Genesis 5:21-24
21And Henoch lived sixty five year, and begat Mathusala. 22And Henoch walked with God after he had begot Mathusalah, three hundred year, and begat sons and daughters: 23And all the days of Henoch were three hundred and sixty five year, 24and then Henoch lived a godly life, and was no more seen, for God took him away.
- Tyndale and friends Bible
What does it mean that God took Enoch away?
The New Testament book of Hebrews gives some clues:
Hebrews 11:5-13
5By faith was Enoch translated that he should not see death: neither was he found: for God had taken him away. Before he was taken away, he obtained record, that he had pleased God: 6but without faith it is unpossible to please him. For he that cometh to God, must believe that God is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him. 7By faith Noah honoured God, after that he was warned of things which were not seen, and prepared the ark to the saving of his household, thorow the which ark he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which cometh by faith. 8By faith Abraham, when he was called obeyed to go out into a place, which he should afterward receive to inheritance, and he went out, not knowing whither he should go. 9By faith he removed into the land that was promised him, as into a strange country, and dwelt in tabernacles: and so did Isaac, and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he looked for a city having a foundation, whose builder and maker is God. 11Thorow faith Sara also received strength to be with child, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful which had promised. 12And therefore sprang there of one (and of one which was as good as dead) so many in multitude, as the stars of the sky, and as the sand of the sea shore which is innumerable. 13And they all died in faith, and received not the promises: but saw them afar off, and believed them, and saluted them: and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
- Tyndale and friends Bible
Enoch also died in faith but was translated with a record that pleased God who took him faster than death:
Jude 1:14-15
14Enoch the seventh from Adam prophesied before of such saying: Behold, the Lord shall come with thousands of saints, 15to give judgement against all men, and to rebuke all that are ungodly among them, of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed, and of all their cruel speakings, which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
- Tyndale and friends Bible
And Christ even came from Enoch's family lineage. Nevertheless some may say that nobody has gone up to heaven but Jesus, howbeit what did the Lord really say:
John 3:1-15
1There was a man of the pharisees named Nicodemus a ruler among the jews. 2He came to Jesus by night, and said unto him: Master, we know that thou art, a teacher which art come from God. For no man could do such miracles as thou doest, except God were with him: 3Jesus answered, and said unto him: Verily, verily I say unto thee: except a man be born a new, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4Nicodemus said unto him: how can a man be born, when he is old? can he enter into his mother's body and be born again? 5Jesus answered: verily, verily I say unto thee: except that a man be born of water, and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh, is flesh. And that which is born of the spirit, is spirit. 7Marvel not that I said to thee, ye must be born a new. 8The wind bloweth where he listeth, and thou hearest his sound: but canst not tell whence he cometh and whither he goeth. So is every man that is born of the spirit. 9And Nicodemus answered and said unto him: how can these things be? 10Jesus answered and said unto him: Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things? 11Verily, verily I say unto thee, we speak that we know, and testify that we have seen: And ye receive not our witness. 12If I have told you earthly things and ye have not believe: How should ye believe if I shall tell you of heavenly things? 13And no man ascendeth up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, that is to say, the son of man which is in heaven. 14And as Moses lift up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lift up, 15that none which believeth in him perish: but have eternal life.
- Tyndale and friends Bible
Yea Christ Jesus is the ONLY son of man that comes directly from heaven, but that does not limit him from bringing up to heaven whomever pleases God. The point being that only Jesus Christ the Lord God has the authority to open heaven and bring there any other son of man born again: from water and the spirit; as was the case about Apostle Paul who said for example:
2 Corinthians 12:1-4
1It is not expedient for me no doubt to rejoice; Nevertheless I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2I know a man in Christ above fourteen years agone (whether he were in the body I cannot tell, or whether he were out of the body I cannot tell; God knoweth) which was taken up into the third heaven. 3And I know the same man (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell; God knoweth) 4how that he was taken up into paradise, and heard words not to be spoken, which no man can utter.
- Tyndale and friends Bible
The book of Enoch offers some insight about his record:
Enoch 104:7-9 wrote:And now I will shew this mystery. Many sinners shall pervert and transgress against the word of perfection.
