Old Testament Lesson 05 (Moses 7)
January 23–29
THE BOOK OF ENOCH
● Genesis 5:21–24 In the Bible we get only four verses about Enoch and his people. They tell us that Enoch was 65 when Methuselah was born (v. 21). They tell us that he continued to “walk with God” after Methuselah was born for 300 years while having other sons and daughters” (v. 22). They say that his total life span was 365 years (v. 23). And they tell us that he was translated (v. 24). See the table above for an explanation of why the 365 years mentioned in verse 23 is an error. He actually lived 430 years before he was translated.
● Moses 6–7 The story of Enoch is greatly expanded in the Book of Moses. Moses was very interested in Enoch and he skipped rapidly to his day in the Book of Moses. Even these two chapters are a summary of a larger record called the Book of Enoch, which we do not have in its fullness today.
● The Patriarchs From Adam to Noah
Year Age When Years Year
Patriarch Born Adam Died Lived Died
ADAM 0 930 930 yrs 930
ABEL
SETH 130 800 912 yrs 1042
ENOS 235 695 905 yrs 1140
CAINAN 325 605 910 yrs 1235
MAHALALEEL 395 535 895 yrs 1290
JARED 460 470 962 yrs 1422
ENOCH 622 308 430 yrs * 1052
(translated)
METHUSELAH 687 243 969 yrs 1656
(year of flood)
LAMECH 874 56 777 yrs 1651
NOAH 1056
● Interesting things which the above facts tell us:
1. All of the patriarchs from Adam to Lamech (father of Noah) knew Adam personally.
* 2. Enoch was 430 years old when the City of Zion was translated, according to D&C 107:49, which means that in his case the biblical account (which says that he was 365) is wrong. It was the City of Zion that was 365 years old when translated, according to Moses 7:68.
3. All of the patriarchs from Seth to Lamech (father of Noah) were on the earth when the city of Enoch was translated. They were left on the earth to continue to preach repentance, in Methuselah’s case until the very time of the flood.
4. Noah was born just 4 years after Enoch and his city were taken, just 14 years after Seth’s death, and just 126 years after Adam’s death. At Noah’s birth, all of the patriarchs except Adam and Seth were on the earth.
5. Methuselah died (or was possibly translated) in the year in which the flood came. There is some indication (Moses 7:27) that after Zion was taken, any righteous person who listened to the words of the patriarchs and repented was also translated or “caught up by the powers of heaven unto Zion.” At Methuselah’s death, Noah and his family were indeed the only righteous people left on earth.
The Calling of the Prophet Enoch
“Four generations and some five hundred years later, according to Adam’s book of remembrance, Enoch, of Seth’s line, was called to become a great prophet-missionary-reformer. His ministry was needed, for the followers of the line and cult of Cain had become numerous, and violence was rampant already in the fifth generation after Cain (Moses 5:28– 31, 47–57). Unto those who had become sensual and devilish Enoch preached repentance.”1
● Moses 6:21–26 Enoch was taught by his father, Jared, “in all the ways of God” (v. 21). In fact, all the patriarchs in the direct line of descent from Adam to Enoch preached righteousness (v. 23).
● D&C 107:48 Enoch was ordained by Adam at the age of 25. He was 65 when Adam blessed him with his final blessing. Our present Pearl of Great Price text of the Book of Enoch starts when he was 65.
ENOCH’S CALL AND MISSION
● Moses 6:27–30 The Lord calls Enoch to prophesy unto the people. Enoch heard a voice from heaven which said, “Enoch, my son, prophesy unto this people, and say unto them—Repent, for thus saith the Lord: I am angry with this people, and my fierce anger is kindled against them; for their hearts have waxed hard, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes cannot see afar off” (v. 27). This is a very similar statement to the one the Lord made to Joseph Smith in our own day. Enoch, like Joseph Smith, was a dispensational prophet, called to reestablish a righteous kingdom among an apostate people. The Lord’s complaints against the people of Enoch’s day sound familiar to us.
