Elijah Taken to Heaven

Elijah did not die a normal death but was taken directly to heaven in a dramatic departure. As he walked with his successor Elisha near the Jordan River, a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared, and Elijah was carried up by a whirlwind into heaven (2 Kings 2:11).

Elisha witnessed this and received a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, along with his mantle. Because Elijah did not die, Jewish tradition expects his return before the Messiah (Malachi 4:5), and he appeared alongside Moses at Jesus’s transfiguration.