Elijah

Another question that has to be answered is, what happen to Elijah?  Because many believe that Elijah was taken to heaven because of 2 Kings 2:11-12.

¹¹And 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. ¹²And 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.

Scriptures clearly state Elijah went up into heaven.  This presents a problem when one considers what Yeshua stated in John 3:13.

¹³ And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Yeshua claims that no man has ascended up to heaven, this would include Elijah.  One has to start with the assumption that Yeshua was correct.  If he was wrong that would make him fallible, that would call into question every statement he has made.  Additionally, he could not be our messiah, because he would have a blemish.  Therefore, he is correct and there must be another answer.

To resolve this it is important to establish when Elijah took the chariot ride, 2 Kings 3:1.

¹Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.

The king of Israel was Jehoram and the King of Judah was Jehoshaphat.  Elijah took his chariot ride prior to this time.  An important passage that is sometimes overlooked is 2 Chronicles 21:12.

¹²And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith Yehovah God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,

This was not a former prophecy.  It was a letter written about a local situation.  Note who the letter was written to, 2 Chronicles 21:1.

¹Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.

The letter went to a king of the southern kingdom.  Elijah’s ministry was in the northern kingdom.  When Elijah took his chariot ride it was prior to the 18^th year of Jehoshaphat’s reign.  One needs to determine how long Jehoshaphat reigned, 2 Chronicles 20:31.

³¹And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem.

The question is when did Jehoram receive the letter?  The date can be approximated from 2 Chronicles 21:18-20.

¹⁸And after all this Yehovah smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease. ¹⁹And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness: so he died of sore diseases. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers. ²⁰Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.

The letter was given to Joram 2 years prior to the end of his reign.  Joram reigned 8 years.  Another verse to keep in mind is 2 Kings 8:16

¹⁶And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.

Remember Joram of Israel began in the 18^th year of Jehoshaphat.  Jehoshaphat reigned 25 years.  This means Jehoram began his reign in the 23^rd year of Jehoshaphat’s reign.  This is not a contradiction, it is a co-regency.  This occurred a couple times during the reign of the kings.

So the time between the chariot ride and the letter can be determined as follows:  Chariot ride was before the 18^th year of Jehoshaphat reign.  Jehoshaphat reigned 25 years or 7 more years after the chariot ride.  Jehoram was next in line, he reigned 8 years.  Subtract 2 years for co-regency.  2 years prior to the end of Jehoram’s reign he received a letter from Elijah.  Add this up: 7 plus 8 minus 2 minus 2 is 11 years difference.  The longest time period between the Chariot ride and the letter is 13 years.  It could be as few as eight years.  Either way there was definitely a time period between the chariot ride and the letter.

This is where the rubber meets the road one has to decide for themselves.  Either Elijah went to heaven or Elijah did not.  If Elijah went to heaven, Elijah would have either had to come back with the letter or he sent the letter air mail to Jehoram.  Neither make much sense and both would contradict John 3:13

¹³And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

Personally, I am not too keen on doctrine that contradicts the words of Yeshua.  A more likely possibility is that Elijah did not go to heaven.  But it states in 2 Kings that Elijah did go into heaven.

How does one resolve this?  The next page will resolve this issue.

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