Enoch's significance is that he walked with God and was taken directly by God without dying, a pattern Les Feldick presents as a type of the church's removal before coming judgment.
In Genesis 5, Enoch stands out in the line of Seth because the genealogical list repeatedly says each man died, yet for Enoch the text says he was not, for God took him. Les connects this to end-time events: Enoch was translated just before the flood, picturing the church's removal before the tribulation. Jude also records Enoch's prophecy that the Lord will return with ten thousands of His saints.
Genesis 5:24 — This verse records Enoch's unique translation — he was not, for God took him — and is the central biblical fact behind his significance.
Jude 1:14 — This verse shows that Enoch prophesied of the Lord coming with ten thousands of His saints, a key part of Les's teaching about Christ's return.
Genesis 5 places Enoch in the family line of Seth. Verse 22 says that after Enoch begat Methuselah, he walked with God three hundred years and had other sons and daughters. Verse 24 records his unusual departure: "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." In the same genealogy the repeated pattern is that each man lived many years and then died, but the Bible never says Enoch died. Jude identifies Enoch as "the seventh from Adam" and records his prophecy: "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all..." The Genesis narrative places Enoch's removal right before the flood, and the prophecy in Jude points to a coming day of judgment.
Les Feldick sees Enoch as a prophet and a type. He points out that Enoch walked with God and was suddenly taken — here one moment and gone the next, with no record of death. Les calls this "a beautiful picture in type" of what will happen to the church just before judgment falls (Clip 1). Because Enoch was translated shortly before the flood, Les uses him to argue that believers will not go through the tribulation: "We will not, no more than Enoch went into the flood" (Clip 6). Les also highlights Enoch's prophecy recorded in Jude that the Lord will return with ten thousands of His saints. Les reasons, "How can he return with the saints unless he takes them out first?" (Clip 3). He connects this to Paul's teaching that the translation of a living group of believers was a secret or mystery first revealed in 1 Corinthians 15 — Enoch was an individual example, but no Old Testament passage promised a group would be changed and translated (Clip 7).
Enoch appears in the genealogy of Seth, the line Les calls the spiritual line in contrast to Cain's civilization. Genesis 5:22 says that after Enoch begat Methuselah, he walked with God three hundred years. Methuselah is the longest-lived man in that genealogy, and the text notes that all of Enoch's days were three hundred sixty-five years.
Les sees Enoch's translation as a type of what will happen to the church just before judgment falls. He notes that Enoch was here one moment and gone the next, with no death recorded. Just as Enoch was taken just before the flood, Les says the true church will be taken before the tribulation and will not enter it.
Jude records Enoch's prophecy: "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints" (Jude 1:14). Les draws a logical connection: if the Lord returns with the saints, He must first take them out. For Les, this supports the imminent return of Christ for His body, the church.
Les points out that nowhere in the Old Testament did God indicate that a whole group of living believers would be translated. Enoch was a good individual example, but the translation of a living group was a secret or mystery first revealed by Paul, who wrote, "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:51).
Les mentions the view that Enoch could be one of the two witnesses because he did not die, along with Elijah. However, Les says this is "not all that basic to our doctrine." What matters is that the sovereign God is in control and will bring these two men to Jerusalem at the onset of the seven-year tribulation.
The Days of Noah: Understanding the "Sons of God" & Coming Judgment
Welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a 30-minute walk through the Scriptures, teaching in-depth Bible truths that change people's lives. Now, here's your host, Les Feldick. It's Now, for you in the class, of course, by the time our first 30 minutes have gone, you're going to have some questions, and we're going to answer them.
Enoch's Translation as a Type
Les explains that Enoch was suddenly taken by God with no death recorded, and he views this as a picture in type of the church being translated just before judgment falls.
Enoch's Prophecy and Imminent Return
Les emphasizes that Enoch prophesied before leaving the scene, and he ties Enoch's translation to the imminent return of Christ for the church.
Return with Ten Thousands of Saints
Les quotes Jude 14 and argues that Christ's return with the saints implies He must first take the saints out.
Enoch and the Two Witnesses
Les mentions the view that Enoch could be one of the two witnesses because he did not die, but says this is not all that basic to doctrine since God is sovereign.
Enoch in Seth's Spiritual Line
Les shows Enoch in the genealogy of Seth, the spiritual line, and notes he was the father of Methuselah and walked with God for 300 years after his son's birth.
No Tribulation for the Church
Les says the church will not go into the tribulation any more than Enoch went into the flood, citing the promise to the Philadelphian believers in Revelation 3:10.
The Mystery of a Translated Group
Les explains that while Enoch was one translated individual, the translation of a living group was a secret or mystery first revealed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15.
Genesis 5:22: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
This verse shows Enoch's faithful walk with God after his son Methuselah was born.
Genesis 5:24: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
This is the central verse explaining Enoch's unique removal — he did not die but was taken by God.
Jude 1:14: And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
This verse records Enoch's prophecy about the Lord's coming with His saints.
Jude 1:15: To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
The continuation of Enoch's prophecy shows the purpose of the Lord's coming with His saints — judgment on the ungodly.
1 Corinthians 15:51: Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
Les points to this verse as the New Testament revelation of a living group being translated.
1 Corinthians 15:52: In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
This verse describes the suddenness of the change for believers, matching Les's picture of the church being snatched away.
Revelation 3:10: Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Les applies this promise to true believers, saying the church will be kept from the tribulation just as Enoch was kept from the flood.
The Bible does not say that Enoch died. Genesis 5:24 says "he was not; for God took him." Les describes Enoch as being here one moment and gone the next, with no record of death.
Les teaches that Enoch's translation is a picture in type of the church being removed before judgment. Enoch was taken shortly before the flood, illustrating the principle of believers being removed before divine judgment falls.
According to Les, the church will not enter the tribulation, "no more than Enoch went into the flood." He connects this to Revelation 3:10 and the promise to keep true believers from the hour of temptation that will come upon all the world.
Watch the Teaching: The Days of Noah: Understanding the "Sons of God" & Coming Judgment