The Future Return of Enoch and Elijah

On the last day of liturgical season of Advent, the Church reads the concluding verses of the Old Testament prophecy of Malachi. These verses explicitly forecast the miraculous arrival of the real prophet Elijah to the Earth from Paradise so as to perform a mission in preparation for the Return of Jesus. It is also written and implied in other books that the ancient Enoch will return with Elijah. Here is a summary of all the writings concerning this predicted event:

From Sacred Scripture
Old Testament


From the Book of Genesis (5:21-25)

When Enoch had lived 65 cycles, he became the father of Methuselah. After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God for 300 cycles, and he had other sons and daughters. The entire lifetime of Enoch was 365 cycles. Enoch walked with God, and then he disappeared because God took him away.

Enoch was the seventh from Adam and Eve in Seth's line (counting Adam as one). Adam-->Seth-->Enosh-->Kenan-->Mahalel-->Jared-->Enoch. Enoch was the great great grand father of Noah. According to my calculations Enoch was about 87 solar/sidereal years old when he disappeared from the surface of the Earth. On this ancient genealogical list, I think a Hebrew 'shaneh' refers to a period of three new moons where the fourth new moon begins a new cycle (or perhaps an interval of twelve sets of seven days). This amounts to anywhere from 84 to 90 days per cycle. I think Enoch was about 87 solar years old when transferred to Paradise. This would, according to that most ancient of lines, still been the prime of his life. Adam and Eve and their close descendants were physically built a little better than we are as a result of the miracle God first wrought to form their bodies.  With time, gravity, Earth's environment, the consequences of sin, ignorance, lifestyles, relations to microorganisms, plants, animals, gene pools, and so on and so forth has decreased the age of men and women.    

Enoch was miraculously taken to a mysterious physical location called Paradise or the Garden of Eden. This is the same place from which Adam and Eve miraculously fell from to the surface of the Earth (hence another meaning to 'The Fall'). The soul of Jesus visited Paradise with that of the good thief and others on the day of his Crucifixion. I think Paradise is located somewhere in the atmosphere up over the mountains in the Orient (perhaps over the Himalayas). The strip of land that is Paradise with the plants, trees, animals, Enoch and Elias is miraculously disconnected from out network of atoms (matter). Thus it cannot be seen and it is not subject to Earth's gravitational tug.  It is kept by God and guarded by good Angels. So one could not land on even if one knew where it was. I will speculate as to why Enoch was taken below.

From the Second Book of Kings (2:1,11)

When the LORD took Elias up into the sky in a windstorm, Elias and Elisha were traveling from Gilgal. . . As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a fiery chariot pulled by fiery horses appeared. They went between Elias and Elisha, and Elijah went up to the sky in a windstorm.

In this context the Hebrew 'shamayim' refers to the sky, NOT the Heaven with God which is located somewhere up over the entire Earth including her outer layers. The Heaven with God, like Paradise is hidden and disconnected from the network of all atoms. Paradise is a physical location, perhaps located somewhere in the upper atmosphere or of the sky. It is like a cloud city that was once connected to the Earth. In relation to the surface of the Holy Land it is located up and to the East. It is probably somewhere up over the highest mountains, the Himalayas. So Enoch and Elijah were both miraculously taken away from Earth's surface to Paradise and are preparing for their future mission in Paradise located somewhere in the atmosphere. I admit that this all sounds a bit mythical but this will turn out to be one of many great ironies once Enoch and Elijah return.

From the Prophecy of Malachi (4:5-6)

Behold, I will send you Elias the prophet beforethe coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Here Malachi predicts the return of the real Elijah as well as a hint of his mission. He is set to reconcile families and prepare them for the time of the Return of Jesus. At that time the concept of the family, as it was conceived and intended by God will be severely confused.

From the Book of Sirach

Enoch pleased God, and he was transferred to Paradise, so that he might offer repentance to the nations. (44:15)

Roman Catholics hold the Book of Sirach as Sacred and Divinely inspired. Jesus Sirach imparts his Divinely inspired insights into Enoch's transfer to Paradise and future mission. Sirach also gives a few verses to Elias:

He [Elijah] is written in the judgments of the times, so as to lessen the wrath of the Lord, to reconcile the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob. Blessed are those who saw you, and who were adorned with your friendship. For we live only in our life, and after death, our name will not be the same. (48:9-12)

From the First Book of Maccabees (2:58)

Elijah, was zealous with a zeal for the law and so was received into the sky.

New Testament

According to his own words John the Baptist was not Elijah. Jesus referred to John as Elijah in a figurative or indirect manner. John and Elijah are both official prophets and have similar qualities and functions. They are of the same prophetic stock. It is interesting what Blessed Anne says on this note:

Elijah was wholly a man of God with nothing in his manners modeled after other men. He was something like John the Baptist; they were men of the same stamp. (Mysteries of the Old Testament)

John prepared for first public arrival of Jesus, and Elijah prepares for the second public arrival of Jesus which of course will be different than the first. Elijah also helped prepare for the First Coming of Christ Jesus, but he will be re-installed to prepare in a more sweeping and grandiloquent mode for the Return of Jesus.