— “They have gone astray, and have denied me, and have sought their own counsels in the dark; and in their own abominations have they devised murder, and have not kept the commandments, which I gave unto their father, Adam” (v. 28).
— “They have foresworn themselves, and, by their oaths, they have brought upon themselves death; and a hell I have prepared for them, if they repent not” (v. 29).
— The Lord decreed to Enoch that the people must repent or would be utterly destroyed. And He had declared this message from the “beginning of the world, from my own mouth, from the foundation thereof, and by the mouths of my servants, thy fathers, have I decreed it, even as it shall be sent forth in the world, unto the ends thereof” (v. 30).
● Moses 6:31 Enoch’s fearful response to his call. Enoch was greatly humbled by his call, bowing to the earth and saying, “Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?” (v. 31). These would be familiar fears to Moses because he had some of the same weaknesses. In particular, both were “slow of speech” (Exodus 4:10; Moses 6:31), which means that they were stutterers.
● Moses 6:32–34 The Lord’s promises to Enoch. The Lord’s response to Enoch was essentially the same as the one to Moses, “Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good” (v. 32). The message was clear and precise: “Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you” (v. 33). He promised Enoch that “my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me” (v. 34).
The Visions of Enoch
● Moses 6:35 Enoch sees all of God’s spirit children. The Lord invited Enoch to “Anoint thine eyes with clay, and wash them, and thou shalt see.” When he did so, “he beheld the spirits that God had created.” This is very similar to the vision that Moses saw when he received his call—another reason why Moses related so well to the story of Enoch and wanted it included in the Book of Moses.
● Moses 6:36 Enoch becomes a “seer.” Enoch was also able to see “things which were not visible to the natural eye; and from thenceforth came the saying abroad in the land: A seer hath the Lord raised up unto his people.”
● Moses 6:42–45 Enoch’s vision of God, who is our Father and the Creator. Enoch testified that “as I journeyed from the land of Cainan, by the sea east, I beheld a vision; and lo, the heavens I saw, and the Lord spake with me, and gave me commandment” (v. 42). “The Lord which spake with me, the same is the God of heaven, and he is my God, and your God, and ye are my brethren” (v. 43). Furthermore, he taught that God created the heavens and the earth, which is His footstool, and that “an host of men hath he brought in upon the face thereof” (v. 44). And he testified concerning all their predecessors who had died, going all the way back to Adam (v. 45).
The Teachings of the Prophet Enoch
● Moses 6:37–39 Enoch begins to preach. He boldly went forward among the people, “standing upon the hills and the high places,” and crying “with a loud voice . . . against their works; and all men were offended because of him” (v. 37). They called him a “seer” but did not take him seriously, referring to him as the “wild man [that] hath come among us” (v. 38). Yet they feared him and would not touch him because it was clear that “he walked with God” (v. 39).
We do not have time or space to cover in detail all the teachings and doings of Enoch that are recorded in the Book of Moses. Suffice it to say that few people have held the powers bestowed upon Enoch.
— Was given the power to control the elements (Moses 7:13–17).
— Was able to see things from the beginning to the end of time (Moses 7:21).
— He also became a very powerful preacher.
The teachings of Enoch cover seven major categories and include some information found nowhere else in scripture:
(1) The Fall of Man and its results.
(2) The nature of salvation and the means of achieving it.
(3) Sin, as seen in the evils of his times, in contrast to the righteousness of the godly who were his followers.
(4) The cause, purpose, and effects of the anticipated flood of Noah.
(5) The scope of Satan’s triumph and the resultant sorrows of God.
(6) The first advent of the Messiah.
(7) The second advent of the Messiah and his peaceful, millennial reign.
More Visions of Enoch
● Moses 6:38–39 Enoch received mighty visions and the people recognized that he was a seer who “walked with God” (v. 39). But they considered him a “wild man” that prophesied “strange things” (v. 38).
