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The Three Men In The Bible That Never Died · truthunedited

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  Speaker 1: Three individuals in the Bible who never died. Number one Elijah.
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  Speaker 1: During one of Israel's worst periods, God called Elijah. At
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  Speaker 1: that time, Israel had one of the worst kings, and
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  Speaker 1: his name was Ahab. Elijah was one of Israel's greatest
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  Speaker 1: prophets and a tish bite from Gilead in the region
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  Speaker 1: of Transjordan. The Book of Kings covers more of his
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  Speaker 1: life than most of the kings themselves, despite their not
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  Speaker 1: being a book written in his honor. His encounter with
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  Speaker 1: the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel made him very famous.
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  Speaker 1: King Ahab incorporated idealism into a system that should be
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  Speaker 1: led by God's agenda, as the Israelites were his people.
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  Speaker 1: Israel suffered as a result of a bad government, but Elijah,
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  Speaker 1: on the other hand, represented a different kind of dominion.
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  Speaker 1: He had no connections to the political establishment or the
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  Speaker 1: royal family. He had the ability to speak the truth
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  Speaker 1: to earthly power without being co opted or corrupted. Elijah
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  Speaker 1: was a brave person who spoke the truth no matter
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  Speaker 1: who was in charge. He represented a completely different kingdom
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  Speaker 1: with a very different purpose. Elijah seemed to have reached
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  Speaker 1: the peak of life's adventures, heroically almost unbelievable, yet humble
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  Speaker 1: at heart. But he was about to surpass them all.
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  Speaker 1: He was about to avoid death. Elijah's deathless departure puts
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  Speaker 1: him in the rare category of departures without death. Although
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  Speaker 1: we are never told when or how God did this,
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  Speaker 1: it is clear from the context that he informed Elijah
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  Speaker 1: of his imminent departure. God revealed this to the sons
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  Speaker 1: of the prophets, as well as to Elisha, the close
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  Speaker 1: friend of the old prophet and divinely chosen successor, as
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  Speaker 1: we will see Second Kings two verses one to twelve,
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  Speaker 1: when the Lord was about to take Elijah to the
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  Speaker 1: heavens in a whirlwind. Elijah and Elisha were on their
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  Speaker 1: way to Gilgal. We reached the life last day of
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  Speaker 1: Elijah on earth, when he will be lifted up in
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  Speaker 1: a whirlwind. The Hebrew here can also be translated as
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  Speaker 1: a blast in a windy moment, in a sweeping motion,
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  Speaker 1: Elijah would be taken away, and at that moment he
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  Speaker 1: would vanish from this land into the presence of God. Now,
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  Speaker 1: God not only told Elijah that this would happen and
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  Speaker 1: how it would happen, but he also told him where
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  Speaker 1: it would happen. This explains why we see Elijah moving
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  Speaker 1: quickly toward the Jordan. As you read the narrative, imagine
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  Speaker 1: the scene unfolding Second Kings two verses two to six.
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  Speaker 1: And Elijah said to Elisha, please stay here, for the
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  Speaker 1: Lord has sent me to Bethel. But Elisha replied, as
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  Speaker 1: the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will
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  Speaker 1: not leave you. So they went down to Bethel. Now,
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  Speaker 1: the sons of the Prophets who were in Bethel came
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  Speaker 1: out to Elisha and said to him, do you know
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  Speaker 1: that the Lord will take away your master to day?
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  Speaker 1: He answered yes, I know, keep silent about it. Elijah
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  Speaker 1: said to him, Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord
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  Speaker 1: has sent me to Jericho. But he said, as the
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  Speaker 1: Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not
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  Speaker 1: leave you. So they went to Jericho. The sons of
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  Speaker 1: the Prophets who were in Jericho approached Elisha and said
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  Speaker 1: to him, do you know that the Lord will take
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  Speaker 1: away your master to day? And he answered yes, I know.
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  Speaker 1: Keep silent about it. Elijah said to him, please stay here,
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  Speaker 1: for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan. But
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  Speaker 1: he said, as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live,
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  Speaker 1: I will not leave you. So the two of them
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  Speaker 1: went on. The sons of the Prophets asked the same
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  Speaker 1: question to Elisha, both in Bethel and Jericho. Do you
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  Speaker 1: know that the Lord will take away your master from
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  Speaker 1: over you to day? Elisha responded in the same way
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  Speaker 1: on both occasions, Yes, I know. Now, please be silent.
