Participants: Pastor Stephen Bohr
Series Code: CGC
Program Code: CGC000050S
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01:12 Shall we bow our heads for prayer?
01:13 Our Father and our God, what a privilege it is to come together 01:18 to open Your Holy Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit, 01:23 to discover what Your will is for us in these last days. 01:28 We ask that as we study the story of Enoch, 01:33 that Your Holy Spirit will be with us and teach us the 01:37 lessons which will be useful, and profitable, as we live in 01:42 these last days of human history. 01:45 We thank You, Lord, for the promise of Your presence, 01:48 and Father, we just ask, we plead, that You will be with us. 01:53 In Jesus' name, Amen. 01:55 We want to begin our study today by turning in our Bibles to 02:00 Revelation 12:17. 02:04 As we've studied before in this seminar, this verse is actually 02:09 a pickup on Genesis 3:15. 02:12 And it's actually speaking about the end time remnant of God 02:19 on planet earth; the remnant that will go through the final 02:23 tribulation, and will actually be in this world 02:27 when Jesus comes. 02:29 It says here in Revelation 12:17: 02:35 That is the devil. 02:38 The woman represents the church. 02:44 Or the remnant of her seed. 02:47 The remnant is the last portion of God's people. 02:51 And now notice that this remnant has two characteristics. 02:55 It says: 03:03 Notice that the end time remnant will keep the commandments 03:06 of God, and will have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 03:11 Now the question is, what is the testimony of Jesus Christ? 03:15 We know that the commandments of God 03:18 means the ten commandments. 03:20 But the testimony of Jesus; we need to take a look at what 03:23 the Bible has to say about that. 03:25 What is the testimony of Jesus? 03:27 Well, let's turn in our Bibles to Revelation 19:10, 03:33 Revelation 19:10. 03:36 Here we have a clear explanation as to what the testimony of 03:40 Jesus is, which the remnant will possess in the end of time. 03:45 It says there, by the way, a majestic being appears 03:49 to John, who is the writer of the book of Revelation, 03:53 and we find these words about the encounter: 03:55 And I fell at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, 04:01 That is the angel said to John, See that you do not do that. 04:06 I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren, who have the 04:11 testimony of Jesus. 04:12 What do the brethren of John have? 04:15 They have the testimony of Jesus. 04:18 And then it says, Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus 04:24 is the spirit of prophecy. 04:27 So here we have a definition of what the testimony of Jesus is. 04:32 It is the spirit of prophecy, which means that the end time 04:35 remnant is going to keep the commandments of God, 04:38 the ten commandments, and they are going to have the testimony 04:41 of Jesus, which is the gift of prophecy, 04:44 or the spirit of prophecy. 04:46 Now there's a third characteristic that this 04:49 end time remnant is going to have, and that characteristic 04:53 is found in Revelation 14:12, Revelation 14:12. 05:00 And, by the way, this verse repeats one detail which we 05:03 already read in Revelation 12: 17. 05:07 It says here, speaking about the end time remnant: 05:18 We've already seen that in 12:17. 05:29 So the end time remnant has faith; not any old kind 05:33 of faith, but the faith of Jesus, the faith that Jesus had. 05:39 And so we find three characteristics in these verses, 05:43 about the end time remnant: they keep the commandments of God, 05:47 they have the testimony of Jesus, 05:49 which is the gift of prophecy, or the spirit of prophecy; 05:52 and they also have an unbreakable faith, 05:56 the faith of Jesus. 05:58 Now in order to understand fully this end time generation, 06:03 we have to go to the time before the flood. 06:06 And I'd like to invite you to go with me to Genesis 6:5. 06:13 We're actually going to talk about one of the most 06:16 spectacular events recorded in the Old Testament. 06:20 Now allow me to give you just a little bit of a chronology 06:23 about this event. 06:25 It took place 987 years after creation. 06:30 That means that it took place 669 years before the flood. 06:37 And, actually, it would further mean that it happened 549 years 06:44 before Noah began preaching, 124 years before the flood. 06:50 Now we're going to talk about this event in our study tonight. 06:55 It's really spectacular. 