Who asended to heaven but did not die?

Answer 1

Enoch and Elijah. Many people consider this a contradiction of Hebrews 9:27 "Everyone is appointed to die and then come to judgment" but I disagree. Elijah will be coming back to be one of the two witnesses during the Tribulation. The Bible clearly says that but the Bible isn't clear on who the other one will be. I believe that God is too smart to have a contradiction in a book that he wrote so Enoch will be the other witness.

During the Tribulation, both of them will be killed by the Anti-Christ and therefore there is no contradiction in Scripture.

Answer 2

Answer

The two people in the Bible who never died are Enoch and Elijah:-

Gen 5:21-24 KJV And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: [v. 22] And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: [v. 23] And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: [v. 24] And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Heb 11:5 KJV By faith Enoch was translatedthat he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

2Ki 2:1,11 KJV And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal... And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

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Probably ought to add Jesus to the list if you are counting people who didn't stay dead.

Answer:

There are no people who did not die.

In the "faith chapter" of the book of Hebrews, it says of all the faithful of God who are listed... including Enoch and "the prophets," of whom Elijah was one:

"... THESE ALL DIED IN FAITH..." (Heb.11:13).

Enoch "was not," because God removed his body and buried it where no one could find it, just like He did with Moses (Deut.34:5-6). Moses, too, pleased God.

The death that Enoch should not see is the "SECOND DEATH" from which Jesus saves us... not the first death that is appointed to man - Heb.9:27. Enoch shall be one of the "dead in Christ" who shall resurrect at His coming and meet Him in the clouds:

"...blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such THE SECOND DEATH HATH NO POWER..." (Rev.20:6).

Elijah wasn't taken up to the "third heaven" of God's throne... he was taken up to the first heaven where there is breathable air... and set back down in a different location.

If he went to the "third heaven" as men believe... then Jesus is a liar when He says centuries later: "...and NO MAN HATH ASCENDED UP TO HEAVEN, but He who came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven." (John 3:13)

Elijah was transported to a different location via some sort of heavenly air transport. Go over to the airport. Thousands of people do it every day of the year.

Elijah remained alive somewhere on earth, because a letter from him was sent to Jehoram the son of his dead father, king Jehoshaphat, about ten years after his disappearance. (II Chronicles 21:12) And he later died... as it is appointed unto men... in faith, like all the other prophets.

No people in the Bible have not died.

Additional Answers:

Answer:

There are no people who did not die.

Enoch did not Die - I will attempt to show the biblical evidence for the case that Enoch did not die a physical death. Please note I have indented my comments 1) in order both to stop confusion and making it look like one person has contradicted them self and 2) out of respect to the original author whose views I wish to discuss and as such did not want to edit or delete but leave them in the entirety to the best of my ability.

In the "faith chapter" of the book of Hebrews, it says of all the faithful of God who are listed... including Enoch and "the prophets," of whom Elijah was one:

"... THESE ALL DIED IN FAITH..." (Heb.11:13).

Enoch "was not," because God removed his body and buried it where no one could find it, just like He did with Moses (Deut.34:5-6). Moses, too, pleased God.

Enoch "was not" this gives an indication that he dose not exist. If we look previous to this in genesis death is clearly spelt out, for example Gen 5:14, 5:17, 5:20 all of which use the word in Hebrew meaning "he died" in the case of Enoch the wording used literally translates as "God him took for he then was not" Gen 5:24. We there for have a sudden change in language which needs an explanation why are those previous to Enoch referred to as "he died" and yet with Enoch we read "he was not".

This is again backed up in Hebrews 11 v 5

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.

The argument that God buried the body although an interesting theory is not back up in this passage in fact he points out a whole in his argument, in that God buried Moses

" 5 And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. 6 He buried him [b] in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is" Deut.34:5-6.

The problem with this is that it clearly states that in the case of Moses God buried him where as in regards to Enoch this is not said nor implied all we know is that one minute he was and then he was not for God took him, also it is good to note that although Moses did please the lord and this can be shown in the begging of Joshua we see mosses adored with the name Moses the servant of the LORD, his death was in accordance of a punishment set by God for breaking the stone tablets on which the commandments where written.

In regards to the Heb.11:13. "... THESE ALL DIED IN FAITH..."

This is not written to refer to Enoch but to Abraham, also the passage is intended to bring out the idea of faith and not about death. It was not written in order to clear up that they all died, but that they lived and died in anticipation of God's promises.

5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. Heb. 11:5

We can see that the Hebrews author makes a point that Enoch wasn't like the rest of the other 'witnesses' in the passage, that he didn't die like they did - surely he isn't writing this to point out some kind of difference in ancient burial customs, but rather to point out that this one man didn't die! When it talks about Enoch in Genesis it makes a point that he only lived 365 years - less than half as long as his ancestors and descendants. The language shared in Genesis and Hebrews shows that something different happened to Enoch, and there is little evidence in the passage to suggest it's anything to do with him being buried a slightly different way but rather in both accounts it puts emphasis on the fact he did not "die".

The death that Enoch should not see is the "SECOND DEATH" from which Jesus saves us... not the first death that is appointed to man - Heb.9:27. Enoch shall be one of the "dead in Christ" who shall resurrect at His coming and meet Him in the clouds:

"...blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such THE SECOND DEATH HATH NO POWER..." (Rev.20:6).

The Second death if we look at Hebrews 9:27 in its context (the verses around it) the verse becomes clearer.

27Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. 7Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Also Rev 20:14-15 says:

14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

The second death is regarding "the judgment day" on which those who believe in Christ will receive eternal life and those who do not will either (depending on your standpoint) go to eternal damnation e.g. fires of hell or they will be destroyed and cease to exist. What it is important to note is that it is Christ who saves us from this second death by his atoning work on the cross.

The argument put forward is that the death to which the writer of both Hebrews and Genesis is talking about in regards to Enoch is not that God saved him from physical or 1st death but rather that of second death. Now this for me leaves a few issues. If we follow the argument through:

1) Second death refers is damnation on the day of Judgment

2) We are saved from that damnation by Jesus death on the cross

3) Yet God had to intervene to save Enoch from the second death

4) Then Christ's death alone was not enough to save Enoch

5) Salvation does not come solely from the redemptive work of Christ on the Cross

This is in contradiction to the verse above in Hebrews which says that Christ took on sin and saved us therefore the progression of the argument shows that the argument does not stand.

Another problem is to say that Enoch had to be saved by God also leaves us with the issue of what about the others pre Christ such as Moses and Abraham are they not saved by Christ's work on the cross and if not how are they saved? Was his work only to save those who came after him?

The cross event is an act that surpasses time itself it allowed for all sin of all times to be paid for and as such it also paid for the sins of Enoch. Therefore the argument that the death mentioned is the second death is not biblically plausible as we would have to conclude that Christ's death on the cross was not enough to save Enoch from judgment day.

Enoch did die -

Enoch did not die, we see a major difference in language in Genesis which points out that something different happened with Enoch, this is backed up in Hebrews 11:5

5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.

There is also no mention of God burying him therefore any notion of God burying Enoch is read in to the text and not out of it.

The argument for second death as i have shown leads us into a place where we would have to contradict the idea of salvation through Christ on the Cross.

Therefore if Enoch did not die and we can conclude that this is not referring to a second death then we must also conclude that it has to be referring to his first or physical death there for Enoch did not die.

I hope I have shown that the weight of evidence falls in favour of the fact that Enoch did not die a physical death.

Elijah wasn't taken up to the "third heaven" of God's throne... he was taken up to the first heaven where there is breathable air... and set back down in a different location.

If he went to the "third heaven" as men believe... then Jesus is a liar when He says centuries later: "...and NO MAN HATH ASCENDED UP TO HEAVEN, but He who came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven." (John 3:13)

Elijah was transported to a different location via some sort of heavenly air transport. Go over to the airport. Thousands of people do it every day of the year.

Elijah remained alive somewhere on earth, because a letter from him was sent to Jehoram the son of his dead father, king Jehoshaphat, about ten years after his disappearance. (II Chronicles 21:12) And he later died... as it is appointed unto men... in faith, like all the other prophets.

No people in the Bible have not died.

Answers from 'Merged' Question:

Only two...Enoch and Elijah Actually only two is incorrect there is a third that MAY never have died and his name is Melchizedek, a priest who may even today walk this Earth.

Another Answer:

The Bible is very clear that all mankind will/have died. Enoch and Elijah were taken away from the land they lived in to another area for safety. Elijah even writes a letter to the then present King of Judah about 7 years after his being transported away in a chariot.

Paul in the Book of Hebrews explains who Melchizedek was/is - the Word before He became the Christ.

Answer 3

Enoch and Elijah are the only two people who have gone to heaven without dying. However, God said that all descendants of Adam and Eve will die, so they might be sent back to Earth. This may be in order to shed their mortal bodies and to fulfill the prophecy.

Answer 4

Enoch & Alia

Another Answer:

As strange as it may sound, NO Man except the Son of Man has ascended into heaven - the 3rd heaven and Throne of God (John 3:13). But even He died.

Many Commentaries will explain to the reader that Enoch was 'walking with God' or a friend of God because he followed His Commandments. People then, like in the time of Christ and now, dislike this type of person. They were planning to kill Enoch so God took him away via the 1st heaven (sky) to another safer location. The same was true for the Prophet Elijah. We read in 2 Kings 2:10-11 that he is taken away in a chariot of fire through the sky (1st heaven) and could not be found after a long search. HOWEVER, we read in 2 Chronicles 21:17, which is 7 years after being taken away, Elijah sending a letter to the King Jehoram.

Nowhere in the Bible does it say we go to heaven when we die - that is out of Dante's Inferno. The Scriptures are very specific saying 'all men have fallen short and sinned' and 'the penalty of sin is death.' ONLY Christ lived a sinless life and only He who came down from Heaven has returned. The rest of mankind must wait for their calling in their respective Judgement - afterwards Heaven and God the Father will come to dwell amongst men. Amazing & true.

Answer 5

Gen:5:24: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

2Kgs:2:11: And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Answer 6

The first book of Genesis says that God took Enoch (the seventh from Adam the first man) to heaven so that he did not die. And the book of II Kings chapter 2 tells us that God took Elijah up in a fancy way as well so that he did not die either. Other than that, so far as we know. These are the only two humans who have been taken to heaven without dying. There may be others, but we wont know till we get to heaven and find out.

Answer 7

None other than Jesus who alone is worthy to return to heaven (see John 3:13). All mankind dies and awaits the judgment. You are thinking of the tradition of men that believes Enoch and Elijah were sent to heaven but that is not so. They were simply transported away from the land they were living in to another, safe land:


Ecclesiastes 3:18-22New King James Version (NKJV) 18 I said in my heart, "Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are likeanimals." 19 For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. 21 Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?[a]22 So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?

Even the Apostle Peter was inspired to tell us God's beloved King David is still dead and buried:


Acts 2:29-35New King James Version (NKJV) 29 "Men andbrethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,[a]31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. 34 "For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The Lord said to my Lord,
"Sit at My right hand,
35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."

Answer 8

The Bible is very clear that all mankind will/have died. Enoch and Elijah were taken away from the land they lived in to another area for safety. Elijah even writes a letter to the then present King of Judah about 7 years after his being transported away in a chariot.

Paul in the Book of Hebrews explains who Melchizedek was/is - the Word before He became the Christ.

Answer 9

Elijah.

Enoch.

Answer 10

Enoch and Elijah