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Elijah
March 16, 2024

The final verses of the Book of Malachi give a warning about God striking the Earth with a curse, and that curse is centered around Elijah the prophet sent by God before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord and is coupled with a reminder to remember the law of Moses. The warning centers around Elijah who will turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers. If this Elijah succeeds, there will be no curse, but if this Elijah fails there will be a curse. The idea of God striking the earth with a curse sounds very painful because the Hebrew implies utter destruction. If this Elijah who will come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord fails in his mission to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, the earth will be doomed to utter destruction.

Malachi 4:4-6
Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Having looked towards this future time of this Elijah the prophet to come, let’s step back in time to consider who Elijah the prophet was from Old Testament times. He is introduced to us when he told Ahab, king of the divided kingdom of Israel, that it would only rain nor would there be any dew unless Elijah spoke it. God then directed Elijah to go to the brook Cherith and live there for a while.

Next, Elijah was told to go to Zarephath to live with a widow, and he was able to meet that widow at the gate of the city and asked her for water and bread. When the widow explained she only had a few ingredients to bake a little bread, Elijah asked her to first bake for him and then for her family, and she did. As a result, God blessed her with enough food to eat for many more days than the ingredients would suggest. Then the son of the widow died, and this caused the widow to have doubts about Elijah and the value he brought to her house. The death of her son caused Elijah to ask God to restore life to her son, and God answered that prayer, restoring the widow’s confidence that Elijah was a man of God.

1 Kings 17:1-24
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah. And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.

After a few years during a time of famine, God told Elijah to make an appearance with Ahab, and God would send rain. At this time, Ahab met with Obadiah who was his chief of staff. By tradition, it is thought this Obadiah is the same as the prophet Obadiah. He told Obadiah that they would search for water and grass to take care of the animals because he was afraid with the famine, they would lose all of them. They divided the land to search with Ahab going one way and Obadiah going the other way. As Obadiah was searching, he came across Elijah and immediately recognized him.

Elijah told Obadiah to let Ahab know that Elijah had returned and was looking for him. Obadiah quickly replied that Ahab would kill the messenger because he feared Elijah would again disappear. Obadiah connected with Ahab and Ahab came face to face with Elijah, whom he accused of troubling Israel. Elijah responded that it was not he who had troubled Israel, but Ahab who followed Baal. Elijah asked that Ahab bring him all the prophets of Baal to meet him at Mount Carmel.

Obadiah connected with Ahab and Ahab came face to face with Elijah, whom he accused of troubling Israel. Elijah responded that it was not he who had troubled Israel, but Ahab who followed Baal. Elijah asked that Ahab bring him all the prophets of Baal to meet him at Mount Carmel.

When all the people were gathered at Mount Carmel, Elijah arrived, and he asked them how long they would waiver between God and Baal and told them of the need to choose. He pointed out to them that he was there representing God and four hundred fifty prophets were there representing Baal. He proposed the two sides prepare an offering and make it ready to be consumed by fire, but would ignite no fire underneath, that the followers of Baal would cry out to their gods, and that Elijah would call out to God to light their offering afire. The side whose offering was afire after all was done would prove who was the true God, and the followers of Baal really liked the idea. The followers of Baal were quick to prepare their offering and cry out to Baal. Verse twenty-one.

By noon after they had been busy all morning crying out to Baal, their offering was still not afire, and Elijah mocked them. When the time of the evening sacrifice was approaching, still nothing had happened. It was then that Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the twelve tribes and built an altar to God and prepared the offering. To prove no trickery was involved, he had the followers of Baal soak with water his offering and the wooden pile it rested on, and repeated that two more times so that it was thoroughly soaked.

When it was time for the evening sacrifice, Elijah offered a simple prayer asking God to allow that all who would see what was about to happen would know that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was indeed the true God. As Elijah concluded his prayer, God caused fire to come down from heaven. In the eyes of the people, it was as if Elijah had called the fire down from heaven. Then Elijah ordered the prophets of Baal to be seized, and he took the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal to the brook Kishon and killed all of them there. After they were dead, Elijah told Ahab to get up, to eat and drink, because rain, lots of rain, was on the way, even though there was not a cloud in the sky. Elijah prayed seven times before a small cloud finally appeared. Elijah told Ahab to leave and before he arrived at Jezreel, he was caught up in a heavy rain.

1 Kings 18:1-46
And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly: For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water. And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. And Elijah said, As the Lord of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him today. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God. And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

When Ahab got back to Jezreel, he told his wife Jezebel all that Elijah had done and instead of being in awe of what had happened, Jezebel sought to kill him the very next day. When Elijah heard what Jezebel wanted to do, he fled all the way to Beer-sheba, which was in neighboring Judea. It was at Beer-sheba that Elijah left his servant, but Elijah continued another day by himself into the desert until he came to a juniper tree and all he wanted to do was die. An angel came to Elijah, gave him food to eat and told him to walk to Mount Horeb.

