IMITATE THEIR FAITH/ENOCH- ENOCH "PROPHESIED ABOUT THEM"

Enoch may have felt lonely as a man of faith in such a faithless world.  But did his God, Jehovah take notice of him? He did. The day came when Jehovah communicated with this faithful servant of his. God gave Enoch a message to deliver to the people of his day. He thus made Enoch a prophet, the first whose message is revealed in the Bible. We know of this because Jude, a half brother of Jesus , was is inspired  to write down Enoch's  prophetic words many centuries later.

What was Enoch's prophecy?  It went as follows:  "Look! Jehovah came with his holy myriads to execute judgment against all, and to convict all the ungodly concerning all their ungodly deeds that they did in an ungodly way, and concerning all the shocking things that ungodly sinner spoke against him." (Jude 14, 15) Now, the first thing you may notice is that Enoch spoke in the past tense, as if God had already done what the prophecy describes. That is a pattern that many prophecies  thereafter followed. The idea is this: The prophet speaking of something that is so certain to occur that it may describe as if it has already happened! - ISAIAH 46:10.

What was it like for Enoch to deliver that pronouncement, perhaps by preaching to all who would hear? Notice how forceful the warning was!-four times it used the word "ungodly " to denounce the people, their deeds, and the way they carried out those deeds. The prophecy thus warned all humans that the world  they had built up since the expulsion from Eden was corrupt  through and through.  That world would face  a cataclysmic end when Jehovah would come with his "holy myriads"-legions of mighty angels in battle array-to bring destruction. Enoch fearlessly shared that divine warning, and he did it alone!  Perhaps young Lamech watched, in awe of his grandfather's courage. If so, we well understand why.

Enoch's faith may move us to ask ourselves whether we see the world in which we will as God sees it. The judgment that Enoch bravely proclaimed still stands; it applies to today's world just as it did in the world of Enoch's day. In harmony with Enoch's warning,  Jehovah brought the great Deluge against that ungodly world in Noah's day. But that destruction set the pattern for a greater destruction yet to come.(Matthew 24:38, 39; 2 Peter 2:4-6) Today, as then, God stands poised with his holy myriads to being a righteous judgment against an ungodly world. Each of us needs to take Enoch's warning  to heart share it with others.  Our family and friends  might stand apart from us.  We may feel alone at times. But Jehovah never abandoned Enoch; neither will he abandoned his faithful servants today!

Next time: IMITATE THEIR FAITH/ENOCH - "TRANSFERRED SO AS NOT TO SEE DEATH"

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