[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World whiteboard.]

The True Meaning of Hebrews 11:5

What happened to Enoch? And what exactly does Hebrews 11:5 mean?

That’s what we’ll cover in this video. It says:

By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God (Hebrews 11:5).

In this video you’ll learn the true meaning and explanation of this verse and why it’s been so misunderstood.

Key #1: Did Enoch die?

To begin, let’s examine three keys to properly understand this verse, of which ignoring these keys has led to various misunderstandings.

The first key is to know the answer to the question: Did Enoch die?

Now, while the NKJV says, “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death,” the KJV and several other versions translate this part as “so that he should not see death” (Hebrews 11:5).

All people named in Hebrews 11 died—even Enoch.

Yet, speaking of all the men and women of faith in this 11th chapter of Hebrews, verse 13 says,

These all died in faith (Hebrews 11:13).

The group it’s talking about includes Enoch.

Scripture says all people die.

Another obvious verse about whether Enoch would have died is Hebrews 9:27, which says,

It is appointed for men to die once.

Romans 5:12 says,

As sin entered the world… death came to all people, because all sinned.

1 Corinthians 15:22 says,

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Then in Genesis 5:23, where we read the account of Enoch, we’re told that:

All the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.

The phrase, “all the days of [so-and-so]” is used several other times in Genesis 5 and always means the person lived that long and then died.

So, did he or did he go to die?

Yes, Enoch died—the first death.

The answer is, according to Scripture, he died.

So, if Enoch died, what does this part of Hebrews 11:5 mean?

The key is to remember that there are two deaths spoken of in the Bible, the first death, and the second death in the lake of fire.

Bible verses about the second death

Here are some verses that mention the second death, and we’ll link to a video about this in the description that will explain further.

• Revelation 2:11
• Revelation 20:6
• Revelation 20:14
• Revelation 21:8

The verses we read earlier, saying that everyone will die, speak of the first death. Everyone will die the first death, but only those who are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ and surrender their lives to God will be saved from the second death.

Jesus said in John 8:51,

“Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”

Jesus was obviously speaking of the second death, as we’re told plainly that all will see the first death. That included His disciples and all those listed in Hebrews 11.

So, looking at the plethora of other passages for clarity, we see that Hebrews 11:5 is correctly translated in the KJV as he “should not see death.”

In fact, for additional clarity we could say which death he wouldn’t see, and we could read it, “that he should not see [the second] death.”

So, the answer to the question “Did Enoch die?” is, yes, he died the first death, as all have (or will), but he will not die the second death.

Key #2: Did Enoch go to heaven?

The next key is to know the answer to whether Enoch went to heaven, regardless of having died the first death.

And the answer lies in a clear statement made by Jesus Himself in John 3:13. He said,

“No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven.”

In other words, according to Jesus’ clear statement, neither Enoch nor anyone else for that matter, has gone to heaven except, of course, Himself—that is, Jesus.

Key #3: Who has received the promise yet for faithful saints?

The final key to properly understanding this verse is found in the subsequent verses of Hebrews 11.

We read earlier in verse 13, “These all died in faith,” but it goes on to say, “Not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them.”

And again verse 39:

And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith [again, Enoch being one of them], did not receive the promise (Hebrews 11:39).

No one has received the promise yet.

In other words, the faithful men and women throughout history, including those whose names are recorded in the faith chapter, Hebrews 11, all died not yet having received the promises of the first resurrection and eternal life.

This is because the first resurrection has not happened yet.

The first resurrection is the promised reward for faithful saints.

It is at this resurrection that the faithful men and women of old and all the faithful saints will be raised to eternal life and receive the promise they’ve been waiting for.

We read in 1 Corinthians 15:

For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality (1 Corinthians 15:52–53).

So much of the confusion surrounding what happened to Enoch, and the misunderstandings of Hebrews 11:5 that we’ll be unraveling in the rest of the video, is based in not considering the keys we just discussed:

• That Enoch died the first death but will be saved from the second death.
• That Enoch did not go to heaven, as Jesus Himself stated.
• And like everyone else listed in Hebrews 11, Enoch has not yet received the promise of the resurrection and eternal life.

So, we’ll keep these things in mind as we examine the rest of verse 5.

Define what Hebrews 11 is actually saying.

Now that we’ve established a baseline of truth through which we can at least understand what it is NOT saying, and a proper framework to help us understand what it COULD be saying, let’s dig into what it IS saying.

To do this, we’ll start by examining the three instances of the word “taken” in the NKJV, or the word “translated” that was used in the KJV.

These English words come from Greek words meaning:

• to transfer
• to transfer to another place
• to change

Now, for simplicity’s sake, let’s examine the second instance of the word in the part of the verse that says He “was not found, because God had taken him.”

The question is, with everything we’ve learned so far, and what we can know from the rest of Scripture, which English word best communicates what Paul was saying?

Since this is referencing the account in Genesis 5. Let’s read it there.

So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him (Genesis 5:23–24).

The Hebrew word for “took” here simply means:

• to take
• to be taken away
• or carry away

And it helps us know which Greek definition works best, and that is, “taken” or “to transfer.”

But what is this talking about, that God “took him”?

We read something similar about Moses in Deuteronomy 34.

So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab... And He [that is God] buried him in a valley in the land of Moab… but no one knows his grave to this day (Deuteronomy 34:5–6).

So here we see that God intervened to bury the body of Moses. One of the possible reasons for this may have been to prevent people from digging up his grave and even worshiping his bones.

So in this case, God took the body of Moses to be buried so that he would not be found. It was apparently the same for Enoch. God Himself doing this is nothing short of miraculous.

But we have one more example that helps put the nail in the coffin regarding the second instance.

This time it’s in Acts 7:16, but in this case the same Greek word is translated “carried back.”

So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers. And they were carried back [or moved to another place] to Shechem and laid in the tomb… (Acts 7:15-16).

So, we see Jacob’s body was simply moved, “taken” or “translated,” to the place he was buried.

In this case, it was not necessarily done by God Himself, as it was for Enoch and Moses, it was done by the Israelites on their journey back to Canaan.

So this part of Hebrews 11:5 is most clearly translated in the NKJV saying, he “was not found, because God had taken him.”

And for additional clarity we could say, “And [his body] was not found because God had taken him [as He did with Moses].”

Now, let’s go back and examine the first use of the word taken in Hebrews 11:5.

By faith Enoch was taken away [or “translated” from the KJV] so that he should not see [the second] death.

This instance does not make sense to mean that God physically moved his body so that he would not see the second death.

But Colossians 1:13 helps us understand what it does mean. This verse uses a similar Greek word. The KJV says God has “delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.”

In this case it is clearly a figurative transferring from being on a path of spiritual darkness to a path headed toward God’s Kingdom. This happens to all who surrender themselves to God and His ways.

And that was the case for Enoch.

In other words, Enoch experienced this same spiritual translation, or conversion, when he began his walk with God at 65 years old and continued down that path for the following 300 years before he died at 365 years old as described in Genesis 5:22–24.

Now, let’s take all the context we’ve gained from Scripture and apply it to this verse:

“By faith Enoch was translated [or converted] so that he should not see [the second] death [but will be in the first resurrection], ‘and [his body] was not found because God had taken him [as He did with the body of Moses]’; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”

If you are interested in learning more about the resurrection Enoch will be a part of, then check out our whiteboard The First Resurrection Explained.

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