Did the Prophet Elijah actually ascend INTO heaven?

There seems to be a misconception - not only among heretic groups but also among many Christians – which involves a belief that the Prophet Elijah either died - like every other Prophet - or, that he ascended bodily into heaven.

Let’s take a close look to see what the truth really is :

It is true, that some of us –both of the laity and of the Clergy- have not observed with the appropriate attention the relative passage of the Old Testament, in which is mentioned the ascension of the Prophet Elijah.

When one studies this passage carefully, one will notice there is a tiny, 2-letter (Greek) word «ΩΣ» (=as if), which will greatly illuminate their rationalizing, since the dogmatic aspect found in the Dedicational Hymn for this Saint is usually rejected by them :

«The second Precursor to the Presence of Christ - Elijah the glorious…»

And here is the text of the event in question:

ORIGINAL TEXT “Και εγένετο αυτών πορευομένων, επορεύοντο και ελάλουν (Ηλίας και Ελισσαιέ)· και ιδού άρμα πυρός και ίπποι πυρός και διέστειλεν ανά μέσον αμφοτέρων και ανελήφθη Ηλιού εν συσσεισμώ ΩΣ εις τον ουρανόν”. Βασιλειών Δ, 1:11

ENGLISH RENDITION "And it came to be while they were walking, they (Elijah and Elishah) walked and spoke and behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire parted the two of them, and Elijah was swept up, in an upheaval, AS IF into the heavens" Reigns (Kings) 4, 1:11.

The expression «AS IF into the heavens» is clear evidence that he did not actually ascend INTO heaven.  However, many people have been misled and have incorrectly interpreted this text, because they have read a paraphrased Old Testament text, and not the actual text.  The paraphrased text says: “and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven”, proof that this little word «ΩΣ» carries the potential to solve the issue and to prove that Elijah did not ascend into heaven.

In the 5^th Ode of the second Canon dedicated to the Lord’s Ascension, there is the following hymnal:

ORIGINAL TEXT «Ξένην Σου η Γέννησις, ξένη Σου η Ανάστασις, ξένη και φρικτή Σου, Ζωοδότα, η εκ του Όρους θεία Ανάληψις, ην εξεικονίζων Ηλιού, τέθριππος ανήρχετο, ανυμνών Σε, Φιλάνθρωπε».

ENGLISH RENDITION “Strange is Your Birth, strange is Your Resurrection, strange and dire – o Life-giver - is Your divine Ascension from the Mount, which Elijah was portraying with his four-horsed ascent, thus glorifying You, o Philanthropist.”

 

In plain words:  “O, Life-giver Christ, Your seedless and incorrupt Birth was truly a foreign and supernatural event; foreign and supernatural was Your Resurrection from the dead; foreign and awesome was also Your glorious Ascension into heaven from the Mount of Olives.  This awesome Ascension was prophetically foreshadowed by the Prophet Elijah, who was “swept up” by a fiery chariot and four fiery horses.” ( but NOT INTO Heaven, like the Lord – only AS IF into heaven )

The Hymn-writer in this text is telling us –among other things- that the ascension of the Prophet Elijah was a precursor, a foreshadowing, of the Ascension of the Lord that was to come later on.

We also have the words of Saint Athanasius the Great, who clarifies things even more.  According to him:

ORIGINAL TEXT «Συ δε μοι λοιπόν, αγαπητέ, της λέξεως την ακρίβειαν σκόπησον, της ΩΣ, και μη σε διαλάθη συλλαβής  Γραφικής περιουσία  κ α ι  δύναμις· μηδέ τη της λέξεως παραδρομή (το ανελήφθη δηλαδή) τω Δεσπότη τον οικέτην νομίσης ισότιμον· ΟΥ ΓΑΡ ΕΙΣ ΟΥΡΑΝΟΝ ΗΛΙΑΣ ΑΝΕΡΧΕΤΑΙ, ουδέ διαδραμών το στερέωμα, τοις εκείσε χωρίοις αυλίζεται· άλλ’ άκουσον τι φησίν ο αναγών· «Εν δε τω ανάγειν Κύριον τον Ηλίαν ΩΣ ΕΙΣ τον ουρανόν· ιδού μικρά λέξις (το ΩΣ)  έστησε τον Ηλίαν προς τα άνω φερόμενον· αρκεί γαρ τω Προφήτη τιμηθήναι τω τύπω· προ γαρ του Δεσπότου τον οικέτην ουρανός ουχ υποδέχεται· ουδείς γαρ αναβέβηκεν εις τον Ουρανόν, ειμή ο Υιός του ανθρώπου ο ων εν τω Ουρανώ·  ετηρείτο γαρ τη των ανθρώπων απαρχή δια τον των ανθρώπων Ποιητήν ο Ουρανός. Ούτω μεν ουν τοις περί τον Ενώχ και Ηλίαν ο Θεός αγαθή ελπίδι εύφρανε τους ανθρώπους, δι’ ων ανθρώποις ούσι τον του αέρος δρόμον ιππήλατον ήπλωσε» (Λογ. Β’ εις την Ανάληψιν).

