January 2022

The Two Witnesses of Revelation: Enoch and Elijah

May 22, 2023

And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. (Revelation 11:3-4). Here in the opening verses of the eleventh chapter of the book of Revelation are we introduced to the Two Witnesses. Over the years many have speculated over their identity. Some say that the Two Witnesses are Moses and Elijah, while others hold to the belief that the Two Witnesses are Enoch and Elijah. It is the opinion of this author that the Two Witnesses of Revelation chapter eleven are indeed Enoch and Elijah, and not Moses and Elijah. That being said let us now look at these claims a little deeper.

First off, when paring the two suggestions for the identification of the Two Witnesses, Elijah is always a candidate, while Moses and Enoch are interchangeable as possible partners with Elijah. Now we know from scripture that Elijah will return prior to the coming of the Lord. For as it is written in Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.” So here we see scripture confirming scripture as identifying one of the Two Witnesses. It is also interesting to note that after the time of their prophecy the Two Witnesses will be killed by the Antichrist, and since Elijah has not yet died, but will be one of those being martyred during the great Tribulation, then the other witness must be a prophet who also has not yet died. For as we read in Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

The Bible goes on to state that the Two Witnesses, “…have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. (Revelation 11:6). The power to shut heaven that it not rain is reminiscent of the days of Elijah when he caused it not to rain for a period of three and a half years by the word of the Lord. (1 Kings 17:1). The power to turn water to blood, and to smite the earth with plagues is likened to the works that the prophet Moses performed as recorded in the book of Exodus. But in the book of Deuteronomy it is written that, “…Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.” (Deuteronomy 34:5). So the fact that Moses died would eliminate him as one of the Two Witnesses, especially due to the fact that the Two Witnesses will be killed and then resurrected three days after their deaths. If Moses is one of the Two Witnesses, then that would mean that God would have to raise him from the dead only for Moses to die again and be resurrected again, as we see the Two Witnesses being resurrected in Revelation 11:11. Remember, it is appointed unto men once to die, not twice.

Now that we can eliminate Moses as one of the Two Witnesses, the only man left to fill this office is the prophet Enoch. Being the seventh from Adam, Enoch is also believed to be the first prophet after Adam. The Bible Illustrates that, “…Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” (Genesis 5:24). Enoch did not die, but was translated that he might not see death (Hebrews 11:5), and since it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment then there will come a day when Enoch too must die. Just as Elijah is still alive, and so Enoch too still lives then the prophets Enoch and Elijah fit perfectly into the role of the persons known as the Two Witnesses.

A very strange and amazing supernatural ability of the Two Witnesses is that if any man will attempt to hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. (Revelation 11:5). At first glance this would almost seem impossible and nothing like what any prophet has ever done including Jesus Christ. However, if we look at this as an allegory then we can better understand this difficult verse of scripture. The prophets of the Old Testament were known to be fiery, Elijah himself was very acquainted with fire. But the most fiery thing about all the prophets were the words that proceeded out of their mouths. They had the power to convict people of sin, which I can assume burned the conscience of the sinners they addressed. Jesus too spoke many things which burned into the very core of His enemies. So the fact that the Two Witnesses are given enough of the fire of the Holy Spirit to defend themselves from people that want to hurt them is truly a miracle. For this fire that comes out of the mouths of the Two Witnesses and destroys their enemies is none other than the pure and unadulterated Word of God.

Though protected from evil people who try to hurt them, the Two Witnesses will indeed be killed. The Bible states that when they have finished their testimony, the beast from the bottomless pit shall overcome them and kill them. (Revelation 11:7). This will happen during the midpoint of the seven year period known as the Tribulation. On top of their martyrdom no one will bury their bodies, and they shall lie in the street of the great city, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. (Revelation 11:8). Now we know that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem outside the city walls, so to compare the holy city to Sodom and Egypt must mean that during the reign of the Antichrist, Jerusalem will be totally wrapped up in the worship of the beast and his image. Going further the people of the earth will rejoice and send each other gifts in celebration of the deaths of the Two Witnesses who tormented them who dwelt upon the earth. However, after three and a half days the Spirit of life from God entered them, and they stood up, and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. (Revelation 11:9-12).

This resurrection of the Two Witnesses is like that of Christ’s resurrection, for now the Two Witnesses have incorruptible bodies allowing flesh to enter heaven. For since there is not a man who lives and does not sin, then even though the Two Witnesses are holy men, before their resurrection there is still sin in their bodies preventing their flesh from entering heaven. Once they have died, and are judged, then will they be resurrected and given an incorruptible body. Just as Jesus Christ is the firstborn of the dead, at the Second Coming of Christ all the faithful will also be granted incorruptible bodies. For as it is written in 1 John 3:2, “…when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” Thus with the deaths the Two Witnesses Enoch and Elijah the scriptures are fulfilled which point out that human flesh is mortal.

