All dates on this chart have been plotted directly from data found in the Holy Bible, New International Version®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
See Critical Path for information on the continuity of the biblical chronology.
Copyright © 1999, 2012 by David Petrie
Person:
Enoch
Born:
623 AM [Chart]
3601 BC [Chart]
[Table][Index]
Taken to Heaven:
988 AM
3236 BC
Biblical References:
Genesis 5:18-24
Comments:
Enoch receives special mention in the genealogical line that is described in Genesis 5. It says that "Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." Most people agree that this means that Enoch was taken to heaven by God. This is because Enoch "walked with God" while he was on Earth - presumably this is saying that Enoch's life was so "holy" that in everything he did he took God into account - i.e. God was walking beside him in whatever he did.
This account of Enoch being given special treatment and going to heaven without seeing death highlights the issue of death itself. There seems to be a prevailing idea among modern Christendom that there is some form of life immediately after death, where a person either goes to heaven or hell. This narrative of Enoch, however, seems to be contradictory to this idea. Why describe special treatment given to Enoch and how he was taken directly heaven if everyone goes to heaven or hell anyway when they die? Clearly, a different view of death is needed in place of the traditional view if the story of Enoch (and others, such as Elijah) are to fit into the overall view of life and death.