Christ in Genesis: Enoch's Heaven — Stephen Kaung

If we please turn to Genesis, Chapter 5. Genesis, the fifth chapter. We begin with verse twenty-one. Genesis, Chapter 5, verse twenty-one through verse twenty-four. And Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah.

And Enoch walked with God after he had begotten Methuselah three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

Hebrews, Chapter 11. The letter to the Hebrews, Hebrews, Chapter 11, verses five and six. 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 has the testimony that he had pleased God.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him. For he that draws near to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them who seek him out. And finally, the book of Jude, just before Revelation.

Jude, verse fourteen and verse fifteen. Jude, verses fourteen and fifteen. And Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied also as to these, saying, Behold, the Lord has come, amidst His holy merits, to execute judgment against all, and to convict all the ungodly of them of all their works of ungodliness, which they have wrought ungodly, and of all the half things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.

May we look to the Lord. Our Heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee that Thou dost open a way for us through our Lord Jesus Christ to Thee, that we may come to Thee with boldness, that we may have our veil taken away from our faces, and we may behold the glory of the Lord, and be transformed according to His image.

Our Father, how we praise and thank Thee for such privilege, and we do want to avail ourselves of this privilege this morning, and pray that the light of Thy countenance will shine upon us, that we truly may see Thee and be transformed, in the name of our Lord Jesus.

Genesis as the Book of God’s Work in Man

Amen. We have been considering together on this book of Genesis. We mentioned at the very outset that the book of Genesis is a book of biographies. The reason why the first book in the Bible is a book of biographies is because God is interested in man.

And thank God for that, because He is interested in you, and He is interested in me. And because He is interested in man, therefore He works in man, to make man what He wants him to be. In the book of Genesis we find especially the biographies of eight persons.

And in these eight persons, God reveals His mind towards man. What did He originally design of purpose for man? What has He been doing in the lives of man? And what, ultimately, eventually, He will get in man?

And that we will see in the lives of these eight persons. We also mentioned that because of the work of God in them, we see in every one of them a symbol, a sign, a trademark, something that comes out of their life.

And probably it will help us to know them and to know the work of God by knowing these signs and symbols. In the first man Adam we find the tree, because God's purpose for man is the tree, the tree of life.

God wants man whom He created to receive his own life into Him, and thus be united with God in life. And this is God's intention for man. Then we find in the second person, Abel. And with Abel the symbol is sacrifice.

Because of the sin of man, man was driven from the face of God. And there is only one way that man can return to God, and that is through the sacrifice. Not just any kind of sacrifice, but the sacrifice that God has ordained.

Even a lamb. Through the blood of the lamb, Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice. And because of this, he was accepted. So dear friends, if we want to be accepted by God, sinners, to be accepted by God, there is only one way.

That is we must have that more excellent sacrifice. Which is our Lord Jesus. How He died on the cross as the Lamb of God for the sins of this world. Now, this morning we would like to come to the third person in the book of Genesis, Enoch.

Enoch’s Walk with God and His Translation to Heaven

And with Enoch we will say Enoch's heaven. Now, in the whole Bible there are only a few verses spoken, written of Enoch. And the verses that we have read almost exhaust them. Just a few verses. We find a few verses in the book of Genesis chapter 5.

We find a few verses in the book of Hebrews chapter 11. And we find a few verses in Jude. That is all you will find in the whole Bible concerning Enoch. And yet, in these few verses, there is a volume of thoughts of what God did in this life.

And what was expressed through this life to the glory of God. And this is something that we would like to share together this morning. Now if you open the book of Genesis chapter 5, you will find that at the beginning of the chapter, it is said, this is the book of Adam's generation.

In other words, here you will find that it is the genealogy. The book of generation of Adam. The book of the generation of man. First you find Adam, then after Adam you find Cain and Abel and Seth, and then you find generation after generation, one generation succeeds in another generation.

And as a matter of fact, the book of the generation of Adam does not stop at Genesis chapter 5. It goes on even into our day. Because so far as mankind is concerned, it is the book of the generation of Adam.

