One of these days soon, we will not have to deal with the problems of this world any longer but live in peace and harmony in heaven. Jesus gave some interesting insights describing the condition of the world just before He returns. “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:37–39.
The book of Genesis describes the condition of the people that caused God to send a flood to destroy them. It will be the same just before He returns the second time. Genesis 4:16, 17 gives the genealogy of Cain after he killed his brother, Abel. “And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.” The marriage institution, that began in the Garden of Eden, was under attack when Lamech “had two wives” (verse 19). Taking two wives was not in God’s order, and we read a few verses later that he killed a man because he did him wrong (verse 23).
Ellen White wrote in The Signs of the Times, October 6, 1898: “Had man co-operated with God, there would have been no Cain-worshippers.” This is significant to our study on what it was like in the days of Noah. When Cain brought his offering to worship God, he took no heed to God’s instruction, but brought the fruits of his own labor. This is one of the reasons that caused the persecution of Abel by Cain. Abel “was a righteous man” (Hebrews 11:4) who did exactly what God told him to do. He brought an offering of an animal, as God had instructed, and sacrificed it. Cain came with an offering of his fruits and vegetables—the works of his own hands. Most of the world today worship as did Cain, trying to be saved by their own works.
Sabbath keepers are often accused of trying to save themselves by keeping the law of God. It was God who gave the commandments, giving specific instructions and leaving no room to doubt. The fourth commandment does not say, “Man, you worship Me, but you can just do it on whatever day that you would think convenient.” No, God specified the day; He said the seventh day is the Sabbath. When we obey God by keeping the Sabbath day we are simply doing what God has asked us to do. Those who worship on Sunday are following man, because it was man who changed the day of worship from the Sabbath to Sunday. In fact, they are Cain worshippers.
“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” Genesis 6:1–4. Often the focus of the events of Noah’s day is about the wicked acts, but some things were happening that we have not yet seen. In fact, I believe there was a revival in Noah’s day before the flood came.
The term “sons of God” is designated for God’s church. This is translated in another version as nephilim. There is a difference between the “sons of God” and the “daughters of men” who were the worldlings, the Cain worshippers. These were the heathen who went out from the presence of the Lord.
Notice in Genesis 4:25, 26 it says, “And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.” Seth means the one who took the place of. When people began to call on the name of the Lord, there was a revival. You can read about it in Zephaniah 3. I believe Zephaniah 3 is actually a prophecy of what is going to happen again.
Remember, Jesus said, “As it was in the days of Noah.” Before the second coming of Jesus it will be the same. I believe that there is going to be a reformation in God’s church. As in Genesis 6, when the sons of God went after the daughters of men, they became intermingled and married. The fruit of these marriages was the children. Genesis 6:4 described them as giants (nephilim).
Let us examine this word nephilim. The same word occurs in Numbers 13:33. Numbers 13 tells about the twelve spies who went into the land of Canaan to give a report of what they saw there. Ten of the spies gave an evil report, and when Caleb and Joshua said they could take the land, the people were ready to stone them. The ten that gave the wicked report said, “And there we saw the giants [nephilim], … and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” The root word of nephilim is nephil, which means to cause to fall.
Let me explain this. When Israel was up against the Philistines, Goliath came out and taunted them every day for forty days. Goliath was from Gath, of the tribe of nephilim, called Anak. The Bible says that when Goliath came out he caused all Israel, from King Saul clear down to the last person, to fear.
In the days of Noah, the nephilim were the ones who used terror to put fear into the hearts of other people to cause them to submit to them. Today, they would be called terrorists.
Jesus said that before He comes, conditions will be the same as in the days of Noah. There are people today who use violence to force others to fall down and submit to them. In Noah’s day this came as a result of God’s church mingling with the world and intermarrying with them.
“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5.
The descendants of Cain were the originators of city living; they built a city (Genesis 4:17). When a large population of people live in close proximity, crime, violence and every evil thing imaginable can happen. “And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them.” Genesis 6:6, 7.
“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” Verses 11, 12. Can you imagine, the whole earth was corrupted? “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Verse 8.
