• Kings Chapters
  • :1-18,
  • 17
  • :1-23,
  • 25
  • :1-21 & 2 Chronicles
  • 36
  • :15-23

Elijah taken up in a whirlwind and chariot of fire

  • Elisha succeeds Elijah

The Assyrian Empire conquers the Kingdom of Israel

The Babylonian Empire conquers the Kingdom of Judah

  • The Babylonians destroy the temple

Israel scattered among the nations; a remnant of Judah remains

King Cyrus of Persian decrees for the Temple to be rebuilt

  • Discussion Questions
  • IN ORTHODOX BIBLES, 1 & 2 Kings = 3 & 4 KINGDOMS
  • 2 Kings 2:1-18

Who is Elisha?

If we remember from last week, Elisha is Elijah’s successor as prophet,

1 Kings 19:16

. Just like how Joshua was constantly with Moses, Elisha too would have been constantly at Elijah’s side.

How did Elijah and Elisha cross the Jordan river?

Elijah struck the river with his rolled up mantle (his cloak/covering), and split the waters of the river.

There are 2 other occasions where we have seen large bodies of water split/stopped; do we remember them?

Moses splitting the Red Sea during the Exodus.

The priests carrying the Ark stopping the waters of the Jordan River as they entered it, led by Joshua.

As we discussed in Exodus, these things point us towards baptism, as many other things have. St. Paul literally says this in

  • 1 Corinthians 10:1-2

about the Exodus.

What happens to the prophet Elijah?

A chariot of fire with horses of fire appears, separating Elijah from Elisha, and a whirlwind takes Elijah up into heaven.

So that means Elijah never _ _ _ _?

…died. We will discuss this more in a bit.

What do the prophets of Bethel keep reminding Elisha of, and how does he respond?

They keep reminding Elisha that Elijah would be taken away from him on that day, and Elisha simply responds that he knows too, and tells them to keep their peace, meaning stay silent.

  • Leading us into the next question…

What could be important about this interaction between them? What can it show?

Really think about this one first. Try and recall what we talked about when we read how Eleazar, Aaron’s son, was ordained as high priest in place of his father.

Well, if Elijah was the main prophet in those days, and he was about to be taken away, then he would need a successor, right? Yes, and those other prophets there reminding Elisha it would happen means they knew about it.

Which is to say, just like all the other ordinations or transfers of authority of leadership we have seen so far, like with Moses, Joshua, Aaron, Eleazar, Saul, David, and Solomon, that these transitions are public affairs with witnesses, and they involved a passing down from old to new.

Aaron took off his ephod (chestpiece)

and it was put on Eleazar, signifying the transfer of leadership, and here Elijah’s mantle is left behind to Elisha to signify the transmission of ministry.

As for why it seems like they upset Elisha by reminding him… well they do; Elisha is grieved that his master, teacher, and spiritual father is about to depart from him, and that’s why he keeps telling them to stay silent about it. But Elisha displays his love and loyalty by refusing to leave and being by Elijah’s side until the very end, which leaves no doubt that Elisha is Elijah’s rightful successor.

And so as we have discussed, this succession continues today in what we call apostolic succession. When you see the “old” bishop laying his right hand upon the “new” bishop, you are seeing a form of Aaron’s ephod being put onto Eleazar, and Elijah’s mantle being left to Elisha.

Going back to Elijah; do we think that Elijah will thus never die?

  • +++ Open Discussion +++
  • Well, let’s read what St. Paul says in

Hebrews 9:27

. He says that man must die, and that is consistent with the judgement God passed on after Adam and Eve sinned, as we read in Week 1,

Genesis 3:19

So if Elijah must die, then that means he must return, right? Well yes, the prophet Malachi quite literally says this, in the last chapter of the Old Testament,

Malachi 4:5-6.

  • When is that return? Let’s read
  • Malachi 1
  • , and then all of
  • Malachi 4

, to see when.

So when is Elijah to return?

Before the “great and dreadful day of the Lord”. But there are 2 comings of the Lord, His 1st coming, the birth in the flesh, and His 2nd coming, Judgement Day. So which one is it?

+++ Open Discussion +++

Both answers are correct based on what we read in Scripture and what the C.F. have taught us.