Because all men came from Adam. The book of the generation of Adam. And what do you find in that book? You find that one generation succeeds another generation. You find that man was born, man lived, man begot sons and daughters, and man died.

Generation after generation, you find the same description. So and so was born. He lived, he begot sons and daughters, and he died. And then so and so was born, and he lived, and he begot sons and daughters, and he died.

Every generation just repeats itself. This is the history of the generation of Adam. This is the history of man. What is the history of man? The history of man is one day you are born, you live, you begot sons and daughters, and then you die.

Or to simplify it, you live and you die. You were born and you were dead. That is the history of mankind. And what a sad history it is. I like to visit cemeteries. I think it is much better, as the Proverbs says, oh no, I think it is Ecclesiastes says, it is much better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feast.

I visit these cemeteries. I like to read these tombstones. And you know in the tombstones there are two things that are always there. One is so and so was born on a certain year, certain month and certain date.

And then there is another thing always there, that he died on a certain year, certain month and certain date. Now in some tombstones they put a lot of junk there. But if you conclude them you will find invariably these two things are always there.

Born and died. Isn't it sad? People may put lots of things on their tombstone. What great achievement he had done when he was in life. But when God rode the epitaph, when God rode upon the tombstones of man, what do you find there?

You find nothing. All you find is born and died. Live and died. That's all you find. In other words, when the Holy Spirit rode upon the tombstones of mankind, he had nothing to write about man. All he could write was he was born and he died.

That was all. Nothing was worthwhile. Now maybe in the eyes of man some people have done great things, but in the eyes of God nothing has eternal value. Nothing to be mentioned. Nothing to be recorded.

That is the history of mankind. Man under sin has nothing worthwhile to be recorded in heaven. All that is recorded in heaven is born and died. That is the history of man. You know sometimes when you read chapter five of Genesis it is very depressing if you understand what it means.

But thank God in that chapter suddenly you find something different. There was a man whose name was Enoch. Yes, he was born and he lived sixty-five years and he begot Methuselah. And after he begot Methuselah he continued on to live three hundred more years.

And he begot sons and daughters. Enoch was three hundred and sixty-five years and Enoch walked with God and he was not, for God took him. In other words you will find in the history of mankind generation after generation is just no different.

Born, lived, begot and died. But suddenly here was a man who was born, who lived, who begot, but he did not die. He was raptured. He was taken by God alive. He overcame death. Now that is good news. Suddenly it should catch our attention.

And we like to know this man. Who is this man? What kind of man is he? Why is it that he overcame death? We know that Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam. He was the seventh generation from Adam.

He came from the godly line of Seth. You know Adam had two lines of descendants. One is the line of Cain, the wicked evil line. And the other line is Seth, which is the godly line. And Enoch came from the godly line of Seth.

He was the seventh generation from Adam. Sixty-five years. And during these sixty-five years he lived just like other people. He lived just like other so-called good people. But there was nothing to be recorded by God.

He just lived. He existed for sixty-five years. And then he begot a son, Methuselah. But after he begot a son, something happened. Completely changed. He began to walk with God. And he walked with God for three hundred years.

And God took him. We would like to know what made this change. Before he got his son, Methuselah, he lived maybe a good life from the eyes of man, but nothing different. He was not wicked, but he was not spiritual either.

Probably by himself. Or probably he would sometimes ask God to come and walk with him. But suddenly after he begot Methuselah, his whole lifestyle was changed. He began to walk with God. Not asking God to walk with him, but to walk with God.

Revelation of Judgment and the Transformation of Enoch’s Life

Now what happened? Now Methuselah was a person, according to the sacred record, he lived the longest life in the world. He lived nine hundred sixty-nine years. And he lived almost a thousand years, not quite.

In China, according to our legend, the longest one that lived was Pengzhu, and he lived eight hundred years. Not quite as long as Methuselah. Methuselah lived nine hundred sixty-nine years. Long life.

But do you know that if you compute, you will find that on the very year, in the very year that Methuselah died, the flood came. At the birth of Methuselah, Enoch received a revelation. God revealed to him that you have a son now.