They shall speak wicked words and lies, perform great works, and shall write books in their own words, but when they shall write all my words correctly in their own languages,
They shall neither change nor diminish from my words, but shall write them all correctly, all which from the first I have communicated unto them.
Indeed the Enoch manuscript was somewhat altered starting with the hebrew then brought to greek etc, nevertheless the record would still be kept as was John Baty's translation of 1Enoch and it's excerpts preserved somewhere; such as towards the end of 1Enoch chapter 16
1ENOCH wrote:And concerning the death of the giants, the Nephilim, and mighty of the earth, those famous chiefs, wheresoever their spirits may depart from their bodies, let that which in them is fleshly perish before the judgment, and thus they shall perish until the day of the great termination of the great world, for there shall be a destruction of the watchers and the ungodly.
And now say to the watchers, who have sent thee to pray for them, who in the beginning were in heaven
In heaven you have been, secret things indeed have not been revealed to you, but you have known a reprobated secret;
And this you have related to women in the hardness of your heart, and by that secret, women and men have multiplied evils upon the earth.
Say to them, Therefore you never shall obtain peace.
And concerning the mount on which they swore, and anathematized themselves by one another, that to the end there shall not depart from it cold, and snow, and frost, and dew, and that which descends upon it shall not descend unless to a curse, until the day of the great judgment, at which time it shall be burned, it shall be made low, and it shall be burned and melted as wax from the fire, and all the works of it shall be destroyed by fire.(And now I say unto you, ye sons of men, that there is great wrath against you, and against your sons, and this wrath shall not cease from you until the time of the slaughter of your sons; and your beloved shall perish, and those you honour shall die from off the whole earth; For all the days of their life, from this time, shall be not more than an hundred and twenty years. And do not you think that you shall still live more years: for from this time they shall have no way of escaping, because of the wrath which is kindled against you in the King of all Ages. Do not you imagine that you shall escape these judgements.)~Syncellus excerpt
Ironically that passage found in Syncellus Enoch fragment was removed from Enoch manuscripts, although of course still kept for today in an excerpt of what likely was originally there in Enoch's record.
2 Corinthians 11:1-4
1Would to God, ye could suffer me a little in my foolishness: yea, and I pray you forbear me. 2For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy. For I coupled you to one man, to make you a chaste virgin to Christ: 3But I fear lest as the serpent beguiled Eve, thorow his subtlety, even so your wits should be corrupt from the singleness that is in Christ. 4For if he that cometh to you preach another Jesus than him whom we preached: or if ye receive another spirit than that which ye have received: either another gospel than that ye have received, ye might right well have been content.
- Tyndale and friends Bible
hmm.. Why would that be hidden?
Genesis 3:1-6
1But the serpent was subtler than all the beasts of the field which the LORD God had made, and said unto the woman: Ah sir, that God hath said, ye shall not eat of all manner trees in the garden. 2And the woman said unto the serpent, of the fruit of the trees in the garden we may eat, 3but of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden (said God) see that ye eat not, and see that ye touch it not: lest ye die. 4Then said the serpent unto the woman: tush ye shall not die: 5but God doth know, that whensoever ye should eat of it, your eyes should be opened and ye should be as God and know both good and evil. 6And the woman saw that it was a good tree to eat of and lusty unto the eyes and a pleasant tree for to make wise. And took of the fruit of it and ate, and gave unto her husband also with her, and he ate.
- Tyndale and friends Bible
Nevertheless the Book of 1Enoch gives a record of the judgments for the fallen angels' transgressions and their consequences, and how everything is eventually brought to the light of God's righteousness. As for us mere humans, if God the Eternal lays down the law (as originally prophecied by Enoch and also mentioned in Genesis 6:3) that says you shall not live more than 120 years on the current earth, then we must accept it and not hope otherwise, other than the Eternal life HE promised by Christ Jesus only after the resurrection in a glorified body and renewed Earth.
