I. Background (Genesis 5:24; 1 Corinthians 15:50-53)
A. We are in Genesis chapter 5
B. We read about a man named Enoch
- Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam
- The great grandfather of Noah
C. He experiences something marvellous
Something that every believer will if they are alive at the right time!
D. A Rapture!
“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” - Genesis 5:24
E. Those few words describe what is just ahead for end-time believers
Just before the beginning of the Tribulation…
- Two great future events – the Resurrection of believers, and the Rapture of believers!
- The bodies of believers who die will not stay in their grave, but will live again!
- And those believers alive at the Rapture won’t even die!
“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 [WE WON’T ALL 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
F. Oh, that we realised how close WE are to experiencing the very same thing!
II. Review
“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
A. Enoch’s Disappearance (Genesis 5:24)
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In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, Enoch was gone!
“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” - Genesis 5:24
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He wasn’t killed. He didn’t even die! The Bible says he did not experience death!
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God took Enoch – God took him to Himself
- Enoch was just walking along, enjoying God, serving God, and then he disappeared
- Vanished. People went looking for him and couldn’t find him
- He was gone!
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This is called a Rapture
- Rapture is a Latin word. It means…
- The “snatching” of someone instantly from one place to another
- God calls it a ‘translation’ – to transport someone in an instant to somewhere else
“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.” - Hebrews 11:5
- We use the word today when we take a word that is in one language, and we transport its meaning into another language – a translation!
- If you are alive at the time of the rapture, you will experience a translation!
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Other New Testament words are “caught up” “caught away” “snatched away” “carried up” “ascended up” “a reaping” “gathering up”
III. Conclusion
A. The Rapture is a biblical truth, not fiction
B. Enoch is proof that God can take His people without them dying
C. The question is: Are you walking with God like Enoch did?
D. Only those who please God will be taken when He comes
For more information, contact Bible Baptist Church of Ballincollig at www.biblebc.com