From the Gospel of Matthew (17:1-3)

And after six days, Jesus took Peter and James and his brother John, and he led them onto a lofty mountain separately.And he was transfigured before them. And his face shined brightly like the sun. And his garments were made white like snow.  And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, speaking with him.

In the event of Jesus' transfiguration I think the real Elijah, in the flesh, was summoned and taken down from Paradise to meet Jesus, whereas the soul of Moses was summoned and taken from the so-called Limbo of the Fathers: a different objective place than that of Paradise. So Elijah has seen Jesus at the Transfiguration, and perhaps also the soul of Jesus when He visited Paradise with the soul of the good thief and others on the day of his Death. I do not think it is too far out to speculate that Jesus will also visit Enoch and Elijah so as to give them instructions and strength for their mission before they are fed to the wolves of Earth's surface at the time of Antichrist.

From the Gospel of Mark

“Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
He told them, “Elijah will indeed come first and restore all things, yet how is it written regarding the Son of Man
that he must suffer greatly and be treated with contempt?
But I tell you that Elijah has come
and they did to him whatever they pleased,
as it is written of him.”

The scribes saw the coming of Elijah before the Messiah in the prophecy of Malachi yet they did not understand that this would happen after the Messiah suffered the Passion and Death.  So first Jesus is teasing out the answer from the disciples that Elijah comes after his Passion and Death before the Second Coming of Jesus.  Second Jesus is referring to John the Baptist using Elijah in a figurative manner.  John the Baptist, the spiritual Elijah came and they arrested him and killed him, they did to him as they pleased.  Similarly, Antichrist and his followers will eventually kill the real Elijah before Jesus returns.         

From the Letter to the Hebrews (11:5)

By faith, Enoch was transferred, so that he would not see death, and he was not found because God had transferred him. For before he was transferred, he had testimony that he pleased God.

From the Book of Revelation (11:1-13)

But the atrium, which is outside of the temple, set it aside and do not measure it, because it has been given over to the Gentiles. And they shall trample upon the Holy City for forty-two months.

The Holy City refers to Jerusalem, and the temple refers to some religious structure that has yet to be built. It could be a place where all Jews, Catholic Christians, and Muslims come to worship together after the reign of the Great Catholic Monarch. The future time when Elijah and Enoch return will be different than today. There will not be thousands of Christian sects, and the members of the three major religions will have been reconciled and in close dialogue for many years.

And I will present my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.

The two witnesses are Enoch and Elijah.

These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, standing in the sight of the lord of the earth. And if anyone will want to harm them, fire shall go forth from their mouths, and it shall devour their enemies. And if anyone will want to wound them, so must he be slain.These have the power to close up the skies, so that it may not rain during the days of their prophesying. And they have power over the waters, to convert them into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of affliction as often as they will.

God provides a miraculous defense against aggressors so that they do not need to worry about defending themselves for the duration of their mission. Some will try to murder Enoch and Elijah. One of the reasons is obvious: they will preach repentance. People don't like being told that they should change their ideas and way of life. Of course Enoch and Elijah will also condemn Antichrist and his followers with the ridiculous and perverse religion as well as doctrines they will have set up and preached. The religion of Antichrist will essentially be a combination of worshiping Antichrist, perverse sexual sins, eating suffocated animals and drinking blood (Acts 15:20). This may seem odd by today's standards, but not so much so for even today the world is steeped in sexual sins and this is probably one of the ways people will attract to his religion: free sex. From there it will be herd behavior. In addition Antichrist will be the most powerful and wealthy man in the world. Being a member of his religion will have its economic benefits.

Enoch and Elijah can miraculously change and harm the Earth.  The outcome is that the nations are harmed as a just punishment for the many severe sins committed at that time without any sort of repentance in spite of their unique testimonies and miracles. There will be a drought during their mission similar to the drought of Elijah's time of the past in relation to Ahab, but only for this time the drought will be over the entire surface of the Earth. But I think these afflictions also have the purpose of turning the world's attention to Enoch and Elias' preaching. God has the plan to bring the Church and world to a conclusion and Enoch and Elias' arrival are a prelude to this plan.

Enoch and Elijah's arrival is a public spectacle for the whole world to see. And not only a public spectacle but essentially a public service provided to everyone without prejudice before Jesus Returns. Jesus will provide a means of repentance via the works of Enoch and Elijah before He Returns from Heaven. Those who whine and cry that religion should be a private personal affair will have no choice but to hear what they have to say. They will announce who they are, where they came from, God's love for the Mankind, the plan of salvation, the future course of the Earth, etc. And their teachings will be backed up by miracles. Unfortunately, not all will accept the message and miracles of Enoch and Elijah.

