We have been hearing this statement as Christians throughout our life. When someone dies, people use this statement irrespective of the cause of death; died naturally due to age or unnaturally due to diseases, accidents etc.
Is this true biblically?
The Bible does say that God took people in to the heavens. There are 3 such references in The Bible.
'And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: and Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: and all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. '
Genesis 5:21-24 https://my.bible.com/bible/1/GEN.5.21-24
'And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. '
2 Kings 2:11 https://my.bible.com/bible/12/2KI.2.11
'And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. '
Luke 24:51 https://my.bible.com/bible/12/LUK.24.51
Does God take people? To understand this, we should know the anatomy of human beings according to The Bible. Science classifies the human body into two different parts; Body (Physiology) and Mind (Psychology). But, The Bible classifies the body in to three different components as The Spirit, Soul and the Body.
Whenever The Bible says God took him, in all of the three incidents, God took them as whole, meaning Spirit, Soul and the Body and NOT as dead people.
Is that the case with our people? People bury the body in the cemetery. Only the Spirit and Soul go to the heavens.
So, God did not take them. They died because of very many reasons.