No Man Hath Ascended up to Heaven (John 3:13)

2023-09-15

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. (John 3:13)

Proponents of soul sleep say that people do not go to heaven when they die, and they cite verses such as this verse. There is a problem with this logic. The following people went up to heaven:

  1. Enoch was brought bodily to heaven by God (Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5).
  2. Elijah was bodily taken into heaven by a chariot, where the Bible specifically states, “Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (2 Kings 2:11).
  3. Paul the apostle went up to heaven either spiritually or physically (2 Corinthians 12:1-4). The Bible literally states that he was taken into “third heaven” and “paradise.”
  4. Jesus promised that the thief would be with Him that same day in paradise, defined in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4 as third heaven (Luke 23:24).
  5. John the apostle went up to heaven spiritually (Revelation 4:1-2).

These five historical examples are all before the resurrection of the saved, a future event. Therefore, when we come to John 3:13, they must be interpreted differently from the soul sleep adherent’s interpretation.

Part of the explanation is that the ascension of Christ is also paired with His descending. Consider our verse of interest, John 3:13, in context:

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:11-15)

Jesus descended from heaven to reveal heaven, and more specifically the Father, to people. But this is still only part of the explanation because the apostle Paul went to heaven and returned to earth, either bodily or spiritually.

Jesus also ascended to heaven as a forerunner for the rest of us to go to heaven. “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24). And again, “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec” (Hebrews 6:19-20). One additional thought here.