Jesus: From Genesis to Revelation

Day 5: The NT Opens Genesis 4-5 -- Abel's Faith, Enoch's Translation, the Judgment to Come

Reading

Historical Context

Today we leave Genesis and turn to two New Testament passages that open the ancient texts of Genesis 4-5 and reveal what was happening beneath the surface. The Genesis narratives told us what happened: Abel offered, Cain killed, Enoch walked, death reigned. The New Testament tells us why it mattered – and how it points to Christ.

Hebrews 11:4-6 appears in what scholars call the “Hall of Faith” – a sustained meditation on Old Testament figures who lived by trust in God’s promises before those promises were fulfilled. The chapter’s thesis is stated in 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Every figure who follows is an illustration of this thesis. Abel and Enoch are the first two.

“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4).

This verse answers a question Genesis left open: why did God accept Abel’s offering and not Cain’s? The answer is not the substance of the offering (grain versus animal) but the faith behind it. Abel offered by faith – trusting God, approaching God on God’s terms, bringing his best (the firstborn, the fat portions) as an act of worship and dependence. Cain offered without faith – going through the motions, bringing something rather than his best, approaching God on his own terms. The distinction is internal, not external. And it has defined the difference between acceptable and unacceptable worship ever since.

The final phrase is remarkable: “though he died, he still speaks.” Abel was the first human to die – murdered by his own brother. His blood cried from the ground (Genesis 4:10). But the author of Hebrews says something more: Abel’s faith still speaks. The first martyr’s offering echoes across millennia. The dead man has a voice that outlasts his grave.

“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. 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” (Hebrews 11:5-6).

Enoch’s translation – the crack in the wall of Genesis 5 – is attributed to faith. He pleased God. And the author of Hebrews adds a universal principle: “without faith it is impossible to please him.” Faith is defined with two components: believing that God exists and believing that he rewards those who seek him. The first is intellectual assent. The second is relational trust. Together they describe a life oriented toward God – a life that walks with God, as Enoch did for three hundred years.

Jude 14-15 introduces a different dimension. Jude is writing to a church under threat from false teachers who “pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 4). To confront them, Jude reaches back to the most ancient example he can find:

“It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, 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’” (Jude 14-15).

Jude is quoting from 1 Enoch 1:9, an intertestamental Jewish text attributed to Enoch. The book of 1 Enoch was widely read in Second Temple Judaism and among early Christians (it is canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church). Jude’s citation does not necessarily endorse the entire book, but it treats this particular prophecy as authentic and authoritative.

The content is eschatological: the Lord will come with his holy ones to judge the ungodly. The word “ungodly” (asebes) appears four times in two verses – a drumbeat of its own, matching the drumbeat of death in Genesis 5. The man who escaped death is the man who announced judgment. The connection is theologically rich: the one who walked with God and was taken into God’s presence is the one who declared that God would come to judge those who refused to walk with him.

Christ in This Day

These two New Testament passages take the raw material of Genesis 4-5 and reveal the Christological threads running through them.

Abel’s offering and Christ’s sacrifice. Hebrews 11:4 says Abel offered “by faith a more acceptable sacrifice.” The New Testament consistently connects this faith-offering to the ultimate offering it anticipated. Abel brought the firstborn of his flock – blood was shed. Christ is “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), “the firstborn from the dead” (Colossians 1:18), whose blood was shed not for himself but for the world. Abel’s offering was a preview. Christ’s offering is the reality.

And the contrast between the two bloods reaches its sharpest expression in Hebrews 12:24: “You have come… to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Abel’s blood cries from the ground for justice. Christ’s blood speaks from heaven for mercy. Abel’s blood says, “Punish the guilty.” Christ’s blood says, “Pardon the guilty.” The first offering of faith in Scripture and the final offering of faith in Scripture stand at opposite ends of the same trajectory – and the cross is where the trajectory arrives.

“Though he died, he still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4) also connects to Christ. Abel is the first to die for righteousness. Jesus is the last – and the first to rise. Abel’s voice outlasts his grave because his faith echoes. Christ’s voice outlasts his grave because he is alive. The dead man who still speaks is a type of the dead Savior who speaks forever.

Enoch’s faith and Christ’s resurrection. Enoch pleased God and was taken without dying. The author of Hebrews uses this to establish a universal principle: “without faith it is impossible to please him” (11:6). The faith that characterized Enoch – believing that God exists and rewards seekers – is the same faith the New Testament extends to all believers through Christ. “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). “The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). The faith that walked with God in Genesis 5 is the faith that receives Christ in the Gospels.

