Download the whole book, “A Comparison Guide between the Muslim Qur’an, the Jewish Tanakh, and the Christian Bible: A Simple and Helpful Summary of the Main Stories, Characters, and Beliefs of Global Monotheism” free HERE or on Kindle/Print/Audiobook HERE
6. Enoch (Idris)
God gave Adam and Eve another child in Seth, through Seth’s descendants that mankind came to know and experience God’s love through Jesus. Enoch was great-great-great-great grandson of Adam and the great-grandfather to Noah. The Tanakh describes the end of Enoch’s life differently, saying “and he was not, for God took him” (Genesis 5:21–24). He is described as “walked with God” (Genesis 5:24), “commended as having pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5), and having “died in faith” (Hebrews 11:13). In the Gospel of Luke, Enoch is connected to the legal lineage of Jesus through Joseph. Through Enoch, God both warns us of the coming End Times and also becomes an example to us of what saving faith looks like. Enoch’s lineage and ascension to Heaven point forward to his legal descendent in Jesus.
· Read in The Qur’an - 19:56, 29:57
· Read in The Tanakh and The Bible - Genesis 5:21–24; Luke 3:36-38; Jude 14–16; Hebrews 11:5–6, 11:13-16
Readings from The Qur’an:
The Qur’an 19:56 “And mention in the Book (the Qur'an) Idris (Enoch). Verily he was a man of truth, (and) a Prophet. 57. And We raised him to a high station.”
· If Enoch was a “man of truth” and a “Prophet”, why doesn’t the Qur’an give more details to us about his life? Does the Qur’an assume that the reader will be familiar with the Tanakh and the Bible?
The Qur’an 29:57 “Everyone shall taste death. Then unto Us you shall be returned.”
· The Qur’an says everyone will “taste death.” But in the Bible both Enoch and Elijah ascend to Heaven without dying? Since The Qur’an is aware of both prophets, why would it have this verse to contradict the plain teaching of the Tanakh and Bible?
Readings from The Tanakh and The Bible:
Genesis 5:21–24 “When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. [22] Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. [23] Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. [24] Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.”
· What does it mean to “walk with God”? Why does it take trust to follow someone? Why does it take love to spend time with someone? Do you see in your life the evidence of a love and trust of God?
Luke 3:36–38 “the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, [37] the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, [38] the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.”
· Why are family lineages important? Why do you think God tells us that Enoch is in the family lineage of Jesus?
Jude 14–16 “It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, [15] to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.’ [16] These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.”
· What do you think of this prophesy from Enoch? What sort of warning is it? For whom? How can we test to see if we have been following our “own sinful desires”?
Hebrews 11:5–6 “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. [6] And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
· For what reason did Enoch “not see death”? While we will all likely see physical death, how can we similarly “not see” eternal death (Hell) according to the Bible?
· How do Enoch and Elijah’s journey to Heaven point us forward to Jesus’ ascension to Heaven? How does it make us look forward to Christ’s return when faithful believers will be resurrected to Heaven? When those
Hebrews 11:13–16 “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. [14] For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. [15] If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. [16] But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”
· In faith, what sort of “homeland” or “better country” should we be seeking? How is better than where and how we live now?
See also:
· What does the Bible say about Heaven? www.trustworthyword.com/what-does-the-bible-say-about-heaven