Now lets take a look at the second scripture that mentions Enoch by name: "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, NKJV) The most significant aspect of these Scriptures is that NONE of them say Enoch went to heaven. The word rendered as "was taken" (or as "translated" in the KJV Bible) comes from the Greek word μετατίθημι or metatithëmi (Strong's Concordance Number #G3346). It means to transfer, transport, exchange, change sides, carry over, change or remove. We read in John 3:13 (NKJV): "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. " Also Acts 2:34 (NKJV): "For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool." ' " Both Enoch and David were long dead when Jesus and Peter made those statements. This is positive proof that neither Enoch nor David were taken to heaven (at least the heaven where God resides). What about Elijah? Let's look at 2Kings 2: "And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal . . . 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." (2Kings 2:1, 11, NKJV) One of the rarely taught teachings of the Bible is that there are THREE types or kinds of heaven that scriptures can refer to: The FIRST heaven is the atmosphere or sky that surrounds the earth. The SECOND heaven is the physical universe that has stars, planets and so on. The THIRD heaven is where God and his throne resides.
WHICH heaven is 2Kings 2 referring to when it states Elijah went into heaven? The word translated heaven in the book of 2Kings comes from the Hebrew word shâmayim (Hebrew: שׁמה שׁמים, Strong's Concordance Number #H8064). It is the plural
form of the Hebrew word shameh which means to be lofty, the sky, the visible arch in which the clouds move. This word does NOT refer to the heaven where God's throne is located. When Jesus (John 3:13) and Peter (Acts 2:34) state that NO ONE has gone to heaven, the heaven they are referring to is the one where God resides. Therefore, when Hebrews 11:5 states that Enoch was "translated" or moved, it does NOT mean that he was somehow miraculously picked up by God to live forever with him near his heavenly throne. Enoch was moved or taken through the earth's atmosphere or sky (the same sky airplanes fly in) to a physical location on the earth the Bible does not name so that " . . . he should not see death." This is the same thing that happened to Elijah. God, in His wisdom, decided to PHYSICALLY transport Enoch and Elijah away from where they were originally located so that someone (or something) would not be able to physically kill or murder them at that particular time. They continued to live the SAME kind of fleshly existence you or I do after they were moved until the day they died just like any other human. This is in agreement with other scriptures that state ALL men must die a physical death such as: " . . . as it is appointed for men to DIE once, but after this the judgment," (Hebrews 9:27, NKJV) |