● Moses 7:2–4 Enoch sees the world’s history. While Enoch was out preaching, he called upon God in prayer while in a place called Mahujah, whereupon he was instructed to go “upon the mount Simeon” (v. 2). He was “clothed with glory” (transfigured) and “beheld the heavens open” (v. 3). In this vision, he “saw the Lord” who “stood before my face, and . . . talked with me, even as a man talketh one with another, face to face” (v. 4). The Lord then showed him “the world for the space of many generations” (v. 4).
This vision was similar to the one Moses had when he beheld “all the children of men” (Moses 1:8). It is yet another reason why Moses could relate so well to the prophet Enoch. Both Enoch and Moses were shown “all the children of men which are, and which were created” (Moses 1:8) and “there was not a soul which [they] beheld not” (Moses 1:27), despite the fact that “their numbers were great, even numberless as the sand upon the sea shore” (Moses 1:28).
Dr. Rodney Turner explained, “[Moses] did [not] simply view them en masse as one might look at a vast concourse of people without discerning any one individual. By the incomprehensible power of the Holy Ghost, he perceived each man, woman, and child comprising the human race at one and the same time! In doing so, he experienced something of the omnipresent nature of the Spirit of the Lord.”2 The same would have been true for Enoch’s vision.
The Greatness of Enoch
● Moses 7:10–12 Enoch is commanded to preach repentance. The Lord was preparing to destroy the wicked from off the face of the earth. He therefore sent Enoch out to warn them, “Repent, lest I come out and smite them with a curse, and they die” (v. 10). Those who listened to him he was commanded to “baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, . . . and of the Holy Ghost” (v. 11). This Enoch did among all of the people except “the people of Canaan” (v. 12).
● Moses 7:13 Enoch’s great faith moves mountains and rivers. As we might imagine, the forces of evil were so great and so angry that they “came to battle” against “the people of God” who had chosen to follow the prophet Enoch” (v. 13). But when Enoch “spake the word of the Lord, . . . the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness” (v. 13). He had been promised by the Lord that “the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me” (Moses 6:34). And now we see the fulfillment of those promises.
● Moses 7:14 Enoch’s great faith against the armies of the wicked. The display of Enoch’s mighty power put fear in the hearts of all of his enemies. They did not dare come up against “the people of God” for fear of annihilation. Some took refuge on land that had recently come up “out of the depth of the sea,” perhaps as a result of the great tectonic movements Enoch had set off when he moved mountains and rivers.
The Fierceness of the Wicked
● Moses 7:15; 8:18 The scriptures tells us twice in the Book of Moses that “giants” came up on the land to afflict the sons of God. These “giants” were not huge and scary monsters.
The English word The Hebrew word The Hebrew meaning
“giants” “nephalim” “those who cause to fall” or “tyrants”
These were people in opposition to Noah and the gospel he was teaching. They were like present-day terrorists who reigned with blood and horror on the earth.
THE CITY OF ZION
● Moses 7:17-19 The people who heard Enoch’s words and repented of their sins were blessed. They established a holy city which they called Zion.
● Moses 7:17-21, 23-47, 68-69 The people in the city of Enoch were “of one heart and one mind” with the Lord, and the entire city and its residents were translated and taken to heaven.
● Moses 7:67–69 “Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not . . . [Hence] the saying, ZION IS FLED.”
● JST Gen. 9:21–25; D&C 45:12 This is the same city that will return again at the Second Coming to join with the Saints in the city of the New Jerusalem where Jesus will reign as King.
What Does It Mean to be Translated?
We might wonder when we hear about Enoch and his people what happened to them. And what is the condition of all translated beings?
● 3 Nephi 28 We know the following about translated persons from the description of the Three Nephites in the Book of Mormon.
— They never taste of death or endure the pains of death (vv. 7–8, 37–38).
— They will be changed from mortality to immortality in the twinkling of an eye (v. 8).
— They experience no pain while in the flesh and no sorrow except for the sins of the world (v. 9).
— They have power over the evil men of the earth (v. 19–22).
— They are like the angels of God, administering to whomsoever they will (v. 30).
— A change is effected on their bodies so that Satan can have no power over them, and they are sanctified in the flesh and are holy (v. 39).
