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NASB | John 3:13 "No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 3:13 "No one has gone up into heaven, but there is One who came down from heaven, the Son of Man [Himself--whose home is in heaven]. |
Bible Question:
Dear bothers and sisters, (John 3:13 ESV) No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. This verse clearly says only Jesus went up to the heaven. So, Enoch and Elijah didn't. But many people argue they indeed did. Then, look at the following verse: (John 1:18 ESV) No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. If Enoch and Elijah ascended into the heaven, how come did they not see God? Three possibilities: (1) Enoch and Elijah didn't ascend into the heaven. (2) Enoch and Elijah did ascend into the heaven, but the heaven is a different heaven from the heaven where God resides. (3) Enoch and Elijah did ascend into the heaven, but they were not allowed to see God until the Resurrection Day. Which one of the above (or any other answer) is correct? Please help my understanding. God bless. Daniel |
Bible Answer: If I understand your question correctly, you are saying no one can be in heaven because if they are there, they would see God and John 1:18 states no one has seen God. John 6:46 seems to agree with this statement and so does 1 Timothy 6:16 and 1 John 4:12. So you conclusion has to be correct or is it? What about John 12:45? Does that mean lots of people of seen God? What about Exodus 33:20-23? In my uneducated opinion, it appears that all the statements are true; it just depends on how you define seen. If we use the Bible to define it, no one has seen the “face of God”. People of seen parts of God (Exodus 33:20-23) and people of seen God’s image through others (John12:45). So that does not preclude Enoch and Elijah from being in heaven, it just prevents them from seeing the face of God while they are there. Hopefully another one of the other fine members can explain this better and I haven’t confused you too much. Brad |