Prophet · OT
Elijah
The fiery Tishbite prophet who confronted Ahab and Jezebel and was taken to heaven in a whirlwind.
Elijah the Tishbite appears suddenly in the reign of King Ahab to announce a three-and-a-half-year drought. He was fed by ravens at the brook Cherith and by a widow's miraculous flour and oil at Zarephath. On Mount Carmel he confronted four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the fire of the Lord fell.
Fleeing Jezebel's threats, he met God not in earthquake or fire but in a 'still small voice' on Horeb. He anointed Elisha as his successor and was taken into heaven by a whirlwind, with a chariot of fire. Malachi prophesied that Elijah would come before the great day of the Lord; Jesus identified John the Baptist as the fulfillment of that promise. Elijah appears with Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration.
Key moments
Drought announced and fed by ravens
Three years and six months without rain (1 Kings 17).
Mount Carmel
Fire falls; Israel cries, 'The Lord, he is the God!' (1 Kings 18).
The still small voice
God meets him in gentleness on Horeb (1 Kings 19).
Translation by whirlwind
Taken to heaven without dying (2 Kings 2).
Key verses
"And Elijah came near unto all the people, and said, How long go ye limping between the two sides? if Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word."
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"Then the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, 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, Jehovah, he is God; Jehovah, he is God."
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"And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before Jehovah. And, behold, Jehovah passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before Jehovah; but Jehovah was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but Jehovah was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but Jehovah was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice."
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"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."
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"Elijah was a man of like passions with us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again; and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit."
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Frequently asked
Did Elijah die?
Scripture says Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind into heaven without seeing death (2 Kings 2:11), one of only two figures — with Enoch — said to have been translated.
Was John the Baptist Elijah?
Jesus said John came 'in the spirit and power of Elijah' (Luke 1:17) and was the Elijah Malachi promised (Matthew 11:14, 17:12-13). John denied being literally Elijah (John 1:21) but fulfilled the prophetic role.
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