Elijah
Ascension into the heavens

Elijah's name typically occurs in Jewish lists of those who have entered heaven alive.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus says: "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, the Son of man which is in heaven." Traditionally Christianity interprets the "Son of Man" as a title of Jesus, but this has never been an article of faith and there are other interpretations. Further interpreting this quote, some Christians believe that Elijah was not assumed into heaven but simply transferred to another assignment either in heaven or with King Jehoram of Judah.

The question of whether Elijah was in heaven or elsewhere on earth depends partly on the view of the letter Jehoram received from Elijah in 2 Chronicles 21:12 after Elijah had ascended. Some have suggested that the letter was written before Elijah ascended, but only delivered later. The rabbinical Seder Olam explains that the letter was delivered seven years after his ascension. This is also a possible explanation for some variation in manuscripts of Josephus ' Antiquities of the Jews when dealing with this issue. Others have argued that Elijah was only "caught away" such as Philip in Acts 8 John Lightfoot reasoned that it must have been a different Elijah.
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