When this son dies, the judgment will come. When this son dies, something terrible is going to happen. God gave him the revelation at the birth of the child. And when he received that revelation, it transformed his whole outlook.

Before that, probably he was just living for himself. Not a bad man. He came from the godly seed. But he just lived for himself. And sometimes asked God to come and walk with him. But when God gave him that revelation, that on the, in the day, in the year that Methuselah, his son should die, judgment will come upon this earth.

He feared God. By faith, he began to walk with God, and for three hundred years. A revelation. That revelation transformed his life. Dear brothers and sisters, do you have such revelation? If you look into the history of man today, it is no different than what you can find in Genesis chapter 5.

Generation after generation. Now we do not know exactly how many generations mankind has existed upon this earth. Now forgive me to mention China, because China is an old country. Now according to our Chinese history, we often trace our history back, you know, to the emperor.

And then according to our Chinese history, you know, we have, well I would say, a little over a hundred generations. I have met a man who was the hundredth generation from the forefather. But no matter how many generations have passed, generation succeeds generation.

And the history has not changed. The story has not changed. Even nowadays you find that the generation before us, they live, they begot sons and daughters, and they died. And now in our generation, and we live, we will beget sons and daughters, and we will die.

The same story. Is there no exception? Expecting something different? Certainly dear brothers and sisters, we are living at the end of the very end of our age. And according to the word of God, we have great expectations.

On the one hand we know by the word of God that the day will soon come when God will judge this world. We receive such a revelation, that one day God will judge the world. The flood will come. And his son was a sign.

Oh, I don't know, if his son suddenly had a fever, I don't know what Enoch will think. Because on the day that he died, something would happen. He had that revelation. And that changes life. But brothers and sisters, do we have a similar revelation?

From the word of God, do we not see that the end of this age is approaching? Do we not see that because the thing of this world is such that it is almost full, and God is going to judge this world? Judgment is coming upon this world?

When people think of what is going to happen, they were so frightened. But to us, the law said, lift up your heads. For your redemption draw us nigh. In other words, dear brothers and sisters, we have great expectations.

We know that judgment is coming upon this world. But thank God, we have a hope. And that is, we may be raptured. We may go alive, without passing through death, as Enoch did. But the thing is, when Enoch received that revelation, he changed his lifestyle.

Now do we have this revelation? Maybe mentally we all have this kind of knowledge. We even talk about it. We say the world is coming to an end. We say that the Lord is coming soon. We say judgment will come upon this earth.

And as you look around, it seems closer and closer. We have this knowledge. But does that affect our lifestyle? Do we still go on living as usual? Not bad. But just living as we lived before. Live for ourselves.

We walk our way. Or is it because there is such a revelation that comes to us, that it really transform us, change our lifestyle? And because of the soon coming of the judgment, that we began to walk with God.

Christians as Strangers and Sojourners in a Passing World

So many of God's people today are earth dwellers. Now it is true, we are still on this earth. The Lord says, you are not of the world. You are not of the world. You are in the world, but you are not in the world, because He has called us out of the world.

We are strangers and sojourners upon this earth. We are just passing by. Why? Because we know that this world is not eternal. We are looking for a city with foundations which God has built. Just like Abraham, like Isaac, like Jacob.

They are looking for a city, a country, a better country, that God has built. We are strangers, sojourners, passers-by. But how often we forget. How often we become earth dwellers. We begin to be rooted and grounded in this earth.

We begin to seek for the things of this world just like the other people. We forget that we are just passing by. We begin to make this our home. We begin to love the world. We begin to live for ourselves.

Now if we do, then when the day shall come, we will be caught unaware. But the Lord has warned us already. He has already given us the revelation. He has shown us that the world is passing by. Judgment is coming upon this earth.

Oh, how we need to rise up and begin to walk with God. How can a person walk with God? You remember in the prophet Amos, chapter 3, verse 3, he said, Shall two walk together except they agree? In other words, you cannot walk together if you do not agree.

If I want to walk towards the south and you want to walk towards the north, how can we walk together? If we want to walk together, we have to agree. And if we agree, then we walk together. If we want to walk together with God, walk with God.

