Command the Raven

GENESIS 5: 21-24
And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, 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.
[Dake A.R. Bible].

[v22: And Enoch walked with God]: Heb. ‘halak’, to walk up and down, be conversant. Cp. Ex. 2:5 [show/hide]Exodus 2:5 [5]Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. (ESV)
; 14:29; Lev. 26:30 [show/hide]Leviticus 26:30 [30]And I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars and cast your dead bodies upon the dead bodies of your idols, and my soul will abhor you. (ESV)
; Josh. 5:6 [show/hide]Joshua 5:6 [6]For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD; the LORD swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the LORD had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. (ESV)
; 1 Sam. 8:3 [show/hide]1 Samuel 8:3 [3]Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. (ESV)
; 12:2.

Enoch and Noah were the only antediluvians ‘who walked with God’ [5:22; 6:9].
Abel, Enoch and Noah are the only ones referred to in the Bible as being godly during this age [4:4, 5:22; 7:1; Lk.17:26-27; 1Pet.3:20; 2Pet.2:4-5; Heb.11:1-7; Jude 14 [show/hide]Jude 1:14 [14]It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, (ESV)
].
This ‘walk’ with God might have been as literal as with Adam [2:19; 3:8].

[v22: And Enoch walked with God After he begat Methuselah 300 years]: Why not before Methuselah was born? Could it be that something happened at this time that would have turned him to God. It is clear that at this time he did receive a revelation from God, for he named his son ‘Methuselah’, which means “when he is dead it [the deluge] shall come.” He also foretold the 2nd Coming of Christ to destroy the ungodly [Jude 14 [show/hide]Jude 1:14 [14]It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, (ESV)
].

[v23: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years]: That is, all his days on earth at that time. Besides living 365 years on earth, he has now lived about 5,310 years in heaven, making around 5,675 years he has lived without death.
He will return as one of the two witnessed of Rev. 11 [show/hide]Revelation 11 The Two Witnesses [11:1]Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, "Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, [2]but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. [3]And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." [4]These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. [5]And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. [6]They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. [7]And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, [8]and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. [9]For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, [10]and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. [11]But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. [12]Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here!" And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. [13]And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. [14]The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come. The Seventh Trumpet [15]Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." [16]And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, [17]saying, "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. [18]The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth." [19]Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. (ESV)
to complete his earthly life and die [Rev.11:7], as is appointed unto all men [Heb.9:27].
It is said of each of the others in this chapter that “he died” [v5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, 31], but not of Enoch “he was not, for God took him” [v24].

[v24: and he was not, for God took him]: That is, translated him without dying as in the case of Elijah [2 Kings 2 [show/hide]2 Kings 2 Elijah Taken to Heaven [2:1]Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. [2]And Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. [3]And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take away your master from over you?" And he said, "Yes, I know it; keep quiet." [4]Elijah said to him, "Elisha, please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to Jericho." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they came to Jericho. [5]The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that today the LORD will take away your master from over you?" And he answered, "Yes, I know it; keep quiet." [6]Then Elijah said to him, "Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. [7]Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. [8]Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground. [9]When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me." [10]And he said, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so." [11]And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. [12]And Elisha saw it and he cried, "My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. [13]And he took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. [14]Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over. Elisha Succeeds Elijah [15]Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him opposite them, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." And they came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. [16]And they said to him, "Behold now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. It may be that the Spirit of the LORD has caught him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley." And he said, "You shall not send." [17]But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, "Send." They sent therefore fifty men. And for three days they sought him but did not find him. [18]And they came back to him while he was staying at Jericho, and he said to them, "Did I not say to you, 'Do not go'?" [19]Now the men of the city said to Elisha, "Behold, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful." [20]He said, "Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it." So they brought it to him. [21]Then he went to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, "Thus says the LORD, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage shall come from it." [22]So the water has been healed to this day, according to the word that Elisha spoke. [23]He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!" [24]And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys. [25]From there he went on to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria. (ESV)
; Heb.11:5].
His is one of the briefest and most outstanding biographies – one sentence revealing the history of 365 years, 300 of which were believing, humble, holy walking with God.

[v27: And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty and nine years: and he died]: The longest earthly life on record.
His father still lives in heaven and will again live on earth and die as one of the two witnesses [Rev.11:3-11].
Enoch, therefore, and not Methuselah is the oldest man that ever lived.

All men would have lived forever if man had not sinned. All will live forever physically in the new earth and carry out God’s original program [Rev. 21-22 [show/hide]Revelation 21-22 The New Heaven and the New Earth [21:1]Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. [2]And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3]And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. [4]He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." [5]And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." [6]And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. [7]The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. [8]But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death." The New Jerusalem [9]Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." [10]And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, [11]having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. [12]It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed-- [13]on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. [14]And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. [15]And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. [16]The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. [17]He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement. [18]The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass. [19]The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, [20]the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. [21]And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass. [22]And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. [23]And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. [24]By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, [25]and its gates will never be shut by day--and there will be no night there. [26]They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. [27]But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. The River of Life [22:1]Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb [2]through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. [3]No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. [4]They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. [5]And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. Jesus Is Coming [6]And he said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place." [7]"And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." [8]I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, [9]but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God." [10]And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. [11]Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy." [12]"Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. [13]I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." [14]Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. [15]Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. [16]"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star." [17]The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. [18]I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, [19]and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. [20]He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! [21]The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. (ESV)
, notes].
- Dake Annotated Reference Bible: page 5, notes.