06:58 And let's take a look, once again, at Genesis 6:5 and read 07:05 about the condition of the world before the flood. 07:07 It says there: 07:24 So the condition of the world before the flood was in a dire 07:28 situation. The world had become almost totally corrupted, 07:33 according to this. 07:35 Now we find in Matthew 24:37-39 that the condition of the world 07:41 before the flood is actually symbolic, or representative, 07:45 of the condition of the world before the second coming 07:49 of Christ. Notice Matthew 24: 37-39. It says: 08:04 Now did you notice here that there's a comparison between 08:08 the days of Noah, and the coming of the Son of man? 08:12 It continues saying: 08:34 Now what I want you to notice is that the world was in a 08:39 condition, in the days of Noah, similar to the condition 08:44 it will be in shortly before the second coming of Christ. 08:47 Now with this in mind, we want to study the story about a very 08:53 special hero that we find recorded in Genesis 5. 08:58 His name is Enoch. 09:02 Now before we take a look at Enoch, we need to notice some 09:06 very interesting details that we find in Genesis 5. 09:10 We're going to discover that before the flood, there were two 09:16 different types of faithful people. 09:20 Two different types of righteous people. 09:23 And you're saying, I thought there was only one kind of 09:26 righteous person. Well, in a certain sense there is, 09:30 but in the sense that we're noticing tonight, we're going 09:33 to see that there were two categories of righteous people. 09:37 The first category of righteous persons are those who died 09:43 before the coming of the flood, which represents, by the way, 09:47 the second coming of Jesus, as we read in Matthew 24. 09:51 Let's go in our Bibles to Genesis 5, and let's read 09:56 several verses in this chapter about what happened with many 10:01 of these heroes that are mentioned here, 10:04 actually the genealogy, which eventually will end up 10:07 with Jesus Christ. 10:08 We'll begin at verse 5. 10:10 We're going to jump to several verses here. It says: 10:21 Let's go to verse 8. 10:30 Verse 11: 10:38 Let's go to verse 14. 10:46 Verse 17. 10:55 Verse 20. 11:02 Verse 27. 11:10 Verse 31. 11:18 And then we jump to Genesis 9: 29. It says: 11:29 So you'll notice that before the flood, one category of the 11:34 believer was the believer that died before 11:38 the coming of the flood. 11:40 But I want you to notice that there is a second kind 11:44 of believer before the flood. 11:46 Notice Genesis 5:24. 11:50 I skipped over one individual in this genealogy of Genesis 5. 11:55 Genesis 5:24, the second category of believer. 12:02 It says here in Genesis 5:24: 12:14 Now did you notice that? 12:17 And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. 12:21 And somebody might say, well, when it says that God took him, 12:25 it means that he died and God took him to heaven with him, 12:30 because, you know, we speak today about when a person dies, 12:34 God took him. Now is that exactly what the Bible is trying 12:38 to teach here? Absolutely not! 12:40 You say, how we do know that? 12:41 Because there's a text in Hebrews 11:5, which explains 12:46 Genesis 5:24. Go with me to Hebrews 11:5. 12:52 Here it is explicit. It says here: 13:04 Now is that clear? 13:06 He didn't die and then was taken. 13:09 Here it says, very clearly: 13:30 And so you have two different types of believers 13:34 before the flood. 13:35 You have those who die and go to the grave before the flood, 13:40 and then you have those, represented by Enoch, 13:44 who actually is taken to heaven without seeing death. 13:50 Now, obviously, Enoch is in a special category, because he is 13:57 the lone exception in this list. 14:00 All of the rest died, but Enoch was transported to heaven 14:05 without seeing death. 14:07 What made Enoch so special? 14:11 Well, before we answer that question, allow me to tell you 14:15 that the Bible has very little to say about Enoch. 14:20 There are actually only four passages, or verses, 14:25 in scripture that mention Enoch. 14:27 Allow me to mention those for you. 14:29 The first is Genesis 5:21-24. 14:33 We just read from there. 14:34 The second place where Enoch is mentioned, is in Luke 3:37. 14:39 This is the genealogy of Jesus. 14:42 Only His name is mentioned there. 14:44 And then you have Hebrews 11:5, which is the verse that we just 14:49 read, where it says that he didn't see death, 14:51 that God actually took him. 14:53 And finally, a very significant verse is found in Jude 14, 15. 