Bypassing Death’s Door

In the biblical account of life before the great flood, people lived a long time, even hundreds of years. It had not rained up until this time and the earth was watered by a canopy of mist which would have also filtered the ultraviolet rays of the sun. This is one explanation for long life (and large reptiles, for even today they never stop growing as long as they are alive).

Yet with those advantages, people still died. Genesis 5 lists the family of Adam. After each person’s name and how long they lived, it says “and he died.”

Except for one. Genesis 5:23-24 says, “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.”

Reading this, I imagine God snatching Enoch from the earth much like He took Elijah (2 Kings 2). Hebrews 11:5 gives the explanation. “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.”

Going into eternity without dying is not a normal event. Aside from these two, the Bible says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment . . . ” (Hebrews 9:27). Almost everyone knows death is inevitable, and most fear it. When my husband is asked how he is managing with CLL, he often replies that we are all terminal, and many don’t like to hear him say it.

In thinking about these two who were taken to heaven alive, I wonder at God’s rationale. He does not do anything without a purpose so why take these men alive? Or why take anyone alive? What is He trying to tell us?

Christians do not agree on the interpretation of a passage in the New Testament that talks about the last days and the return of Christ. While we do agree that He is coming back (He said so, and that’s good enough for me), the actual sequence of events is unclear. The passage in question is 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

By this I understand that God used Enoch and Elijah to prefigure those believers who are alive when Jesus returns, showing us that some will be taken to Him without experiencing death. The Bible does not say how many will be in that number, nor does it say whether we will go from the clouds to heaven or will join Jesus there and then come back with Him as He comes to judge the earth.

For me, it is not worth a theological battle, mostly because we don’t have enough information to satisfy any of the various views on this. What we do have, apart from these verses from 1 Thessalonians, is the record of two, only two, who were taken up without dying.

Is that enough to convince me that God can do it? Of course. Did He have to give a couple of examples just to reassure me that what He had Paul write in 1 Thessalonians is doable? Maybe. Some need more evidence than others, and I don’t know if I need it or not. I do know that there will be a generation of Christians who will not see death, and of course it would be wonderful to be in that generation.

If that is not for me, Hebrews 9:28 covers all I need anyway. After saying “As it is appointed for men to die once, and after this the judgment,” He promises, “so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”

When Jesus comes back, it will not be as a sin-bearer. Instead He will come to complete the salvation of those who wait for Him. Right now, I know forgiveness from the guilt of sin. I also experience freedom from its power, at least some of the time. However, when He comes back and takes me into eternity, I will be redeemed from even the presence of sin and be safe forever in His presence—and thankfully that is totally true, no matter if I get to bypass death, or I have to go through its doorway.