In conclusion, the Two Witnesses of Revelation are indeed the the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth, and who will one day give the witness of Jesus Christ before an apostate mankind during the era of the Antichrist. Though some may say that the Two Witnesses are really two angels or that they represent both the Old and New Testaments, I believe it is safe to say that the Two Witnesses are indeed two men given from the outline of what has been previously stated. Though Moses and Elijah appeared at the transfiguration of Christ, I believe it was the spirit of Moses that appeared, unlike Elijah who must have appeared physically. Together, Moses and Elijah represent the law and the prophets, which Christ fulfilled during His ministry. Now you may be wondering as to where Enoch and Elijah could be. If they cannot be in heaven does that mean they are still walking the earth? Now this is only a theory, but since the Fathers of the Church relate that the Garden of Eden is in a state between corruptibility and incorruptibility, then this would be a more suitable place for men made up of body and soul to enter into and dwell in before the resurrection. Though we may not be able to interpret with certainty the myriads of mysteries contained in the book of Revelation, it is still a blessing to read this book as is pondering upon the story of the Two Witnesses: Enoch and Elijah.

Is the Abaddon of Revelation the Angel of Death in Exodus?

May 23, 2023

When the Lord sent Moses to deliver the Children of Israel from the bondage of Pharaoh, the Lord also sent many plagues upon the land of the Egyptians. The tenth and final plague would be known as The Passover. For this plague would destroy all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn in Pharaoh’s house, to the firstborn among the servants, even to the firstborn of all the animals. The Lord instructed Moses that the congregation of Israel, every man according to the house of their fathers, should take a lamb for that house. They were to kill it in the evening, and take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, where inside they would eat the lamb.

This ritual was to protect the Children of Israel from the plague of The Passover. For the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, “…I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast…and the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 12:12,13). Moses himself would go on to tell the elders of Israel that, “…the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.” (Exodus 12:23).

From what we see here in these verses from the Book of Exodus, it is the Lord that passes over the house with the blood of a lamb on the door posts and lintel, and it is also the Lord that does not allow “the destroyer” to enter that house to smite the firstborn. So, it would seem that there is a duality of persons involved in the execution of the tenth and last plague upon the land of Egypt. The Lord passes through the land of Egypt that night, but “the destroyer” is the one who smites the firstborn. It is common to hear “the destroyer” of the plague of The Passover being called the Angel of Death, but nowhere in either the Old or New Testament is that phrase found. However, the name of “the destroyer” is found in the New Testament book of The Revelation of St. John the Divine.

Now the book of Revelation is filled with both the blessings and promises of God. It is also filled with the judgments of God and plagues, that in many ways mirror the plagues God sent upon the land of Egypt in the days of The Exodus. In Revelation chapter 9, a most frightening plague of supernatural locusts are sent to torment, “…those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.” (Revelation 9:4). This plague of locusts sent unto the future inhabitants of the earth, is strikingly akin to the plague of locusts sent unto the ancient Egyptians. The fact that these future and supernatural locusts only hurt the people of the earth who have not the seal of God in their foreheads, would echo the office of “the destroyer” in Exodus who smites the firstborn of every house in Egypt without the blood of a lamb on the door posts and lintel.

Going further, these locusts of Revelation who arise from the bottomless pit, “…had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.” (Revelation 9:11). The Hebrew term adaddon appears six times in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible, and has the meaning of destruction or “place of destruction,” or realm of the dead. The Greek Apollyon comes from apollymi, which means “to destroy,” while the Greek term Apollyon itself directly translates to “the destroyer.” So, here we could argue that this angel of the bottomless pit mentioned in Revelation, who is named as “the destroyer” could quite possibly be linked to “the destroyer” mentioned in the Book of Exodus, who smites the firstborn in the land of ancient Egypt.

In conclusion, it is not the intent of this author to forge Biblical doctrine from what has been presented, but rather inspire individual study of the holy scriptures, and to challenge the believer to think. There are indeed many mysteries of the Bible, and several interpretations of these mysteries, and more than a few schools of theology, all with differing opinions of the meaning of these oracles. That being said, may we all take into consideration the myriad of possibilities that have come down to us over the centuries concerning the deep mysteries presented in the pages of the Holy Bible. Hopefully, together and in cooperation we can assist each other in the study, as well as in the understanding of God’s Holy Word. As it is written in Isiah 1:18 – “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD…”

 

References:

Green, J.P. The Interlinear Hebrew-Greek-English Bible. (Lafayette, IN: Sovereign Grace Publishers, 2000).

Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).

The Fall of Man & God’s Curse of the Earth

May 23, 2023

When Adam fell from grace by eating the forbidden fruit, the Lord did indeed chastise him, but did not directly curse him. However, what God did curse was the earth from which Adam (the first created man) was formed from. For as God said unto Adam, “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:17-19). Even though Adam was not cursed by God directly, man would indeed suffer from the hard labor that he would now have to endure by the curse from which the Lord laid upon the earth. So it would seem that God’s punishment of Adam was by proxy, and not from a direct chastisement. Though death entered into the souls and bodies of mankind due to the transgression of our first ancestors, the earth itself also shifted into a fallen condition. A condition far from the original handy work which the Lord originally created when the earth was first formed.

Now when it comes to the serpent who was largely responsible for Adam and Eve’s fall from grace, the Bible clearly illustrates how God did indeed curse the serpent directly and personally. For it is written, “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life” (Genesis 3:14). What is interesting to note about this verse is that one of God’s punishments directed at the serpent was for it to eat dust all the days of its life. Now Genesis 2:7 states that God formed man from the dust of the ground, and that now after The Fall, once a man dies he is buried in the ground and his body returns to the dust from which he was originally taken. So if man is made of dust and the cunning serpent has been cursed to eat dust, then does this mean that serpents (or at least in a symbolic form) are always lurking in wait ready to eat the flesh of men? I do believe that there is indeed a major allegory in this story which requires a deeper reading into the scriptures and is not to be taken in a literal manner. For there is indeed an underlining mystery in the first few chapters of the book of Genesis, a mystery to be pondered over and to be reflected upon. For the mysteries of God reveal and conceal at the same time. And even if we may not come to a definitive answer to these mystical questions, then maybe the quest for this hidden manna was the point all along: to seek God and listen to what the Spirit says, and with the Lord’s assistance, to eventually bringing us back to Eden and save us from the curse.

In addition to Adam’s punishment of eating bread by the sweat of his face Cain, the first son of Adam, would also be punished by God after he killed his brother Abel. And this punishment would be that the earth would not yield her fruit unto Cain as he tilled the earth. Also, when God questioned Cain as to the whereabouts of his brother Abel, the Lord tells Cain that the voice of his brother’s blood cried unto Him from the ground. God would go on to judge Cain with these words, “And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth” (Genesis 4:11-12). So from these passages there seems to be a connection between the blood of Abel crying out to God from the ground, and that of Cain’s punishment where he is no longer able to feed himself from the fruits that grow from the ground. In addition to the soil not yielding her fruit from an evil man such as Cain, we also discover that the righteous patriarchs had a difficult time in cultivating the earth as well. But when Noah was born, Noah’s father Lamech believed that his son would deliver the holy bloodline from their hardships and labor. For Lamech said of his son Noah, that, “this same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed” (Genesis 5:29).

In another book of the Bible which mentions God cursing the earth outside of Genesis (the first book of the Old Testament) comes from Malachi (the last book of the Old Testament). God speaking through prophet Malachi says that before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD, God will send Elijah the prophet, “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:6). So here again do we see divine vengeance coming upon the earth where mankind live, but not God directly cursing the flesh of man, even though man’s flesh was taken from ground. But as opposed to the scriptures which speak of God cursing the earth, there lies a scripture from the Old Testament where God promises to heal the earth. And that famous verse is as follows, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). From what has been outlined in these verses, it does indeed indicate that God curses the earth due to the sins of mankind, but it is also revealed that God will also heal the earth when His children repent for their sins and turn to Him with all their heart. So from what we have covered so far, it would lead one to come to the conclusion that the earth and mankind indeed share a common bond. If men do well, the earth also shall prosper and bring forth an abundance of her fruits. Conversely, if mankind continues in sin, the earth will also be affected in a negative way and an imbalance will be found in nature.

Finally we see in the New Testament that Jesus, after He died on the cross, would spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40). And Ephesians 4:9 tells us that before He ascended to heaven, Christ first descended into the lower parts of the earth. Going further, 1 Peter 3:19 also reveals that when Jesus descended into Hades He preached to the spirits which were in prison. These same inmates would be bought out of their imprisonment by Jesus Christ when He ascended up on high, for as it is written, “When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men” (Ephesians 4:8). It is also revealed in the New Testament that at the end of the world this cursed earth will be renewed. For there will be a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness (2 Peter 3:13). For in the Kingdom of Heaven, “there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away (Revelation 21:4). So here we see that in the age to come, not only will heaven and earth be renewed but, “there shall be no more curse” (Revelation 22:3).

Biblical Parallels in Ancient Sumer

May 23, 2023

Ancient Sumer is the earliest known civilization of Mesopotamia, located in the southeastern most region of the Fertile Crescent. Some of the first settlements or cities of Sumer were Uruk, Akkad, and Ur. The names of these Sumerian cities are paralleled with similar names found in the Bible, which describe the same geographical locations. For example, Sumerian Uruk is known as Erech in the tenth chapter of the book of Genesis where Akkad, or Accad is also found. A direct parallel of Sumeria and the Bible, is the ancient city state of Ur of the Chaldees. Not only was Ur one of the main settlements of Sumer, it was also the birthplace of the patriarch and prophet Abraham. Since Abraham has Sumerian roots, so too does the Bible share in this ancient Mesopotamian legacy.

The Sumerian language was first written down on clay tablets around 3,200 BC, and was the first language to be written in the cuneiform script. Even though Sumer was in the middle of Semitic civilizations, the Sumerian language was not a Semitic language. However, the Akkadian civilization to the north of Sumer spoke a different language but shared the use of cuneiform to write down their Semitic tongue. These ancient Mesopotamian civilizations not only shared a writing system, they also shared an immense literary library as well as a complex mythology. One such mythological literary work, which indeed possesses Biblical parallels, is the ancient Babylonian poem, “The Epic of Gilgamesh.”

Gilgamesh, the hero of the story, is stated to be two-thirds a god and one-third a mortal man. He is a might ruler, and a great builder. One could say he was a giant of a man. The Bible reveals that there were indeed giants in ancient times. The Bible tells us that the giants were mighty men, and men of renown, very much like the Gilgamesh of ancient Mesopotamia. One specific Biblical character that parallels Gilgamesh, is Nimrod. The Bibles states that Nimrod was a mighty one on the earth, and a mighty hunter. Nimrod is described as if he too were a giant. Also, the Bible says that the beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom was “Babel, and Erech, and Accad…in the land of Shinar.” (Genesis 10:10). From Babel we get Babylonia, and from Erech we have Sumerian Uruk. Thus the geography and personal stature of the Biblical Nimrod corresponds to the Babylonian Gilgamesh.

Moving past Genesis and looking into other books of the Holy Bible, we still see similarities with other ancient Mesopotamian historical figures and their accomplishments. For example, in around the year 1,754 BC, the Babylonian king Hammurabi put together a code of law, which in many ways echos the laws of Moses found in Leviticus. The Code of Hammurabi has laws of retaliation, such as “an eye for an eye,” which is also written in Leviticus 24:20. Though laws in the Code of Hammurabi are also found in the Bible, the law of Moses has many more laws in it than that of Hammurabi’s Code. For instance, the Code of Hammurabi consists of 282 laws while the law of Moses contains 613 commandments, far surpassing the laws of the Babylonian Code. Despite this difference the Code of Hammurabi is indeed an ancient Mesopotamian forerunner of the Biblical Mosaic Law.

Returning to the Epic of Gilgamesh we see a most dazzling parallel with the story of the Flood as recorded in the book of Genesis. In the Gilgamesh epic the gods decide to destroy the world with a Flood, but choose one man and his family to escape this judgment by constructing a boat. The Noah character is named Upnapishti, and like Noah he releases birds after the Flood to see if there is any dry land. Unlike Noah, Upnapishti is granted immortality, but Noah’s memory is still alive to this very day. And that might be the biggest parallel of the Bible and ancient Sumeria; the theme of how man is born only to die one day. In both cases the quest of mortals who seek immortality is to live a virtuous life, with the gift of Paradise and everlasting life awaiting them when their work in this life is over.

 

References:

George, A. The Epic of Gilgamesh. (London, England: Penguin Classics, 1999).

Kramer, S.N. History Begins at Sumer. (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1959).

Roux, G. Ancient Iraq. (New York, NY: Penguin Books, Inc., 1992).

Enoch: The Seventh from Adam

May 23, 2023

“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” Here in Genesis 5:24 in the pages of the Holy Bible, are we first introduced to Enoch and here he is also taken from us. No sooner is Enoch mentioned when he disappears. In I Chronicles 1:3 he is recorded in the line of the patriarchs, and in the apocryphal book Wisdom of Sirach 49:14 he is highly spoken of. However, nothing more is said of him in the entire Old Testament. In the New Testament, Enoch is mentioned three times. In Luke 3:37 he is included in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, in Hebrews 11:5 he is included as one of the hero’s of faith, and in Jude verses 14 and 15 he is quoted as prophesying the coming of the Lord to execute judgment upon all. The prophecy of Enoch referenced by Jude comes from a Pseudepigrapha work known as the Book of Enoch.