15:02 And so we have four passages that speak about Enoch: 15:06 Genesis 5:21-24, Luke 3:37, Hebrews 11:5, and Jude 14, 15. 15:14 And so you might say, how can you preach a whole sermon 15:17 on Enoch, if the Bible has so little to say about him? 15:22 Well, even though we only have four verses that mention Enoch, 15:26 those four verses are filled with information, 15:31 and with meaning. 15:32 And so we're going to take a look at the characteristics 15:37 that distinguish Enoch, in a special way, from the other 15:41 people who are mentioned as dying before the flood. 15:46 There are four specific things which are mentioned in these 15:51 verses about Enoch, who was transported to heaven 15:55 from among the living. 15:57 Those four things that are mentioned are: 16:00 1. He walked with God. 16:04 2. He pleased God. 16:08 3. He had faith in God. 16:13 4. He had the testimony of Jesus, or the gift of prophecy. 16:20 Now we get these details from the texts, from the four texts 16:26 that are mentioned in scripture. 16:27 And so we want to take a look at these characteristics. 16:31 Notice Genesis 5:24 once again. 16:36 We read this verse before to show that God took Enoch, 16:39 but now let's notice the first part of this verse. 16:43 It says, and Enoch did what? 16:47 And Enoch walked with God, and he was not for God took him. 16:55 Now I might mention a very important detail, 16:58 and that is that in Genesis 5 we are told that Enoch walked 17:05 with God, after he had Methuselah, for 300 years. 17:11 That's significant, because Enoch lived to be 365 before 17:16 he was taken to heaven by God. 17:18 It doesn't say that the first 65 years he walked with God, 17:22 although, undoubtedly, he walked with God. 17:24 But there was a special sense ion which Enoch walked with God 17:28 from the 65th year of his life, through the 365th 17:33 year of his life. 17:34 And you say, what was that? 17:36 Well, in our second text book, the book 17:39 Patriarchs and Prophets, Ellen White explains that when Enoch 17:45 had Methuselah, he understood better than ever before, 17:50 how God feels for His children, because now Enoch had a son, 17:57 and he could understand the father son relationship so much 18:02 better in the light of having a son. 18:05 He knew what it was like for God to feel 18:08 for His earthly children. 18:09 And so we're told here that in a special sense, 18:13 he walked with God after he had Methuselah. 18:18 Now notice also, Hebrews 11:5. 18:22 Not only did he walk with God, but we're told that he did 18:26 something else. Actually, it's the same thing as walking with 18:29 God, but a different expression is used. 18:32 It says in Hebrews 11:5, By faith Enoch was taken away 18:38 so that he did not see death, and was not found 18:42 because God had taken him. 18:45 And now notice this. 18:47 For before he was taken he had this testimony, 18:52 that he pleased God. 18:55 What does it mean to walk with God? 18:58 It means to what? to please God. 19:02 In other words, Enoch walked with God, Enoch pleased God, 19:08 but do you know that Enoch also had faith in God. 19:12 Notice what we find in Hebrews 11:6, Hebrews 11:6. 19:18 After saying that Enoch pleased God, notice what we 19:22 find in this verse. 19:39 So Enoch pleased God, and without faith it is impossible 19:45 to what? to please Him. 19:46 So you'll notice three characteristics so far, 19:50 and we're going to notice that they're very closely related. 19:52 First of all, he walked with God. 19:55 Secondly, he pleased God. 19:59 In the third place, he had faith, because without faith 20:04 it is impossible to please God. 20:06 Now the fourth characteristic is found in Jude, verses 14 and 15. 20:12 This is that little book right before the book of Revelation. 20:15 Jude 14 and 15. It says here about Enoch: 20:31 Now let's stop there just for a moment. 20:33 What did Enoch do? 20:34 He prophesied. Do you know who he was prophesying about? 20:39 Actually, he was prophesying about two groups. 20:41 The first group of wicked people that he was prophesying about 20:45 was the pre-flood race that we've already read about 20:49 in Genesis 6:5 that every intent of the hearts, 20:52 and their imaginations was only evil continually. 20:57 He was prophesying about them. 20:59 But he was also prophesying about a wicked generation 21:02 shortly before the second coming of Jesus, because as it was 21:05 before the flood, so also will it be at the coming 21:09 of the Son of Man. 21:10 So he's looking at both of these groups. 