Old Testament believers and heaven

Rather than using those precise words, the Bible states that a person like Abraham “was gathered to his people” (Genesis 25:8). Still, it is very clear what happened to Old Testament believers like Abraham when they died. The writer to the Hebrews included Abraham when he wrote: “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them “ (Hebrews 11:13-16).

The Bible does use the terminology you referenced when it comes to Elijah and his fiery exit from this world: “When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal… As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind” (2 Kings 2:1, 11).

Old Testament and New Testament believers form that group that the apostle John saw in one of the visions God gave him (Revelation 7:1-8). How blessed that you and I also belong to that group through God-given faith in Jesus Christ.