Tag Archives: Life and death

Walking with God

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Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. (Gen. 5:22-24)

       footstepThe genealogical record of Genesis chapter 5 is repetitious: men lived and died.  The repetition is broken with one man, Enoch, as Moses wrote, “God took him” (Gen. 5:24).  God decided His friend, the one who “walked” with Him, would not see death, so the Lord took him directly to heaven.  “The word walk implies a steady, progressive relationship and not just a casual acquaintance. To walk with God is the business of a lifetime, and not just the performance of an hour.”[1]  It is written in the New Testament, “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God” (Heb. 11:5). 

…“Enoch walked with God and he was not; for God took him.” The phrase is full of meaning. Enoch walked with God because he was His friend and liked His company, because he was going in the same direction as God, and had no desire for anything but what lay in God’s path. We walk with God when He is in all our thoughts; not because we consciously think of Him at all times, but because He is naturally suggested to us by all we think of; as when any person or plan or idea has become important to us, no matter what we think of, our thought is always found recurring to this favorite object, so with the godly man everything has a connection with God and must be ruled by that connection. When some change in his circumstances is thought of, he has first of all to determine how the proposed change will affect his connection with God—will his conscience be equally clear, will he be able to live on the same friendly terms with God and so forth. When he falls into sin he cannot rest till he has resumed his place at God’s side and walks again with Him. This is the general nature of walking with God; it is a persistent endeavor to hold all our life open to God’s inspection and in conformity to His will; a readiness to give up what we find does cause any misunderstanding between us and God; a feeling of loneliness if we have not some satisfaction in our efforts at holding fellowship with God, a cold and desolate feeling when we are conscious of doing something that displeases Him. This walking with God necessarily tells on the whole life and character. As you instinctively avoid subjects which you know will jar upon the feelings of your friend, as you naturally endeavor to suit yourself to your company, so when the consciousness of God’s presence begins to have some weight with you, you are found instinctively endeavoring to please Him, repressing the thoughts you know He disapproves, and endeavoring to educate such dispositions as reflect His own nature. It is easy then to understand how we may practically walk with God—it is to open to Him all our purposes and hopes, to seek His judgment on our scheme of life and idea of happiness—it is to be on thoroughly friendly terms with God.[2]

       Walking with God starts with a relationship.  It is a relationship in which we are rightly related to God by faith (John 3:16), and one that continues in faith (2 Cor. 5:7), trusting Him in all things (Prov. 3:5-6).  To “walk with God” is the ideal standard for a believer (Lev. 26:3-12; Gal. 5:16, 25; Eph. 4:1; Col. 2:6-7; cf. Rev. 3:4).  It does not mean a life of sinless perfection; rather, it means that when we sin, we handle it in a biblical manner with humility and confession (e.g. 2 Sam. 12:1-23; cf. 1 Kings 11:4; 1 Jo. 1:8-10).  Walking with God means we go in the same direction He is going, and like a friend, we are glad to share in His fellowship (1 Jo. 1:1-10).  It means God is regularly in our thoughts, and we live every day conscious of Him and His will for our lives (Rom. 12:1-2; Col. 3:16-17).  Walking with God means we are open and honest with Him about everything, and agree to let His light shine in our lives, not fearing what it exposes (1 Jo. 1:5-7).  It means being sensitive to what may offend Him, and making every effort to please Him through a life of faith (2 Cor. 5:9; Heb. 11:6).  May we all learn to walk with the Lord.

Steven R. Cook, D.Min.

Related Articles:

[1] William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 38.

[2] Marcus Dods, The Book of Genesis (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1893), 51-53.

The Biblical Resurrections

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As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold, and whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me! (Job 19:25-27 NASB)

       When God originally created Adam and Eve, He created them in His image (Heb. tselem), to have personality, consciousness, self-consciousness, intellect, volition and emotion (Gen 2:16-27). God formed Adam’s body from the dust of the earth and created his soul (Heb. nephesh; Grk. psuche) and breathed it into his body (Gen 2:7; 1 Cor 15:45). At that moment Adam became a living being. 

       When Adam sinned through disobedience and brought sin into the human race, he also brought death, both spiritual and physical (Gen 2:15-17; 3:1-8; Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:21-22). Death means separation. Spiritual death refers to separation from God, and physical death refers to the separation of the soul from the body. The unbeliever who is alive on the earth is separated from God in time, and should he continue his entire life rejecting the Gospel message (John 3:16; 1 Cor 15:3-4; Eph 2:8-9), will be separated from God for eternity in the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:11-15). At physical death, the soul is separated from the body. Solomon states, “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it” (Eccl 12:7). God gives life, and He takes life (1 Sam 2:6; Psa 100:3; Luke 12:20).

