The LOVE of God - Study Part 4

God is a "Tooker!"

Genesis 519 After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. 21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

The first time I was introduced to an in depth study of the Love of God the Pastor introduced a new term to me and it still makes me smile to this day! God is a "Tooker!" For possibly the first time since before Adam fell there was a man who walked with God. God walked with Adam in the cool of the day in Eden and that relationship has been lost. But now another man was walking with God, under the re-established contact and covenant that God had created to keep in touch with his man. They marked the days of a man's life by when he had his first child.

One can take note that the average age that most people had their first child was in the hundreds. Enoch has his child earlier in life than anyone else had up to his time. He was 65 years old. What must it have been like to live for so long? People obviously took their time getting around to things. maybe they spent decades just perfecting some craft or pursuit they were learning.

A brief history:

There are two books ascribed to have been written by Enoch. Much debate is held as to whether this was really his work. Early Jewish scholars seem to have placed historical value on the book just as we might many great histories and autobiographies, but they didn't not include it as the Word of God in their cannon. Since we see that Jude quotes a small portion from the book of Enoch we can at least take it with some credibility, though we won't give it the weight the Word of God carries. Since it is quoted by Jude and accepted as historical by early scholars we may take a look at it to find some understanding of those times.

When we do we see that mankind was learning about his universe and world. Not only was man cultivating the ground, but mankind was learning all sorts of things. Unfortunately the fallen angels and a group called the Watchers, which were probably fallen angels got in and worked directly with man to teach him tools of war. If the book of Enoch is to be believed the tools of metal working and sword and shield making, astronomy and the study of the stars, was all given to man by fallen angels teaching them things. All the witchcraft and heathen god worship came from this and future encounters with these fallen angels.

Secular men today marvel at Ancient Egypt and it's mighty pyramids. They ask, how could this men have built these constructs that we with all our tools haven't been able to figure out or duplicate?  Many things about the pyramids and ancient stories have led a growing number of secular scholars to believe that aliens came and taught men how to make things like the pyramids. Well, if these secular folks just read their bible they would know that aliens did come. Those aliens are called Fallen Angels. They are not aliens from another world or planet, but rather they are aliens from the spiritual realm and they reside here to this day as they are no longer welcome in heaven. They seek daily to distort and confuse men and distract him by any means necessarily from the One True God and His Passionate Love for us.

Jude 1:14-15
14 Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, 15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."

Hebrews 11
5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

As to the life of Enoch

It must have been refreshing as a mankind walked further and further from the life of God and his Passionate Love to have one man seeking God back. Genesis 6 tells us that men grew darker and darker, participating in evil things with fallen angels until eventually only Noah and his family were saved through the flood. Judging by Noah's kids behavior they were not all that pure either, but they would become the fathers of the next generation of mankind that would follow down until today.

Enoch then wasn't looking to metal working, star watching, or any magic. He was looking to the One who Created Him. He was looking for and seeking after Passion Himself. He walked with God. If the writings recorded in the historic books of Enoch are anything close to accurate Enoch spent much of his free time walking in the things of God and frequently traveled from this world into the spiritual realm. This isn't such a stretch to believe as we also see in Genesis 6 angels took a more visible and tangible role in man's life in the early days.

Enoch was seeking God. According to Hebrews that was his primary task in life. He was a God seeker, and a prophet for his time. He may have been among the first, if not the first prophets in creation. He wasn't the first preacher, it seem as though Seth Adams' third son was the first man to call people back to God. (Gen 4:26) Enoch walked with God, by faith, and he walked with him so closely that eventually he walked right on over into the spirit realm and into the presence of God and never came back.

The Tooking:

God and Enoch loved each other so much that eventually God just took him! Jesus, The Word, created this planet FOR MAN! He was building the nursery and making man in his image, as a child is in the image of his or her parents. Man had fallen and God was largely ignored by this man he had created. But there was a man still seeking Him. There was a man who still wanted God's presence more than anything else. Enoch was most likely the cause of Noah's being the last righteous man on the planet because Noah would have been taught about by Father and Grandfather. Enoch's righteousness and walking in The Blessing was so powerful that his son became the longest living human being to ever walk the earth during this age of the Curse from Adam to now. Methuselah did not live forever, but he did live 969 years. It's interesting to note that Lamech and Methuselah both died approximately the same time. It is not recorded for certain, but a rough timeline seems to indicate that they both died either in the flood or just before. 

Rough Timeline from Enoch to Noah

So Enoch walked with God for 365 years. That is LONG by our standards but barely middle aged by the standards of his day. He walked with God so closely, spent so much time in His presence... that one day, he simply crossed over into the spirit and never came back. God took him, body and all. Where did he go? Can a man be in the presence of God, before Jesus, and not perish? I don't know for sure what his assignment is. He walked in the presence of God. He pleased God. How did he please God? Hebrews says he pleased God by having faith that God IS and that God IS a REWARDER of those who diligently seek Him!

We can learn from Enoch and his passionate pursuit of God. Enoch was not seeking knowledge. He was seeking God. His relationship was so close that God just took him in an eon's long bear hug! Enoch was not the only one to get tooked!

Other Tookings!

Only three men have ever left this earth with their bodies in tact. There are have been three raptures so far in earths' history. A much larger rapture is yet to come. The word "Rapture" comes from a Latin word Raptus; and means a catching away. It is found primarily in 1 Thessalonians 1:4-7; as "Caught Up".

1 Thessalonians 4:1717 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Another interesting reference is found here in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. This says that the Antichris cannot be revealed unless there is first a falling away. Many take this to mean that there will be a time just before where Christianity is all but lost.

