I. Background (1 Corinthians 15:50-53)
A. We are in Genesis chapter 5
B. It has been now 622 years since creation
Adding up the ages, and years when their sons were born.
C. It is still 1,000 years before the Flood
- Things are on a downward spiral morally and spiritually as we shall see in Genesis 6
- The entire world was headed for destruction
D. In the middle of this list of godly men who loved God was a man named Enoch
- Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam
- The great grandfather of Noah
E. He experiences something marvellous
Something that every believer will if they are alive at the right time!
F. A Rapture!
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [DIE AND BE PUT IN A GRAVE], 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 Corinthians 15:50-53
“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” - John 11:25,26
Two great future events – the resurrection of believers, and the Rapture!
II. Message
A. Enoch’s Time
“And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch.” - Genesis 5:18
- 600 years before Noah’s Ark and Flood occur (2,348 BC)
- Society was moving away from God – rapidly decaying
- Demonic – seriously demonic
- Not so different from us today!
B. Enoch’s Life
“And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” - Genesis 5:21-24
- He lived only 365 years – short life compared to everyone else listed
- He knew Adam! Adam was alive for the first 347 years of Enoch’s life!
- He knew about what happened when Adam sinned in the Garden
- The Garden of Eden was still there, visible
- Enoch knew Adam’s son Seth, and all his great-great-great-great grandparents
- Married
- A Family man – had many children
- One named son, whom he named Methuselah – “When he dies, the end shall come”
- God showed Enoch that when Methuselah dies, judgment would come
III. Conclusion
A. Enoch’s rapture is a picture of what awaits believers
B. We shall not all sleep – some will be changed in an instant
C. Are you ready for the twinkling of an eye?
D. Only those who walk with God will be taken
For more information, contact Bible Baptist Church of Ballincollig at www.biblebc.com