— They remain in a translated state until the Judgment Day (v. 40).
— Translated beings are also transfigured (vv. 13–15)
Elder Bruce R. McConkie said, “After the Lord called his people Zion, the scripture says that Enoch “built a city that was called the City of Holiness, even ZION”; that Zion “was taken up into heaven” where “God received it up into his own bosom”; and that “from thence went forth the saying, Zion is fled.” (Moses 7:19, 21, 69). . . . This same Zion which was taken up into heaven shall return during the Millennium, when the Lord brings again Zion; and its inhabitants shall join with the New Jerusalem which shall then be established. (Moses 7:62–63).3
ENOCH’S VISION OF CONDITIONS AFTER ZION WAS “TAKEN”
● Moses 7:23–24 The Lord showed Enoch in vision “all the nations of the earth.”
● Moses 7:24, 26 In these days of Methuselah and Lamech, living conditions were very difficult. “The power of Satan was upon all the face of the earth.” Enoch saw Satan with “a great chain in his hand” that veiled the entire earth with darkness. Satan looked up (presumably toward the heaven of our God) and laughed while his angels rejoiced.
● Moses 7:25, 27 The Lord sent angels to the earth to bear testimony of the Father and the Son. During this time, the Holy Ghost fell upon many and when they were converted they were “caught up by the powers of heaven into Zion.” Only Methuselah and Lamech remained on earth to continue preaching the gospel until the flood came.
God Weeps Over His Children
● Moses 7:28–29 God saw the wickedness of His children on the earth and wept. Enoch marveled at this, asking “How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou are holy, and from eternity to all eternity?”
● Moses 7:30–31 Enoch’s words of praise for the Father. God has formed more worlds than the sands of the sea. God has taught nothing but peace, justice, and truth, with mercy that has no end.
● Moses 7:32-33 The Lord explained the reason for His weeping. All of these souls are His children, “the workmanship of mine own hands,” to whom He had given knowledge and agency. He commanded them to love each other and to choose Him, their Father. But instead, they had become without affection and hated their own blood.
A Prophecy of the Coming Flood
● Moses 7:34, 36–37 As a result, the Lord’s indignation was upon them, and He swore to send in the floods upon them in his fierce anger. He says, “among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness.” “Their sins will be upon the heads of their fathers; Satan shall be their father, and misery will be their doom.” “Wherefore,” He asks, “should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?”
● Moses 7:35 “Man of Holiness” is the name of the Father, along with the name of Counsel, Endless, and Eternal.
● Moses 7:38 All the wicked will perish in the floods and their spirits will be shut up in “a prison” that had been prepared for them.
The Spirit Prison
● Moses 7:39–40 The Savior pled with the Father on their behalf. Enoch is shown that He will suffer for their sins and they will be able to repent at the last day, but until then they will be in torment.
● Moses 7:41 Enoch was shown “all the doings of the children of men,” which included their wickedness, their misery. Enoch also wept as he stretched forth his hands and “his heart swelled wide as eternity.”
Visions of Noah and the Atonement of Jesus Christ
● Moses 7:42–44 Enoch saw Noah in vision and that he would build an ark upon which Noah and his posterity would be saved. But the rest of mankind would be swallowed up in the flood, which caused bitterness of soul for Enoch, who could not be consoled.
● Moses 7:44–47 The Lord comforted Enoch with the promise of the Savior’s atonement. Enoch asked when this would occur and was told that it would be “in the meridian of time” during another day of wickedness. Enoch was then shown a vision of this coming of the Son of Man and his crucifixion.
● Moses 7:54–57 Enoch again sees the Son of Man lifted up on the cross, and afterward many saints arose and were crowned on the right hand of the Savior. This would be all those prior to the resurrection of Christ who had been true and faithful to the Lord. The rest would be “reserved in chains of darkness” until the judgment day.
The Earth Mourns for the Wickedness upon it
● Moses 7:48–49 Enoch heard a voice from the bowels of the earth, asking when it would be able to be cleansed from all the wickedness that is upon it, and rest. This caused Enoch to weep again and to ask the Lord to have compassion upon the earth.