ENGLISH RENDITION Therefore you, dear one, observe the precision of the word ΩΣ, and let not this Scriptural syllable’s treasure and power escape your notice, nor through any misinterpretation (of the ascension) be misled into equating the Lord with the supplicant (Elijah). FOR ELIJAH WAS NOT ASCENDING INTO HEAVEN, nor did he -by traversing the firmament- become a resident of its courts; instead, pay attention to what the text mentions: “Upon sweeping up Elijah AS IF into Heaven”. Behold, one small word (ΩΣ) was given to portray Elijah as moving upwards; for it was enough that the Prophet was honored by a semblance (=AS IF) of ascent;  Heaven could never receive a supplicant (Elijah) before receiving the Lord – for nobody has ever gone up into Heaven, except the Son of Man, Who is in Heaven.  Heaven was reserved, for the Creator, the Maker of mankind. Just as with Enoch and Elijah God had gladdened the people with a promising hope, He now spread before them a (virtual) ‘highway in the sky’, as though for horse-drawn vehicles. ( Homily B’ on the Ascension.)

In other words, this pillar of Orthodoxy, our Athanasius the Great, urges us to notice the tiny syllable ΩΣ, which should not escape our attention as it is a syllable of Scriptural treasure and power, because it alone testifies that Elijah did NOT ascend INTO heaven.  It furthermore implies that nobody else has ascended into Heaven except the One Who descended from it.  In the words of the Lord:  «Ουδείς αναβέβηκεν εις τον ουρανόν ειμή ο εκ του ουρανού καταβάς, ο υιός του ανθρώπου ο ων εν τω ουρανώ» (Nobody has ever ascended into Heaven, except the One Who had descended from it -the Son of Man, Who is in Heaven) John, 3:13.  Also, that Heaven is reserved for the Lord, the Master and Creator, and not for a servant (supplicant). Therefore, both the ascension of Elijah, as well as the "transferral" of Enoch, were nothing more than advance notices of the Lord’s forthcoming Ascension, and, following His, our own.

Furthermore, our Father Epiphanios says the following, with regard to the Ascension:  

ORIGINAL TEXT «Και ανελήφθη Ηλίας εν συσσεισμώ ΩΣεις τον Ουρανόν· το δε, ΩΣ ΕΙΣ τον Ουρανόν, αμφίβολον έχει την έννοιαν· το δε, ΕΙΣ τον Ουρανόν, τρανήν δείκνυσι την αλήθειαν».

ENGLISH RENDITION “And Elijah was swept up, in an upheaval, (‘upheaval’ = a powerful shuddering, or a convulsion occurring around him), AS IF into the heavens”.  The expression ‘as if into the heavens’ has a vagueness of meaning; however, the expression ‘into the heavens’ clearly indicates a truth.”

The Holy Father is making a distinction here, between the ‘ascent’ of the Prophet and the Lord’s Ascension.  Because indeed, in Elijah’s ascension we have the tiny syllable «ΩΣ» (as if), which has an inference of doubt, whereas in the Lord’s Ascension, we have another tiny syllable «ΕΙΣ» (into), which boldly states the truth.  In the (Greek) Scriptural references to the Ascension of the Lord, we only find the expression “into Heaven” and not “as if into Heaven”, as we can see from the examples below:

ORIGINAL TEXT a) «Τι εστήκατε εμβλέποντες εις τον Ουρανόν; Ούτος ο Ιησούς ο αναληφθείς αφ’ υμών ΕΙΣ τον Ουρανόν, ούτως ελεύσεται ον τρόπον εθεάσασθε αυτόν πορευόμενον ΕΙΣ τον Ουρανόν».

ENGLISH RENDITION “a) "...who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up at heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will also come in the manner that you saw Him go into heaven.”  (Acts 1:11)

ORIGINAL TEXT β) «Εξήγαγε δε αυτούς (τους μαθητάς)  έξω έως εις Βηθανίαν και επάρας τας χείρας αυτού ευλόγησεν αυτούς· και εγένετο εν τω ευλογείν αυτόν αυτούς διέστη απ’ αυτών και αναφέρετο ΕΙΣ τον Ουρανόν».

ENGLISH RENDITION b) "And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.  Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven."  (Luke 24: 50-51)

ORIGINAL TEXT γ) «Ο μεν ουν Κύριος μετά το λαλήσαι αυτοίς (τοις μαθηταίς) ανελήφθη ΕΙΣ τον Ουρανόν και εκάθησεν εκ δεξιών του Θεού».

ENGLISH RENDITION c) So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19)

As we can see in the above three Scriptural passages that refer to the Ascension, there indeed is the word “into” (ΕΙΣ), whereas in the Prophet’s ascension, there is the word “as if” (ΩΣ).