Now remember, it's not God walk with you. It's you walk with God. If you want to walk with God, you have to agree with Him. Now do you agree with Him? With Him that the judgment is coming upon this world?

Or do you think that the world is getting better and better? Like some people, they are building the millennium upon this earth. Do you agree with God that His purpose bring all things under the feet of His own beloved Son?

That His Son shall have the first place in all things? Do you agree with Him in that? Do you agree with God in His will? Now if you do, what will you do? You have to abandon yourself and to take the will of God to be your will.

His mind to be your mind. His purpose to be your purpose. And only that you can walk with God. You see the problem with us today is, we don't agree with Him. Sometimes we do, when it happens that He agrees with us.

But most of the time we don't agree. Because we have our own will, we want to do our own things, we have our own plan, and we just want God to come along and help us. And that's the reason why we do not walk with God.

If dear brothers and sisters, we want to walk with God, we have to yield our will to God's will. Now God does not want us to have no will. He makes us with will. He wants us to exercise our will. He does not want us to have a passive will.

He wants us to have an active will. Actively will His will. And that is cooperation. God wants us to agree with Him. And if we agree with Him, then we are able to walk with Him. Do you agree with Him?

Are you willing to lay down yourself and take His will as your will? Take His mind as your mind? And if you do, you'll find you will be walking with Him. That is the first condition. The second condition.

Taking Christ’s Yoke and Accepting Divine Discipline

To walk with God, you have to take up His yoke upon you. You remember in Matthew 11, it is said, the Lord said, take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest in your soul.

In other words, to walk with God is a life of discipline. You know the very name Enoch, in the original means disciplined or devoted. Enoch was a man of discipline. In other words, he lived a disciplined life.

He put his neck under the yoke of God with Christ. You know there is a yoke there, and the yoke has two kind of curves there, and Christ is sitting on the one curve, and you are to be put under the other curve.

Then you yoke together with Christ. The yoke is the will of God, and Christ is meek and lowly. Oh, how He accepted the will of God. He is under the discipline of God, so disciplined that there is no resistance but active cooperation, hundred percent willingness.

But we are not like that. We fight against God's will. That is where discipline comes in. We need to be disciplined, and as we are disciplined by the Lord, as we accept His discipline, then we are able to walk together with Him.

What God's people need today is discipline. If you read Hebrews chapter 12, you find a father chastens his son. Our Heavenly Father treats us as His own sons, and because of this He disciplines us. He chastens us.

That word discipline or chastens in the original simply means child training. He shall train us. He train us that we may grow into maturity, and it is only when we are willing to accept the discipline of the Lord, we are able to walk with Him.

If we want to have our own way, if we always want to gratify our own flesh, if we throw off discipline, we think that being disciplined is not free. We want our own liberty. Then, brothers and sisters, we are not able to walk with Him.

Walking by Faith According to God’s Revelation

A disciplined life. Number three, if we want to walk with Him, we have to walk by faith, not by sight. Walk with God. Why? Because it is said, there is no one that can please God unless you believe that God is, and He is the rewarder of them who seek Him.

Enoch had faith in God. He believed in God's word. He believed in God's revelation. He believed that judgment is coming, and he believes that God is a rewarder of them who seek Him. If he shall seek God with all his heart, God will reward him by taking him out without passing through death, nor through the flood.

He believed that God is, and He is the rewarder of them that seek Him. And he walked by faith. If we want to walk with God, we have to believe. You cannot walk by your own feeling. You cannot walk by sight, by what you see.

You have to walk by faith, because you have seen the invisible. Do we believe that God is? Do we believe that He is the great I Am? Do we believe that He is everything to us? You know the scripture said, you must believe that He is.

Now He is what? He is just another way to put it, that He is the great I Am. I am what? I am that I Am. In other words, God is everything. We have to believe that He is everything. And then He is the rewarder.

He will reward those who seek Him. And if we have such faith, we will be able to walk with Him. And fourthly you will find, Enoch pleased God, and God took him. You know actually it is, the Holy Spirit just put it in different ways.

