A Pointer to What Would Happen in the Last Days

Every inhabitants of the world knows that he or she was given birth to one day, and we all know that one day we shall live the world, we shall die. As parturition is a common phenomenon for all and sundry irrespective of religion or whether you an atheist so is death.

Most elderly ones in the world with the waves of changes here and there could say that we are in the last days, or better put that we are living in the strange moments, because of things we keep seeing around.

Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines pointer as a sign that something exists; a sign that shows how something may develop in the future.

Online Wikipedia says there is no ready definition for the last days. However, this is the definition given to it. It is the end time (also called end times, end of time, end of days, last days, final days, doomsday, or eschaton) is a future time-period described variously in the eschatologies of several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that world events will reach a final climax.

In this article, I will want us to see an incident that is recorded in the bible that it happens to a man in the first world, the world that was before the flood wipes away all the inhabitants of the world. This incident, a concise of what it was, was again given by the author of the book of Hebrews by the spirit when talking about faith. The person I am talking about is the person called Enoch in the bible.

It will be good for us to know who this Enoch is not in the bible because of the similarity of the name and the closeness of the times of the events. This Enoch was not the son of Cain (the man reported to be the first murderer) in the bible,

“And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.” (Gen 4:17)

This Enoch was from the generation of Seth, the son the bible recorded that God gave Adam and Eve after Cain killed Abel his brother in the bible. This Enoch is therefore the greatest grandchildren of Seth.

“This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:” (Gen. 5:1 & 3)

Online Wikipedia says, this Enoch that I want to talk about here is of the Antediluvian period in the Hebrew bible. He was the son of Jared and fathered Methuselah. He couldn’t be found around the age of 365 years which was far lower compared to when his peers of that time used to die, around 700 years. He was said to be the author of Book of Enoch.

Enoch in Hebrew is “חנוך”, Romanized form is chănôk (pronounced as khan-oke') which means initiated and behindthename.com gives “dedicated” as being the meaning of the name.

He was referenced three times in the New Testament: Luk. 3:37; Heb. 11:5; Jud. 1:14. It is the reference in the Book of Hebrews that this topic has been drawn from. However, it will be good to know that the parallel account of the documentations of the book of Hebrews 11:5 can be found in the book of Genesis 5:21-24.

The pointer (or what he points to) in the account that we shall examine was the translation.

“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 11:5)

The Greek word used for translated here is “μετατίθημι”, Romanized form is metatithēmi (phonetic spelling is met-at-ith'-ay-mee) which means to transfer, remove, change. Some people have said this translation may likely mean taken to another place and that he probably died.

But, to this assertion, the author of the book of Hebrews by the spirit has a different view and he said, “he (did) not see death”.

The bible in the New Testament makes us to know that death is a spirit. Thus, everyone who comes to the world when they are about to die would spiritually see death, but this was taken off Enoch by his translation, he was prevented from seeing death by the change that happened to him.

“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

“The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.” (1 Co. 15:26, 55-56)

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;” (Heb. 2:14)

“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Rev 1:18)

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” (Rev 20:13-14)

The form of corruption that every humans’ see when they were about to die he was prevented from seeing such corruption by God as he took him to himself.

“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 11:5)

While clarifying what he was saying about the man, the author of the book of Hebrews says, the man was sought for.

“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 11:5)

Greek word for found here is “εὑρίσκω”, Romanized form is heuriskō (phonetic spelling is hyoo-ris'-ko) which means get, obtain, perceive.

The word “not” before the “found” in Greek is “οὐ”, Romanized forms ou (and pronounced as oo) which is used in the negative sense, to denote “no or not”.

This therefore implies that those who were living when Enoch was alive after discovering that he was no where to be found, he was not at where he used to be, they decide to look for him because it is after seeking for something that one can give the report about the thing, whether it could be found or not, and in this case, after the seeking, the report was that he couldn’t be found.

