Where did Enoch and Elijah go since flesh and blood cannot enter heaven?

“Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” (Genesis 5:24)  The Apostle Paul confirms this thought in Hebrews 11:5, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him.” Notice, neither of these scriptures mentions that Enoch went to heaven to be with God. In fact, he could not have received a heavenly reward at that time, since Jesus had not yet come to earth to pay the price of redemption that would enable the faithful ones to enter heaven.

What, then, happened to Enoch? God took him away as a young man of 365 years (Genesis 5:23) so that he would not see death in the normal way.  He was taken in a supernatural way, as is evidenced by the word “translated.” According to Strong’s, Thayer’s and Bullinger’s Greek Lexicons, “translate” means “to put or place in another place, to transport, to transfer.”  The same Greek word is rendered “carried over” in Acts 7:16 where Jacob’s body was ‘translated’ or ‘transported’ to Shechem where he was buried. Likewise, God took Enoch and buried him somewhere so as not to be found, just as He did with the body of Moses in Deuteronomy 34:6. No man knows where either Moses’ or Enoch’s grave is. God hid them for reasons known only to Him. It is our belief that both of these Ancient worthy ones will come forth from their graves at the time God has appointed for them.

“Suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared . . . and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.” (2 Kings 2:10) Yet, over nine hundred years after this event, Jesus himself said, “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” (John 3:13) Are these two Bible statements contradictory? If Elijah did not go to heaven, then where did he go?

The scriptures use the word “heaven” to describe three places, not just one.  The first heaven is the earth’s atmosphere where birds fly  (Genesis 1:20, Jeremiah 4:25; 34:20, Lamentations 4:19, Zephaniah 1:3). This Hebrew word shamayim is translated as “sky” in the scripture comparing Genesis 7:3, “fowls also of the air,” with Genesis 7:23, “fowl of the heaven.”  The word “sky” and “heaven” are used interchangeably from the same Hebrew word (Psalm 8:8).  So the first heaven is synonymous with “heights” or “elevations.”

The second heaven is outer space where the planets and stars exist (Genesis 1:14- 17; 15:5; 22:17; 26:4, Deuteronomy 1:10; 17:3; Psalm 8:3, Jeremiah 8:2; Matthew 24:29).

The third heaven is literally called “the third heaven” in 2 Corinthians 12:2. This third heaven is what Jesus calls his “Father’s house” (John 14:2) and both Jesus and the Apostle Paul call “paradise” (Luke 23:43, 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, Revelation
2:7). This third heaven is where God and the heavenly sanctuary exist (1 Peter 3:22).

Since Elijah could not have gone to God’s heavenly throne, which “heaven” did he go to—the first or second?  We believe that he was taken  into  the earth’s  atmosphere, the  first  heaven,  because  there could be no whirlwind in any other place but in the atmosphere surrounding the earth.

Did Elijah die when God took him up into the atmosphere? We believe he did not. Almost ten years after Elijah was taken from his people, the wicked king of Judah, Jehoram, received a letter from Elijah (2 Chronicles 21:12-15). From the wording of the letter, it is clear that it was written after the events of the last decade had occurred. Elijah speaks of the events as past events and of the diseases as future. Two years after receiving the letter, the king became diseased and died. This letter proves that Elijah was alive and living someplace else. The Bible does not reveal how much longer Elijah lived after writing the letter, but we do know that when he did die, he did not go to heaven.

A similar incident to Elijah’s took place in Acts 8:39-40 where Phillip was caught up into the first heaven and was transported to another location approximately 20-30 miles away. Ezekiel also experienced God’s power of transportation when the spirit lifted him up (Ezekiel 3:12) “between the earth and heaven” and brought him “to Jerusalem, to the door of  the inner gate” (Ezekiel 8:3). Afterwards, the spirit took him up to Chaldea (Ezekiel 11:24).

What is meant by Adam and Eve eating the fruit?

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was in the Garden of Eden. This was the only tree God forbade Adam and Eve to eat. Genesis 2:17, "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.'” So, eating the fruit would mean literally eating fruit. Some people attempt to attach a symbolic meaning to eating the fruit: usually interpreted as the act of sexual union. However, this would be a mistake. 

Consider Genesis 1:27-31, "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth…Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day." God instructed Adam and Eve to fill the earth with children through natural means and proclaimed "it was very good." Therefore, the act of sex between a husband and wife is not a sin. It is blessed of God to enjoy and to fill the earth. 

The whole test was about obedience – even in something as little as eating fruit. God's creations, both angelic and human, were not made robotic, but were given brains to think and reason with and make their own decisions.  One of God's angels, Lucifer, fell from heaven due to his prideful ambitions.  “For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…..I will be like the most High…nevertheless you will be thrust down to sheol…”  Isaiah 14:12-15 

God would have been very happy to see Adam, Eve and their posterity live eternally in the beautiful Garden of Eden, but that had to be their decision.  His command in Genesis 2 gave Adam a choice and very explicitly stated the penalty for disobedience. Sadly, Adam chose to disobey God.

Obedience is so important to God that Jesus, Himself, was perfected through His obedient suffering. Hebrews 5:8,9, “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him”.

Remember: “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” John 4:23. Only those who want to obey God by loving Him with all of their hearts, minds, and beings will find eternal life.