The Bible says, "Elijah went up in whirlwind into heaven." (2 Kings.2:11); Enoch was translated by Yahweh (Heb.11:5); and Moses appeared in the transfiguration with Yeshua (Mt.17:3). Do these scriptures prove that the three were in heaven while Messiah was alive on Earth? No!
John.3:13 - "And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, the Son of Man." These words were spoken by Yeshua himself in regards to being "born again" or resurrected from the dead (vs 3-12). These words cannot be denied or misunderstood.
We also have the Apostle Paul's witness; Col.1:18 - "that in all things he might have the preeminence." Yeshua had to be the firstborn from the dead; the first to be resurrected unto eternal life; the first to ascend into heaven and stand before Yahweh. If anyone preceeded him then he wasn't the firstborn from the dead. Since some people believe Enoch and Elijah did not die, but that Moses did die, then that would mean Moses had the preeminence over Messiah.
In light of these two powerful verses, Jn.3:13 and Col.1:18, how can we explain what happened to Enoch, Elijah and Moses? Let's begin with Moses;
Duet.34:5,6 - There cannot be any doubt that Moses died and was buried. Therefore, for him to be in heaven, he had to be resurrected from the dead. According to I Cor.15:52 that will not occur until the last trumpet sounds.
What about Michael and Satan disputing about Moses' body? Jude 9 does not say Michael won the dispute and then took Moses to heaven. Since there is no mention of heaven here we should not assume he was taken there.
Mt.17:1-9 - Notice verse 9 says, "Tell the vision to no man." a vision is not reality. The same Greek word for "vision" was used of Peter's vision of the abominations on the cloth in Acts 10:17. They were not real but a supernatural picture. In the case of the transfiguration it was a prophetic vision which would take place in the distant future.
Mt.16:28 - This was quoted by Yeshua six days before the transfiguration. He was speaking to the disciples, but what did he mean? Surely he didn't mean they would live for almost 2,000 years until his coming at the last trumpet. Those that would not "taste of death" were Peter, James and John who saw the Son of Man glorified in the Kingdom through a prophetic vision.
Heb.11:23-28 - These verses talk about Moses living by faith. Verses 39,40 - Moses did not receive the promise of a resurrection unto eternal life and perfection.
What about Elijah? We have already seen that the transfiguration was a prophetic vision which does not prove that he was in heaven.
Heb.11:32 - Here we read about the prophets who lived by faith and died without receiving the promise. Elijah was surely one of those prophets. But to be certain let's look at what happened to him in 2 Kings.2:1,11 .
If Yeshua the Messiah said "no man has ascended to heaven," then what heaven are these scriptures talking about? The Bible mentions three heavens. The first heaven is Earth's atmosphere where birds fly (Gen.1:20); The second heaven is outer space where the planets and stars exist (Gen.1:16,17); The third heaven is what the Apostle Paul calls "paradise" in II Cor.12:2-4. It is where Yahweh and the heavenly sanctuary exist.
Elijah was caught up to the first heaven where birds fly and was transported to another location on Earth. Notice vss. 15 & 16; the sons of the prophets, who knew Elijah would be taken away (vss. 3,5), believed that Elijah was taken to another location. They didn't think he went to the third heaven.
A similar incident to Elijah's took place in Acts 8:39,40 - Phillip was caught up into the first heaven, as Elijah was, and was transported to another location approximately 3o miles away. Elijah may not have been found because he was transported further away than the fifty men searched (vs. 17).
Proof that Elijah did not die, but was transported, is found in II Chr.21:12-15 . From the wording of this letter it is clear that Elijah wrote it after the events occurred for he speaks of them as past events, and of the disease as a future event.
This letter was written by Elijah more than four years after his being taken up to the first heaven (see attached chronology). The Bible does not reveal how much longer Elijah lived after writing the letter but it does say in Heb.9:27 that it is appointed unto men to die once.
Heb.9:27 would also include Enoch among the dead. Based on that verse and Yahshua's statement in Jn.3:13, "no man has ascended to heaven", how are we to understand the account of Enoch?
Gen.5:21-24 - These verses do not tell us much except that Enoch's days, alive on Earth, ended at 365 years old. The question is, did he die, was he taken to heaven alive, or was he transported to another location on Earth as Elijah was?
Consider Ps.37:35,36 and Ps.39:12,13;
"I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found."
"Hear my prayer, O Yahweh, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more."
The Hebrew for the phrases in bold is the same Hebrew as Gen.5:24; "And Enoch walked with Elohim: and he was not; for Elohim took him." As in the Psalms, the phrase means the person "passed away" or would eventually die. Consider also Gen.42:13 and Gen.44:20;
"And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not." This was spoken of Joseph by his brothers. What did they mean by "is not"?
"And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him." Here the brothers recount their previous discussion about Joseph with Pharoah. When they first said, "and one is not," they meant Joseph "is dead." Finally, consider Mt.2:18;
"In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not." Where are Rachel's children? Dead.
Heb.11:5 - Does the phrase "should not see death" mean Enoch never died? Let's read the first three words of Heb 11:4,5,7,8,11 and 13 . Everyone mentioned in the previous verses died including Enoch. But not only that, verse 13 goes on to say that they did not receive the promises. One of the promises was a heavenly country (vs. 16). If Enoch were in heaven, wouldn't he have received that promise? The fact is, Enoch is not in heaven but is dead in the grave awaiting his resurrection along with every other saint.
Ps.89:47,48 - Why would the Psalmist ask such a question concerning physical death if he believed Enoch did not see a physical death? The fact is, the Psalmist believed Enoch was in the grave and therefore asked the question.
So what does the phrase "should not see death" mean? In Lu. 2:25-29 we see that phrase to mean that Simeon would not die a physical death or what is known as "the first death." Without any further Bible study we would be led to believe Enoch never died and is still alive in heaven. But let's look at Jn.8:51 . Here the phrase "shall never see death" must mean "the second death" since all the Apostles, including Paul, kept Yeshua's sayings and yet died the first death.
Now we must decide whether the phrase "should not see death", as it applies to Enoch, means the first or second death. Based on Heb.9:27 and Heb.11:13 we must conclude that he died the first death prematurely so that he should not see the second death. To believe Enoch did not die is to deny the plain word of many other scriptures as well. For example, Rom.5:12,14 says all men die because all have sinned. Are we to believe that Enoch did not sin or that the curse for sinning did not apply to him? Are we to believe that a man who was not yet cleansed of sin by the blood of Messiah could enter heaven and dwell in Yahweh's presence?
Heb.11:5 - If Enoch did not die and was not taken to heaven then where was he translated to and what does "translation" mean? According to Strong's, Thayer's and Bullinger's Greek Lexicons, "translate" means "to put or place in another place, to transport, to transfer." The same Greek word was used in Acts 7:16 where Jacob's body was "translated" or "carried over" to Sychem to be buried. Yahweh took Enoch and buried him somewhere so as not to be found just as he did with the body of Moses in Deut.34:6. Moses' body was never found and neither was Enoch's because Yahweh hid them for reasons known only to Him.
I Cor.15:20-23 - All die and all shall be resurrected, but Messiah must be first in the order. Enoch could not possibly precede him, especially if he were still flesh and blood as it says in verses 49-52. To be able to dwell in Gods kingdom we must be changed from a flesh and blood natural body to a spiritual body. That change does not take place until the last trumpet.
Well...I do believe there will be a general resurrection, but that doesn't mean that God hasn't taken godly men and women there already.
Matt. 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
I see your points that the bible doesn't say "specifically", but vagueness doesn't count as evidence or counter-evidence. Anyway...it's not a big deal, we'll see when we get there, right?
My Grandfather was on a Geological dig in Pike National Forest in Colorado when he disappeared. This happened in 1981. The search for him lasted 5 days and included 150 or so searchers, several dogs and two helicopters. Not a trace of him was found. Even his tools and specimins were gone. The dogs were able to track him from a road to the place where he disappeared from but there was no evidence that he ever left that spot on foot or otherwise. He was a very devout man of god and we have often wondered if father did not take him away and put him in a place only he knows as he did with Enoch.
That is a good question. Well we know that Moses did die because God told him that he would. Enoch and Elijah did not die but I don't know what that does for them in heaven because based on the scriptures only Jesus has a resurrected or glorified body. Therefore I do not know what form Elijah or Enoch have in heaven whether body or spirit.
Well, at least the part about Elijah and Enoch. Moses died- it was only his body that was disputed over. His soul, as with all men's souls, upon death went to be with the One who had redeemed Moses for Himself.
Some of the answers I've gotten to this question were- Abraham's bosom, Paradise, Heaven, and who cares. It's fun to think about.. especially since- it's appointed to all men once to die and then the judgement (Hebrews 9:27) -flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven (1 Corinthians 15:50), and no man can look at the face of the Father and live (Exodus 33:20)