When interpreting the above passage by Luke 24: 50-51, the blessed Theophylactus of Bulgaria says:

ORIGINAL TEXT  «Ηλίας μεν γαρ ΩΣ εις Ουρανόν· ωσανεί γαρ εδόκει ΕΙΣ ουρανόν αναφέρεσθαι ο δε Σωτήρ ΕΙΣ τον ουρανόν, αυτός πρόδρομος πάντων ανελήλυθε μετά της αγίας σαρκός αυτού, εμφανισθήναι τω προσώπω του Θεού και σύνεδρον αυτήν αποδείξαι τω Πατρί».

ENGLISH RENDITION "…as for Elijah, it was indeed AS IF into Heaven; for if one believes that the Savior ascends INTO heaven, then He is the forerunner of all, Who ascended - with His holy flesh - and appeared in the presence of God, proving it (the flesh) as co-enthroned, with the Father.”

Dear friends, we shouldn’t wonder or be scandalized: there is most assuredly a difference between Elijah’s ‘ascension’ and the Lord’s, just as there is a difference between the Resurrection of the Lord and the other resurrections.  Saint Gregory of Thessaloniki says:

ORIGINAL TEXT  «Ώσπερ δε αναστάσεις προ της του Κυρίου αναστάσεως πολλαί γεγόνασι, (εξ), ούτω και πολλαί αναλήψεις προ της αυτού αναλήψεως· και Ιερεμίαν γαρ τον Προφήτην ανέλαβε Πνεύμα, και τον Αββακούμ Άγγελος, και τον Ενώχ ανέλαβεν ο Θεός· μάλιστα δε των άλλων ο Ηλίας άρματι πυρός αναληφθείς αναγέγραπται· αλλ’ ουδ’ ούτος (ο Ηλίας)  υπερέβη την περίγειον λήξιν, αλλ’ οίόν τις μετάθεσις ην η εκάστου τούτων ανάληψις, από γης αίρουσα και των περί γην ουκ εξάγουσα· καθάπερ και οι αναστάντες εκείνοι πάλιν εις την γην υπέστρεψαν, τελευτήσαντες άπαντες» (Λογ. α’ εις την Ανάληψιν).

ENGLISH RENDITION “Just as many other resurrections had taken place prior to the Lord’s (six in number), likewise many ascensions had taken place prior to His Ascension; for, even Jeremiah the Prophet was swept up by the Spirit, and Habakkuk also, by an Angel, and Enoch was also swept up by God. In fact, it is written that Elijah –unlike the others- was swept up by a 'fiery chariot'; But, even so, he (Elijah) did not go beyond the Earth's surrounding strata; in fact, in each of those ascensions, it was a kind of transposition, which lifted them off the face of the earth but did not take them beyond the Earth's shrouds, And just like the others who had been (temporarily) resurrected, all of them were “returned to the earth” and eventually died.” (Homily a’ on the Ascension)

 

It is surely evident now, after all our above clarifications, that the Prophet Elijah did not go up into Heaven - or Paradise, as some people claim nowadays.

Before closing this subject, we would like to present two more pieces of evidence from the Holy Bible, which testify that Elijah did NOT, in fact, go up into Heaven.

The first one is in the New Testament, and it is the explicit statement made by Christ Himself, as used by Athanasius the Great in the article above:

13 No one has ascended into heaven except He who had descended from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven (John 3:13)

Christ expressly states here that NO-ONE has ascended into Heaven – no-one, therefore NOT EVEN ELIJAH.

However, we have even more convincing evidence that Elijah did not ascend into Heaven after being “swept up”.  The following passage from the Old Testament is extremely interesting:

ORIGINAL TEXT "10 Και απέστη από Ιούδα Εδώμ έως της ημέρας ταύτης· τότε απέστη Λομνά εν τω καιρω εκείνω από χειρός αυτού, ότι εγκατέλιπε Κύριον τον Θεόν των πατέρων αυτού· 11 και γαρ αυτός εποίησεν υψηλά εν ταις πόλεσιν Ιούδα και εξεπόρνευσε τους κατοικούντας εν Ιερουσαλήμ και απεπλάνησε τον Ιούδαν. 12 και ήλθεν αυτω εν γραφή παρά Ηλιού του προφήτου λέγων· τάδε λέγει Κύριος Θεός Δαυίδ του πατρός σου..."

ENGLISH RENDITION “…10 So the Edomites broke away from the hand of Judas to this day. Then Libnah also broke away from his hand, because he had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers, 11 for he too built high places in the cities of Judah, and prostituted those living in Jerusalem and seduced Judas.12 And there came to him in writing by Elijah the prophet, saying, 'Thus says the Lord God of David your father:for not having walked on the path of Jehoshaphat your father, and on the path of Asa king of Judah….”   (Chronicles II, 21: 10-12)

In this passage, it says that Elijah sent a letter (in writing!!) to the king of Judah, whom he reprimanded for his irreverent behavior.  What is of special interest here though, is that chronologically, Elijah had sent this ‘writing’ AFTER his “ascent towards Heaven”. 

This undoubtedly verifies that Elijah had returned and remained on earth, from where he had sent that letter.   Unless Heaven has a postal service?……….

 

 

 

Translation by A.N.