Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Waking Up in Heaven
“And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:27-28 NLT).
Enoch went from walking with God on earth one day to walking with God in heaven the next.
The Bible tells us that “it was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—‘he disappeared, because God took him.’ For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5 NLT).
The words “took him” could be translated as “carried over” or “carried across.” Enoch didn’t die. Rather, God took him.
Normally people die. The Bible says that “each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Enoch was the rare exception to the rule. He didn’t die. God took him straight to Heaven.
God picked up Enoch from one shore and put him on another. But this transfer to Heaven wasn’t an interruption for Enoch. He was walking with God, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up in Heaven.
Of course, Enoch went to Heaven without dying. Genesis 5:23-24 says that “Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him” (NLT).
If you’ve put your faith in Christ, then one day you will go to be with God too. You just might live to old age, or you might not live as long as you thought you would. Or, the Rapture might happen in your lifetime, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52 NKJV).
However, the things we do for God don’t get us to Heaven. It’s what God has done for us that makes us want to do things for Him.
Enoch walked with God, he was well-pleasing to God, he was a witness for God, and then he went to be with God. What a great thing to be said of him. May the same be said of you and me.
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