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  Speaker 1: Gilgal was the starting point according to Joshua, for Gilgal
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  Speaker 1: was the campsite of the children of Israel after crossing
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  Speaker 1: the Jordan into Canaan. If you remember your biblical history,
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  Speaker 1: this was the point where they were still safe just
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  Speaker 1: before they began their invasion into enemy territory. Gilgal was
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  Speaker 1: the starting point for Elijah's final journey. Elijah's next stop
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  Speaker 1: was Bethel, a place of prayer. Bethel means house of God. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: Elijah went to the Jordan, which was a place of death,
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  Speaker 1: not just physical death, but also the death of one's
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  Speaker 1: own life. Elisha said to Elijah upon reaching the Jordan,
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  Speaker 1: his final earthly destination, as the Lord lives, I will
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  Speaker 1: not leave you. Elijah had been trying to distance himself
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  Speaker 1: from Elisha since Gilgal. I believe he wasn't trying to
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  Speaker 1: get rid of Elisha as much as he was testing
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  Speaker 1: his next companion, his future divinely chosen successor. When the
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  Speaker 1: two men stood by the Jordan, the scene changed abruptly.
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  Speaker 1: Now comes the miraculous event second Kings two verses seven
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  Speaker 1: to ten. Fifty men from the sons of the Prophets
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  Speaker 1: also went and stood at a distance. While the two
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  Speaker 1: of them stood by the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak,
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  Speaker 1: rolled it up and struck the waters, which parted to
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  Speaker 1: one side and to the other, so that the two
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  Speaker 1: of them crossed on dry ground. And when they had crossed,
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  Speaker 1: Elijah said to Elisha, ask what I shall do for
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  Speaker 1: you before I am taken from you? And Elishah said, please,
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  Speaker 1: let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.
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  Speaker 1: Elijah replied, you have asked for a hard thing. Nevertheless,
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  Speaker 1: if you see me as I am being taken from you,
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  Speaker 1: it shall be so for you. But if not, it
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  Speaker 1: shall not be so. This is similar to the miracle
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  Speaker 1: that happened centuries ago when God miraculously parted the Red Sea,
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  Speaker 1: allowing Moses and the children of Israel to cross on
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  Speaker 1: dry land. In this case, the waters of the Jordan divided,
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  Speaker 1: allowing Elijah and Elishah to cross the river on dry land.
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  Speaker 1: Then Elijah turns to his friend and asks, what can
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  Speaker 1: I do for you before I go, before the Lord
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  Speaker 1: takes me from this land Second Kings, two verse eleven.
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  Speaker 1: As they continued walking and talking, behold, a chariot of
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  Speaker 1: fire with horses of fire appeared suddenly and separated the two,
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  Speaker 1: and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. This
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  Speaker 1: is fantastic. They were walking together and talking. Elijah was
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  Speaker 1: not preaching or prophesying at that moment. They were just
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  Speaker 1: two close friends walking and talking together. This must have
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  Speaker 1: been an incredible moment. Second Kings two verses twelve to fifteen.
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  Speaker 1: Elisha saw it and cried, my father, my father, the
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  Speaker 1: chariots of Israel and its horsemen, and he saw him
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  Speaker 1: no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes
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  Speaker 1: and tore them in two pieces. In mourning. He took
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  Speaker 1: us the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him,
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  Speaker 1: and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
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  Speaker 1: He took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from
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  Speaker 1: him and struck the waters, saying, where is the Lord,
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  Speaker 1: the God of Elijah, and when he had struck the waters,
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  Speaker 1: they parted to one side and to the other, and
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  Speaker 1: Elisha crossed over. When the sons of the Prophets who
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  Speaker 1: were in Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared,
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  Speaker 1: the spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha, and they came
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  Speaker 1: to meet him and bowed to the ground before him
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  Speaker 1: a sign of respect. Elijah's deathless covenant came into effect. Suddenly,
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  Speaker 1: nothing of God dies. When a man or woman of
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  Speaker 1: God dies, we tend to forget this. Elisha is a
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  Speaker 1: prime example, and God always has a plan. Consider this.
