Enoch

Enoch (perhaps Hebrew, "Enlightened") (688 AM - ) was the son of Jared, the father of Methuselah, and the great-grandfather of Noah as recorded in the Bible in the Book of Genesis. All of the genealogies in Genesis end with the words "and then he died" except for Enoch. The Bible has this to say about Enoch:

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away. Genesis 5:21-24

Most other people at that time were living for 900 years or more. Enoch is unique in both the relative shortness of his life and that he is not described as dying. In the New Testament of the Bible in the Book of Hebrews Enoch is mentioned again under the section of the 'Heroes of the Faith' and explains that Enoch never knew death.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God." (Hebrews 11:5 NIV)

The only other person the Bible describes as being taken up without experiencing death was Elijah. (However, the Roman Catholic church believes that the Virgin Mary was also assumed into Heaven.) Some speculate the two witnesses who preach to the world in the end times in the Book of Revelation are Elijah and Enoch since they never tasted death.

Enoch was a prophet, who prophesied:

See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of His holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against Him. Jude 1:14-15

While this quote is nowhere else found in the canonical Scriptures, it is found in the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch, which dates at least to the second century BC. It is not known where Jude got the quote from; if this is the same Jude who was the half-brother of Jesus, he could conceivably have learned the quote directly from Jesus and not from any book at all.

Extra Biblical References

Several apocryphal works dealing with Enoch were written near the time of Jesus. A quote from one of those books, 1 Enoch, appears in the Epistle of Jude from the Bible where Enoch is prophesying against false teachers.

Mormon Beliefs

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) have additional scriptures in the Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price that describe Enoch and his status as prophet as well as information on the city of Zion.