Is Enoch In Heaven?

Anne wrote:

Have read your article on Enoch and Elijah.  Can't comment on Elijah, but the Bible is quite clear about Enoch.  He was taken directly to heaven.  The very context of the verse makes it clear that Enoch was an exceptional person in the eyes of God.  Every other individual in that passage is described as being XXX years old and then he died"...Enoch is a clear exception.  By stating anything else, you are denying the infallibility of Scripture.  I am not a scholar, just an ordinary person, the kind that the Bible was written for.  I know what I read about Enoch is true because it is in the Bible.  Your article is ex-Scripture.

From: Anne

Dear Anne,
God Bless your beautiful heart and thank you for writing.  We know this subject is very difficult for many believers in that they have been taught all their lives that when a believer dies (or in the case of Enoch even before he died) they are taken to heaven.  You claim we are ex-Scriptural but let's look at a couple of Scriptures we believe are The Word of God.  Everyone knows John 3:16 but very few know John 3:12-13:

John 3:12  If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

John 3:13  And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Where would this place Enoch or is this Scripture in error or a poor translation?  What about:

1Co 15:15  Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
1Co 15:16  For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
1Co 15:17  And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1Co 15:18  Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
1Co 15:19  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
1Co 15:20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
1Co 15:21  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

This section tells us plainly that Christ only is raised and the He is firstfruits and that others will raise only at His coming.  As for Enoch he is listed with other faithful in Hebrews 11 as a faithful one and the word many translate as heaven is actually the word metatithe which means:
Strong and Thayer Definition:
To transfer, that is, (literally) transport, (by implication) exchange, (reflexively) change sides, or (figuratively) pervert: - carry over, change, remove, translate, turn.

It never says he was taken to heaven and by the words of the Lord Jesus in John 3:13 we know he could not have been.  In fact the very Scriptures that seem to say he was taken to heaven after listing him and the other faithful speak clearly on this matter when they say:

Hebrews 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them , and embraced them , and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Maybe we should stop to consider that Enoch like Paul and John saw the still future inheritance of life as he was translated to a still future reality in a vision but we can not know because the Scripture does not tell us. All we can know is that he was translated somewhere, not heaven, eventually died and will one day like all believers be resurrected.

If you can share some Scriptures that add more light to this subject we are always ready to learn.

All God's Blessings,
The Believers

Share With Others