ENOCH

The posts on this blog are intended to give you some ideas and guidelines for Sunday School/Kids Retreat/Bible School lessons. This lesson is designed for elementary-age children but could be adapted for older children as well.

“Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” Genesis 5:24 NIV

“By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.” Hebrews 11:5 NIV

            Remember the story of Cain and Abel? How sad to think that the very first baby born into the world grew up to be a murderer! And the person he killed was his own brother, Abel! Cain had to leave his home and family forever. Now his parents, Adam and Eve, had no children at home. After a while, they had another son and named him Seth. According to the Bible, Seth looked very much like his father. Seth grew up and had children of his own. Finally, his father, Adam died. Can you guess how old Adam was when he died? Let the kids respond. It’s hard to imagine but Adam was 930 years old when he died! When Seth died, he was 912. Perhaps one reason people lived so long was because God wanted them to have time to have lots and lots of children.  Then there would soon be many people in the world to love and worship God. As you will learn in other Bible stories, eventually there were many people, but most of them did not love God. The sin that began in the Garden of Eden spread to the heart of every child born into the world right up until today! And that includes you and me.

            Seth had a son named Enosh. Enosh had a son named Kenan. Kenan had a son named Mahalalel who had a son named Jared. All of these men lived to be around 900 years old before they died! Jared had a son, too. He named him Enoch.

The story of Enoch is very wonderful and different from the others before him. Enoch lived for many years and had lots of sons and daughters, just as his father, grandfather, and great grandfathers did. But the Bible says something very special about Enoch. It says that Enoch walked with God. Remember how his great, great, great, great, grandfather Adam walked with God in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve spoiled everything? Well, Enoch walked with God, too. God was pleased with Enoch and other people noticed that. Not many others cared very much about God anymore. One day, when Enoch was 365 years old, something happened. He disappeared! No one could find him! They never did find him. But the Bible tells us the secret of what happened to him. Can you guess what happened? Let the kids respond. I shall tell you.

God was so pleased with Enoch, and loved him so much, He decided to take Enoch right on up to heaven so Enoch could be with Him all the time! Enoch didn’t even have to die first. He just disappeared from the earth and landed in heaven! How wonderful that must have been for Enoch.

Now here’s something that is even more exciting: although Enoch was the first person to go to heaven suddenly and without dying, he is not the last. It’s going to happen again! Only this time, it will happen to many people at once. Someday, the Lord Jesus is going to call all the people on earth who love Him to come up to heaven. He will come down out of heaven and give a loud shout; then a trumpet will blow. First, all of the Christians who died will come up out of their graves and start rising up into the sky. Right after that, all the living people who love Jesus will start rising into the sky, too, and together, they will all meet Jesus in the air. Then He will take them up into heaven. This is called the Rapture. The Rapture could happen today, or tomorrow, or next year. We do not know when it will happen. (I Thessalonians 4:16-18)

After the Rapture, there will be plenty of people left on earth who do not love Jesus. They may look for relatives and friends who disappeared, but they won’t ever find them. The question is, which group will you be in – the group that goes up to heaven in the Rapture, or the group that is down here looking for their friends and family? You can be sure you will be in the first group if you have asked the Lord Jesus to be your Savior. This is an opportunity to present the Gospel in more detail.

Craft/activity – The Rapture of Enoch

            Print out small copies of one of the verses from the beginning of the lesson and set aside. Find a coloring page of a 5- or 6-inch high Old Testament character to represent Enoch. Make a copy for each child. Have them color Enoch and cut him out. Give them each a blank sheet of white computer paper or cardstock. Have them draw and color grass at the bottom and clouds at the top of the blank page. Glue the verse on the grass. Cut about a 2-foot-long piece of string for each child. Find the middle of the string and tape it at that point to Enoch’s back. With a hole punch, make two holes side-by-side about 2 inches apart near the top center of the sheet of paper, in the cloud area. Thread one end of the string through one hole and the other end through the second hole. Tie the two ends together in a knot on the back side of the paper/cardstock. If done correctly, Enoch is now hanging by the string on the front of the paper with his feet on the grass area. Now hold the paper with one hand, front facing you. Reach behind the paper with the other hand and gently pull on the knot of the string. Watch Enoch rise from the grass into the clouds.