This does not mean, however, that no one ever walked with God again. In fact, in Genesis 5 we find an interesting footnote in the genealogy of Adam regarding his descendant, Enoch: "And all the days of Enoch were 365 years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him" (Gen. 5:23,24).
Many preachers and theologians have speculated about what was meant by these words in verse 24: "And Enoch walked with God...." There have been many different theories on this subject. I personally don't think it is any great mystery. To walk with God simply means to obey Him and keep His commandments.
In Enoch, God found a man He could entrust with His presence. Enoch was a man who would obey God. We know something else about Enoch: he was a man of faith. How do we know that? God's Word tells us so in Hebrews 11:5-6: "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him...."
Doesn't that tell you something? After Adam fell, God started looking for a man He could fellowship with, a man He could walk with in the cool of the day. He finally found one when He found a faith man - a man who would take God at His Word and obey it.
God is looking for the same kind of people today. His eyes are searching to and fro throughout the whole earth for men and women who will live by faith and obey His Word. These are the people He wants to walk with, the people He wants to bless.
Caught Away
I want you to notice something else about Enoch. As we read in Genesis 5:24: "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him."
Enoch never died. He never left a body behind to be buried and decay. His walk of fellowship with God was so strong that one day the Lord came for a visit and Enoch just went home with Him when they were done. He simply disappeared from the face of the earth!
Although Enoch was the first man in history to be taken up to heaven without dying, he certainly was not the last.
In the book of Second Kings, we find another man who walked with God: Elijah, the prophet. In chapter 2 we see God sending down a chariot of fire to pick up Elijah and carry him to heaven. Once again, a man who knew intimate fellowship with God was whisked away without tasting the sting of death (v. 11).
I am firmly convinced that we are living in a day when we will see the same thing again, only this time on a much larger scale. I believe we are the generation of believers who will one day, in the twinkling of an eye, be snatched up to heaven to be with the Lord. This event is called "the Rapture."
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
I am also convinced that not every person who calls himself "Christian" will be making this glorious trip. Many religious folks are in for the shock of their lives when they discover that their church membership or American citizenship was not enough to qualify them for the Rapture.
But for those who are walking with God, walking in obedience to His Word and fellowshipping with Him, that day will hold nothing but joy.
A Place of Refuge
Enoch had a great-grandson named Noah. Not too many years after Enoch's disappearing act, Noah discovered another one of the prime benefits of walking with God: protection.
In Noah, God found a man who would walk in obedience and faith. According to Genesis 6:9: "These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God."
In Genesis 6:22 we read: "Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he."
Noah's close walk with God resulted in him and his entire family being saved from the destruction of the flood. It also resulted in the preservation of the human race.
The same will be true for God's people today. A great tribulation is about to come upon the earth; but if you will walk with God, you will be spared. The ark of Jesus will carry us above the wrath and destruction that is about to be unleashed upon mankind.
There is protection in the presence of God.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers