Is it possible that Elijah was an exception to the rule where true believers will be resurrected at the return of Christ?
Hi, Is it possible that Elijah was an exception to the rule where true believers will be resurrected at the return of Christ? I know that John 3:13 states that “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven,” but I also know that God is sovereign, and He can make exceptions to the rule, according to His plan and purpose. Therefore, could there be some Christians and some saved people from this life who are in Glory now – but generally speaking, the mass exodus is going to be when the Lord descends from Heaven, since the scripture in Hebrews 11:5 (KJV) states: “By faith Enoch was translated that 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.” There are Bible commentaries, such as Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary at: http://biblehub.com/commentaries/hebrews/11-5.htm that mentions Elijah was changed from mortal to immortal. It states: “translated—(Ge 5:22, 24). Implying a sudden removal (the same Greek as in Ga 1:6) from mortality without death to immortality: such a CHANGE as shall pass over the living at Christ’s coming” (1Co 15:51, 52). Matthew Poole’s Commentary states: “was taken by God, Genesis 5:24. The apostle keeps to the Septuagint translation of the text. He was miraculously changed in his body from a mortal to an immortal state, and this without any separation of his soul from it. God, out of an extraordinary grace and favour to him, dispensed with the common sentence passed on the human seed in Adam, as he did many ages after this to Elijah. He died not: all the rest of the fathers of the church, Genesis 5:5,8,27, the longest liver of them, died.” “And was not found; he was not, Genesis 5:24, neither among men, nor in their sepulchres, as others were, but had changed his habitation and society. If any went to seek him, as others did Elijah he was far out of their finding, 2 Kings 2:17.” “Because God had translated him; for God had taken him to himself in heaven, the place of his residence, and in the very act changed his body into a spiritual, powerful, glorious, and incorruptible one; as all ours, who are true believers, shall be at last, 1 Corinthians 15:51 1 Thessalonians 4:15; and so made fit for the place to which he was taken, made like an angel in person, and to be with those spirits in company; now did he fully see and enjoy him whom by faith he walked with beneath.” Albert Barnes notes on the whole Bible states for the scripture in 2 Kings 2:11: “Elijah went up … – No honest exegesis can explain this passage in any other sense than as teaching the translation of Elijah, who was taken from the earth, like Enoch Genesis 5:24, without dying.” Could it be that the letter was not written by the prophet Elijah to Jehoram at the time of its delivery, but composed years before reaching Jehoram? Do we have an exact year when it was written? Or was there an error on the part of the transcriber, where the name Elijah was used, instead of Elisha, in the scripture: 2 Chronicles 21:12, as Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary states: 12-15. “there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet—That prophet’s translation having taken place in the reign of Jehoshaphat [2Ki 2:11, 12], we must conclude that the name of Elijah has, by the error of a transcriber, been put for that of Elisha.” Matthew Poole’s commentary states: “There came a writing to him from Elijah.” Question. “How could this be, when Elijah was rapt up to heaven in Jehoshaphat’s time, 2 Kings 2:3,11.” Answer. Either, 1. “This was Elisha, or some other prophet called Elijah, because he acted in the spirit and power of Elijah, for which cause John the Baptist also is so called. Or rather, 2. This was really written by Elijah, who by the Spirit did clearly foresee and foretell the reign and acts of Jehoram, (as others did of Josiah, 1 Kings 13:2, and Isaiah of Cyrus, Isaiah 45:3, long before they were born,) and in consideration thereof left this prophecy with Elisha, to be delivered in due time by him, or some other person in his name, and as from his mouth.” I look forward to your reply, Kind regards, Emily
Answer
II Kings 2:11
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.
In order to address the question of Elijah being taken as recorded in II Kings 2:11 in the verse above, we will first consider the order of events surrounding the return of Jesus Christ. This will be very relevant to dealing with the question of Elijah (and Enoch).
According to the scriptures the current time period in which we are living began when the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and holy spirit was made available to man on the Day of Pentecost. The Bible declares that when a person confesses Jesus as Lord and believes that God raised him from the dead he is saved (Romans 10:9, 10). With that confession he or she becomes a Christian. It was not possible for anyone to be a Christian prior to the Day of Pentecost (Acts 11:26). This means that both Elijah and Enoch were not Christians. They were believers in the Old Testament who were looking forward to the coming of the Messiah.
The New Testament declares that Jesus Christ is coming back to the gather the Church and at that time those Christians who are still alive will be gathered together to meet the Lord in the air. It also declares that those Christians who have fallen asleep (died) will be raised from the dead and will be gathered together before those who are living. This is indicated in the verses below:
I Thessalonians 4:13-18
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
The believers of the Old Testament, including Elijah and Enoch, will not be a part of this Gathering Together as it only applies to those who are Christians. For Old Testament believers and in fact for all others the Bible states that there will be a resurrection of the just and the unjust. These events, indicated in the verses below, will take place at some point after the Gathering Together for the Church.
Acts 24:15
15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.
John 5:28, 29
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
You will note that the resurrections are referred to as the resurrection of the just and unjust or as the resurrections of life and damnation. With this brief look at some of the events related to the return of Jesus Christ it should be clear that neither Elijah nor Enoch could possibly be alive in heaven as some have taught. Let’s consider a few more verses related to this.
I Corinthians 15:20
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
This verse from I Corinthians indicates that Jesus Christ was going to be the first one that would be raised from the dead. This could not possibly be true if either Elijah or Enoch had been taken up to heaven in the Old Testament. Additionally John 3:13 confirms this when it declares that Jesus Christ is the only one that has ascended to heaven.