And when they will have finished their testimony, the beast that ascended from the abyss will make war against them, and will overcome them, and will kill them.

The beast refers is another name for Antichrist. After about three and a half years the real person who is called Antichrist and his followers will be granted the ability to kill Enoch and Elijah.

And their bodies shall lie in the streets of the Great City, which is figuratively called ‘Sodom’ and ‘Egypt,’ the place where their Lord also was crucified.And those from the tribes and peoples and languages and nations shall be watching their bodies for three and one half days. And they shall not permit their bodies to be placed in tombs.

A few eschatological interpreters have pointed out that the world will be able to watch Enoch and Elijah lay dead on the streets via T.V., computers, smart phone or whatever techno toys they have in the future.

And the inhabitants of the earth will rejoice over them, and they will celebrate, and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tortured those who were living upon the earth.

The harm imparted by Enoch and Elijah was indirect as a result of their miraculous ability to change earth and sky. Enoch and Elias do not directly deprive innocents of their lives as in murderous bombings, etc.

And after three and one half days, the spirit of life from God entered into them. And they stood upright on their feet. And a great fear fell over those who saw them.

Enoch and Elijah will miraculously rise from the dead similar to Lazarus and Jesus.

And they heard a great voice from heaven, saying to them, “Ascend to here!” And they ascended into heaven on a cloud. And their enemies saw them.

I'm not sure if Enoch and Elijah will ascend body and soul into the Heaven with God. I'm guessing they return to Paradise for the brief interval until Jesus and Mary Return from the Heaven of the Blessed.

And at that hour, a great earthquake occurred. And one tenth part of the City fell. And the names of the men slain in the earthquake were seven thousand. And the remainder were thrown into fear, and they gave glory to the God of heaven.

Jerusalem suffers an earthquake upon the event of Enoch and Elias ascending back up to Paradise or the Heaven with God.

From Other Sources

Enoch and Elijah are found in other Catholic sources.

From Saint Irenaeus (Gaul, 2nd Century)

The disciples of the Apostles say that they [Enoch and Elijah] whose living bodies were taken up from the earth, have been placed in an earthly paradise, where they will remain until the end of the world. (Adversus Haereses, Liber 4, Cap. 30)

Here, the 'earthly paradise' is the Garden of Eden, the same place from which Adam and Eve fell to Earth's surface after their sin.

From Mary to the two young peasants of La Salette France (19th century)

To Maximin: They [Enoch and Elijah] will suddenly appear on earth full of the spirit of God, when the Church becomes darkened and the world in terrible agony. They will convert those of good will and comfort the oppressed Christians. With the help of the Holy Spirit, they will have great success against the heresies of the Antichrist. But in the end they will be delivered unto death.

To Melanie: The Church will be eclipsed, the world will be in consternation. But behold Enoch and Elijah filled with the Spirit of God; they will preach with the strength of God, and men of good will will believe in God, and many souls will be consoled; they will make great progress by the virtue of the Holy Spirit and will condemn the devilish errors of the antichrist.’

From Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich

Enoch, Noah's ancestor, opposed that wicked race by his teachings. He wrote much. Enoch was a very good man and one very grateful to God. In many parts of the open fields, he raised altars of stone and there the fruits of the earth flourished. He gave thanks to God and offered sacrifice to Him. Chiefly in his family was religion preserved and handed down to Noah. Enoch was taken up to Paradise. There he waits at the entrance gate, whence with another [Elias] he will come again before the last day.

The wicked race Blessed Anne refers to are descendant of Cain via Tubalcain. Enoch passed down a primitive religion God initiated with Adam.

Some Concluding Speculations

So now I come back to the question: Why, out of all people, was Enoch chosen??? I can come up with a few concepts to answer this question. Enoch was an ancient prophet. He was in communication with God and wrote down some prophecies one of which made it into the Sacred Epistle of Jude:

Now of these Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying: Behold, the Lord comes with thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to reprove all the ungodly for all the works of their ungodliness, whereby they have done ungodly, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against God.

Enoch wrote much but his writings never consolidated to a Sacred Script. They were probably redacted too many times and underwent too much corruption. Needless to say they didn't have computers or print presses in the time of Enoch. In any case Enoch is an ancient who wrote some prophecies about God's Last Coming and Last Judgment. To an ultra-modern, he will appear different and lend forceful weight to the teaching that we are all one fallen family descended from Adam and Eve; NOT some manifestation of Mother Nature descended from African Homos, Denisovans, Neanderthals, etc. and ultimately a single cell.

