ENOCH—ONE OF ONLY TWO MEN WHO WENT TO HEAVEN WITHOUT DYING

Presented by

Blake Brown

One of the most fascinating stories in the Bible is about a man named Enoch. As you may remember, Adam and Eve had a son by the name of Seth who was a very righteous man. In fact, Genesis 4:26 tell us that during Seth’s lifetime “men began to call upon the name of the Lord.” This means that people turned to God and obeyed Him instead of choosing to become evil. One of Seth’s descendants was a man by the name of Enoch. He also was a very righteous man. In fact, Genesis 5:22 says that Enoch “walked with God,” which means that Enoch listened to God, talked with God, and obeyed God. Enoch enjoyed a special relationship with God because he devoted his entire life to faithfully serving God.

When Enoch was 365 years old, God did something very unusual. God decided that it was time for Enoch to leave the Earth and go to heaven. So He took Enoch to heaven without Enoch even having to die. Genesis 5:24 says, “Enoch was not, for God took him.” What does the Bible mean by the phrase, “Enoch was not, for Good took him”? Hebrews 11:5 gives us the answer when it says, “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death.” God took Enoch away to heaven without him having to die. It is interesting to note that there is only one other person mentioned in the Bible who got to go to heaven without dying. That was the prophet Elijah. The account of Elijah getting to go to heaven is found in 2 Kings 11, where it says that God sent a fiery chariot to pick up Elijah and take him straight to heaven.

Why did Enoch get to go to heaven without even dying? It was because he was a righteous man. He loved God, and he wanted more than anything to do what was right. Because of that, God rewarded Enoch by taking him straight to heaven. God wants us to love Him and do what is right, too, just like Enoch. And He has promised that if we will do what is right, He will give us a home in heaven. But how did Enoch know what was right? Enoch made good choices based upon what he had learned from God. Today, we listen to God by studying His Word. And we talk to Him in prayer. If we want to “walk with God” like Enoch did, we have to make correct choices based on what we learn from God’s Word.

Won’t it be nice to get to go to heaven? Have you ever wondered what heaven will be like? God’s Word tells us that heaven is a beautiful, peaceful place where God, Jesus, and the angels live. But it also is the place where the souls of all the righteous people who have ever lived will be one day. In heaven, there will be no more sadness, sickness, pain, or death. Nothing bad will ever happen in heaven. Everyone in heaven will be happy because they are with God, and because they will always be with God.

In John 14:2, Jesus said that He was going back to heaven to get things ready for us. Isn’t it exciting to think about how God has provided a perfect home in heaven for us? I can’t speak for you, but just talking about it makes me homesick for heaven. And that is exactly how God wants us to be. The more homesick we are for heaven, the harder we will work to obey God so that one day we, just like Enoch and Elijah, can live with God in heaven forever. I get goose bumps just thinking about how wonderful heaven will be. I can’t wait to get there!