What do we know about the prophet Elijah and his ascension into Heaven? In the Synodal translation of the Bible it says, here suddenly appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and sundered them both and Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind into Heaven (4 Kg. The question of Elijah’s ascension is more difficult and more interesting.
What happened with the other Old Testament righteous one, who, like Enoch, has not yet tasted death? Where did the Prophet Elijah ascend to?Įnoch and Elijah, 17th century icon from the History Museum in Sanok, Poland. It should be emphasized that the Savior Himself ascended into Heaven, and God translated Enoch, not to Heaven, but to a particular place. The Savior speaks of Himself as an active participant in the Ascension to Heaven, but Enoch was passive in his translation. There is another aspect in analyzing the Old and New Testament texts that deserve special attention. Theophylact of Bulgaria speaks just as apophatically about Enoch’s fate: “Thus, that he was translated alive, and that he is still alive we know, but where or how is unknown, because Scripture does not speak about it.” Therefore, there is not even the slightest foundation upon which to say that the words of Christ contradict the life story of this righteous one. Gregory Palamas says, “God carried away Enoch too, but did He take him to Heaven? Certainly not! For no man hath ascended up to Heaven, but He that came down from Heaven. It says only that Enoch was translated, but does the relocation really have to be to Heaven? Enoch was moved to a certain place, but it was not that place to where Christ ascended. There is nothing about Heaven in either phrase. 5:24) the apostle Paul also says about Enoch that by faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found, because God had translated him (Heb. There are two phrases in the Bible about the end of his earthly life: In the Old Testament it says, And Enoch walked with God: and he was not for God took him (Gen. The apostle Jude says that Enoch was the seventh from Adam (cf. Let’s try to sort this issue out, using the Tradition of the fathers of the Church as the key to Scripture.įirst, let’s consider the story of Enoch. Many opponents of Christ see in this phrase a contradiction in the words of Scripture, for the Old Testament relates how Elijah ascended into Heaven and how God took Enoch to Himself. In His night conversation with Nicodemus, the Savior says, And no man hath ascended up to Heaven, but He that came down from Heaven, even the Son of man Which is in Heaven (Jn.
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