Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Old
Testament: Elijah Taken To Heaven In a Fiery Chariot.
Occasion: God
Takes Elijah Home.
Location: Near The Jordan River.
Bible Text:
II Kings 2:1-15 NLT (God, takes
Elijah to heaven in a fiery chariot.)
1 When The Lord was about to take
Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling
from Gilgal.
2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay
here, for The Lord has told me to go to Bethel.” But Elisha
replied, “As surely as The Lord lives and you yourself live, I will
never leave you!” So they went down together to Bethel.
3 The group of prophets from Bethel
came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that The Lord is going
to take your master away from you today?” “Of course I know,”
Elisha answered. “But be quiet about it.”
4 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay
here, for The Lord has told me to go to Jericho.” But Elisha
replied again, “As surely as The Lord lives and you yourself live,
I will never leave you.” So they went on together to Jericho.
5 Then the group of prophets from
Jericho came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that The Lord
is going to take your master away from you today?” “Of course I
know,” Elisha answered. “But be quiet about it.”
6 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay
here, for The Lord has told me to go to the Jordan River.” But
again Elisha replied, “As surely as The Lord lives and you yourself
live, I will never leave you.” So they went on together.
7 Fifty men from the group of
prophets also went and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha
stopped beside the Jordan River.
8 Then Elijah folded his cloak
together and struck the water with it. The river divided, and the two
of them went across on dry ground!
9 When they came to the other side,
Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am
taken away.”
And Elisha replied, “Please let me
inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.”
10 “You have asked a difficult
thing,” Elijah replied. “If you see me when I am taken from you,
then you will get your request. But if not, then you won’t.”
11 As they were walking along and
talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of
fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was
carried by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 Elisha saw it and cried out, “My
father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!”
And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in
distress.
13 Elisha picked up Elijah’s
cloak, which had fallen when he was taken up. Then Elisha returned to
the bank of the Jordan River.
14 He struck the water with Elijah’s
cloak and cried out, “Where is The Lord, the God of Elijah?” Then
the river divided, and Elisha went across.
15 When the group of prophets from
Jericho saw from a distance what happened, they exclaimed, “Elijah’s
spirit rests upon Elisha!” And they went to meet him and bowed to
the ground before him.”
II Kings 2:1,2
NLT (Elisha's 1st
challenge at Gilgal.)
1 When The Lord was about to take
Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were traveling
from Gilgal.
2 And Elijah said to Elisha,
“Stay here, for The Lord has told me to go to Bethel.” But
Elisha replied, “As surely as The Lord lives and you yourself live,
I will never leave you!” So they went down together to Bethel.
Elijah knew it was the day of his translation, and the second person
to know was, Elisha.
Oh, how Elisha, loved his mentor, his Godly instructor, so much so,
he would not leave him at Gilgal, he would follow on with him to the
end.
Why don't we see that today?
Used to be in Bible Class, students loved their teacher, and The Word
Of The Lord, so much, they could not leave, and would beg to hear
more! Only you old folks would remember that day.
How far we have come, and not by the path of light.
II Kings 2:2,3
NLT
2...”So
they went down together to Bethel.
3 The group of prophets from
Bethel came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that The Lord is
going to take your master away from you today?” “Of course I
know,” Elisha answered. “But be quiet about it.”
Bethel the well beloved city near Jerusalem, had a school of
prophets, and they too knew, that it would be the day that Elijah
would be received up into heaven.
II Kings 2:4 NLT
(Elisha's 2nd
challenge at Bethel.)
4 Then Elijah said to Elisha,
“Stay here, for The Lord has told me to go to Jericho.”
But Elisha replied again, “As surely as The Lord lives and you
yourself live, I will never leave you.” So they went on
together to Jericho.
Elisha was determined to follow Elijah at all cost.
What is our determination to follow the Lord Jesus?
Matthew 16:24
KJV
Then said Jesus
unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Mark 8:34 KJV
And when He had
called the people unto Him with His disciples also, He said unto
them, Whosoever will come after Me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and follow Me.
Mark 10:21 KJV
Then Jesus
beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest:
go thy way,
sell whatsoever
thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in
heaven: and come,
take up the
cross, and follow Me.
"WHAT IS THE
PATHWAY, OF FOLLOWING THE LORD JESUS?"
Selah
It is
self-denial! - “Proved by” - absolute transparency, open honesty.
It is the way
of a cross.
II Kings 2:5,6
NLT (Elisha's 3rd
challenge at Jericho.)
5 Then the group of prophets from
Jericho came to Elisha and asked him, “Did you know that The Lord
is going to take your master away from you today?” “Of course I
know,” Elisha answered. “But be quiet about it.”
Another school of prophets this one at Jericho, and they too knew it
was the day of Elijah's translation.
6 Then Elijah said to Elisha,
“Stay here, for The Lord has told me to go to the Jordan
River.” But again Elisha replied, “As surely as The Lord lives
and you yourself live, I will never leave you.” So they went
on together.
No, Elijah, would
not leave the prophet.
II Kings 2:7,8
NLT (At the Jordan River.)
7 Fifty men from the group of
prophets also went and watched from a distance as Elijah and Elisha
stopped beside the Jordan River.
8 Then Elijah folded his cloak
together and struck the water with it. The river divided, and the two
of them went across on dry ground!
Elijah's faith, whether it be Mount Carmel or the River Jordan, was
not to be denied.
II Kings 2:9,10
NLT
9 When they came to the other
side, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you
before I am taken away.”
And Elisha replied, “Please
let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your
successor.”
10 “You have asked a difficult
thing,” Elijah replied. “If you see me when I am taken from you,
then you will get your request. But if not, then you won’t.”
So many people today, are sightless, and they are so because they are
faithless.
John 20:24,25
KJV
24 But Thomas,
one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other
disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen The Lord. But he said
unto them, Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails,
and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand
into His side, I will not believe.
Romans 14:23 KJV
"...for
whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Hebrews 10:22
KJV
Let us draw
near with a true heart in full assurance of faith..."
Hebrews 11:6 KJV
But without
faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must
believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek Him.
James 1:5-8 KJV
5 If any of you
lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally,
and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him
ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave
of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not
that man think that he shall receive any thing of The Lord.
8 A double
minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Dear Friend, do you believe in the resurrection of the just?
Coming soon, sooner than what many would choose.
I Corinthians
15:51-58 NLT
51 But let me
reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will
all be transformed!
52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the
last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have
died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also
be transformed.
53 For our
dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our
mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
54 Then, when
our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never
die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in
victory.
55 O death,
where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
56 For sin is
the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.
57 But thank
God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus
Christ.
58 So, my dear
brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work
enthusiastically for The Lord, for you know that nothing you do for
The Lord is ever useless.
I Thessalonians
4:13-18 NLT
13 And now,
dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to
the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who
have no hope.
14 For since we
believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe
that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with Him the believers
who have died.
15 We tell you
this directly from The Lord: We who are still living when The Lord
returns will not meet Him ahead of those who have died.
16 For The Lord
Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the
Christians who have died will rise from their graves.
17 Then,
together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth
will be caught up in the clouds to meet The Lord in the air. Then we
will be with The Lord forever.
18 So encourage
each other with these words.
Elisha, had “no,” idea, how God was going to take Elijah, only
that he knew He was definitely about to.
And Elisha's faith, was correct, he saw Elijah translated up to
heaven.
Elijah, never died, he was taken up in a fiery chariot and horses in
a whirlwind up to heaven.
And today, what do you see, what do you believe?
John 20:26-29
KJV
26 And after
eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them:
then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and
said, Peace be unto you.
27 Then saith
He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach
hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless,
but believing.
28 And Thomas
answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith
unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed:
blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
II Kings 2:11,12
NLT
11 As they were walking along and
talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of
fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was
carried by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 Elisha saw it and cried out,
“My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of
Israel!” And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his
clothes in distress.
Elijah, saw, and Elijah rent his clothes in sorrow of the loss of his beloved teacher.
II Kings 2:13-15
NLT
13 Elisha picked up Elijah’s
cloak, which had fallen when he was taken up. Then Elisha returned to
the bank of the Jordan River.
14 He struck the water with
Elijah’s cloak and cried out, “Where is The Lord, the God of
Elijah?” Then the river divided, and Elisha went across.
15 When the group of prophets
from Jericho saw from a distance what happened, they exclaimed,
“Elijah’s spirit rests upon Elisha!” And they went to meet him
and bowed to the ground before him.
Elijah had seen, had he then, a double spirit of Elijah?
“Where is The Lord, the God of
Elijah?”
This was not a question, but a statement- A statement to the effect
that The Living Almighty God is everywhere!
Then the river divided, and
Elisha went across.
When the group of prophets from
Jericho saw from a distance what happened, they exclaimed, “Elijah’s
spirit rests upon Elisha!” And they went to meet him and bowed to
the ground before him.
The question now before us is, do our eyes see the promise? Do we
have faith to believe that The Spirit Of God, will rest upon us, that
we may do the mighty acts of God?
If our eyes see by faith, as did the Prophet Elisha, we too will
have a double portion of God's Spirit.
Our Lord taught Moses....
Deuteronomy
21:17 NLT
He (A man.) must recognize the rights of his oldest
son,...by giving him a double portion. He is the
first son of his father’s virility, and the rights of the firstborn
belong to him.
Dear Friend...
I John 3:1,2 KJV
1 Behold, what
manner of love The Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be
called
the sons of
God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.
2 Beloved, now
are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we
shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like
Him; for we shall see Him as He is.
Hebrews 10:35-39
KJV
35 Cast not away therefore your confidence (assurance), which
hath great recompence of reward.
36 For ye have
need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might
receive the promise.
37 For yet a
little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
38 Now the just
shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no
pleasure in him.
39 But we are
not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to
the saving of the soul.