The reality of Enoch's record is that something horrible did happen since ancient times also pointed out in the book of Genesis:
Genesis 6:1-4
1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 4There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
- King James Version
Moreover according to the Scripture chronology after the flood: mankind started to live less and less.
For example Joseph lived 110 years and before his death requested that his body be buried in the land of Israel.
Genesis 50:25
And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel and said: God will not fail but visit you: see therefore that ye carry my bones hence.
- Tyndale and friends Bible
Exodus 13:19
And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he made the children of Israel swear saying: God will surely visit you, take my bones therefore away hence with you.
- Tyndale and friends Bible
Hebrews 11:22
By faith Joseph when he died, remembered the departing of the children of Israel, and gave commandment of his bones.
- Tyndale and friends Bible
Many years later Moses (having one of the items he brought from Egypt as the bones of Joseph his predecessor to the promised land) lived exactly 120 years; ironically given the law written by God's own finger, and nobody lived more than 120 years ever since "this time" afterwards. "This time" of the slaughter referred by Syncellus Enoch fragment is provably about the judgments by God's law.
Makes sense, taking into account Romans chapter 7 about the law:
Romans 7
1Remember ye not brethren (I speak to them that know the law) how that the law hath power over a man as long as it endureth: 2For the woman which is in subjection to a man, is bound by the law to the man, as long as he liveth. If the man be dead, she is loosed from the law of the man. 3So then if while the man liveth she couple herself with another man, she shall be counted a wedlock breaker. But if the man be dead she is free from the law: so that she is no wedlock breaker, though she couple herself with another man. 4Even so ye my brethren, ye also are made dead as concerning the law by the body of Christ, that ye should be coupled to another (I mean to him that is risen again from death) that we should bring forth fruit unto God. 5 When we were in the flesh, the lusts of sin which were stirred up by the law, reigned in our members, to bring forth fruit unto death. 6But now are we delivered from the law, and dead from it, whereunto we were in bondage, that we should serve in a new conversation of the spirit, and not in the old conversation of the letter. 7What shall we say then? is the law sin? God forbid: but I knew not what sin meant but by the law. For I had not known what lust had meant, except the law had said, thou shalt not lust. 8But sin took an occasion by the means of the commandment, and wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For verily without the law sin was dead. 9I once lived without law: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I was dead. 10And the very same commandment which was ordained unto life, was found to be unto me an occasion of death. 11For sin took occasion by the means of the commandment and so deceived me, and by the self commandment slew me. 12Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, just, and good. 13Was that then which is good made death unto me? God forbid. Nay sin was death unto me, that it might appear how that sin by the means of that which is good, had wrought death in me: that sin which is under the commandment, might be out of measure sinful. 14For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin: 15because I wot not what I do. For what I would, that do I not: but what I hate, that do I. 16If I do now that which I would not, I grant to the law that it is good. 17So then now it is not I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18For I know that in me (that is to say in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing. To will is present with me: but I find no means to perform that which is good. 19For I do not that good thing which I would: but that evil do I, which I would not. 20Finally, if I do that I would not, then is it not I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me doeth it. 21I find then by the law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22I delight in the law of God, as concerning the inner man. 23But I see another law in my members rebelling against the law of my mind, and subduing me unto the law of sin, which is in my members. 24O wretched man that I am: who shall deliver me from this body of death? 25I thank God by Jesus Christ our Lord: So then I myself in my mind serve the law of God, and in my flesh the law of sin.
- Tyndale and friends Bible
2 Corinthians 3:6
which hath made us able to minister the new testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit: For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
- Tyndale and friends Bible
2 Peter 3:9-13
9The Lord is not slack to fulfil his promise as some men count slackness: but is patient to us ward and would have no man lost, but would receive all men to repentance. 10Nevertheless the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which day, the heavens shall perish with terrible noise, and the elements shall melt with heat, and the earth with the works that are therein shall burn. 11If all these things shall perish, what manner persons ought ye to be in holy conversation, and godliness: 12looking for, and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, in which the heavens shall perish with fire, and the elements shall be consumed with heat. 13Nevertheless we look for a new heaven, and a new earth, according to his promise, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
- Tyndale and friends Bible