John Appelt

From reading Genesis 5:24, Hebrews 11:5, II Kings 2:11, it has been thought that Enoch and Elijah were exceptions to the rule that all men die, and that these men went alive into heaven. 

However, there are reasons to think that they did not go alive into heaven but died. As the physical cannot inherit the kingdom of God, I Corinthians 15:50, they could not have gone alive into heaven. Also, the words of Jesus, John 3:13, mean that no one except Jesus has gone there.

Before the resurrection of Jesus, the rule that all must die was not broken, Ecclesiastes 3:20, 9:3, Psalm 89:48, Hebrews 9:27. However, because of Christ’s resurrection, all will be made alive, I Corinthians 15:22. Because of this, some can and will escape death at the rapture, I Thessalonians 4:13-18.

If Enoch and Elijah went into heaven without dying, there are problems about Jesus being the only one who has immortality, I Timothy 6:15-16.

Concerning Enoch, it is not definitely said he went to heaven. Genesis 5:23 gives the total time Enoch was alive, 365 years. Enoch’s walk with God ends after 300 years which means, somehow, he was not with God in heaven, or walking with Him afterwards.

The phrases “he was not,” “not found,” and “God took him,” can all mean he died, as in Genesis 42:13, Job 7:21, Psalm 37:36, 39:13 Jeremiah 31:15, Lamentations 5:7, Matthew 2:18, Isaiah 57:1. 

By this time, the earth would have been so corrupt and evil, that Enoch was at risk for his life. His message, Jude 14-15, would not have been very popular causing his life to be in danger, so that Enoch was removed or translated from the scene, Acts 7:15-16, 8:39-40, Colossians 1:13, so as to not see death this way. Yet, if he did not die at this time, then he could have been moved to some other location, to die later. That he died for certain, fits Hebrews 11:13, which gives no exception. 

As for Elijah, he was removed to allow Elisha to take his place and responsibilities, but not to heaven. Elijah departed by way of the sky in a whirlwind to an unknown place. The sons of the prophets looked for Elijah but did not find him. It was not because he was taken to heaven, to which they likely knew he had not gone, but because it was outside the area they were searching. Elijah’s writing to Jehoram a few years after he was taken up, II Chronicles 21:12-14, likely proves he was still on earth, not in heaven.

It would not be the only time the Spirit would move someone physically, Ezekiel was transported by the Spirit, Ezekiel 3:12, 8:3, 11:24, and Philip was caught away to another location by the Spirit, Acts 8:39-40. 

Enoch and Elijah very likely did not go into heaven without dying. Instead, they like the rest of the human race ended up dying, the timing known perhaps only to God.

April 25 2023 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

I would say that Jesus was neither denying nor contradicting the Biblical accounts of Enoch and Elijah, nor saying anything with reference to the intermediate state of humans after death. Instead, He was indicating that no human could speak to other humans from first-hand knowledge about heaven through having gone there and then returning to earth. Only He could do so through having left heaven to be born as a human on earth.

July 14 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report