). 1A to transfer. 1B to change. 1C to transfer one’s self or suffer one’s self to be transferred. 1C1 to go or pass over. 1C2 to fall away or desert from one person or thing to another.

The same word is rendered "carried over" in the Greek in Acts 7:16 where Jacob's body was ‘translated’ or ‘transported’ to Sychem, where he was buried! The Scriptures say Jacob was translated to the place of burial! God took Enoch and buried him somewhere so as not to be found, just as he did with the body of Moses in Deuteronomy 34:6. No man knows where Moses' or Enoch’s graves are. God hid them for reasons known only to Him.

Notice another proof that ‘translate’ does not mean to make immortal. Paul wrote

Colossians 1:13-14 (New International Version)
13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The apostle Paul says that he was already “brought us” which is the same word for “translated”, even though he was still physically alive! Although he was once part of the darkness of this world, he was translated, removed from darkness, into the light of the kingdom of God while he was physically alive!

1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (New International Version)
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

So where was Enoch Translated?
It must be deduced that God took Enoch to take his life and to buried him somewhere so as not to be found just as he did with the body of Moses in Deut.34:6. Moses' body was never found and neither was Enoch's because God hid them for reasons known only to Him. In fact, we even have a heavenly battle for the body of Moses.

Deuteronomy 34 (New International Version)
The Death of Moses
1 Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, 2 all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3 the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the LORD said to him, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it."
5 And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. 6 He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.

Jude 1:9 (New International Version)
9But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

Clearly God himself took the spirit of Moses thru death and buried him personally. So in both cases, God made special arrangements for these men of faith to cross over to the Kingdom that was prepared since the creation of the world (before their own births and deaths) according to Matthew 25:34.

Matthew 25:34 (New International Version)
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”

Well Done cartoonbug,

I can't tell you how pleased I am to see this question being answered correctly. Unfortunately there are many people who have not done their homework when they say that Enoch went to heaven. For some reason they feel that Enoch was perfect and somehow merited by his own works a translation/rapture to heaven. This is simply not the case for we have two references that deal decisively with that thought:

Romans 3:23-25
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Isaiah 53:6
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Your references to tying in Moses death and burial also rings true to scripture. This is the most probable and logical answer when you take all scripture into account.

A kudo for you cartoonbug!

In Him,

Pastor Jim

Thank you guys.

I appreciate the information very much. I'm not sure I understand every point.

I'm not planning to give up.

I taught science for years. This is way more mysterious. But considering the subject matter science explores and where IT came from ... THIS is even more exciting!

mike