The Men Who Never Died
What do we know about the men who bypassed death and went straight through the pearly gates?
One day we are all going to die.
The Inevitability of death
From the moment you take your very first breath in this world, you are already one step closer to your last breath. It’s a rock-hard reality that we all have to live with, regardless of whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. Death constantly hovers over us and haunts us in life until it finally claims us.
The exceptions to the rule
However, the Grim Reaper never made it to the doorsteps of two men: Enoch and Elijah. According to Scripture, they went straight to heaven without any detours.
They never died.
Enoch, the man who walked with God
The Bible doesn’t share much information about Enoch. But, here is what we do know:
- He lived during the time after Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden, but before Noah’s catastrophic flood.
- His father was Jared, who lived to be 962 years old.
- He was in the seventh generation after Adam.
- He had a son when he was sixty five years-old and named him Methuselah. (Methuselah holds the record for living longer than anyone else — 969 years).
- He had other sons and daughters as well. Their names are not listed in Scripture.
- He was the great grandfather of Noah, the ark builder.
- Enoch had a very close relationship with God. And he pleased God.
- Enoch “walked faithfully with God” for 300 years.
- He lived for a total of 365 years.
- He was taken to heaven without dying.
- He prophesized about the Lord’s future wrath.
Elijah, a prophet like no other
Elijah was a loud drum-beat voice of truth in Israel when telling the truth wasn’t popular. And he unapologetically pointed people towards God at a time when idolatry was running rampant in the land. Here’s what the Bible shares about Elijah:
- He was from an area called Tishbe.
- He was a hairy man (or wore clothes made from animal hair) who wore a leather belt around his waist.
- When Elijah arrived on the scene, Israel was no longer a united nation. It had already split into two separate entities: the northern and southern kingdoms. Elijah was a prophet for the northern kingdom of Israel.
- Elijah prophesized that neither dew or rain would fall until he gave the word. He was right. It didn’t rain for three years. In fact, the rain didn’t return until Elijah prayed.
- He encouraged a starving widow to believe in God. Then God continuously provided food for the woman, her son, and Elijah during a years-long famine.
- He resurrected that same widow’s son.
- He confronted Queen Jezebel’s false prophets and challenged them to a duel. God backed him up and sent fire from heaven to prove that Elijah served the true God. Then Elijah executed every single false prophet that had accepted the challenge — about 450 of them.
- God once gave him super speed.
- Elijah was miraculously fed by ravens and by the Angel of the Lord.
- He called down fire from heaven two more times.
- Even though Elijah was used by God to perform some mighty miracles, he still experienced fear and discouragement just like we do.
- He met one-on-one with the Lord at Mt. Sinai.
- God sent him to anoint his replacement — a man named Elisha.
- Elijah obeyed God and boldly (and publicly) prophesized the death of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.
- Like Moses centuries before, Elijah also parted a body of water. He hit the Jordan River with his cloak and it split so that he and his protégé could walk across on dry land.
- A chariot of fire drawn by horses of fire appeared when Elijah was whisked away into heaven by a whirlwind.
- Centuries after he sidestepped death, Elijah appeared with Moses at the transfiguration of Jesus.
The return of Enoch and Elijah?
Some speculate that Enoch and Elijah will both have important roles in the future End Times as described in the book of Revelation. The hypothesis revolves around the theory that Enoch and Elijah will be the two miraculously powered witnesses who prophesy on behalf of the Almighty for 1260 days. The witnesses will eventually be killed by God’s enemies, resurrected after three and a half days, and then will ascend into heaven.
The Bible reports that only two remarkable men were ever escorted by God from the earthly realm. Enoch and Elijah stepped into His divine glory.
And they didn’t have to die to do it.
If you enjoyed this article, check out ‘Jesus was Not a Vegetarian’ here.
Thanks for your time. Thanks for reading.