Firstly, we know that John the Baptist, comes in “the power and spirit” of Elijah, as the archangel Grabiel states in

  • Luke 1:17

. Going further, Christ Himself states that John the Baptist IS Elijah,

Matthew 11:13-14

So Elijah does return via John the Baptist, but John the Baptist was born… he didn’t appear as an old grown man. Meaning that John did just what Gabriel said, he came in the power and spirit of Elijah.

Spirit

meaning both John & Elijah had the same grace working through them alongside the spirit of prophesy, and

Power

meaning both John & Elijah had abstinence and great patience, as well as power to turn people back to God. Power and Spirit also denotes that both lived similar lives with similar ministries and personalities, but we will cover that in the N.T.

So that means, yes, if you said or thought “Elijah will come before Christ’s 1st coming” you are correct 👍

But like we discussed, Elijah did not die, nor did John the Baptist appear as an old man (and there is no re-incarnation), so the actual person that is Elijah has NOT returned yet.

Also note that at the Transfiguration, which occurred after John the Baptist was killed, that Moses and Elijah appear. The disciples knew what John looked like, so they would have stated if John was there, but it was Elijah!

Which means that Elijah has still not died yet, and this is where the C.F. agree that Elijah will return before the Lord’s 2nd coming to preach repentance on Earth. Some C.F. infer that he will be 1 of 2 witnesses that are spoken about in Revelation 11, in which it is said that they will have the power to stop rain, which we read that Elijah did. But this is not too important for us to speculate about, which is why the C.F. don’t dive that in-depth either. Instead, we need to focus on who Elijah pre-figured and who John the Baptist prepared the way for…

+++ We will skip ahead to chapters 17 and 25 now, but know that Elisha performed mighty miracles just as Elijah did. Notably, Elisha also resurrects a dead boy and feeds 100 men with a small portion of bread.+++

  • 2 Kings 17:1-23

What happened to the Kingdom of Israel?

To re-iterate, this is the Kingdom in the North that houses 10 tribes, whose capital is Samaria. The king of Assyria conquered the whole kingdom, besieging Samaria for 3 years.

The chapter goes on to explain the re-settling of the land that the Assyrians do; they bring non-Jews to dwell in Samaria and re-locate the Jews throughout lands of the empire.

This is referred to as the Assyrian captivity, or Assyrian exile, and this is the end of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. These events take place around 722 B.C.

What reasoning does the chapter give as to why this happens?

See Vv.7-23.

Straightforward.

  • 2 Kings 25:1-21

What happened to the Kingdom of Judah?

Now we go to the Kingdom in the South that houses the tribe of Judah and Benjamin, whose capital is Jerusalem. The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, conquered the whole kingdom, besieging Jerusalem.

The Babylonians take the Israelites living in the Southern Kingdom captive as well, and re-settle the land just as the Assyrians do. The Babylonians also destroy the Temple that Solomon had built, and completely ransack it.

These events happen around 585 B.C, so about 150 or some years after the Northern Kingdom falls. This is referred to as the Babylonian captivity, or babylonian exile, and this is the end of the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

So what’s our scenario now?

Both kingdoms have fallen and both people are under captivity, but didn’t the North fall about 150 or so years earlier? Yes, they did, and remember that it is 10 tribes that the Assyrians led away captive.

Well, after the captivity and heavy inter-mixing with the people around them, these northern tribes largely vanish from history as distinct political entities, and the“Israelite” identity increasingly becomes centered on Judah/Jews.

If the temple is destroyed, what about the priesthood?

The priests and their lines continue in the exile, as do the prophets, but the formal service of sacrifices and what comes with them is suspended, as there is no Tabernacle nor Temple.

It’s at this point where the prophets are constantly preaching about repentance, which entails prayer, fasting, and reading and fulfilment of Scripture.

But like we discussed last week, the priesthood itself does not cease nor become invalid.

  • 2 Chronicles 36:15-END

What do we read at the end of this chapter?

King Cyrus of Persia, who conquered Babylon, is stirred by the Lord to rebuild the Temple. The Jews live under Persian occupation after the Babylonians are conquered.

This rebuilt temple is the same Temple that Christ Himself will enter into 500+ years later. This is the Temple that will be destroyed again by the Romans about 40 years after Christ ascends into heaven after His Resurrection.

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