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  Speaker 1: He had his men and women in every era to
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  Speaker 1: continue his work throughout the centuries. God never became frustrated
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  Speaker 1: wondering what his children would do now that he was
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  Speaker 1: on now that he is no longer with them. Our creator,
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  Speaker 1: God is almighty and never runs out of resources. Elisha
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  Speaker 1: was surprised and astonished for a brief moment, but it
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  Speaker 1: didn't last long. He bent down and took the prophet's cloak.
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  Speaker 1: Remembering Elijah's words, he crossed the Jordan again, claiming the
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  Speaker 1: power that was now his, and began his own prophetic ministry.
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  Speaker 1: From that point forward, God's plan never failed Elijah goes out,
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  Speaker 1: Elisha comes in number two Enoch. The first mention of
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  Speaker 1: Enoch is in Genesis chapter five. There was an Enoch
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  Speaker 1: who was the son of Cain, and this is not
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  Speaker 1: the same Enoch Genesis five, verse twenty one. When Enoch
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  Speaker 1: had lived sixty five years, he fathered Methuselah, and according
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  Speaker 1: to our biblical understanding, we know that his son Methuselah
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  Speaker 1: was the oldest man recorded in the scriptures. When we
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  Speaker 1: study the genealogies in the Bible, we find that Enoch
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  Speaker 1: was the great grand father of Noah Jude fourteen. It
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  Speaker 1: was about these people that Enoch, in the seventh generation
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  Speaker 1: from Adam prophesied when he said, behold, the Lord comes
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  Speaker 1: with ten thousands of his holy ones. Jude says that
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  Speaker 1: Enoch warned about the Lord's impending judgment against them. Enoch
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  Speaker 1: was a man who walked with God amidst the moral
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  Speaker 1: decay in the days of Noah and spoke about the
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  Speaker 1: imminent judgment in a time when most of his contemporaries
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  Speaker 1: had only the record of their birth and the children
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  Speaker 1: they also bore. Enoch is like a breath of fresh air.
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  Speaker 1: Enoch was introduced like others, but his testimony is striking.
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  Speaker 1: His description is short, but dense and meaningful. It signifies
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  Speaker 1: something about his pure walk with God, which translated him.
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  Speaker 1: His life provided a model for many people across different generations,
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  Speaker 1: teaching us to live for an audience of one. He
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  Speaker 1: teaches us to passionately seek intimate communion and fellowship with God,
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  Speaker 1: knowing that by doing so we will experience God in
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  Speaker 1: a new dimension. Genesis five, verses eighteen to twenty four.
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  Speaker 1: When Jared was one hundred and sixty five years old,
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  Speaker 1: he became the father of Enoch. Jared lived eight hundred
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  Speaker 1: years after Enoch's birth and had other sons and daughters. Thus,
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  Speaker 1: Jared lived nine hundred and sixty two years and died.
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  Speaker 1: When Enoch was sixty five years old, he became the
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  Speaker 1: father of Methuselah. Enoch walked in habitual communion with God
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  Speaker 1: for three hundred years after Methuselah's birth, and had other
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  Speaker 1: sons and daughters. Thus, all the days of Enoch were
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  Speaker 1: three hundred and sixty five years in reverent, fear and obedience.
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  Speaker 1: Enoch walked with God, and he was not found among men,
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  Speaker 1: because God took him to be with him. Enoch's case
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  Speaker 1: was the first documented rapture, for God simply took him.
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  Speaker 1: Perhaps the communion was so intense that God's presence just
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  Speaker 1: enveloped and raptured him. The Book of Hebrews speaks of
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  Speaker 1: the man for whom this world was not worthy Hebrews eleven,
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  Speaker 1: verses five and six. By faith that pleased God, Enoch
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  Speaker 1: was taken up and brought to heaven so that he
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  Speaker 1: would not see death. And he was not found because
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  Speaker 1: God had taken him. For even before he was taken
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  Speaker 1: to heaven, he received the still recorded testimony that he
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  Speaker 1: had walked with God and pleased him. But without faith,
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  Speaker 1: it is impossible to walk with God and please him.
