Are Enoch and Elijah in Heaven?

Question: Genesis 5:24 says that “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him,” and 2 Kings 2:11 says that “Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” What exactly happened to these men seems unclear. Did they ever die? Are they in Heaven with God right now?

Answer: Part of the challenge of these passages is that their language is ambiguous. The phrases “he was not” and “God took him” have led many to believe that Enoch was removed from planet Earth and taken into Heaven. Additionally, the passage does not mention his death, and the Apostle Paul wrote that Enoch was “taken away so that he did not see death” (Hebrews 11:5). However, the story of Enoch nowhere tells us where he was taken, and it nowhere asserts that he did not die.

Regarding Elijah, we should remember that the Bible tells us of three heavens: the air above us where birds fly and clouds move; the space above that, which we know as outer space; and, finally, what Paul called “the third heaven,” the spiritual dimension in which God dwells (2 Corinthians 12:2). Whenever the Bible mentions “heaven,” we must keep in mind these three different places and let context reveal which one applies to the passage. Thus, when 2 Kings 2:11 says that “Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven,” the location of his chariot ride is not immediately clear.

This brings us back to the main question: Are Enoch and Elijah in Heaven? That is, are Enoch and Elijah now residing in the third heaven, in the presence of God and His angels?

The details of what happened to Enoch and Elijah after their disappearance is a larger topic than we can cover in this brief space, but the question of their death is actually very simple, and the answer involves a fundamental principle that is vital for anyone trying to understand the Bible: Use plain scriptures to help explain scriptures that seem ambiguous.

Enoch and Elijah Went the Way of All Flesh

Certainly, the tales of Enoch and Elijah have ambiguities we must resolve. Yet there are other very plain passages that are far easier to understand—passages that leave us no doubt as to whether or not Enoch and Elijah are alive in the third heaven.

One such passage was spoken by none other than the Son of God, Himself. Jesus Christ is very plain, saying, “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven” (John 3:13).

And there we have it, from Jesus’ own mouth: No one has ascended into the third heaven except for Jesus Christ, the Son of Man and the Son of God. He is the only man to have traversed both Heaven and earth. He didn’t say, “No one but two,” or, “No one but Enoch and Elijah”—He said, No one. And that leaves no room for these two Old Testament figures.

In fact, we can go further. We read of Enoch in Hebrews 11—often called the “Heroes of Faith” chapter—and, in verse 13 of that very chapter, we are told plainly what has happened to all of these heroes of faith: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises….”

“These all” would include Enoch, mentioned just eight verses earlier. In fact, of course Enoch and Elijah have died; Scripture makes plain that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23; see also Ezekiel 18:4, 20).

No matter what we might speculate, these plain verses set limits as to what must be true: that Enoch and Elijah are now dead, awaiting their reward, and are not in Heaven. To claim otherwise would be to disagree with Jesus Christ’s own words. As we have seen, the plain verses of the Bible add clarity to those that we might otherwise misinterpret and misunderstand. For deeper insight into God’s plan for humanity beyond death, you can request free copies of What Happens When You Die? and What Is the Meaning of Life?, or read them right here at TomorrowsWorld.org.