Before we proceed we should come to an understanding as here in out lined by James A. Fowler of "Christ In You Ministries" in his Commentary of this Epistle on pages 311-316 as follows:
“The faith of the old covenant people of God was established on the promises of God and the faithfulness of the One Who had promised (I Cor. 1:9; 10:13; Heb. 10:23; 11:11). Anticipating these promises in hope required their endurance through many obstacles and difficult circumstances, which Paul sets out to review. Jewish eschatology involved a forward-looking faith that sought the promises of God in a hope that was ultimately focused on the coming Messiah. Paul encourages the Jerusalem Christians to maintain a faith that continues to be forward-looking to the future fulfillment and restoration of all things in Jesus Christ, “unto the end” (3:6,14; 6:11). Such a “theology of hope”1 is a continuing necessity for Christians, contrary to the assertions of some “full preterists” who eschew all future expectation of Christian hope. Paul connects Christian faith and hope with its Jewish precedent, but simultaneously explains that “God has provided something better for us” (11:40) in the radically new Christocentric object and dynamic of faith and hope. Christian eschatology begins by looking back at the historical establishment and basis of Christian faith and hope in the “finished work” (John 19:30) of Jesus Christ, when (and where), by the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, the victory over the counter force of evil, sin, death and destruction, the victory of God was won for eternity. This does not consign Christian eschatology to only historical categories, but grounds the “last” and final work of God in Jesus Christ in the historicity of Jesus, allowing Christian eschatology to develop a dynamic understanding of faith and hope in the continuous present of the lives of Christians in all ages. Christians are to have a dynamic expectation of hope in God’s continued faithful action in the present and unto the future. By a dynamic receptivity of the activity of the living Lord Jesus within, the Christian responds to God in faith, having the divine dynamic provision of God’s grace to endure and persevere whatever may transpire. There is no promise in the Christian gospel of exemption or immunity from the tribulations of life; of escape or deliverance from problems, hardships, or disease; and no allowance for inertia, inaction, passivism, resignation or acquiescence. Christians are responsible to endure and persevere in their faith – the very point that Paul sought to drive home to the Hebrew Christians in Jerusalem. The only alternative, in Paul’s mind, to such faithful endurance that expected to receive the promises of God in Jesus Christ was an abject apostasy that absolutely rejected the Lord Jesus Christ (3:12; 6:4-8; 10:26-31,35-39).
Paul masterfully wove several objectives into the argument that he employed in this passage. [1] He wanted to connect the Jewish Christians with their Jewish heritage of faith in a recitative listing of historically attested examples of promise, hope, faith, and endurance. [2] While so doing he would contrast the unfulfilled promises (13,39) of the old covenant with the better promises (8:6) of the new covenant in Jesus Christ. He does this by interspersing a commentary of interpretive analysis within the review that posits the better city (10), the better country (16), the better riches (26), the better resurrection (35), and better provision (40) that are eschatologically fulfilled in the new covenant. [3] Throughout, his objective is to convince the Hebrew Christians in Jerusalem to endure the trials that were confronting them as the conflict with the Roman army loomed on the horizon.
The entire recitation of the old covenant heroes of faith is distinctively formulated in a context of Jewish Christian thought patterns. The Greeks regarded “faith” in opposition to reason. “Faith” was the response of the simple and uneducated to what could not be explained rationally and logically. Greeks would have conceived of these old covenant characters as “dupes of faith” or “fools of faith,” rather than “heroes of faith.” They would have been intrigued, if not astonished or appalled, at the willingness of Jews and/or Christians to suffer adversity with an unreasonable certitude in an indemonstrable cause. This makes Paul’s comment all the more pertinent when he wrote, “He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (6).”
Hebrews 11:5a
"By faith (by taking God at His Word) Enoch was translated that he should not see death;…"
Now we don’t know an awful lot about Enoch because the book which is a compilation of several writings ie..chapters, of Enoch has been removed from our Bible. His writings have been quoted by many but the references have been withdrawn from scripture. Because the translators consider his writing to mystical in nature as they like those of John's Revelation are scenes of dreams seen in Heaven. He’s back there in the genealogies, and back there before the Flood, but that’s about as far as we can go, but the Scripture here tells us that it was by trusting that Enoch was translated. In other words, he was here one moment and gone the next, which I think is a preview of the departure of the Church and so he was "…translated that he should not see death." Enoch didn’t die. They never buried him. He was translated, they did not find his remains anywhere. He was here one second; gone the next. Again why? Because he knew God he walked with Him in the cool of the day. How do we come to know this by what the Bible does not say....it says that he walked with God for three hundred sixty-five years, so do to this he knew God intimately.
Hebrews 11:5b
"…and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God."
And before his translation, before he was snatched off the planet "he had this testimony." This is what his life told everybody around him. "...he pleased God." But you’ve got to go into verse 6 to find out what Enoch did to please God. What was it? He was a man of deep trust which God credited as faith! See how it follows? Enoch pleased God. If we could write a formula it might look like this: trust+belief+crisis+receptivity+faith=(righteous), where the last two items can be interchanged or switched with each other.
Hebrews 11:6a
"But without faith it is impossible to please him (God):…"
Without faith it is impossible to please God. Why? Think about it, what are we placing our trust in? Our knowledge of God and the fact that He is trustworthy or faithful in all matters. How do we get to know Him in order to acquire this knowledge of Him? We have to be able to walk with Him and develop a relationship of communication. So you put two and two together and get four. What does that mean? Enoch was a man of faith. That’s all. He took God at His word! Heard through dreams or by revelation of Him who is faithful.
Notice that doesn’t say anything about his works. Doesn’t say anything about practicing religion or sacrifices. All it says, he was a man who believed God. Now we don’t know how much God told Enoch (though there is a book bearing his name but like Jasher, no one knows who's the author of it and that is why its not in the Bible, its a book that is shrouded in mystery or is mystical). You know I’m always trying to impress on people, faith isn’t necessarily knowing that 2,000 years out into the future God, in the Person of the Son, God would go to a Roman cross and die. That’s wasn’t revealed back there. They had no concept of a Roman cross, as it was hidden. My goodness, crucifixion was invented by the Romans. And so you have about twenty-six, twenty-seven hundred years of human history before crucifixion comes into the picture. It had to be some thing that we could not accomplish through our own hands and therefore took the hands of many in this case. Both Hebrew and Gentiles hands were required. Because of the link between those two ethnic groups going back to Noah and then to Adam. Besides all of the Hebrew history spoke of future evens as being futuristic and that has carried over to our understanding of events as well. This is the problem that I see in peoples not coming to an understanding of scripture as God intends us, we carry the stigma of only looking-forward as if all is yet to be. Take Daniel and John's Revelation as having already happened and then see what is. For God alone IS.
So they didn’t know anything about a cross. But whatever God said to them, they believed it! And when they believed it, God counted them righteous. It’s so simple isn’t it? All right, so "without faith it is impossible to please him." You can give millions. You can NOT work your fingers to the bone. You can be in that church building seven days a week, and if it’s not based on faith, you’re spinning your wheels. It’s all for nothing! We HAVE to believe His IS, a rewarder of those who trust Him!
Hebrews 11:6b
"…for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
And "he that cometh to God." For redemption leading to salvation, and then as a believer, we come to Him constantly with our needs, with our petitions, with our praise; but we do it all how? By faith. The word diligently is of interest also because it denotes careful diligent effort to search for or seek Him. And that without it, we have nothing. Now let’s move on down to verse 7.
Hebrews 11:7
"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."
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