● Moses 7:50–53 The Lord covenants with Enoch that the earth will never again be flooded after the days of Noah, and that there would always be a remnant of Enoch’s seed upon the earth, and that it would be through his seed that the Messiah would come.
● Moses 7:58–61 Enoch asks, “When shall the earth rest?” And also, “Wilt thou not come again upon the earth?” To these questions the Lord covenants, “As I live, even so will I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfil the oath which I have made unto you.” On that day the earth will rest, but before that day there will be darkness, natural disasters, and great tribulations among the children of men.
Elder Ronald A. Rasband said, “Take heart, brothers and sisters. Yes, we live in perilous times, but as we stay on the covenant path, we need not fear. I bless you that as you do so, you will not be troubled by the times in which we live or the troubles that come your way. I bless you to choose to stand in holy places and be not moved. I bless you to believe in the promises of Jesus Christ, that He lives and that He is watching over us, caring for us and standing by us.”4
● Moses 7:62-65 Enoch saw the future reestablishment of Zion in the latter days (including a New Jerusalem), the Second Coming of the Savior, and his millennial reign upon the earth.
● JST Gen. 9:21–25 The rainbow was set in heaven as a sign of God’s covenant to Enoch concerning Zion. The rainbow is usually associated with God’s covenant to Noah after the flood. But actually, the covenant was made first with Enoch, “who, seeing that the world would be flooded, sought God’s reassurance. He said to Noah that in the last days “when men should keep all my commandments, Zion should again come on the Earth, the city of Enoch which I have caught up unto myself. And this is mine everlasting covenant that I establish with you,” The City of Enoch will come down and join the city of New Jerusalem.
Thus, “in addition to being a sign that God will no longer destroy the world by flood, the rainbow is a sign of the return of the city of Enoch. This is a unique restored doctrine not appreciated (or known) by most Latter-day Saints. When we see a rainbow in the sky, we should see it as a sign that Zion will return.”5
● Moses 7:66 Until that day there will be great tribulations among the wicked, the sea being troubled, and men’s hearts failing them because of their fear of the judgments of God which will come upon them.
● Moses 7:67 Enoch saw all the events of the earth unto the end of the world, including the “day of the righteous” and “the hour of their redemption,” which gave him great joy.
● Moses 7:68–69 “And all the days of Zion, in the days of Enoch, were three hundred and sixty five years.” The entire city “walked with God” because He was in their midst. And then “Zion was not” because “God received it up into his own bosom.” From that time forward a saying went forward on the earth that “ZION IS FLED.”
The Prophet Joseph Smith declared:
The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is a theme upon which prophets, priests, and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and . . . have sung and written and prophesied of this our day; but they died without the sight; we are the favored people that God has made choice of to bring about the latter-day glory. . . .
Generations yet unborn will dwell with peculiar delight upon the scenes that we have passed through, the privations that we have endured . . . in laying the foundation of a work that brought about the glory and blessing which they will realize.6
We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object. When wars come, we shall have to flee to Zion. The cry is to make haste. The last revelation says, Ye shall not have time to have gone over the earth, until these things come. It will come as did the cholera, war, fires, and earthquakes; one pestilence after another, until the Ancient of Days comes, then judgment will be given to the Saints.7
Notes:
1. Ellis T. Rasmussen, An Introduction to the Old Testament and Its Teachings, 2nd ed., 2 vols. (1972–74), 1:24–25.
2. Rodney Turner, “The Visions of Moses,” in Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson, eds., Studies in Scripture, Volume Two: The Pearl of Great Price (1985), 55.
3. Bruce R. McConkie, “Come: Let Israel Build Zion,” Ensign, May 1977, 117.
4. “Be Not Troubled,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2018, 21.
5. Kent P. Jackson, “Methuselah, Noah, and Melchizedek,” in The Restored Gospel and the Book of Genesis, Chapter 10, 111-126.
6. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 513, 514–15.
7. Joseph Smith, in History of the Church, 3:390–91.