In the Old Testament, in Genesis chapter 5, it said, Enoch walked with God, and God took him. But when you come to Hebrews chapter 11, the Holy Spirit changed the word. Instead of saying that Enoch walked with God, He said, Enoch pleased God.

In other words, to walk with God is to please God. To please God is to walk with God. And because Enoch has pleased God, so God took him. Can we please God? Did our life purpose to please God? Whom do we want to please?

Are we man-pleasers? Are we self-pleasers? Or are we God-pleasers? Brothers and sisters, have you ever thought of this? Whom are you pleasing? Whom do you like to please most? Are we able to please God?

Pleasing God Through Union with Christ

Now sometimes you may think, now to please God, that must be very difficult. Because God is so perfect. How can you please Him? There is one person that has pleased Him, well-pleased. You remember? Three times the heavens opened, and a voice came from heaven and said, This is my beloved son in whom I am well-pleased.

Our Lord Jesus. When He came to the earth, He was on earth. He pleased the Father in all things. And God said, I am well-pleased. I am so satisfied. I am delighted with Him. And do you know that? In Christ we can please Him too.

So put it simply, how can we please Him? Walk with Him. If you walk with Him, you please Him. You know, God wants walking companions. God is always walking on. Never in the Bible you'll find God runs, except one case.

And that's a parable. In Luke chapter 15. You know, when the prodigal son came back, and he stood afar off, he dare not take another step. He looked at himself. He reacts, not like a son. He was thinking maybe his father will receive him as a slave, a servant.

But whether that, he doubted. So after he came back from the far country, and he saw his own father's house there, he couldn't move any more. He stood afar off. And the elderly father was looking at his son.

He looked at the door. He saw his son way off, standing there. And you know what he did? He ran to him. That's the only place in the Bible, in a sense, that speaks of God running. You know, God never runs.

He's never in a haste. We are always in a haste. But God is never in a haste. In the Bible it says God walks. God walks. Now what do you mean by walking? Walking means that he will just take a step at a time, but it is very steady, it is continuous, and he is walking towards his goal.

He never stays put. He never runs. He neither delays nor hastens, but he walks on and on and on and on. The ongoing of God is a tremendous thing in the Bible. God is always going on. Now in one sense, God is perfect.

Therefore, he is the same yesterday, today and forever. But on the other hand, you find so far as God's purpose is concerned, he is always walking on and on towards his purpose. Even in the Bible you find the same thing with our Lord Jesus.

You remember one day when the disciples were rolling in the boat, you know, in the night, and there was a storm, and our Lord Jesus was walking on the water. Was the Lord Jesus walking towards the boat?

No, he was passing by. They had to call him back. He was always going on, always going on. And you remember also when he was resurrected, he appeared to these two men going to emails, and the Lord was always walking on.

They had to ask him to stay. The ongoing of God. God always walks on. Now are we walking on with God? In our Christian life sometimes you find some people make a dash, and they disappeared. Our walking with God is so sporadic.

Sometimes we rush, and then we stay put, or even go back. But no, we don't walk with God. It is a steady step, step by step. How many years? Three hundred years. Never letting up, never hastening, but it is just a steady walking with God.

Brothers and sisters, this is what we need. We need to walk with God. You know the only solution to the incoming judgment, only preparation for the judgment that is to come upon this world, is walking with God.

It is not storing food. It is not buying guns. It is not going to the desert. It is walking with God. That is the best preparation, to escape the things that are coming, and to stand before the Son of Man.

Just to walk with God. God does not expect you to make a dash, hundred meters dash. God wants you just to walk steadily with Him, day by day. Walk is a daily matter. Walk is a practical living. Now this morning I will not go into this, but maybe God willing next time, we will see the secret of walking, and that is abiding.

Abiding is the secret within, and walking is the outward expression. But we need that practical walking with God. In our lives we need to walk with God. Now what do you mean by walking with God? If you read the scripture you will find a number of places in the scripture that speaks of walking with God.

