People have relied on the Bible throughout the centuries. It includes stories about supernatural phenomena defying natural laws, like sudden, instantaneous movement or teleportation of individuals across vast distances without conventional travel.
The term teleportation is commonly associated with modern science fiction, but these biblical events describe God, the Holy Spirit, or angels relocating people across vast distances within seconds.
Our topic today is how God’s authority over time, space, and human limitations can be seen in the Old and New Testaments. We’ll provide scriptural evidence, contextual information, and theological insights.
In Acts chapter eight, Philip encounters an Ethiopian eunuch, a high official under Queen Candace, who is reading Isaiah while traveling from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is one of the clearest examples in the New Testament. The angel guides Philip, who explains the prophesy, leads the eunuch to faith, and baptizes him.
As soon as they were out of the water, Philip was caught up by the Spirit of God, so the eunuch couldn’t see him anymore, and he went on his way with joy. Philip ended up at Azotus, and he passed through all the cities until he got to Caesarea” (Acts 8:39–40). It’s a Greek word for “caught away,” which means to be taken away suddenly and forcefully.
It would take a whole day on foot or a chariot to get from Azotus, modern Ashdod, to the baptism site. Philip appears there right away, continuing his ministry. This shows the Spirit can override physical barriers for the sake of gospel proclamation.
A profound example of divine translation (fancy word for teleport) happens to Enoch in the Old Testament. “And Enoch walked with God, but he wasn’t, because God took him.” According to Hebrews 11:5, “Enoch was translated so he wouldn’t see death, but he wasn’t found because God had taken him, because he pleased God before his transition.” “Translated” means to move or change positions in Greek.
A seventh generation from Adam, Enoch lived in close communion with God, and instead of experiencing death, he vanished into God’s presence. This is referred to as ascension without decay by Jewish tradition and early Christian writings, such as Tertullian’s writings and the Book of Jubilees, a privilege granted only to Elijah. In this translation, God bypasses mortality by moving the righteous beyond earthly confines.
A dramatic departure occurs in 2 Kings 2:11 for Elijah, Enoch’s prophetic successor: “And while they were still talking, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and they parted them both asunder, and Elijah flew up into heaven by a whirlwind.” At the Jordan River with Elisha, Elijah gets engulfed in fiery imagery and a whirlwind and ascends vertically. Though accompanied by visionary elements, chariots of fire and horses, the core event is instantaneous removal from Earth. Elisha witnesses and gets Elijah’s mantle, confirming the transfer of prophetic authority. Unlike Enoch, Elijah is explicitly headed to heaven, and later Jewish tradition holds that he continues ministering, appearing with Moses centuries later at Jesus’ transfiguration. Despite the whirlwind and fire symbolizing divine agency, the relocation itself isn’t measurable. From what I’ve seen, at least.
The prophet Ezekiel talks about being lifted and carried by the Spirit multiple times.He writes in Ezekiel 3:12-14, after he gets his prophetic commission in Babylon, that the spirit takes him up, and there’s a rushing sound behind me… So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit, but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.” Later, in Ezekiel 8:3, “The spirit lifted me between the earth and the heaven, and brought me to Jerusalem in visions.”
There are also instances in chapters 11 and 43 that span hundreds of miles, from Babylonian exile to Jerusalem. Scholars debate whether they were physically or visionally transported. The language suggests bodily movement, Ezekiel feels bitterness and the Lord’s hand, but the phrase “in the visions of God” implies a prophetic state.
Ezekiel can witness and pronounce judgments against Israel from afar, whether it’s physical teleportation or spiritual projection.
A lot of parallels can be found in Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances. In Luke 24:31, after breaking bread with two disciples on the Emmaus road, their eyes opened, and they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight.” Days later, Jesus materializes among the disciples despite locked doors: “Jesus came and stood in the midst of the disciples that day at evening, when the doors were closed because of the Jews” (John 20:19).
The glorified body is shown to transcend matter by entering sealed rooms and appearing and disappearing at will. While not relocating across distances in every case, the sudden appearance and disappearance mirror teleportation.
The apostle Paul may allude to a personal experience in 2 Corinthians 12:2–4: “I knew a man in Christ… caught up to the third heaven… caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words.” Though Paul uses the third person, scholars generally accept that he refers to himself with the phrase “caught up.” While Philip’s relocation remains uncertain, the language parallels his experience, whether inside or outside.
In spite of their differences in detail, these biblical accounts all have one thing in common: divine initiative, instantaneous movement, and a purposeful outcome, whether it’s evangelism, prophetic ministry, or eschatological promises. The transport isn’t made easier by humans or technology; it’s all God’s doing. However, they’re presented as historical within their narrative world, even though modern readers can interpret them as miracles, metaphors, or prefiguration of resurrection bodies.
These relocations invite reflection on faith, obedience, and the limitless nature of divine power, challenging materialist assumptions while affirming spiritual truths.
