DouglasKC If Elijah ascended in a whirlwind to the same heaven Jesus came from, then that means Jesus either didn't know about it, or is a liar. Neither of these possibitlies is likely. So therefore Elijah didn't ascend to THE heaven.
True, he did go upto "heaven" in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11), but it seems to me that "heaven" was the heaven of the skies, the atmosphere...he just got carried to a different place far away where he couldn't be found. The proof of this is in 2 Chronicles 21:12. Years after Elijah was carried away by the whirlwind, who does Jehoram get a letter from? Elijah the prophet.
LOL. "Heaven" doesn't mean "heaven" now? I love it. When Catholics do this kind of "deconstruction" of the text, we get called for "Spinning." Anybody out there agree?
Havoc: Incredibly good point.
Of course. Everybody come see Havoc spinning the plain meaning of Scripture.
SD
"Heaven" in the 2 Kings 2:11 is defined by Strongs:
8064 shamayim shaw-mah'-yim
dual of an unused singular shameh shaw-meh'; from an unused root meaning to be lofty; the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve):--air, X astrologer, heaven(-s).
Throughout the old testament, the same word is used to refer not only to the realm of God but to the atomosphere. In fact, most of the usage of the words seems to be referring to the atompshere or the sky, or space. Rarely does it mean THE heaven.
How would you explain that fact that Jeroham got a letter from Elijah years after he had been taken away to heaven?