In the previous blog we saw what happened to Enoch. He also died, just like every human being. God transferred him to another place, where he was safe from his contemporaries. But we know another figure in the Bible, who was taken away by God, Elijah. What about him?
Elijah taken up
In 2 Kings 2 it is described that Elisha takes over Elijah’s ministry. Elijah would be taken up in a whirlwind to the heavens (:1). And that also happens in the same chapter. Elijah is taken up in a chariot of fire with horses of fire and so Elijah and Elisha are separated. Elijah is taken up to the heavens (:11).
heavens
It is striking that a plural is used here for heavens. Heaven is the collective name for everything that is above the earth. The Greek word that is translated as heaven in the New Testament is ouranos (G3772) and is made up of the word parts: see + upward. When we look up, we direct our gaze to heaven.
first, second and third heaven
The Bible knows three heavens. The first heaven is the heaven in which ‘the birds of heaven’ reside. In the second heaven are ‘the stars of heaven’. The third heaven is the dwelling place of God and is called the heaven of heavens in the Tanakh (Deut.10:14; 1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chronicles 2:6; 6:18; Neh.9:6; Ps.68:33; 148:4). Paul declares that he was once caught up to the third heaven (2 Cor.12:2).
Elijah is said to have been taken up into heaven. From this we cannot conclude that he went to heaven, the dwelling place of God, remained there and is still there. As the Lord later declared: no one has ascended to heaven, except he who came down from heaven, the Son of man (John 3:13).
died?
Although we find no record of Elijah’s death, he did die. Death has passed through all men (Rom. 5:12), Paul declares. No one is exempt from it. Jesus also died, but He was raised up by God and is the only One who has immortality (1 Tim. 6:16). But what happened to Elijah?
The rapture of Elijah took place during the reign of King Jehoshaphat (2 Kings 3:11). The events in 2 Kings 3 take place in the 18th year of Jehoshaphat’s reign (2 Kings 3:1), who reigned for a total of 25 years (1 Kings 22:42). When Jehoshaphat dies, his son Joram becomes king in his place (2 Chronicles 21:1). Years after Elijah’s ascension, this Joram receives a letter from Elijah:
2 Chronicles 21
12 And there came to him a letter from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus says the LORD God of David your father: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father…
Apparently, Elijah returned to earth after his ascension, to another place, and lived there for quite some time. We do not know where or how long he lived.