This was akin to what the sons of the prophets did in the book of second Kings chapter 2.

“And they said unto him, behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.

“And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.” (2 Ki 2:16-17)

I presume God allowed them to prevail on Prophet Elisha that they should go and look for Prophet Elijah so that we shall understand this place better what it means to look for something and we do not find it, most especially someone dear to us, like Prophet Elijah was dear to them and the nation and their religion.

It was after he couldn’t be found that they believed that he must have been taken off according to his believe and what he used to say.

The Apostle in this book is telling the saints that before the sign that happened which is pointing everyone to what he wants them to see and know, two important things had happened.

Testimonies can be defined as a formal or written statement, especially one given in a court of law. In the Christian settings, especially the Evangelical tradition or setting it means to tell a story about how one becomes a Christian, or an event in a believer’s life in which the person feels it is spectacular, it is extra-ordinary and it worth sharing with the brethren.

Testimonies based on the above could broadly be divided into two, namely self (or individual) testimony and others testimony about the person.

“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 11:5)

Before all and sundry who were on earth during his days, and through his write-ups for those of us who are alive today we can say that the man himself shares some testimonies. Let us see an account of one of his testimonies as recorded in the book of Jude.

“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

“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 1:14-15)

What other personal testimony could be more powerful than this? The man when he was alive preached to the people and told them what would happen soon. What he continually told them he was living by, he was expectant of the appearance of the saints with the Lord, but since such had not happened before, they couldn’t believe him as they did not believed Noah when he started preaching.

Barnes in his commentary of this says, Enoch was …a preacher and lived in strong believe of what was to occur in future times.

People of his days testimonies about him are enmeshed in the word, “and was not found”.

“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 11:5)

Shall we cast our minds to what happened after the resurrection of Jesus for understanding this? After his resurrection physician Luke in his account says there were two people travelling to Emmaus.

“And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.” (Luk 24:13)

e-Sword says this about the trip that these two men were embarking upon that, “Emmaus: Emmaus was situated, according to the testimony both of Luke and Josephus, sixty furlongs from Jerusalem, that is, about seven miles and a half. It has generally been confounded with Emmaus, a city of Judah, afterwards called Nicopolis; but Reland has satisfactorily shown that they were distinct places; the latter, according to the old Itinerary of Palestine, being situated 10 miles from Lydda, and 22 miles from Jerusalem. D'Arvieux states, that going from Jerusalem to Rama, he took the right from the high road to Rama, at some little distance from Jerusalem, and "travelled a good league over rocks and flint stones, to the end of the valley of terebinthine trees," until he reached Emmaus; which "seems, by the ruins which surround it, to have been formerly larger that it was in our Saviour's time. The Christians, while masters of the Holy Land, re-established it a little, and built several churches. Emmaus was not worth the trouble of having come out of the way to see it."”

Those two people were walking to the town, about seven miles and a half after Jesus resurrection, they couldn’t have walked far before Jesus joined them in the journey. In the meanwhile, before Jesus joined them, they had been discussing about what happened, what they had heard, and their surprises were being expressed among themselves until Jesus joined them.

Having been “holden” or prevented from knowing the person walking with them, they were telling him their testimonies about him. Telling Jesus of what they knew and heard about him, the miracles he has wrought and his resurrection. (Luk 24:13-24)

Something like this was what the people were saying about Enoch when he was alive, they were talking among themselves of what he used to say, with limited number of them having the believe in what he was saying.

The people’s testimonies of him could be divided into two: faith and that he pleases the Lord.

Faith being one of the people’s testimony about him may not expressed as the word faith during his days, but it is certain that the people believed that he has what they do not have.

“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 11:5)

Barnes says of this that, faith though not mentioned in the book of Genesis, but the apostle here said it was present in his life. This therefore may be involved in piety or because the fact was communicated to him by direct revelation…which is therefore revealed in his revelation in the word of prophecy stated in the book of Jude 1:14-15.