21:13 And so it says, Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied 21:18 about these men, also saying, Behold, the Lord comes 21:23 with ten thousand of His saints,... 21:26 To execute what? 21:31 To execute what? 21:37 Did Enoch preach the judgment? 21:41 He most certainly did. 21:43 He was a prophet that announced the judgment, and so it says, 21:47 To execute judgment on all. 21:49 Now let's stop there. 21:53 Was Enoch a prophet? Yes, he was. 21:58 Did he then have the testimony of Jesus? 22:01 Did he rebuke iniquity? 22:05 Did he announce that God was going to come in judgment? 22:08 Absolutely! And so we notice four characteristics 22:12 about Enoch: first of all he walked with God. 22:16 Secondly, he pleased God. 22:18 In the third place, he had faith, because without faith 22:23 it is impossible to please God. 22:25 And in the fourth place, he was a prophet, and so he had 22:29 the testimony of Jesus. 22:31 But now we need to take a look at what all of 22:35 these things mean. 22:36 What does it mean to walk with God? 22:39 What does it mean to please God? 22:41 What does it mean when the Bible says that Enoch had faith? 22:47 And let's understand a little bit better what the testimony 22:51 of Jesus is, what the gift of prophecy is. 22:53 And so, first of all, we want to notice what it means to 22:57 walk with God, because Enoch is a symbol of 23:01 the end time generation. 23:03 Now notice Amos 3:3, the book of Amos 3:3. 23:10 What does it mean to walk with God? It says here: 23:23 Must you be of one mind with God in order to walk with God, 23:29 according to this verse? 23:30 Can you be at odds with God, and be walking with God? 23:34 Absolutely not! Now there's a very, very interesting 23:39 characteristic about the expression, walking, 23:42 in the Old Testament, as well as in the New. 23:45 Almost every time that the expression, walk, is used 23:52 in this sense of walking with God, it has to do with keeping 23:58 God's commandments. 24:00 I want to read several verses from scripture that illustrate 24:05 this point. Go with me to Deuteronomy 10:12, 13, 24:10 Deuteronomy 10:12, 13. 24:14 Walking with God is linked with keeping God's commandments. 24:18 It says there in Deuteronomy 10: 24:53 Do you notice all of the parallel expressions 24:56 in this verse? You have, for example, to fear the Lord 25:01 your God. To walk in all His ways. 25:05 To love Him, to serve Him with all your heart, 25:10 and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments 25:13 of the Lord. So let me ask you, what does it mean 25:16 to walk with God? 25:18 It means to fear Him. 25:20 It means to walk in His commandments. 25:22 It means to love Him. 25:25 That was true of Enoch. 25:27 That was the experience of Enoch walking with God. 25:32 Now let's notice two or three other texts. 25:35 Notice Deuteronomy 13:4, Deuteronomy 13:4. 25:42 Here God is speaking to His people, and He says: 25:53 And do what? 25:57 That's the expression we found in Revelation 12:17. 25:59 And then what does it say? 26:11 What does it mean to walk with the Lord? 26:13 It means to keep His commandments, to obey His voice, 26:18 to serve Him, and to hold fast to Him. 26:22 Would that be what Enoch did if he walked with God? 26:25 You see, you let scripture explain scripture. 26:28 When you find the expression, walk with God, you have to see 26:31 what it means to walk with God, in the light 26:33 of all of scripture. 26:34 Notice Psalm 78:10. 26:37 Here it's even more explicit, what it means to walk with God. 26:41 It says in Psalm 78:10, speaking about Israel: 26:56 What do you walk in? 26:58 You walk in God's law, according this. 27:01 Let me ask you, did Enoch walk in God's law? 27:05 Did he keep God's commandments? 27:07 Did he obey the voice of the Lord? 27:09 Yes, if you compare these scriptures with Genesis 5, 27:13 you'll notice that he did. 27:14 You see, when you only have that expression, he walked with 27:17 God, you have to go to other places in scripture that explain 27:20 what it means to walk with God. 27:22 Notice also, Psalm 119:1, Psalm 119:1. 27:29 It says here: by the way, this is David, the Psalmist, 27:32 who is writing. 27:41 Blessed are those who walk how? who walk in the law 27:44 of the Lord. Was Enoch a law keeper? 27:48 Was he obedient to God's commandments? 27:52 He most certainly was. 27:53 By the way, does this remind us of Revelation 12:17? 27:57 The people who keep the commandments of God, 28:00 in the end time generation? 