God took Enoch — he did not die, but was translated while walking with God.
Genesis 5 records that after Methuselah's birth, Enoch walked with God for 300 years and then "was not; for God took him." Unlike the patriarchs around him, no death is recorded for Enoch. Les Feldick highlights that Enoch was translated before the flood and sees this as a picture of believers being taken before the coming judgment.
Genesis 5:24 — This is the decisive verse that directly answers what happened to Enoch: God took him.
Genesis 5:22 — Shows Enoch's continued walk with God for 300 years after Methuselah's birth.
Genesis 5 gives the genealogy of Seth. After the repeated refrain that each patriarch lived and died, Enoch's record breaks the pattern. Verse 21 says Enoch was 65 when Methuselah was born. Verse 22 says Enoch walked with God for 300 years after that and had other sons and daughters. Verse 23 totals his life at 365 years. Then verse 24 says, "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." Nowhere in the Genesis account is Enoch said to have died. The chapter's usual formula is that a man lives a certain number of years "and he died." For Enoch, instead of that final phrase, the text simply says he was not, because God took him.
Les Feldick places Enoch in the line of Seth and points out the contrast with the death pattern in Genesis 5. He notes Adam eventually died, but Enoch walked with God and was translated — he did not see death. In Les's words, Enoch "walked with God" and "was translated, did not see death" (Clip 1). Les teaches that Enoch is "a perfect picture in type" of the outcalling of the church or believers before the coming judgment of the tribulation. Enoch was translated shortly before the flood, and the flood was the judgment of that day. Just as Enoch was removed before that judgment fell, Les sees the church being called out before the tribulation (Clip 1). Les also points out that Enoch was one of only two Old Testament exceptions — Elijah being the other — who did not go down to paradise but went up to heaven. This was a sovereign act of God. And while the Old Testament never reveals a group of living people being suddenly translated, Les notes that Paul calls it a secret or mystery when he writes, "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (Clip 3, Clip 4).
According to the Bible, no. Genesis 5 does not say Enoch died. It says, "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." Les also states plainly that Enoch was translated and did not see death. Enoch is one of only two Old Testament believers, along with Elijah, whom God took without death.
Les says Enoch is "a perfect picture in type" of the outcalling of the church. Enoch was translated shortly before the flood judgment; the church, Les teaches, will be called out before the tribulation judgment. The translation of Enoch was an individual event, but it pictures what will happen to the body of believers.
Les mentions that some say the two witnesses must include Enoch because Enoch and Elijah did not die. He says this is not essential to basic doctrine; the important point is that the sovereign God will bring these two men to Jerusalem at the onset of the seven-year tribulation.
No, according to Les. He observes that the Old Testament never indicated a group of living people would suddenly be gone and translated. That was a secret or mystery Paul revealed in 1 Corinthians 15. Enoch is the individual example, but the group translation was not revealed until Paul.
Adam's death in the Genesis 5 genealogy
Les sets the context of the Sethite line, emphasizing that death finally caught up with Adam. This makes Enoch's translation in the same genealogy stand out.
Enoch's translation before the flood
Les directly says Enoch walked with God, was translated, and did not see death. He calls Enoch a type of the church being called out before the tribulation judgment.
Enoch and the two witnesses
Les notes that some suggest Enoch must be one of the two witnesses because he did not die, though he says this is not essential to doctrine.
The mystery of living believers translated
Les uses Enoch as an example of an individual translated alive, but explains that a group of living people being changed was not revealed until Paul called it a secret.
Enoch and Elijah as God's exceptions
Les teaches that before the cross, all believers went down to paradise except Enoch and Elijah, who went up to heaven as God's sovereign exceptions.
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Genesis 5:21: And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
Establishes when Methuselah was born and begins Enoch's record.
Genesis 5:22: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
Shows the 300-year walk with God that follows Methuselah's birth.
Genesis 5:23: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
Gives Enoch's total lifespan before God took him.
Genesis 5:24: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
The decisive verse answering the question — God took Enoch without recording his death.
Genesis 5:5: And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
Shows the normal death pattern in the same genealogy, which Enoch's account interrupts.
No. The Bible says Enoch walked with God and "was not; for God took him." Les Feldick notes that Enoch was translated and did not see death. He is one of only two Old Testament believers, along with Elijah, who did not go down to paradise but went up to heaven.
Les teaches that Enoch was taken shortly before the flood, just as the church will be called out before the tribulation judgment. He calls Enoch "a perfect picture in type" of the outcalling of believers.
Some suggest Enoch, because he did not die. Les says this is not essential to doctrine; what matters is that God will bring the two witnesses to Jerusalem at the start of the tribulation.
Watch the Teaching: Who Did Cain Marry? & The Mystery of Enoch (Genesis 4-5 Bible Study)