Matthew Henry in his account of this book says the man uses his faith to do two things.

Those who applied faith to seemingly difficult things in the world by their faith condemns others unbelief. This is why in heaven the judgment would be simple and straight, if you say you cannot practice holiness, those who were in the world as you are and who have lived a holy life are the ones who will condemn your actions of unbelief that I was in the world the time you were in the world and I lived a holy life.

His obedience to live expectantly showed all and sundry that what he was telling them was right when he was taken off them. The obedience of Prophet Elisha makes him receive double portion of his mentor’s power.

Like Peter when he saw Jesus walking on the sea, (Luk. 14:28) that was what happened to Enoch, when the Lord told him that he was going to leave him behind that day, when the Lord told him that he is going away, he bid the Lord by faith that if it be pleasing unto him he can take him along, and it pleased the Lord to take him away from the world, to prevent him from seeing death, tasting death having performed brilliantly, exceptionally among his peers demonstrating a rare faith in the world during his days.

Benson in his commentary of this place says, three things are included in our pleasing God: that our persons be accepted; that our callings be approved of; and that we have a testimony that we are blameless or justified as Abel and Enoch had and as all true believers have.

How he pleased the Lord was stated in the book where his account is originally written in the bible. In that book we shall see what he did to please the Lord. Shall we see the documentation of Moses for this record in the book of Genesis 5:22 & 24?

“And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” (Gen 5:22 & 24)

The first account of how he pleased the Lord is walking with him. Before two people become close pals, they would have been studying each other for a while, before a lady and a guy eventually decide to settle down as husband and wife, they would have been studying each other for a while. During the time of their studying each other people would say they are walking together.

This kind of walking together is not the kind of physical work alone, it is not just seeing them together alone that it is called walking together, but in this we shall see studying each other, noticing each other’s characters, studying to understand the person, trying to know his or her likes and dislikes, his tastes, his preference, what he chooses, why he chose what he choose above others among other things are those things that they would be studying in each other’s lives.

Thus, a person who has successfully studied each other could predict correctly what the person would be doing and what his or her response to a situation would be. He could say this because he has studied the person and has understand the person.

By way of adding credence to this, all bible students would recall that there was a person called Job in the bible. This person has been studied very well by Yahweh, though he does not belong to the Israel nation, but where he was God has studied him and has known all about him and he could thence tell the devil when he appeared before him on both occasions what he knows Job would do and what he would never do, and we discovered that what God said of him was correct, the account given about him by God did not change because he has studied him and has known him. (Job 1: 6-12 & 2: 1-6)

This could be said of lovers who have studied each other into details, thus it wouldn’t matter whether the woman is not of the same race as her partner neither living in the same country as her partner. Those couples have studied themselves deeply such that distance is not a barrier, but they are spiritually glued together.

“And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” (Gen 5:22 & 24)

Walk is a Hebrew word written as “הלך”, when Romanized it becomes hâlak (phonetic spelling is haw-lak') which means, be conversant, follow about.

This man, Enoch was conversant with God, he follows him around, though God at this time cannot be seen physically again because since our fore-parents fall in the garden of Eden, the glory has departed humans life, thus, no one can see God with physical eyes and yet live, but deep within him he was conversant with God, he was following him about, his thoughts, imaginations, and everything about him were acceptable in the sight of the Lord always.

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” (Psa. 19:14)

This was his first means of pleasing the Lord.

Until partners have solid agreement with each other they cannot be said to be friends. Until an establishment has solid agreement with members of staff, those people may not take seriously the work. The bible says, can two walk together until they be agreed?

“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amo 3:3)

If two people are yet to be in agreement when they are walking together one may wake up one day and back out of the relationship or association, but when there is an agreement, when the both people know they are stakeholders in what they are doing they will commit their hearts to what they are doing.

It is no gain saying that Enoch and God had solid agreement with each other when they were walking and thus, both could commit themselves into each other’s hands without fear or favor.