Enoch’s escape from death is a type of Christ’s defeat of death – and of the believers’ future hope. Enoch bypassed the grave. Christ entered the grave and came out. And the promise is that those who are in Christ will follow: “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51). Enoch’s translation is the first draft. The resurrection is the final version.

Enoch’s prophecy and Christ’s return. Jude’s quotation of Enoch’s prophecy – “The Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all” – is an announcement of the second coming. The “Lord” who comes in judgment is identified by the New Testament as Christ himself. Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations” (Matthew 25:31-32). Paul wrote, “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Revelation describes the same event: “Then I saw a great white throne… and the dead were judged” (Revelation 20:11-12).

The blood that cried from the ground in Genesis 4:10 – Abel’s blood, demanding justice – will receive its answer at the judgment Enoch prophesied. The Lamech-like violence that escalated unchecked through Cain’s line will be held to account. The deaths recorded in Genesis 5 will be reversed in resurrection. And the one who renders the verdict is the same one whose blood speaks a “better word” – the Judge who is also the Savior, the Lion who is also the Lamb. The Genesis narratives of faith, death, and promise find their resolution in a single person: Jesus Christ, the mediator of a new covenant, the one who Abel’s offering anticipated, Enoch’s translation foreshadowed, and Enoch’s prophecy announced.

Key Themes

Connections

Old Testament Roots

Hebrews 11:4 interprets Genesis 4:4 (Abel’s offering) through the lens of faith. Hebrews 11:5-6 interprets Genesis 5:24 (Enoch’s translation) as the reward of a life that pleased God. Jude 14-15 draws on 1 Enoch 1:9 and the tradition of Enoch as prophet, connecting the antediluvian sage to the eschatological judgment. The “ten thousands of his holy ones” echoes Deuteronomy 33:2 (“The LORD came from Sinai… with ten thousands of holy ones”) and Daniel 7:10 (“A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment”).

New Testament Echoes

Hebrews 12:24 – Christ’s blood speaks a better word than Abel’s. Romans 1:17; 5:1 – justification by faith, the principle Hebrews 11:6 establishes. John 5:28-29 – “An hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” Matthew 25:31-32 – the Son of Man coming in glory to judge all nations. Revelation 20:11-15 – the final judgment, the fulfillment of Enoch’s prophecy.

Parallel Passages

Compare Hebrews 11:4 (Abel’s faith) with Hebrews 11:17 (Abraham’s faith at the Aqedah) – both offer something precious, trusting God. Compare Enoch’s translation (Hebrews 11:5) with Elijah’s (2 Kings 2:11) and with Christ’s ascension (Acts 1:9) – three departures from earth, each escalating in significance. Compare Jude 14-15 with 2 Peter 2:4-9, where the same antediluvian examples are used to warn of coming judgment.

Reflection Questions

  1. Hebrews 11:4 says Abel offered “by faith” – and that is why his offering was accepted. Faith, not substance, was the decisive factor. How does this challenge the way you approach God? Are you bringing him your best in faith, or going through the motions like Cain?

  2. “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” (Hebrews 11:6). Two components of faith: believing God exists and believing he rewards seekers. Which of these is easier for you? Which is harder? How does knowing that Christ is the ultimate reward of seeking God reshape your understanding of faith?

  3. Enoch prophesied the coming of the Lord in judgment. Abel’s blood still cries from the ground. The violence of Cain’s line has never been fully accounted for – until the day Christ returns. How does the promise of final judgment comfort you? How does it sober you?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, you are the one Abel’s offering pointed to – the firstborn, the Lamb, the sacrifice offered in faith. You are the one Enoch’s translation foreshadowed – the defeat of death, the entrance into God’s presence, the promise that the grave is not the end. And you are the one Enoch’s prophecy announced – the Lord who comes with ten thousands of his holy ones to judge the living and the dead. We stand in the faith that Abel demonstrated and that Hebrews declares: faith in a God who exists, who rewards those who seek him, and who has spoken his final word in you. Your blood speaks a better word than Abel’s. Your resurrection breaks the pattern Enoch cracked. Your return will fulfill the judgment Enoch proclaimed. Until that day, teach us to walk with you as Enoch did – not in a single dramatic moment but across the years, in sustained, directional trust. And when you come, may we be found faithful. In your name, the name that Abel’s offering anticipated and that Enoch’s lips proclaimed. Amen.