28:02 Now notice 1 John 2:3-6, because somebody might say, 28:06 well, this was just Israel in the Old Testament. 28:08 So let's notice a text from the New Testament: 1 John 2:3-6. 28:15 It says here: 28:23 How do we know that we know God? If we what? 28:28 By the way, this is the same author of Revelation 12:17, 28:32 the same writer, not the same author, because God is the 28:35 author, but the same writer. 28:36 Now notice this: 29:08 Is walking with God linked here with keeping God's commandments? 29:14 It most certainly is. 29:15 So when Genesis tells us that Enoch walked with God, 29:20 it's another way of saying that Enoch obeyed God, and kept His 29:25 what? and kept His commandments. 29:28 Is that one of the characteristics of the end time 29:31 generation that will live before the second coming, 29:33 like Enoch lived before the flood? 29:36 Absolutely! But now we need to take a look at what it means to 29:40 please God. And, by the way, walk with God, and please God, 29:43 are synonymous. I don't know whether you caught that. 29:46 In Genesis we're told that Enoch walked with God. 29:49 In Hebrews we're told that before Enoch was translated 29:53 he pleased God. 29:54 So to walk with God is the same as what? It's the same as 29:58 to please God. Now what does the Bible mean when it says, 30:02 that a person pleases God? 30:05 Notice 1 John 3:22, 1 John 3:22. 30:12 It says here: 30:32 What is pleasing in the Lord's sight? 30:35 Keeping His what? His commandments. 30:39 Does that square with what it means to walk with God? 30:41 Absolutely! And so it says here, that God answers our prayers 30:47 because we keep His commandments and we do those things 30:50 that are pleasing in His sight. 30:52 By the way, this is the way Jesus lived. 30:55 Notice John 8:29, John 8:29, It says here: 31:02 Jesus is speaking: 31:13 Now why hasn't the Father left Him alone? 31:24 Is pleasing God, or rather does pleasing God, have anything to 31:29 do with obeying God, and doing what God expects us to do? 31:37 Absolutely! Jesus Himself says so. 31:40 He says, the Father has not left me alone, for I always do 31:45 those things that please Him. 31:47 By the way, the apostle Paul tells us that those who are in 31:51 the flesh cannot please God. 31:53 The expression, to live in the flesh, means that you haven't 31:58 been converted. It means that you have a fleshly existence. 32:02 You have a selfish nature that is dictating your behavior. 32:05 Let's notice Romans 8:7, 8, Romans 8:7, 8. It says here: 32:29 Is the fleshly nature in conflict with the law of God? 32:34 Absolutely! And then notice: 32:43 Are you catching the connection here between the fleshly person, 32:47 and keeping the commandments of God? 32:50 The fleshly person cannot keep the commandments of God, 32:53 which means that they cannot do what? 32:56 They cannot please God, according to this. 32:58 And, by the way, if you go to Galatians 5, you're going to 33:03 notice what the works of the flesh are. 33:06 They are actually violations of the ten commandments. 33:09 Notice the list that the apostle Paul gives, and I'm reading from 33:12 the NIV because there's some words in the New King James 33:16 that are difficult to understand. 33:18 This is the list: sexual immorality, impurity, 33:23 debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, 33:31 jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissentions, factions, 33:40 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and then he says, and the like. 33:47 Those are the works of the flesh. 33:48 Let me ask you, are all of those violations of God's 33:52 ten commandments? 33:53 Those people who practice these things, are they really pleasing 33:57 God? No, because they're living according to the flesh. 34:00 And living according to the flesh brings as a result 34:04 the works of the flesh. 34:06 And so we find that Enoch walked with God. 34:11 He pleased God, which basically means that Enoch obeyed God's 34:16 commandments. It means that Enoch followed the will of God. 34:22 He feared the Lord. 34:23 He loved the Lord. 34:24 He obeyed the Lord. 34:26 He kept His commandments. 34:27 He walked with Him, in other words. 34:30 Allow me to read you a very interesting statement from our 34:33 second text book, Patriarchs and Prophets, page 85, on Enoch. 34:37 It says here: 35:00 And now notice this. 35:19 In other words, walking with God meant that he walked 35:24 with God in all the areas of life, 35:26 and in all of his relationships. 