For instance in Psalm it is said, walk in the light of His countenance. To walk with God means to walk in the light of His countenance. And this thought is found again in 1 John. You will find if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanses us from all our sins.

To walk with God means to walk in the light of His countenance. To walk with God means you see His face. Now you cannot see His face if you are too far away. You have to see His face when you are very close to Him.

And the light of His countenance shines upon you. And you walk in the light as He is in the light. Now that is walking with God. Walking with God is to keep His commandments. If we keep His commandments then we walk with Him.

Walking with God is to walk in love, because God is love. Therefore if we walk in love then we walk with God. To walk with God is to walk in truth. Do you remember? If we walk in truth then we walk with God, because He is truth.

Walking with God is to walk with Him according to His character. To walk with God is to do His will. To walk with God is to abandon ourselves to Him. That is walking with God. Now are we walking with God?

Dear brothers and sisters, God is not expecting you to do something spectacular. You know our problem is we always think in terms of the spectacular. As if Christian life is just something spectacular.

Now in one sense it is always supernatural. That is true. But in another sense you find that God wants us to walk with Him. It is a daily matter. That daily we learn to deny ourselves. We learn to take up our cross.

We learn to do His will. We learn to yield ourselves to Him. We learn to obey Him. We learn to do His commandments. We learn to walk in the life that He has given us and be obedient. We learn to walk in truth.

And we learn to walk in love, because He is love. Now in our daily life it has to be a steady step by step walking with Him. Be His walking companion and enough walk with God for three hundred years and be His walking companion and God took Him.

Watchfulness for the Coming of the Son of Man

You know it is almost like Enoch walked and walked and walked with God and suddenly he found he walked to heaven. He is there. The end of the journey. And do you not know that if you walk with God today, if you walk with Him today, suddenly you will find He took you.

Oh there is nothing that encourages my heart more than what the scripture said. As the days of Noah so shall be the days of the coming of the Son of Man in Matthew chapter 24. And it says suddenly when people are unaware the flood came.

But He said two are sleeping. One is taken, one is left. Women are grinding a meal. One is taken, one is left. Two are working in the field. One is taken, one is left. And the Lord said watch, pray and be ready.

It means that the coming of the Lord that you find two. Two is the number of witnessing by the mouth of two or three. Everything is certain. So here you will find two. Now these two refers to Christians.

Not to unbelievers. That is night. Two are grinding, that is early morning. Two are working in the field, that is daytime. Why because the earth is round. In some place it is night, in other place it is morning and other place it is noon time.

Yeah actually it is two. The same two. Represents Christians who are living at the time of the coming of the Lord. It refers to us. We are living at such a time. It is so. Judgement is coming upon this earth.

But we can escape. Not to the desert but escape. When the day comes, one is taken. Now who is taken? The one who walk with God. You walk and walk and you find you are leaving the earth more and more until you are there.

That is the way to walk. Thank God for this blessed hook. You know I often tell people I am not waiting for death. I am waiting for rapture. I am not sure of it. Nobody is sure of it. If you are too sure, beware.

Prayer for a Life Walking with God

But if we walk with Him, that is all He asks of us. If we walk with Him, we will be there. May the Lord help us. Our Heavenly Father, oh how we praise and thank Thee that Thou does not leave us in the dark.

But through Thy word, Thou has warned us that we are living in the last days. That judgement is coming. But we do praise and thank Thee. Thou does tell us we can escape the things that are coming upon this earth and to stand before the Son of Man, even before Thee.

Oh our Father, we do pray that we may be such people who do not despise, neglect Thy revelation. But we may take Thy word to heart. And we ask that by Thy grace that our lifestyle will surely be changed.

That we may not just be dwellers, rooted and grounded upon this earth that is to be destructed. But we pray that we may truly be strangers and sojourners. That our hearts may be in heaven with Thee. Lord we pray that we may live upon this earth walking with Thee day by day.

And Lord we do expect that Thou would take us because Thou does promise us. Oh our Father, we do pray that these words may not be just a momentary stimulus but it may have lasting effect upon our lives.

We pray that we may be like Enoch, translated because he has pleased God. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus.