Genesis 5:24
And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God
took him.
Cf. Hebrews 11:5 By
faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not
found, because God had taken him", for before he was taken he had this
testimony, that he pleased God.
Cf. 2 Kings 2:11 Then
it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire
appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up
by a whirlwind into heaven.
Note: Here are two episodes
of people taken bodily and alive into heaven, and did not return. There is, I'm told, an ancient church
tradition that Enoch and Elijah (some versions of this tradition identify Moses
and Elijah) are the two witnesses who trouble the Antichrist when he is at the
height of his power. Their story is in
Revelation 11:1-15.
For us there is the promise of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
People debate the timing of this event, and we'll leave
consideration of that for another time, but practically speaking, Christians
must always live as if they would meet with Jesus on any given day, with no
advance warning. It is a good question
to ask oneself, "if I met Jesus this day, would I be ready?" "What would I say to Him?" Any day can be the day.
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