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  Speaker 1: For anyone who approaches God must necessarily believe that God
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  Speaker 1: exists and that He rewards those who seek him with
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  Speaker 1: sincerity and diligence. It is a great comfort to know
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  Speaker 1: that God will always prepare sufficiently and abundantly for his
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  Speaker 1: own and watch over us tenderly until we flourish miraculously
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  Speaker 1: Chronicles sixteen, verse nine. For the eyes of the Lord
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  Speaker 1: roam throughout the earth to support those whose heart is
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  Speaker 1: completely his. You acted foolishly in this. Therefore, from now
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  Speaker 1: on you will have wars while the Father paus his
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  Speaker 1: kindness upon us to see us grow what he truly
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  Speaker 1: desires from us. Is an honest and unpretentious response to
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  Speaker 1: the love he gives us. But a time is coming,
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  Speaker 1: and is already here, when the true worshippers will worship
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  Speaker 1: the Father and the Spirit with heart and soul and
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  Speaker 1: in truth. For the Father seek such people to be
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  Speaker 1: his worshipers. God is spirit, the source of life, still
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  Speaker 1: invisible to humanity, and those who worship him must worship
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  Speaker 1: in spirit and truth. John four, Verses twenty three and
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  Speaker 1: twenty four. God is always in search of faithful and
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  Speaker 1: loyal seeds who will live their lives entirely for him.
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  Speaker 1: These are the vessels through which He can truly use
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  Speaker 1: and manifest his glory. Enoch, according to the scriptures, did
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  Speaker 1: not share the fate of Adam and the rest of
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  Speaker 1: his descendants. He did not die. Enoch is used as
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  Speaker 1: an example of rapture in the New Ties Testament. One
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  Speaker 1: goal of translating Enuch is to emphasize the truth of
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  Speaker 1: the scriptures that there is a final redemption for all
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  Speaker 1: of us who place our faith in the Lord. Although
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  Speaker 1: the vast majority of believers will go through physical death.
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  Speaker 1: Enoch's example gives believers hope that in the end they
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  Speaker 1: will triumph over death. Number three Christians in the Last days.
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  Speaker 1: Now we are entering the recorded prophecy. This is one
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  Speaker 1: that is yet to be fulfilled as written. Although many
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  Speaker 1: of us, if not all of us, since we do
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  Speaker 1: not know the exact time when Jesus will return, will
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  Speaker 1: experience the pains of death. Christians in the Last Days
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  Speaker 1: will undergo a rapture. It is also important to note
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  Speaker 1: that in Thessalonians four verses thirteen to eighteen, both the
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  Speaker 1: Christians who died previously and those who are still alive
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  Speaker 1: will participate in this event together. Thessalonians four verses thirteen
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  Speaker 1: to eighteen. Now, we do not want you, believers, to
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  Speaker 1: be uninformed about those who are asleep in death, so
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  Speaker 1: that you do not grieve as the others who have
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  Speaker 1: no hope beyond this present life. For if we believe
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  Speaker 1: that Jesus died and rose again, as indeed happened, so
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  Speaker 1: also in the same way, God, by raising them from
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  Speaker 1: the dead, will bring with him those believers who have
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  Speaker 1: slept in Jesus. For we tell you this by the
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  Speaker 1: word of the Lord, that we the living, those who
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  Speaker 1: remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede
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  Speaker 1: those who sleep in death. For the Lord himself will
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  Speaker 1: descend from heaven with a commanding voice, with the voice
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  Speaker 1: of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God,
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  Speaker 1: and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we
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  Speaker 1: the living who remain on earth will be caught up,
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  Speaker 1: caught up together with them the resurrected in the clouds
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  Speaker 1: to meet the Lord in the air. And so we
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  Speaker 1: will always be with the Lord. Therefore, console and encourage
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  Speaker 1: one another with these words about our reunion with the
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  Speaker 1: believers who have died. Thus, in both cases we will
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  Speaker 1: experience the rapture at that time. Like Enoch, Christians will
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  Speaker 1: be caught up in the air. Therefore, one of the
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  Speaker 1: reasons for translating Enoch is that he foreshadows an entire
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  Speaker 1: generation of believers who will not taste death.