       Death is not the final victor in life. God created the soul to be forever united with the body. Therefore, God will resurrect (Grk. anastasis) each body that has died and will reunite it with every human soul. It is necessary to distinguish between resuscitation and resurrection. There were times when God raised, or resuscitated, a person back to life, but that person was subject to death, and eventually died again (John 12:9-10). When a person is resurrected, they never die, but live forever (John 11:25-26). 

       Concerning resurrections in general, the OT prophet Daniel wrote, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt” (Dan 12:1-2). Daniel is writing in general and referring to the resurrection of believers and unbelievers. The resurrection of believers means the body and soul will be reunited and spend eternity with God in heaven. The resurrection of unbelievers means the body and soul will be reunited and spend eternity separated from God in the Lake of Fire. We learn from other biblical passages that there are several resurrections mentioned in the Bible:

  1. The resurrection of Jesus (Matt 28:1-7; Mark 16:1-11; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18; 1 Cor 15:3-4; Rev 1:5).
  2. Unidentified Old Testament saints were resurrected after Christ’s resurrection (Matt 27:50-53). There is some question as to whether these people were resurrected (to live forever and translated into heaven) or resuscitated (brought back to life and died again).
  3. The resurrection of the church at the Rapture (1 Cor.15:51–53; 1 Th 4:14-17).
  4. The two witnesses who are killed and resurrected during the tribulation (Rev 11:8-11).
  5. The Tribulation saints (Rev 20:4-6).
  6. Old Testament saints at the Second Coming after the Tribulation (Job 19:25-27; Isa 26:19; Ezek 37:12-14; Dan 12:1-2, 13).
  7. The resurrection of all unbelievers at the end of the Millennium who stand before the Great White Throne before being thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:11-15). Those who are part of the second resurrection partake of the second death (Rev. 20:14).

       The first resurrection occurs in several stages starting with Christ, and involves only believers who will live with Christ during His millennial reign and for all eternity (Rev 20:4-6). According to John Walvoord, it is called the first resurrection, “not in the sense of being number one or prior to all resurrections, but in the sense that it occurs before the final resurrection, the resurrection of the wicked.”[1] The final resurrection is for unbelievers only who will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, which will occur after the millennial reign of Christ. Charles Ryrie states:

The resurrection of the just is also called the first resurrection and will occur in several stages, not all at once. The dead in Christ will be raised first at the rapture of the church (1 Thess. 4:16). The redeemed of the tribulation period who die during that time will be raised before the millennium (Rev 20:4). The redeemed of Old Testament times will also be a part of the resurrection of the just. Expositors are divided over when they will be raised, some believing that it will happen at the rapture when the church saints are raised, and others holding that it will occur at the second coming (Dan 12:2—the writer prefers the latter view)…all unsaved people of all time will be raised after the millennium to be judged and then cast into the lake of fire forever (Rev 20:11–15). At their resurrection they will apparently be given some sort of bodies that will be able to live forever and feel the effects of the torments of the lake of fire.[2]

The following illustration may be helpful:

The Number and Order of the Resurrections.png

     As a special note, all children who die before reaching God consciousness have heaven as their home. They are given resurrection bodies and will spend eternity in the presence of God. Robert Lightner states:

In the Bible, infants, little children, and others who cannot believe are neither told to believe nor expected to do so.  They are not classified as wicked evildoers and rejecters of God’s grace.  It is always adults who are addressed, either directly or indirectly, regarding these matters.  Because the Bible has so much to say about those who cannot believe and yet says nothing about their being eternally separated from God because of their inability, we conclude that they have heaven as their home.  They die safely in the arms of Jesus.[3]

       Those who reach the age of God consciousness are accountable for their own lives. How each person responds to God determines his eternal destiny. Man cannot save himself, as he is severely damaged by sin and totally depraved (Rom 5:6-10; Eph 2:1-3). Today, the Gospel message of Jesus Christ is clear. The good news is, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16; cf. 1 Cor 15:3-4). Salvation is as simple as, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Dr. Steven R. Cook

Related Articles:

[1] John F. Walvoord, Major Bible Prophecies (Grand Rapids: Michigan, Zondervan Publishing, 1991), 379.

[2]Charles C. Ryrie, “Resurrections” A survey of Bible doctrine (Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press, 1995), 182-183.

[3] Robert P. Lightner, Safe in the Arms of Jesus (Grand Rapids, Mich., Kregel Publications, 2000), 15-16.