2 Thessalonians 2:33 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,

This word "falling away" comes from the Greek word Apostasia. Because of it's use here many take Apostasy, the English transliteration of the word and use it to mean a group of people that strayed from the truth. Indeed that is how it is used in Acts 21:21. Which is the only other occurrence in the NT.

However, at the surface level. Let's take a look at these two words, dealing with the same events by the same author to the same audience.

Catching Away

Falling Away

Can one fall up? What is gravity? Gravity is the force on a body that keeps it attracted to earth. The earth is round. There is no true "up". At night one could truly be upside down from the perspective of the sun. So what is falling? Falling is being pulled by a force of attraction. Falling Away could just as easily refer to the group of people who are no longer attracted to earth but now find themselves attracted to the Son himself!

I submit that these verses both refer to the same event. The Antichrist cannot be revealed until the Church Falls Away, or out of his way, to heaven. There is further reason to accept this meaning as we take a look further in the same passage.

2 Thessalonians 2  6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.

Who is the restraining Force? The Holy Spirit. But there will be people saved and convicted of sin and worked with during the tribulation period. There will be 144,000 Jewish preachers running all over this earth preaching Jesus to the lost preventing many from accepting the false Anti Christ. Only the Holy Spirit working in men can accomplish this work. So obviously it is not the Holy Spirit that is removed from the earth to allow Anti-Christ to ascend to power. It is the Church that is full of the Holy Spirit that is removed.

Ephesians 5:26 26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

We also see that Jesus plans on returning for a glorious church. Now His blood has already made us spotless before God without any act of our own. But this indicates that He is also working in us to perfect that which he provided. The last act of the Church of Jesus will be the last great revival before the coming tribulation. The Church of the last days will be more powerful and alive than the church of the early days. There will be more miracles and signs and wonders, not less. There will be the former rain and latter rain (Deut 11:14) So the falling away cannot refer to a falling away from God in the Church.

Three Tookings So Far:

Jesus died first and rose with a new body filled with the Glory of God. So only two men have ever left this planet without first passing through death; Enoch and Elijah. Revelations speaks of two men who will come as witnesses, both olive branches. Olive branches always refers to OT believers and Israel. 

Revelation 113 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. 7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. 11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. 13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven

These two men have much more power than the average prophet. They nearly resemble some sort of Angelic appearance. But they are clearly also men. There have only been two men who have lived since Adam that have not died. Enoch and Elijah. Therefore it is only reasonable to assume that these are the two yet to come.

2 Kings 211 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. 13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.

It can be assumed, since the record shows that Enoch was taken by God that people SAW him taken by God. If he just walked off alone one day and never came back it could have been assumed that he fell off a cliff or got eaten by a dragon... but it says God took him. This means that someone, probably more than one person, SAW him to Tooked.

Therefore, all three raptures that have happened so far Enoch, Elijah, and Jesus, all had eye witnesses. These were all visible events. Why do people always assume that the rapture of the church will be a secret event?

1 Corinthians 15:52 NKJV

51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-72 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.

2 Peter 3:5-157 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,

Our bodies shall be changed in an instant. But this does not mean we will be caught up in an instant. It means that we, like our Lord, will walk this planet with Glorified bodies. Will this be for an instant, a minute, an hour, or 40 days like our Lord who is our pattern? Only God knows for sure. But the bible promises instant glorification of our bodies, not instant departure from this planet. Then the bible talks about the coming of the Lord as a thief in the night. So surely our Lord is coming to take us when we do not know right? Actually it is the world, who has chosen to be oblivious to the things of God that will be unaware of what is happening. To the man who rejected God, whether he die today, or in a future judgment of the earth or last to the last minute... it will be as a thief in the night. They will have gone along in life, convinced that they either didn't need God or that He didn't exist. As the men in the days of Noah, who rejected all God is, the day of judgment will be a surprise to them, just as a thief in the night, like coming home after vacation to see the house has been broken into and stolen from. It will be a surprise.

Noah represents the people who are saved through and protected throughout the tribulation time period. Enoch represents this taking away of the Church before the second great judgment of God  for earth begins. Just as Enoch was taken before the tribulation came, so the Church who has been seeking God and walking with God will be taken before the tribulation comes.

The Tooked and the Tooker Returns:

So we see that Enoch was so important to God, that God took him. He ends up playing a pivotal role in both the beginning of time and the end of times. In Genesis and Revelation we see God working through this man that was and is, walking with God. He comes back for a final showdown of the ages. To war against the very same spirits that corrupted his generation.

What is the ultimate plan for man? Is the end game to go to heaven?

Revelation 3:11 NKJV Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

Revelation 22:7 NKJV "Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book."

Revelation 22:12 NKJV "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

Revelation 22:20 NKJV He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Revelation 219 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife." 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

Heaven is a detour, a stop and resting while we wait for God's ultimate plan. His plan to restore what we and HE lost in Genesis 3. God wants to live HERE, on earth, with us... walking with us, as God walked with Enoch and Adam. That has been his dream and plan all along. We are pictured as the BRIDE of the Lamb. The city is for US. He made it all for US. We are His beloved! He treasures us as a groom his bride.

John 14:22 In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Yes, His Father's house is in heaven. But his fathers house will be moving to earth, a new created earth. This new earth will be the permanent living quarters of the heavenly city and God's throne. The goal, all along, was to so merge spirit and material that there was no way to tell the difference. Jesus still has his resurrected body. He didn't have a material body before Mary gave it to him through God's anointing. But he didn't rid himself of it after receiving it. He still have his body. He is STILL all God and all Man. He has and always will LOVE YOU passionately!

The whole story of the bible... is God's desire to walk with you! He is passionate for you!

Darrell G. Wolfe