Answer: There are basically two questions here: (1) Did the Old Testament teach about heaven after death for the believer, and (2) Did Old Testament believers go to heaven. Matthew’s prophecy concerning Christ lets us know that Paradise is in the center of the Earth. Elijah was perhaps the most powerful of God’s prophets in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament in Genesis 5 and 2 Kings 2 above, they were not taken into the very dwelling place of God but into the heavens; that is, they were taken up into the sky. We know today that when a person dies, their body returns to dust, their spirit returns to God (Ecc. There is not a lot in the Old Testament about heaven except to say that it is the abode of God. This is God’s promise. And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. That was true for every Old Testament believer. Some use Ephesians 4:7-10 to teach that Jesus went to hell or to Hades to release the prisoners held there and take them to heaven or into God’s presence. The same is true today for any person who believes in Jesus Christ. Response: There is not a lot in the Old Testament about heaven except to say that it is the abode of God. Elijah was perhaps the most powerful of God’s prophets in the Old Testament. That includes Old Testament saints. Even when Jesus died he went to the heart of the earth (Matt. That is, the faithful in the Old Testament – those who trusted in God and his promises – were freed from Sheol by Jesus’ death and resurrection and are now in heaven with Jesus. California megachurch pastor and author John MacArthur has weighed in on the question of how people in the Old Testament were saved, explaining that there's only been one way of salvation in all of God's redemptive history - and that is faith alone. Answer: No, the saved went to "Abraham’s Bosom" (a Jewish term for Paradise); and the lost went to Torment, both located in the center of the Earth.Luke16:19-31 describes the two places. Where are the Old Testament Saints Today? Answer: Romans 3:23-26 answers this question for us. We know that two Old Testament characters, Enoch and Elijah, did not die but were taken into the presence of God. Yes, heaven is described and mentioned in the Old Testament. Whom have I in heaven but You? Second, we know from Luke 16:19-31 that Old Testament believers and unbelievers went to Sheol (= Hades in Greek). Paul says that the redemption provided by faith in Christ’s sacrifice proved God’s justice in “forebearing” the sins of those who believed before Christ came. When someone died in the Old Testament he went to Sheol, the heart of the earth. Yes, heaven is described and mentioned in the Old Testament. The depiction of heaven as the transcendent dwelling-place of the living God is joined with that of the place to which believers, through grace, can also ascend, as we see in the Old Testament accounts of Enoch (cf. I look forward to seeing Him face to face. Answer: Romans 3:23-26 answers this question for us. One final thing related to this, is that those believers who died in the Old Testament did not go to Heaven, nor was there a Hell for unbelievers. The Bible is very clear that the Old Testament saints still exist today and that we will see and fellowship with them in Heaven. When Elijah arrived in heaven he certainly found others apart from God and Enoch! In His night conversation with Nicodemus, the Savior says, And no man hath ascended up to Heaven, but He that came down from Heaven, even the Son of man Which is in Heaven (Jn. It is true today. Did Old Testament believers go to a temporary heaven before Jesus' crucifixion? Question: Did Abraham and other Old Testament saints go to heaven, or since they lived before the sacrifice of Christ, will they be given a second chance during the Tribulation? It’s true that God didn’t reveal as much about heaven to them as He has to us, but they still understood that heaven was their final home — just as it is ours. It isn't until after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ were those who had died before, in faith, taken into the highest heaven. Heaven was meant for people of faith in Old Testament times just as much as it is for us.