Taken up to heaven? (Brief review)

Cafe Logos, Vancouver

This free resource available from my employer, the Canadian Bible Society @ Cafe Logos, Vancouver.

Elijah and the Chariot of Fire (2015), Toronto, Canadian Bible Society,.

Brief review

This small and easy to read booklet, briefly, documents the life of the Prophet Elijah from the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible.

The part that interests me for this website, is at the end where it explains when Elijah, being with his Prophet successor (my add), Elisha, were walking together and a flaming chariot with fiery horses appeared and took Elijah up to heaven, never seen again within this present temporal realm, as normal man in this present realm.

Biblically, only Elijah (2 Kings 2) and Enoch (Genesis 5) went to heaven without first dying:

New American Standard Bible

2 Kings 2

11 As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a [e]whirlwind to heaven. 12 Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father, my father, the [f]chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw [g]Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan.

Genesis 5

23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.

In the later Gospels account of the transfiguration Elijah and Moses appear with Jesus Christ to Peter, James and John. From Matthew 17:1–8, Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36. Also referred to in 2 Peter 2.

Were Moses and Elijah in spirit form, featured with simulated physicality? Or were they resurrected?

The biblical critic can state it in nonsense that any person can avoid natural death.

Typically yes, almost with absolute certainty, let us state with reasonable certainty. The New Testament acknowledges this as a person is appointed once to die (Hebrew 9). The Hebrew Bible (Genesis 2-3) acknowledges physical death as certain, as examples.

But, as God is biblically and theologically the one that existed in the beginning (Genesis 1), and is philosophically the uncased, first cause of all secondary causes, including all life, humanity and angelic and demonic beings; God is the author of both life and death, even allowing for the fall and rebellion of satanic beings and human beings (likely separate events) as secondary causes.

God has the sovereign, omnipotent, ability to create, grant and maintain life and to at the same time can reasonably willingly allow and directly cause death.

Therefore, God can reasonably translate persons from the temporal realm to the heavenly realm.