When Elijah arrived at Mount Horeb, he found a cave to sleep in, and it was there that the word of God came to him and asked what he was doing there. Elijah explained that many wanted to take his life and that he was the only prophet of God left. He was told to stand on the mountain and as he did he found himself caught up in strong winds, in an earthquake, and even heard a faint voice. Back at the cave, once again Elijah was asked what he was doing there, and once again Elijah explained that he was the only prophet left. God gave Elijah directions to go to Damascus and anoint Hazael as King of Syria, to anoint Jehu as King of Israel. He was also told to anoint Elisha as a prophet. Finally, God told Elijah there were seven thousand who had not yet served Baal, who were still faithful to God. It didn’t take long for Elijah to find Elisha who was plowing a field with twelve oxen. Elisha killed them and shared the food with the people before leaving with Elijah.

1 Kings 19:1-21
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer–sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel–meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee? And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.

God then told Elijah to meet up once again with King Ahab of the Kingdom of Israel, and to find him in the vineyard of Naboth which he had seized through acts of deception resulting in Naboth’s death. He was told to relay to Ahab that just like he had spilled the blood of Naboth, Ahab’s blood would be spilled to the point that dogs would lap it up.

Once face-to-face, Ahab recognized Elijah as his enemy and wondered how Elijah would know where Ahab was. Elijah shared that Ahab’s evil works had been made known to God and that God would work it out so that there would be no heirs to retain the throne. He added that God would see to it that Jezebeel would be eaten by dogs, that within the city all who were aligned to Ahab would be eaten by dogs, and those in the countryside would be eaten by birds. Hearing this, Ahab fasted and cried, and this gave God reason to delay the punishment until Ahab’s son came to power.

1 Kings 21:17-29
And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

After Ahab died, the people of Moab rebelled against Israel, and Ahab’s son, Ahaziah became sick and sought a response through messengers from Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron whether he would get well. Elijah was told to challenge these messengers. The message from God that Elijah relayed to them was that Ahaziah would die and hearing this the messengers returned to Ahaziah. When Ahaziah heard of the encounter, he sent a soldier and his squad to convince Elijah to come to him. Instead, Elijah used that encounter to again call fire down from heaven to consume the soldier and his squad. A second soldier and his squad were sent to Elijah and met the same fate. Sensing a pattern, the third soldier and his squad went to Elijah as ordered but begged for mercy for himself and his men. The angel of God told Elijah to go with these men, which he did, and when Elijah came face-to-face with Ahaziah, told him he sought the help of Baal-zebub instead of God and for that would die, and Ahaziah died with Jehoram, the sone of the King of Judah reigning in his stead because Ahaziah had no son.

2 Kings 1:1-17
Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baal–zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease. But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baal–zebub the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed. And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back? And they said unto him, There came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to enquire of Baal–zebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words? And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite. Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down. And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight. And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king. And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baal–zebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.

When it was time for God to take Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, he was walking with Elisha on the way to Gilgal, and Elisha did not want to leave Elijah knowing that Elijah would be taken by the whirlwind that day. The prophets of Beth-el followed Elijah and Elisha to the Jordan River, where Elijah took off his mantle to divide the waters of the Jordan so they could cross to the other side. Once they crossed, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire that came between Elisha and Elijah taking Elijah to heaven by a whirlwind. All that remained of Elijah was his mantle, which Elisha picked up, which he used to also part the Jordan River to cross back to the other side.

2 Kings 2:1-14
And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth–el. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth–el. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth–el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

Not appearing in too many chapters in the Old Testament and not authoring a book of prophecy, it could be easy to dismiss Elijah as a prophet, except for the closing verses of Malachi and the gospel account of the transfiguration of Jesus where Jesus was seen as a spirit being along with Moses and Elijah. The disciples asked Jesus why Elijah would need to come first to restore all things. Jesus confirmed that Elijah would indeed come first to restore all things just as sure as he had already come as recorded in the Old Testament.

Mark 9:2-13
And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves. And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean. And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.

Looking forward in prophecy, we know that Elijah the prophet will come to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their father. We are not told much beyond this so whether it is Elijah the prophet brought back to life for this purpose or a person acting as an end-time Elijah the prophet remains to be seen. We do know that when Elijah the prophet was on earth he called fire from heaven three times, once against the false prophets and twice against the soldiers and their troops who came against him. When we think of the end time and a person calling down fire from heaven, the false prophet of Revelation probably comes to mind, as this false prophet calls fire down from heaven in a very convincing manner and deceives many people by the miracles that can be done resulting in humanity worshipping the image of the first beast. Could there be a false attempt to bill the false prophet as Elijah?

Revelation 13:11-15
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

John reminds us of the need to not believe every spirit but to try the spirits to see if they are of God because many false prophets are in the world, and the acid test comes down to living a life worthy of the fact that Jesus came in the flesh, died, and was resurrected so that our sins could be forgiven. We will have to keep our minds focused on the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness and the characteristics of who are and aren’t of God.

1 John 4:1-6
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

the false prophet of Revelation also will call fire down from heaven, we should not be surprised if there are future false claims about Elijah. Elijah the prophet could have easily been a footnote in the Bible appearing in but a few chapters during a time of evil kings of the kingdom of Israel. More importantly, Elijah the prophet will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers before the end of time and is such a pivotal figure in the Bible that along with Moses was transfigured with Jesus for a few of the disciples to see. During this end time we need to keep our hearts focused on God our Father by first seeking the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness living our lives reflecting the high price paid by Jesus Christ who came in the flesh, died, and was resurrected so that we can have eternal life.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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