35:29 And, of course, when we remember that the law of God is a law of 35:32 relationships, because basically it means to love God, 35:35 and to love our neighbor, we understand that Enoch loved 35:38 God and his neighbor, and it was manifested in obedience 35:41 to the commandments of God. 35:43 Now we also have found that Enoch had faith, because without 35:50 faith it is impossible to please God. 35:53 Now what kind of faith did Enoch have? 35:56 And where was his faith focused? 35:58 It says, by faith Enoch. 36:00 Okay, that's fine, but, you know, where was his faith 36:03 focused? Well, in order to understand this we need to 36:06 understand what faith is. 36:09 Go with me to Hebrews 11:1, Hebrews 11:1. 36:14 This is the standard definition for faith. It says here: 36:29 What is faith? The substance of things that you what? 36:34 That you hope for. 36:36 The evidence of things that you have not what? seen. 36:41 So must Enoch have hoped for something 36:46 that he didn't have yet? Of course! 36:48 Must he have desired to see something that at that point he 36:53 did not see? Of course! 36:55 And the question is, where was his faith focused? 36:59 Oh, there's this beautiful statement that's found in 37:04 Patriarchs and Prophets, page 87. 37:06 I want to read it to you. 37:07 It's beautiful! It says here: 37:20 Did you notice that? 37:37 Where was his faith focused? 37:39 Was he hoping for heaven? Yes. 37:43 Could he actually see heaven with his physical eyes? No. 37:48 But did he see heaven with the eye of faith? 37:51 He most certainly did. 37:52 He longed for heaven. 37:54 She continues saying: 38:12 In other words, his faith was a hope that someday he could 38:17 live with God in heaven, which he could not see with his 38:22 physical eyes, but which he grasped by faith. 38:25 Have you ever heard the expression, he's so heavenly 38:29 minded, he's no earthly good? 38:31 You know, I like to change that around, and I like to say, 38:34 he's so earthly minded, he's no heavenly good. 38:37 And the fact is that Enoch, he was heavenly minded, 38:42 but that did not keep him from fulfilling his daily duties 38:46 of love to God, and love to his fellow human beings. 38:49 But he knew that this world was not his home. 38:51 His faith was focused on eternal realities, 38:55 not the phantoms of this world. 38:58 So we've noticed three characteristics: 39:01 1. Enoch walked with God. 39:05 That means keeping his commandments. 39:07 2. Enoch pleased God. 39:09 That means that you don't walk according to the flesh, 39:12 but according to the Spirit. 39:13 It means that you're not at enmity with the law of God, 39:17 but you're in love with the law of God. 39:18 3. Enoch had faith. 39:20 His faith was focused on heavenly realities. 39:24 Even though he was on earth, he was walking with the king 39:27 in the New Jerusalem, by faith. 39:29 By the way, are these the very three characteristics that we 39:33 started our study with? 39:34 What is the end time generation going to have? 39:38 They are going to keep what? the commandments of God. 39:43 Are they going to have the faith of Jesus? Absolutely! 39:47 Are they going to be the Enoch generation? Of course! 39:51 But there's one more characteristic, 39:53 and that is in Jude 14 and 15. 39:57 Let's read this passage again. It says here: 40:12 By the way, this is after the millennium. 40:15 I won't get into that. 40:20 The execution of the judgment against the wicked is when? 40:23 Not at the second coming, but after the millennium. 40:36 If I could just make a parenthesis there. 40:38 Is there going to be a huge panorama above the Holy City 40:42 where the wicked are going to be convicted 40:44 of their unrighteousness? 40:46 Yes, you see, usually we apply this to the second coming 40:49 of Christ, but technically in context, it's applying to events 40:54 after the millennium. 40:55 And so verse 15 says: 41:12 Did Enoch warn the world of a coming judgment, 41:16 and the need that people had of committing their lives 41:20 to the Lord? Absolutely! 41:22 Would you expect that in the end time the Enoch generation 41:27 would also have in their midst a prophet who would announce 41:31 the judgment, and the need to prepare for that judgment, 41:35 so they were on the right side? Of course! 41:38 Now allow me to read you some interesting statements about 41:41 this aspect of Enoch. 41:44 Patriarchs and Prophets, page 85. 41:47 I just love this chapter about Enoch. 41:49 There's so much wonderful light in it about Enoch. 