Things were bad then, like they are today, with violence filling the land. The marriage institution is being attacked, and every day in the news we read of more murders. At the grocery store we have to walk through all the evil things before we get to the check out to buy food. The thoughts of men are evil continually, and we are being bombarded. Sin is all around us; it is everywhere, on billboards, on television and on radio. Violence is spoiling the land and the earth is becoming corrupted.
Look at Revelation 19:2. It says, “For true and righteous are His judgments: and He hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand.” The Bible predicts again that the earth is going to be totally corrupt. “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [the beast power].” Revelation 13:8. The entire world is going to worship the beast. You can read it again in Revelation 12:9, which says that the devil is going to deceive the entire world.
In Revelation 14, John sees in vision three messages going out to the entire world, just as it was in the days of Noah when all the world heard Noah’s message. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12. John, looking into the future, sees this mass of people, and it seemed to him as if every single one of them had given his or her allegiance to the beast. But the angel said, “Here, look a little bit closer.” Like faithful Noah, he sees a people that are not worshiping the beast but give their allegiance to the God of heaven. They keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.
It is this group of people that we must be a part of to be ready when Jesus returns. While the rest of the world disregards God’s commandments, there is going to be a people who will obey God’s commandments. Noah was not alone in his stand for truth; there was another man who was keeping God’s commandments. He was a Seventh-day Adventist, and his name was Enoch.
Enoch lived in a corrupt world, but he was not tainted by the sin all around him. You might question in your mind just how it is possible to live in a corrupt world and not be corrupted. This is possible only when self is dead. Jesus said, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” John 15:19.
Jesus said, “I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” John 17:14–16. Jesus here is praying specifically about His disciples. He says, “They’re not of the world. They have had a conversion, and the world hates them because of it.” They hate the world.
Enoch lived in the world in an atmosphere that was tainted with sin. He was bombarded with it all around him, just like you and I are today. It was everywhere in the things that he saw and in the things that he heard. There is not a lot said about Enoch, but we have some insights from the Spirit of Prophecy that tell us how he was uncorrupted though he lived in a corrupt world.
“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Jude 14, 15.
Enoch believed there was going to be a judgment. He believed in the second coming of Jesus; he was a Seventh-day Adventist. Seventh-day Adventists have existed since the very beginning of time. You see, a lot of people think Adventist is an organization, but it is not. It is the name of a designated people who obey the commandments of God and who are looking forward to the second coming of Jesus. It is a designated name—a code word for the sons of God.
“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.” Hebrews 11:5 Without faith it is impossible to please the Lord. Enoch lived by faith.
Indeed, as Revelation 14:12 says, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” These people are like Enoch. Enoch is a real person, but he is also a symbol of God’s church near the end that will be translated without seeing death. By God’s grace, you and I can all be a part of it if we choose, but we need to live as Enoch lived.
Genesis 4:26 says, “then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.” There was a revival among the people of that land. It was not amongst the city dwellers but the people who lived in the country, and out of that line of people came Enoch. “And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: and Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years.” Genesis 5:21, 22. Methuselah means year of the flood, and Methuselah died in the year of the flood. What an amazing testimony of a man who walked with God for three hundred years! He was a man who walked by faith, and he pleased God. His walk with the Lord began when He had little Methuselah. As he held Methuselah in his arms, he began to realize the relationship that God wanted to have with him and that he wanted to have with God. “Enoch walked with God … begat Methuselah … and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not, for God took him.” Genesis 5:22–24.
The only way to live in a corrupt world, without being tainted by it, is to walk with God. The following will help you with that walk.
A Constant Conflict
It was through constant conflict and simple faith that Enoch walked with God. Be intentional to avoid the distractions in magazines when in the grocery store buying supplies. Make a covenant with your eyes to avoid the pictures or scantily dressed people. Listen to the still small voice and turn off the television when your conscience warns you. Walk with God as Enoch did; he was not sporadic, but constantly aware of the battle he faced and overcame the temptations with simple trust in God.
As it was in the days of Noah
Call on the name of the Lord. There is going to be a revival, and it was thus that Enoch walked with God. “It was not easier for Enoch to live a righteous life in his day than it is for us at the present time. The world at that time was no more favorable to growth in grace and holiness than it is now, but Enoch devoted time to prayer and communion with God.” The Review and Herald, April 15, 1909.
