What REALLY happened to Enoch?
This question has been much debated in recent times. Therefore, let's examine what the Scriptures say -including what they do not say. We'll begin with the central passage fueling much of this confusion. Hebrews 11:5 says, "Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and was not found."
For some, this verse can be confusing, however, we must notice the verse doesn't say that Enoch never died! Nor does the verse specify that he was taken into the Eternal's heavenly abode! Again -an enormous difference from what many commonly believe! Rather, the verse ONLY concretely shows that Enoch "wasn't found" -which resulted from wherever God had "taken him" -which evidently didn't conclude his life at that time! Again, this is what the actual passage concretely shows -nothing more! Anything else would be an addition to scripture!
So does the Bible elsewhere state that Enoch eventually died?
Hebrews 11:13 states, "These ALL DIED in faith, not having received the promises." SO WHO DIED? Contextually the passage includes Abel (verse 4) -who absolutely died! This is followed by ENOCH (verse 5), Noah (verse 7), Abraham (verse 8), Isaac and Jacob (verse 9), and Sarah (verse 11). This list includes Enoch!
Do other passages verify Enoch's eventual death?
1 Corinthians 15:22 states, "for as in Adam ALL die." So was Enoch a son of Adam? Did Enoch spring from Adam's progeny? ABSOLUTELY! Notice the passage does NOT say that "all die except for Enoch." Nor is there a single shred of biblical evidence suggesting that Enoch earned his own reward! Yet again -IF Enoch remained living -we have numerous other passages that completely fall down and Scripture is broken -like Romans 3:23 which says, "ALL have sinned." This is crucial because Romans 6:23 emphatically states, "the wages of sin IS DEATH." Does this include the wages of Enoch's sins? Yes it does!
So what does verse 5 of Hebrews 11 mean when it says Enoch did not see death? By allowing the Bible to interpret itself, the answer becomes simple- that AT the time in which God "took him" -thereby removing him from the land where he dwelt and placing him elsewhere -that he remained living awhile longer. In other words, the act of removal didn't mean his immediate death, but rather he was "translated".
Notice friends, nowhere in the bible does "translate" mean to make immortal! The original word used here is in original Greek is " metatithemi" (Strong's Concordance #3346) meaning, "transfer, transport, exchange, or to change sides." This same word is rendered "carried over" in Acts 7:16. There, we read that after Jacob died, his dead body was "carried over" -transported, or translated to Shechem- where he was buried! This is what our bibles say of this same word -that Jacob was transported, or translated to the place of his burial.
Is there more proof that Enoch died?
Scripture tells us that "ALL the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty five years" (Genesis 5:23). How many was it? Notice it says "ALL" his days! And during those days, Enoch "walked with God" (verse 22). In other words, they were in agreement (Amos 3:3); meaning Enoch loved and obeyed God! Notice Moses did not record that Enoch was "still" walking with God, but instead recorded the specific amount of days that he did after fathering Methuselah? That he "walked with God for three hundred years" and again, that ALL his years were three hundred and sixty five (and not one year more)!