41:53 It says here, Through, now notice this: 41:56 Through, now notice this: 42:12 He did it through the Holy what? 42:14 Through the Holy angels. 42:15 And now notice this: 42:33 What did Enoch have according to this? 42:37 By the what? By the Spirit of Prophecy. 42:40 Is that the identical expression that we found about the end time 42:45 remnant in Revelation 12:17, and Revelation 19:10? Absolutely! 42:52 By the way, was Enoch a fearless rebuker of sin? 42:58 He most certainly was. 42:59 Allow me to read you this statement: 43:01 Patriarchs and Prophets, page 86. 43:03 See, today we live in a world of political correctness, 43:06 where nobody wants to call sin by its right name, 43:09 but Enoch did not get caught up in that game. 43:13 Enoch told things in love like they were. 43:17 And he rebuked sin, and he called sinners to allow 43:21 the Holy Spirit to change their lives, so they would be found on 43:25 the right side in the coming judgment. 43:28 We find this statement: 43:59 What was it? It was the Spirit... 44:33 In this way Enoch was similar to Noah, who also condemned the 44:38 world, as it says in the book of Hebrews, and he became the heir 44:43 of the righteousness that is by faith. 44:46 One further statement from Patriarchs and Prophets, 44:49 page 87, talks about the holiness of Enoch. It says: 45:05 What was he seeking? 45:06 Purity of soul that he might be what? in harmony with heaven. 45:50 Wow! Do you know that the same author of 45:55 Patriarchs and Prophets, Ellen White, says this in the journal, 46:00 Signs of the Times, April 8, 1899. Notice: 46:17 That was the experience of Enoch. 46:19 He became totally disconnected in his affections, 46:23 and in his mind, with this world. 46:26 He loved God so much. 46:28 He wanted to please God so much. 46:30 He wanted to keep God's commandments so much. 46:33 He had so much faith in what he could not see, 46:37 and what he hoped for, that God finally said to Enoch, 46:40 Enoch, you're not a citizen of earth anymore, 46:43 you're only a citizen of heaven. 46:45 Come up here, and we'll continue walking on the street of gold 46:48 throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. 46:51 The Enoch generation will be just like that. 46:55 They will walk with God, they will please God, 47:00 they will have the faith of Jesus, 47:02 and they will have the testimony of Jesus, which they will 47:05 proclaim to a world that is living in rebellion. 47:10 Now do you remember that at the beginning of our study 47:14 we noticed that there were two different categories 47:18 of believers before the flood? 47:19 There were those who died, and there was the individual who was 47:25 translated to heaven from among the living. 47:28 Do you know that Enoch represents those 47:32 who in the end time will be translated to heaven 47:37 without seeing death? 47:38 You know, it kind of reminds me of that scene on the mount of 47:43 transfiguration. You've read that; where Jesus is at the top 47:49 of this high mountain, and suddenly down from heaven 47:53 come two individuals: Moses and Elijah. 47:57 Let's pick up the story as it's found in the gospel of 48:01 Matthew 17:1-3. It says: 48:22 By the way, you can read that in Revelation 1, 48:24 the glorified Christ; His face shines as the sun. 48:27 Jesus, here, was glorified in a preliminary way. And so it says: 48:47 Now why Moses and Elijah? 48:49 Well, if you go to the Old Testament you'll notice that 48:53 Moses, at the end of his life, because of his sin, died, 48:59 and he was resurrected, and he was taken to heaven. 49:04 You can find that by carefully reading Deuteronomy 34:5, 6, 49:08 and also Jude 9, where it says that there was a battle 49:12 over the body of Moses, because Michael the archangel had come 49:15 to resurrect Moses. 49:17 And so you have Moses, who died, resurrected, and ascended to 49:21 heaven. But then you have that other individual, Elijah, 49:24 where we're told in 2 Kings 2 that Elijah, a chariot of fire 49:30 came down and it picked up Elijah, and it took him 49:34 to heaven without experiencing death. 49:37 In these two individuals you have represented the two groups 49:40 of people that will be in this world, of the righteous people 49:43 that will be in this world when Jesus comes. 49:46 You have those who died in Christ, and will resurrect, 49:49 and you have those who are alive and remain. 49:53 In fact, let's notice what the apostle Paul has to say about 49:56 this: 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. 50:05 It says here: 50:11 By the way, that Lord Himself, is the same Lord that was 50:14 transfigured on the mount of transfiguration. 