Eternal Life Is Certain

Eternal Life Is Certain

Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

Genesis 5:24

The first people of the earth eagerly anticipated eternal life because they knew that Abel and Enoch were living with God. We have an even greater anticipation because we know that Christ has already come and has gone back to the Father to prepare a place for us. Our human nature spends all of its energy pursuing the fleeting things of this world but doesn’t look forward to the joys of eternal life. Nothing could be more certain than eternal life. We have so much evidence! We know that Abel, Enoch, and Elijah are living with God—even with Christ himself. Christ is the first of those who have died to come back to life (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23).

People who are devoted to seeking worldly pleasures are worthy of contempt. Similarly, our own human nature, which makes us look for pleasure, is worthy of contempt. Because we are so wrapped up in the concerns of this world, we care little for the riches of eternal life.

We should pay attention to this passage and keep it in our hearts. Enoch was not taken from this world by one of his devout ancestors or an angel. He was taken by God himself. This is the comfort that relieved the pain of death for the Old Testament believers. They had so little fear of death that they didn’t even call it death. Instead, they referred to it as mere sleep from which they would awaken into eternal life. For believers, death is not death but simply sleep. When death no longer brings dread and fear—when it no longer has sting and power—it can no longer be called death. Consequently, when faith becomes stronger, death becomes proportionately weaker. Lack of faith, on the other hand, increases the bitterness of death.