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I recently asked myself, of which Biblical personages it is stated in the Bible, that they are or eventually will be in heaven. I presume, that I am not the first one to think about this question. So I am asking now:

Has any Christian (denomination) attempted to compile such a list?

  • For answers with lists, which are created by only one person, I want to emphasize, that this person should be a well known preacher or teacher. The question is not about arbitrary individuals.
  • This question asks about concrete Biblical personages not a "how to". Thus, answers of the form "All who ..." are not targeted, except if they point to people who "...".
  • The lists should have Biblical basis.

I did a bit of research before asking the question, which follows here. The persons are sorted in order of the respective Bible verses cited. (All cites are from the English Standard Version (ESV).)

  • Enoch

Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him. Genesis 5:24 (ESV)

  • Elijah

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)

  • David

But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. Jeremiah 30:9 (ESV)

  • Peter (Not 100% directly stated)

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven [...] Matthew 16:18-19

  • Abraham, Isaac, Jacob

‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. Matthew 22:32 (cf. Mark 12:26-27, Luke 20:37-38)

  • Moses and Elijah (Also not 100% directly stated)

And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory [...] Luke 9:30-31 (cf. Matthew 17:2, Mark 9:4)

  • Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the prophets

In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. Luke 13:28 (ESV)

  • Maybe Lazarus, if a real person (and again Abraham)

and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. Luke 16:23 (ESV)

  • Jesus and a criminal hanged next to Jesus

And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43 (ESV)

  • Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph (Son of Jacob), Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets

By faith Abel [...] Enoch [...] Noah [...] Abraham [...] Sarah [...] Abraham [...] Isaac [...] Jacob [...] Joseph [...] Moses [...] Rahab [...] Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets [...]. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Hebrews 11:4-32,39-40 (ESV)

  • Moses (Again, not 100% directly stated)

But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you." Jude 9 (ESV)

Related:

Answer to "What is the Biblical basis for the belief that there are humans in heaven now?"

Did Adam and Eve end up getting saved?

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    Even Protestantism isn't really precise enough, there are a dozen major branches, and most Protestants would be agnostic on this question anyway! You could ask about the Catholic Church, as their concept of sainthood refers to certainty that the person is in heaven.
    – curiousdannii ♦
    Commented Oct 26, 2020 at 23:20
  • I picked a Christian group from this answer. Would Baptism be precise enough? The sainthood of the Catholic Church is not targeted by the question.
    – Rayllum
    Commented Oct 26, 2020 at 23:32
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    The term 'Baptist' covers non-Trinitarian, Trinitarian, Catholic, Protestant, Paedo-Baptist, Credo Baptist . . . . . I think it covers all of Christendom, myself. Thus the question needs a full survey of every possible point of view represented (historically and contemporaneously) on earth. This is going to be a very broad question indeed : unless we achieve a higher degree of focus with it. But I fully understand the point of the question and I fully appreciate what the question is attempting to achieve. (Up-voted +1.)
    – Nigel J
    Commented Oct 27, 2020 at 3:21
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    Ok, I agree, that the question needs more focus, it was not designed as a survey. In theory, I would be happy with Bible quotes, which at least one Christian (group) understands as a fact that the Biblical personage is or will be in heaven. Then, the answers can be used 'library'-like for any Christian (group). But I know, this is not how Stack Exchange sites work. For me, the issue with this question is to define an objective criterion, whether to name a personage and Bible quote. And the best idea I have is to narrow the Christian group further down. But I'm open for other ideas.
    – Rayllum
    Commented Oct 27, 2020 at 16:36

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I think you're reading far too much into the scriptures you quoted.

"Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven" could be translated "a whirlwind into the sky", and whirlwinds are an atmospheric phenomenon, having nothing to do with God's spiritual abode. Elijah was even seen alive here on Earth after that incident.

"kingdom of heaven" is Matthew's euphemism for "Kingdom of God" (his target audience was Jews, and he wanted to avoid direct references to God). The Kingdom will be here on Earth during the Millennium.

None of the other quoted verses even mention heaven.

To answer the Title question, yes, but those lists contain only one name.

I remember in the 1960s hearing a late night radio preacher offering $1000 reward to anyone that could show where the Bible says that any of us will go to God's heaven. Here's one of his early instances of that offer.

"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)

Only Christ who came from heaven has ever ascended to heaven of all human men, all human beings on the earth. No man has ascended up to heaven. Now I want to take you through a few scriptures. How do you know? I didn't know at one time, and I began to see something in the scriptures that at that time I didn't agree with. And I began to find I was wrong, and I found God was right. And you know, I had to give up what I believed. And if you'll blow the dust off your Bible and look into your Bible awhile you'll begin to find the same thing.

Now you hear people talk about going to heaven; I heard a minister say on the air before millions of people; "The Bible says, 'when we all get to heaven'." I'll give that man a thousand dollars if he'll show me where the Bible says that, because it doesn't say anything of the kind. Not anywhere in your Bible - it teaches just the opposite. What does God say? Will you agree with God? Or do you think God is wrong, and all of the people are right?
—Not In Heaven - The World Tomorrow Radio Broadcast

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  • Paul (or a certain man) was caught up to the third heaven. I think John (Rev. 4:1-2) was also. Do you think the $1000 is still available?
    – Mike Borden
    Commented Jan 26, 2021 at 12:32
  • @MikeBorden, Read 2Cor in context: "I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven." ¶ Similarly, John says "And immediately I was in the spirit". ¶ These were visions in which God revealed knowledge to them. The men weren't physically in heaven. What they saw was only what God allowed them to see. ¶ And even if all that weren't so, it still doesn't say that we will go to heaven.
    – Ray Butterworth
    Commented Jan 26, 2021 at 14:22
  • Jesus told the thief on the cross that “today you will be with me in paradise” so not in soul sleep of some kind, and in Revelation we see in Heaven the souls of those killed by the beast calling out to God to avenge their blood on those that dwell in the earth. Two examples I can think of that imply that we go to Heaven when we die. After the resurrection we know that we will dwell with God as his people in the New Jerusalem on the New Earth. But it seems like we do go to Heaven in the meantime if we die before the resurrection.
    – bob
    Commented Nov 28 at 1:14
  • And to be 100% we absolutely receive the promise of eternal life, but the question here I think is about where and how we wait on our home with God in the New Jerusalem that will come after the resurrection—whether as some believe we enter “soul sleep” or whether we go to Heaven to spend time with God while we wait.
    – bob
    Commented Nov 28 at 1:51
  • @bob, you assume that "in paradise" means "in heaven". Paradise can refer to the Kingdom of God, here on Earth. ¶ "today you will be with me in paradise" could be punctuated as "I tell you today, you will be …*", assuring the thief immediately as opposed to the thief's request of "when you are …". ¶ As in much of Revelation, "we see in Heaven the souls of those …" could be symbolic. Compare it with In Flanders Fields, a non-religious poem in which the dead call out from their graves.
    – Ray Butterworth
    Commented Nov 28 at 13:50

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