It should be stated that God himself comes to the world through his son to have solid agreement with all humans. The agreement is sealed up in the blood of Jesus Christ.

If you are yet to enter agreement with God, you can do that by accepting Jesus into your life now. We can enter agreement with God through his son and his son alone.

Because Enoch has entered solid agreement with God, God thence cannot do anything without telling him, he was God’s friend and Jesus says, a friend would tell his friend what he wants to do, but he will not disclose that to his slaves.

“Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” (Joh 15:15)

“And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;” (Gen 18:17)

God could not hide his plan from Abraham because he was his friend.

“And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” (Jas 2:23)

In the same wise, God cannot hide his plan from Enoch because he has become his friend. Therefore, when he wants to leave again after meeting as they used to meet, he had to take him along with him.

The book of Ecclesiasticus (Son of Sirach 49:19) says of Enoch that, “but upon the earth was no man created like Enoch: for he was taken from the earth”.

Having seen some things about how he pleased the Lord and what the Lord decides to do, by taken him off the surface of the earth so that he would neither see death nor taste death. This incident, his taken off the earth point to these:

Barnes in his commentary says Enoch’s translation shows all that there is another world somewhere apart from this perishing world. Many have been thinking that this is the only world that exists and after we die, we die nothing again, but his translation shows all who have that mind that there is another world somewhere.

His translation indubitably assured us that there would be body in the future state. Jesus affirmed this when talking with the Sadducees, in the book of Matthew 22 that in the new world they shall be like the angels of God. (Mat. 22:23-30). Apostle Paul puts it like this that “there are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.” (1 Co 15:40)

The Jews have been lied to that they shouldn’t believe that Jesus resurrected, some religions up till now is yet to believe that Jesus resurrected. They are saying that Jesus has enormous power and he couldn’t die like that, that it was someone else who was killed in his stead but not him.

“Saying, say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.” (Mat 28:13)

However, with the incident that happened to Enoch even before Jesus manifestation, this should prove to us that Enoch who was an ordinary man like you and I, if he could be translated, we should not consider that of Jesus an impossible feat, we should thence accept that Jesus of a truth resurrected.

People when reading an incident that happened during the death of Jesus hardly believes it to be true, but Enoch’s translation has stated like this is a pointer that such happened and we need to believe it, that those saints who have been held bound by the devil afore Jesus coming were let loose that day.

“And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

“And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” (Mat 27:52-53)

Many people think it is a wishful thought, a mirage the promised resurrection of the saints when the trumpet shall sound.

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Co 15:51-53)

With this incident at the back of our minds believers therefore do not need to doubt this and we should be rejoicing in it as the apostles said that we ought to be comforting ourselves with a word like this that the brethren who have slept in the Lord shall rise again and their bodies transformed.

“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

“Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Th 4:15-18)

Have you lost a loved one who is a believer? Have you been sad about your loved ones who have gone to be with the Lord? They have been separated from you in the flesh, but you should rejoice and comfort yourself with this word that you shall see the person again.

In the epistle to the Corinthians and Thessalonians shared above, we shall see that the living saints who were around when Jesus’ trumpet shall be sounded shall also be translated, transformed in a twinkling of an eye, they would be given other bodies within pico-seconds. We shouldn’t doubt this because since it happened to Enoch even when the time of grace has not manifested, we should be ascertained that such would happen to the saints who are alive when Jesus appears? Have you been doubting this for long? The translation of Enoch should give you boldness now not to doubt it again.

The translation of Enoch is a pointer that Jesus indeed ascended to heaven after talking with his ardent followers on the mount of Olivet.

“And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

“And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

“Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

“Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey.” (Act 1:9-12)

Enoch was a man of faith, who demonstrated his faith, lived his faith, passed the message to others without fear or favor and by that could become example of what God cannot but do during the last days to bring those who please him unto himself preventing them from seeing death like other humans living on earth would have.