Life is a constant conflict, so do not let down your guard for even a moment. Spend time in prayer with Jesus. If you want to have victory in your life and live as Enoch did, develop habits of constant communion. We are in a spiritual war, so never go out without your armor (Ephesians 6). You are no match for the devil. Eve, who had far more intellectual power than we have today, tried to reason with him and lost. Spend time in prayer. “This enabled him [Enoch] to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. It was his devotion to God that fitted him for translation.” Ibid. Enoch did not have a Bible, but he had the book of nature, which is God’s second Bible that teaches us of Him. If you want a deeper knowledge of God, go out in nature and learn how to commune with Him. There is no better place to spend time with Him and meditate upon what He has created.
Train Your Mind
Our minds are the battlefield here, but Enoch learned to control his thoughts. “Enoch’s case is before us. Hundreds of years he walked with God. He lived in a corrupt age, when moral pollution was teeming all around him; yet he trained his mind to devotion, to love purity. His conversation was upon heavenly things. He educated his mind to run in this channel, and he bore the impress of the divine.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 121.
It is impossible to develop purity while looking about at the corruption all around. It is a deception to think that you can be in this world and of the world and still be a Christian. It is impossible. This life is a constant conflict with sin. Enoch prayed and communed with God, and then he trained his mind to dwell upon only what was lovely. He kept his conversation on heavenly things. It is profitable, for us today, to train our lips to speak only of heavenly things on the Sabbath day. We have six days to talk about work, and we have one day to talk only about God, of His love and of what He is doing. Spend time training your thoughts, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). Train your mind and fill it with the word of God.
“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” I Peter 1:13. What does it mean to gird up the loins of your mind? Let me give you an illustration. In Bible times, men wore flowing loose robes. If they had to run, they would pick up all the loose fabrics, gathering it up, and with a wide girdle or belt they would tie it around themselves.
If your mind starts to wander, bring it back to focus and center and don’t allow it to drift. The Bible says, “Gird up the loins of your mind.” God backs His word with promises. Paul said, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:5. “We have the mind of Christ.” I Corinthians 2:16. Our mind is the battlefield, so don’t allow it to wander off into the forbidden paths of this world. Eve made this mistake. She found herself looking at the tree that God had forbidden. Her imagination began to wander, and she heard her thoughts picked up by a serpent in the tree. Keep focused!
A Stranger on Earth
Enoch was looking for a heavenly home for this world was not his home. He was what the Bible calls a pilgrim and a stranger in a strange world (Exodus 2:22).
Evangelist
Enoch won souls to the Lord. “Then at times he went forth to the inhabitants of the world with his God-given message.” Maranatha, 184. “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Jude 14, 15.
- Enoch was in a constant conflict with himself, the devil and the corruptions of this world.
- Enoch prayed and communed with God in nature.
- Enoch girded up the loins of his mind, training it to stay focused.
- Enoch lived as though he was but a stranger in this world, a pilgrim passing through.
- Enoch went out to win souls for the Lord.
“Enoch had temptations as well as we. He was surrounded with society no more friendly to righteousness than is that which surrounds us. The atmosphere he breathed was tainted with sin and corruption, the same as ours; yet he lived a life of holiness. He was unsullied with the prevailing sins of the age in which he lived. So may we remain pure and uncorrupted. He was a representative of the saints who live amid the perils and corruptions of the last days. For his faithful obedience to God he was translated. So, also, the faithful, who are alive and remain, will be translated. They will be removed from a sinful and corrupt world to the pure joys of heaven.” The Faith I Live By, 350.
Enoch was a representative of the saints that are going to live just before the second coming of Jesus.
(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the King James Version.)
Mike Bauler was ordained into the ministry in 2005 and serves as pastor of the Historic Message Church in Portland, Oregon. Prior to locating in Portland, Pastor Bauler served as a Bible worker for Steps to Life Ministries. His goal is to help give the gospel to the greater Portland area with an emphasis in helping his Bible students discover the truths in Bible prophecy, which are so often neglected today. His wife, Amanda, a family nurse practitioner, and their daughters Hannah, Esther and Abigail assist him in his ministry.