The Book of Enoch, or I Enoch is a pre-Christian text which has been primarily classified as a Christian book, even though it was written before the coming of Christ. The New Testament and other early Christian writings reveal that the first Christians knew of this book and that it was also widely read by a significant amount of the members of the early Church. Enoch was quoted by the Church Fathers, but has not been commented on by Christian writers since the close of the 8th century. One of the Church Fathers, Turtullian who lived in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, was one of the most avid readers of the Book of Enoch. Tertullian did consider I Enoch to be inspired and even compared Enoch’s bodily assumption with the Church’s belief in the resurrection of the dead. The Book of Enoch has been accepted as inspired scripture for some Christian groups, such as the Ethiopian Orthodox Church for example. I Enoch is also known as Ethiopic Enoch, because the entire text has survived exclusively in the ancient Ethiopian language of Ge’ez. When comparing the Epistle of St. Jude, verses 14 and 15 to Enoch 1:9, a striking similarity is seen. Though this “quotation” in Jude is not taken verbatim, it can be asserted that the inclusion of this quotation in a New Testament book helps give validity to the Book of Enoch as inspired scripture.

The Dead Sea Scrolls have also made it possible for us to establish that Enoch has played a role in the foundations and origins of Christianity. Through their devotion to God and scripture, the ancient scribes of the Qumran community have left the people of the modern world a testimony to the ways of the peoples who lived during the time of Christ. For among the basic scriptures used by the Brotherhood of Qumran was the Book of Enoch. Fragments of Enoch turned up in Qumran Cave 1 and eight fragmentary copies of it in Aramaic were found in Cave 4. It was evidently one of the favorite apocryphal books of the community in Qumran. In Jewish life at the close of the second century BC and during the first century BC, the Book of Enoch was regarded in certain Jewish circles as inspired. Thus, it can be argued that the Pseudepigrapha Book of Enoch has preserved ideas essential for an understanding of early Judaism and early Christianity.

Enoch was the seventh from Adam and was 365 years old when God took him, making him the youngest of the antediluvian patriarchs. As is commonly known, Enoch’s son Methuselah is the oldest man recorded in the Bible dying at 969 years of age. Interestingly enough, Enoch’s father Jared died at 962 years of age, making him the second oldest man in the Bible. So Enoch, the youngest of the patriarchs is book-ended by the two oldest of the antediluvian patriarchs. The Bible goes on to state that Enoch “walked with God.” Out of all the people mentioned in the Bible, only Enoch and Noah shared this special relationship with the Creator. Just as Noah walked with God and was saved from The Flood, so too Enoch walked with God and was taken from the earth that he should not see death. The Bible explains that Enoch was translated, but it does not specify where exactly he was taken. Since no soul could enter heaven before the resurrection of Jesus Christ, so neither could sinful flesh enter. A possible abode for Enoch could be the Garden of Eden. The Church Fathers relate that Eden is in a state between corruptibility and incorruptibility. Thus the Garden of Eden would be more suitable for a man possessed of body and soul to enter before the resurrection. The prophet Elijah was also taken by God while still alive. Going further the Lord said in Malachi 4:5 that He would send Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. The two witnesses of Revelation 11:3 who preach against and are killed by the Antichrist are believed to be Enoch and Elijah. Hebrews 9:27 says, “it is appointed unto men once to die…,” and since both Enoch and Elijah are the only two men in history who have not died, their mission during the End Times will come to an end by their death and will fulfill the scriptures which state that human flesh is mortal.

Apart from what is found in the Bible and the information presented in the Book of Enoch, there has come down to us many legends surrounding Enoch the seventh from Adam. Enoch has been described as a sage, the wisest of men, knowing the secrets of the universe and the first among men who learned writing. By his virtue and special closeness to God, Enoch was believed to be able to reveal the deepest of mysteries. But most importantly, Enoch was one of the Bible’s first examples of a man filled with piety who was possessed with a strict devotion towards his creator. He was a man of deep integrity and principle. When a great multitude of the people in his era led a sinful lifestyle and practiced iniquity, Enoch held onto virtue and remained vigilant and served God faithfully. For as it is written in Hebrews 11:5, “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 this testimony, that he pleased God.”

 

References:

Brown, R.K. The Book of Enoch. (Nashville, Tennessee: James C. Winston Publishing Company, Inc., 1997).

Cambridge University Press. The Apocrypha, Authorized King James Version. (Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1992).

Kush, I.K. Enoch the Ethiopian. (Buffalo, New York: Eworld Inc., 2000).

Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).