50:22 Ah, what's the name of that archangel? Michael. 50:27 The same one who fought over the body of Moses. And so it says: 50:38 There you have represented, by those who died 50:42 before the flood, and you have those represented by Moses. 50:47 And then notice verse 17: 50:51 Those are represented by whom? 50:54 By Enoch and who else? and Elijah. 51:08 Is there going to be an Enoch generation at the end of time 51:13 who will bear the same characteristics as the original 51:17 Enoch before the flood? Absolutely! 51:19 In fact, allow me to read you a statement from 51:22 Patriarchs and Prophets, pages 88 and 89, corroborating what 51:26 we just studied from scripture. 51:28 This is a very significant statement. 51:30 Notice what it says: 51:35 That is Enoch. 51:50 Did you catch that? 51:51 The state of holiness which must be attained by those who 51:56 shall be redeemed from the earth. 51:57 By the way, do you know that there's only one type of 52:00 person who's going to be alive when Jesus comes? 52:02 the 144,000, and they will have gained a total victory over sin. 52:09 Now notice what this continues saying: 52:11 Then...(at the second coming, shortly before 52:14 the second coming). 52:59 Is there going to be a whole generation like Enoch 53:02 who are going to warn the world through the gift of prophecy, 53:08 who are going to obey God, manifest His pure character, 53:11 not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit? 53:14 Absolutely! She continues saying: 53:32 This is the generation that Jesus is waiting for 53:36 with a longing desire. 53:39 Now you say, how in the world do we ever reach this state? 53:43 Well, it's actually not as complicated as many people 53:46 think. You see, the way that we reach this state is by that 53:51 which we listen to and watch. 53:53 You know, if our eyes are focused on earthly things 53:58 we will be earthly minded. 54:00 If our eyes are focused on heavenly things 54:04 we will be heavenly minded. 54:06 We all know that little song, Turn your eyes upon Jesus, 54:11 Look full in His wonderful face. 54:14 And what will be the consequence? 54:16 And the things of earth will grow what? will grow strangely 54:21 dim in the light of His glory and grace. 54:25 Notice 2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Corinthians 3:18. 54:31 Here it's speaking about the secret. 54:33 It's such a simple secret, but we find so difficult to follow 54:37 the council of God. It says here: 54:50 What do we behold? the glory of the Lord. 54:52 Do you know what the glory of the Lord is? 54:53 The glory of the Lord is His character. 54:57 It's His character. 54:59 You can read that in Exodus when Moses went to the top 55:03 of the mount: Exodus 32. 55:05 By the way, is the glory of God contagious? 55:09 You know, when Moses went up there and spent forty days 55:14 with the Lord, he came down from the mountain, and what was 55:17 happening with his face? 55:18 His face was shining, or glowing, because he had 55:21 been with the Lord. 55:22 If we want our faces to shine, and to glow, what do we have 55:26 to do? We have to spend time with the Lord because His 55:32 glory is contagious. 55:34 Now notice: but we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a 55:39 mirror the glory of the Lord, are being... what? transformed. 55:44 That's the word metamorphous in Greek. 55:46 It's a total and radical change. 55:48 We are being transformed into the same image, 55:53 from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 55:58 We are what we watch and what we hear. 56:03 If what we watch and hear is spiritually in tune with God, 56:09 we will reveal the character of God. 56:11 If what we watch and hear is focused upon the things 56:15 of this world, we will be worldly minded; 56:19 we will be carnally minded. 56:20 It is a psychological principle of life. 56:23 We are composed of what we eat physically, 56:26 and we are composed of what we eat spiritually, 56:29 through our eyes, and through our ears. 56:32 And Enoch had his focus in the right place. 56:36 His focus was on heaven. 56:39 Once again I read that statement that I read before from 56:43 Signs of the Times. 56:45 You know, do you long for heaven? 56:47 Do you long for Jesus to come? 56:49 There's nothing in this world that is worth hanging onto, 56:53 folks. It's all going to burn when Jesus comes. 56:56 I want you to notice that statement as we close. 57:06 Just one view, just a glimpse. |
Revised 2023-11-20