I’m sure most of you have heard the teaching that Enoch and Elijah were translated (raptured) by God to heaven before they died. This is purported as the reason they will be the “Two Witnesses” of Revelation chapter 11. But, is that really what the bible says happened to them ? Let’s check Enoch first.
The book of Genesis records : “After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” (Genesis 5: 22-24) Paul adds this in Hebrews; “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him’; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” (Hebrews 11:5) First, consider that the text does not indicate where God took him. Heaven is merely an assumption by many teachers. Also, the text does not say that he never died, only that he didn’t “see death“. It appears that God took him before the earth was corrupted by the sons of God (righteous line of Seth) cohabiting with the daughters of men (line of Cain), perhaps protecting him from the resulting chaos that ended with a flood. So , where did God take him ? We can only speculate, as the bible does not say. Eden maybe ? At any rate, the bible clearly says this “….it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…”(Hebrews 9:27) Hebrews also indicates that Enoch did indeed die. After a listing of OT heroes of faith including Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, etc. it is thus stated “These all died in faith, not having received the promises...” (Hebrews 11:13). “All”, by necessity includes Enoch.
Lets take a look at Elijah. When Elisha took over the mantle of his mentor Elijah the prophet this occurred : “Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” (2 Kings 2:11) The Hebrew word translated here as heaven simply means sky. Elisha watched Elijah carried off into the sky. So, the question remains – where was Elijah taken ? It’s evident that he did not remain in the sky. Other sons of the prophets who were watching from a distance suggested this to Elisha; “….Look now , there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley….and they searched for three days but did not find him.” (2Kings 2:16-17) Certainly, the same law that applies to all of us also applies here; “It is appointed for men to die once..” While this seems to present an enigma, a later scripture brings clarity. Years later, after Elijah was taken, when Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat was king in Judah: “And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying….” (2Chronicles 21:12) Jehoram got a letter from Elijah criticizing his ungodly reign describing things Elijah could only have known about lest he was still alive on the earth. Commentators struggle with this verse stating things like- ‘this must be a scribal error where Elisha was meant’. IMO, God simply relocated Elijah according to His plan.
Interestingly, the New Testament records a similar relocation incident where Philip was instantly transported to Azotus after baptizing an Ethiopian eunuch on the road to Gaza. The account can be read in Acts 8:26-40. In summary, the teaching that Enoch and Elijah did not die but were raptured to heaven where God dwells is mere speculation. As for whether Enoch and Elijah might be the two Witnesses of Revelation, I’ll discuss this in an upcoming blog.