John 3:13
13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
No other believer whether he/she lived before it was possible to be a Christian or after the Day of Pentecost has ascended to heaven and in fact no one will until the return of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, if it was possible for anyone to go to heaven before the coming of Christ, then there was no need for God to send the Savior. If God could have had Elijah or Enoch go to heaven without Christ’s redeeming work, He could have done that for everybody for He is no respecter of persons. Finally, if Jesus Christ said that “no man hath ascended to heaven,” and someone like Enoch had, it indicates that Jesus Christ either did not know what he was talking about or he lied - which is unthinkable.
With that background we must next consider a few important keys when studying God’s Word. We need to recognize that once we read a number of clear verses on a given topic, we must not allow an unclear verse to upset the many clear verses. We must also understand that there are no contradictions in God’s Word. God does not contradict Himself. Additionally we need to be very careful when we are trying to understand verses in the scriptures in that we take the time to read the context surrounding those verses. With these basic principles in mind let’s now consider the records of Enoch and Elijah.
In Hebrews we read the following concerning Enoch:
Hebrews 11:5
5 By faith Enoch was translated that 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.
You will note in the commentary that was mentioned (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary) the definition cited of “translated” is “sudden removal” and that is exactly what happened in the case of Enoch. The commentary then cites Galatians 1:6 which is as follows:
Galatians 1:6
6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel.
Here the word “removed” is the same as “translated” in Hebrews 11:5. To be “removed” from one gospel to another is once again a “translation” from one place to another. Bullinger’s Lexicon defines it as “to transport” or to “put in another place”. The commentary then just makes the statement that this is “such a CHANGE as shall pass over the living at Christ's coming”. However, there is no biblical evidence or support for this statement. In fact the word for “changed” in I Corinthians 15:51 is an entirely different word. The commentary is making an assumption that is not scriptural.
Matthew Poole’s commentary on Genesis 5:24 simply assumes that God took Enoch to be with him and provides no biblical evidence for the statement. His comments related to Elijah are also not consistent with what the scriptures teach on the Gathering Together and the resurrections of the just and the unjust (as we have noted above). Since Elijah is an Old Testament believer he will not be raised at the return of Christ and have his body changed from corruption to incorruption. Elijah will be a part of the resurrections that are to happen after the return of Christ. Therefore, the claim that Elijah was taken up and his body made into a spiritual body by God at the time of II Kings 2 is an erroneous claim. It is not possible according to what God has revealed about the return of Christ and the ensuing resurrections.
The quote from Albert Barnes’ notes on the whole Bible which states that Enoch was translated “without dying” is also inaccurate for Hebrews 11:13 clearly states that “These all died” – including Enoch.
Hebrews 11:13
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of [them], and embraced [them], and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
So all these believers mentioned in Hebrews 11 ALL died including Enoch. There is no mention of them going to heaven to be with the Lord Jesus Christ. They are all dead and are awaiting the return of Christ and then the resurrections that will follow.
There are two possible meanings for the translation or “the taking from one place to another” of Enoch. First of all it could mean that because Enoch walked with God, He made sure that Enoch never saw anyone physically die. In order to prevent this He translated him away. Secondly, due to the dangerous times during which Enoch lived, the translation could have been carried out to prevent Enoch himself from being killed. The translation made sure that a violent death would not happen to him. This may have been similar to how God protected Jesus Christ from getting killed when the crowd tried to throw him over the cliff in Nazareth:
Luke 4:28-30
28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way
Either of these fit with the overall records of the Bible concerning the Gathering Together and the resurrections that are to follow. Additionally there is no reason to try and explain that Enoch was not under the same judgement that came upon all mankind due to Adam’s transgression for the Bible declares clearly that God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11, Ephesians 6:9). To say that Enoch or Elijah did not need the Saviour is serious biblical error and is not even to be entertained.
The taking up of Elijah is exactly similar to the case of Enoch.
II Kings 2:11
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.
In this verse it must be understood first of all that “heaven” can refer to any place above the earth.
Gen 1:20
20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
The context must be checked to determine if it refers to God’s dwelling place or to just a location above the earth. In this instance it is referring to God’s taking Elijah away from Elisha by taking him into the air. There is no indication in the Bible that he was now taken into some immortal state to be with God. That would be contrary to the truths in God’s Word related to the Gathering Together and to the resurrections of the just and the unjust. In this record Elijah was taken to some other place so that no one could find him. In fact in this record the sons of the prophets did try to find Elijah but could not. This is similar to the record where it was God who buried Moses so that no one could find his body (Jude 1). In the case of Elijah, either he died and was buried by God or he was taken to some other location where he could not be found. If he died, the most logical explanation of the letter that King Jehoram received was that it was written by Elijah as a prophecy of what would happen in the future. If Elijah was still alive and taken to some other location, then he could have written the letter from there. Either of these possibilities are in harmony with the many clear verses regarding the return of Christ and the resurrections that follow at some time later. There is no reason to propose an exception of any sort that denies the plan of salvation and redemption that was carried out by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To summarize, the only man that has died and ascended to heaven is the Lord Jesus Christ. All those people who lived during the Old Testament – believers or not – are awaiting the resurrections of the just and the unjust. This includes both Elijah and Enoch. All those people who are Christians and have fallen asleep (died) or who are still living are awaiting the glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ to come and gather the Church. When the Lord returns, those who have fallen asleep will be raised to life and then those who are still living will be caught up into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. At some point after this will take place the resurrection of the just and the unjust. Elijah and Enoch will be resurrected at that time.