The second witness in Hebrews 11 is Enoch. The chapter says of him, “By faith Enoch was taken away, so that he did not see death, and was found no more, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken away he obtained the testimony that he had pleased God” (v. 5). The most important aspect that Hebrews 11 tells us about Enoch is the fact that he is taken away, that is, he is raptured. Enoch was raptured during his lifetime. He didn’t have to taste death! What a wonderful experience! Today, we also live in a time when the Rapture can become a reality. The second coming of Jesus Christ is very soon. The Bible shows us that shortly before His visible arrival, faithful believers will be caught up to God’s throne, to the heavenly Mount Zion.
But the Rapture – as with Enoch – has preconditions. Again Hebrews states: “And Enoch walked with God, and he was no more, for God had taken him away” (Genesis 5:24). Enoch walked with God for 300 years. No wonder God raptured him as a reward! What about us Christians today? Unfortunately, we Christians often do not even manage to walk with God every day for 3 days, not to mention 300 years! Today, we must learn to walk with God in all things. This firstly means that we must ask our Lord Jesus Christ to show us His perfect will every day. How often do we still do things apart from Him? We often don’t even ask Him what He thinks about a particular situation, instead, we just do what is right in our own eyes. But one who walks with God practices coming to Him in all things and earnestly seeks Him day by day. This is precisely why Hebrews 11 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he who comes forward to God must believe that He is, and [He] will be a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). Those who walk with God must come forward to Him and seek Him earnestly!
Before Enoch is mentioned in Hebrews 11, the book speaks of Abel and of his “more excellent sacrifice” to God (see this article). This sequence beautifully shows us what God wants for us today. Abel’s example shows us that God desires us Christians to bring spiritual sacrifices that are pleasing to Him through Jesus Christ (cf. 1 Peter 2:5). Using Enoch as an example, Scripture reveals to us that we are to learn to walk with God daily. These two aspects go hand in hand: The sacrifices to worship God and a walk that pleases Him. You cannot have one without the other. We cannot offer spiritual sacrifices to God if we do not walk with God. If we were to do this, we honor Him only with our lips, but our heart is far from Him (cf. Matthew 15:8)! On the other hand, we shouldn’t think that it’s enough if we only walk with God. No, rather we are to offer to God our Father the best part of our experience of Christ as a spiritual sacrifice. It is precisely in our walk with God that we can gain this wonderful experience of Christ! If we say that we walk with God, let us then also offer the best part (the firstfruits) to God as a spiritual sacrifice in the festal gathering (cf. Hebrews 12:23). This is exactly what Hebrews 13:15 confirms: “Through him, then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, which is the fruit of lips that confess his name.” The fruit of the lips comes through a walk with God. Let us walk with God and offer the fruit of that walk to God as a spiritual sacrifice!