By the time Enoch and Elijah return Adam and Eve will be understood as a ridiculous myth, much like it is today by some. In fact Enoch and Elijah will return from the location where Eve was miraculously created from Adam's side and where Adam and Eve first sinned (note:  Adam was miraculously formed from the surface of the Earth, then God transferred Adam to Paradise, and Eve was miraculously formed from a rib in Adam's side in Paradise). Surely, Enoch will teach about the miraculous events of Adam and Eve's creation, their sin, their mysterious Fall from Paradise, and that all living at this time are descended from Adam and Eve alone. In fact most of the people living today are descended from Enoch (the seventh from Adam) via Noah and family!!! How ironic will that be to have a first holy patriarch come back to preach to his distant descendants? God has some double-edged swords in place for the future.

So I see a profound purpose in all this linked to the human family. It is very important to come to the realization that we are all one family descended from Adam and Eve who were given a singular relationship with God in Christ Jesus. We are destined to live together in peace with God and each other, forever. God has established an eternal relationship with the human family that will never be revoked, whether we like it or not. By the time Enoch and Elijah arrive all sorts of bizarre ideas about our first origins will have taken root and these will be used to buttress the idea that morality is sheer opinion and that there is no objective basis of morality since we are after all (so they will say) just animals fathered by the Universe and mothered by Nature. Antichrist, (so they will say) teaches that we can do all sorts of perversity just as long as we bow down to him, etc. To genuinely and selflessly love one another (and God) is a ground of morality, but why should we care to love one another if we are just nihilistic animals naturally assembled out of atoms? We can do whatever we want if we just atoms on a one way road to dis-assembly. We should live life to the fullest without any regard for our neighbor or the entire human family. Morals are just baseless whims and opinions. Yet Enoch and Elijah will have something different to say. And of course their will be a strange religion of Antichrist that Enoch and Elijah will begin to take down. The religion of Antichrist will essentially be a combination of worshiping Antichrist, perverse sexual sins, eating suffocated animals and drinking blood.

I think Enoch and Elijah will recover Adam's skull, display it to the world and teach that all human skulls were derived from this the first father's skull which was miraculously created by God in the light-event. Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich mentioned that Elijah and companion (probably Elisha) found Adam's skull in a cave beneath where Jesus was later crucified. Yet they were not allowed to remove it:

I once had a vision of Mount Calvary. I saw on it a prophet, the companion of Elijah. The mount was at that time full of caves and sepulchers. The prophet entered one of the caves and from a stone coffin filled with bones he took up the skull of Adam. Instantly an angel appeared before him, saying: "That is Adams skull," and he forbade its removal. Scattered over the skull was some thin yellow hair. From the prophets account of what had occurred, the spot was named "The Place of Skulls". Christs Cross stood in a straight line above that skull at the time of His Crucifixion. (Mysteries of the Old Testament)

Elijah knows the location of Adam's skull and Jesus' Crucifixion already took place. So now I think the Angels will continue to protect it in view of Elijah's future mission.

When Enoch and Elijah return the human family will be steeped in massive severe evils, confusion, and a host of irrational acts (much more so than today). Their preaching program will have to start simple. They will start from the beginning with Adam and Eve, the family, the Fall, etc. in order to ground and set up their teachings of Christ Jesus, forgiveness, salvation, the Resurrection, Last Judgment, and the future New Heaven and New Earth, etc.. And I'm certain they will impart some new revelations and concepts not previously thought of by theologians or revealed by God. And they will comfort the few remaining Christians present at that stark future time. But like I said above, Enoch and Elijah come not just for Christians but for the entire world: all nations, tribes, races, in short everyone. All will be offered repentance without prejudice.

Enoch is the perfect choice for this mission of grace God has in store for the entire human family because of his close relation to Adam. And of course Elijah is a perfect choice in reference to the remaining Jews and Muslims who still do not accept that Jesus is God let alone the Messiah. The Jews and Muslims greatly admire Elijah. Sincere Jews and Muslims will take Elijah seriously.

I don't think it will happen anytime soon, certainly not in our lifetime. We have a long journey ahead of us as a human family. But when it does go down and Enoch and Elijah return it will be a wonder. Yes,

​​​​​​​How delightful it is to see approaching over the mountains the feet of a messenger who announces peace,a messenger who brings good news, who announces deliverance, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” (Isaiah 52:7)

Bonus: Appearance of Elijah according to Blessed Anne:

He was a tall, spare man with hollow, reddish cheeks, a bright, piercing glance, a long, thin beard, and a bald head with only a circle of hair around the back. On the top of his head were three large protuberances almost of the form of bulbs, one in the middle, two somewhat toward the forehead. He wore a garment made of two skins fastened together on the shoulder, open at the sides, and bound around the waist with a cord. Over his shoulders and around his knees hung the hair of the beast's skin. He carried a staff in his hand. His shins were far darker than his face.