Excerpt from Chapter 2  Is the Rapture Biblical?

Why Would God Rapture His Children Out of the Earth?

To answer this question we will briefly examine an account in the Old Testament. Let’s first re-examine a couple of passages that you have already seen in this chapter. We will be looking at the little known or understood man, Enoch. The little that we know is that he was the seventh generation from Adam in the line of Seth and that he lived 365 years.

Genesis 5 (NIV) 24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

Even if this was the only scripture we had on Enoch, I think a book could be written, “Enoch Walked with God.”

It sounds like Enoch’s relationship with God was similar to Adam’s before he stumbled in temptation and was banished from God’s presence (Genesis 3:8a). The man somehow so impressed the Lord with his devoted relationship with God, that God would spare his life from death and snatch him up to be with Himself. It’s as if God said, “Enoch, I just love and admire you so much and you bring such pleasure to Me that I just have to have you up here with Me right now!” My guess it happened in the twinkling of an eye… And Enoch was no more! But how was this possible? Even more, what does it say to us concerning the rapture of the Church?

It is significant to observe that many Old Testament figures are only mentioned once. The Lord made certain that Enoch would not be easily forgotten. The writer of Hebrews, inspired by the Holy Spirit, included Enoch in his faith discourse, providing us a second measure of emphasis for New Testament believers to ponder.

By reading the commentary given in Hebrews, it looks like our interpretation is correct. Because of Enoch’s pleasing and intimate communion with Yahweh God, he was snatched out of this world to be with Him. He never knew the pain of death.

Hebrews 11 (NIV)  5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.

Our response to this should be, “Wow! What do I need to be doing and what should I be about in order for God to be tempted to do the same with me?”

So, now it is asked of us again, is the rapture likely? Rather than asking ourselves, wouldn’t it be grand if we could ask Enoch? I know with certainty what he would say…“What a ride it was!”

Theological point 9. God favors those who draw near to Him. It is within the Lord’s divine prerogative to snatch out those who walk with Him.

A couple of very key points regarding Enoch before we move on. According to the biblical account, Enoch’s father Jared lived to be 962 years of age. His son Methuselah lived 969 years. There, between the two oldest living men of human history stood Enoch, a mere 365 years. What an amazing anomaly. Comparatively, he was still in his youth, a mere teenager, when the Lord took him. Had Enoch lived to the age of his father he would have heard the doomsday preaching of Noah amidst the construction of the mammoth ark. As it was, the Lord spared him from those dreadful days of evil that came over the entire earth. Enoch never tasted death but was suddenly raptured into the presence of the Lord. Now let us read this passage from Revelation again in the light of Enoch’s interrupted life. It’s a message for us today.

Revelation 3 (NIV) 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

Finally, notice that Enoch was born to the seventh generation from Adam. Seven generations from creation. The number seven implies spiritual perfection.1 Similarly, by demonstration of God’s action, Enoch himself may have attained some order of spiritual perfection.*  Since the seventh generation of man is marked by a man who pleased God and was raptured, I wonder what this might be speaking to a generation of man that is standing in the threshold of the seventh millennium (See section in chapter 13, “Seventh Day Theory”).

Perhaps the Feast of Unleavened Bread celebrated by the Israelites for thousands of years has some significant meaning for the seventieth week of Daniel. We know this festival was given as a memorial to represent the night before their exodus (escape) from Egypt (Gen. 12:8). Remember leaven is used to represent anything unclean or evil.

 Exodus 13 (NIV) 6 For seven days eat bread made without yeast and on the seventh day hold a festival to the Lord. 7 Eat unleavened bread during those seven days; nothing with yeast in it is to be seen among you, nor shall any yeast be seen anywhere within your borders. 8 On that day tell your son, ‘I do this because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’

There is much territory to cover as this theory draws together several very important truths concerning the nature and character of God and our relationship to Him. You will find the implications to be very important to you as the earlier question “why” is answered.

To close, let our thoughts and contemplations be seeded with this observation: In biblical history, up to the present, three have been raptured from the earth—Enoch, Elijah, and Jesus Christ.

*Note: In the case of Enoch and Elijah some may try to make the case that there exists an obscure path of redemption apart from the blood atonement of Jesus Christ. This gap is easily closed for us today with the following verses: John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Rom. 2, esp. v.15-16; Heb. 9:22. If we have heard the Gospel message yet refuse His grace through the atonement of Christ’s blood there is no hope for our redemption (Mat. 22:12; John 5:39-40, 12:47-48; Gal. 2:21; 2 Thes. 2:9-12; Heb. 12:15-17).