Biblical Proof That OT Believers Entered Heavenly Glory

The Heavenly State of Old Testament Saints and the True Meaning of John 3:13

I. Old Testament Believers Entered God's Heavenly Presence

 1.

    2 Kings 2:11 — "And as they still went on and talked, behold,
    chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And
    Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." (2 Kings 2:11 ESV)

The Bible explicitly states that Elijah went directly up into heaven. To 
assert that no Old Testament person entered heaven directly contradicts 
the plain text of Scripture.

 2.

    Genesis 5:24 — "Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took
    him." (Genesis 5:24 ESV)
    Hebrews 11:5 — "By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not
    see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him."
    (Hebrews 11:5 ESV)

Enoch was taken directly by God into His presence without experiencing 
physical death. Scripture plainly records that God took him up.

 3.

    Matthew 17:3 — "And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah,
    talking with him." (Matthew 17:3 ESV)
    Luke 9:30–31 — "And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and
    Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he
    was about to accomplish at Jerusalem." (Luke 9:30–31 ESV)

Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration 
"in glory." Moses could not appear in heavenly glory if he were 
completely excluded from God's presence.

 4.

    Matthew 8:11 — "I tell you, many will come from east and west and
    recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of
    heaven." (Matthew 8:11 ESV)

Jesus Himself declares that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are in the kingdom 
of heaven, and that believers will recline at table with them.

 5.

    Luke 20:37–38 — "But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in
    the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of
    Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not God
    of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him." (Luke 20:37–38
    ESV)

God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob are alive unto God.

Proposition: The Scriptures explicitly affirm that Old Testament saints 
such as Elijah, Enoch, Moses, and Abraham entered into the presence and 
glory of God in heaven.

II. The True Meaning of John 3:13

 1.

    John 3:11–13 — "Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we
    know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive
    our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not
    believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one
    has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the
    Son of Man." (John 3:11–13 ESV)

The context of John 3:13 is a discourse regarding divine revelation and 
authority. Jesus is responding to Nicodemus concerning who has the 
authority to reveal heavenly mysteries.

 2.

    Proverbs 30:4 — "Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has
    gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a
    garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his
    name, and what is his son's name, if you know?" (Proverbs 30:4 ESV)

John 3:13 answers the ancient question posed in Proverbs 30:4. No human 
being has ascended into heaven by his own power or initiative to acquire 
divine knowledge and return to reveal it to men.

 3.

    John 1:18 — "No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the
    Father's side, he has made him known." (John 1:18 ESV)

Christ alone possesses original, firsthand authority as the Son who 
descended from heaven to make God known. John 3:13 does not teach that 
the souls of Old Testament believers were denied heaven; it teaches that 
no human teacher can claim to have gone up to heaven to fetch divine wisdom.

Proposition: John 3:13 establishes Christ's exclusive authority as the 
divine Revealer of heavenly truth; it does not deny the heavenly state 
of redeemed Old Testament believers.

III. The Theological Unity of Salvation for Old and New Testament Believers

 1.

    Romans 4:3 — "For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed
    God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.'" (Romans 4:3 ESV)

Old Testament saints were saved by faith in God's promise, just as New 
Testament saints are saved by faith in Christ's fulfillment.

 2.

    Hebrews 11:13, 16 — "These all died in faith, not having received
    the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from
    afar... But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a
    heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God,
    for he has prepared for them a city." (Hebrews 11:13, 16 ESV)

God prepared a heavenly city for the Old Testament patriarchs who died 
in faith.

 3.

    Hebrews 12:22–23 — "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city
    of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels
    in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are
    enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits
    of the righteous made perfect." (Hebrews 12:22–23 ESV)

The "spirits of the righteous made perfect"—which includes the faithful 
of former generations—reside in the heavenly Jerusalem.

Proposition: Both Old and New Testament believers are part of one 
redeemed body, cleansed by the atonement of Christ, and sharing in the 
same heavenly inheritance.


-- 
Good News †

Through the cross, Christ erased the spiritual debt we owed to God for 
our rebellion (Colossians 2:14), a reality established when God raised 
Him from the dead (Romans 1:4). God can now righteously pardon our sins 
(Romans 3:26) and exempt us from the coming divine judgment (1 
Thessalonians 1:10). Salvation cannot be earned; it is a free gift for 
believers (Romans 6:23). Trust in Jesus and invoke His name to be saved 
(Romans 10:9-13):

How to be saved: christrose.news/salvation