Edward
Gen 5:18 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:
Gen 5:19 And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
Gen 5:20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
Gen 5:21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
Gen 5:22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
Gen 5:23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
Gen 5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
Heb 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jude 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
Jude 1:15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Jude 1:16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
Enoch walked faithfully with God, which reveals why he was so special to God as God sent him out to preach to others in the land of Mesopotamia situated between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Today this would be the areas of Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey and Syria. In this wicked period before the Flood, most men did not walk faithfully with God. They walked their own path, the crooked way of sin. Enoch did not keep silent about the sin around him as Jude says Enoch prophesied against their evil ways and the judgement that would come upon them.
In Jude 1:14-16 we read that those who Enoch preached to were very sinful people and Enoch did not keep silent about the sin around him as he prophesied against those walking after their own lusts. Jude says Enoch prophesied against those evil people and that would have made them angry enough to put Enoch to death.
According to Genesis 5:23, Enoch’s life-span was 365 years, which was much younger then others in that time period. Throughout those years, he walked in faith, and that made all the difference. No matter what happened, he trusted God. He obeyed God. God loved Enoch so much he spared him the experience of death as God translated him that he should not see death as no one could find him, but never says where he was translated. It's only man's traditional teachings that say he was taken up to the third heaven, but this would come against what Jesus said in John 3:13.
John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
Enoch stood out from many others as He walked with God in great faith. He being taken by God that he could not be found or taste death could be that God translated/transferred him to a safer place, like that of Elijah and Philip that were only translated/transferred, that Enoch would not see the kind of violent death that would have otherwise come upon him in a hostile atmosphere where he was preaching the word of God. What Enoch taught would have challenged the heretical beliefs of those in that area who no doubt worshiped their own gods and idols just like those in Jerusalem that came against Christ and had Him killed.
(Side note)
Elijah, having ascended into the air (First heaven) by a whirlwind was carried away out of sight beyond the horizon. Several years after he was taken away King Jehoram received a letter from him. How long after? There are some difficulties in figuring the exact chronology as it varies from 2 to 10 years or more. A note in Josephus (a Jewish historian of the first century A.D.) says 4 years, while the JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA figures it at 7 years.
Regardless of the exact number of years there came writing to Jehoram from Elijah the prophet, saying..." (2Chron 21:12). Now the wickedness of Jehoram, for which he was being rebuked in the letter, took place after Elijah was taken away, yet the letter speaks of these things as past events, and the punishment to come upon him as yet future. So the idea of some, that Elijah wrote the letter before he was removed by the whirlwind, is proved wrong.
Act 8:39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
Act 8:40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
