Solomon was the supernaturally wise “teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem” (Ecclesiastes 1:1) who wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes, “there is one fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad ... there is one fate for everyone” (Ecclesiastes 9:2–3). Everyone’s gonna die.
There are exceptions.
Christians living at the time of Jesus’ rapture and rescue of His Bride will be translated to Heaven without traveling through the portal of death. “The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God ... we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). When the trumpet blasts, the church will be levitated into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. I want to be among the throngs.
Enoch’s another exception to the “everyone’s gonna die” rule. “By faith Enoch was taken away, and so he did not experience death” (Hebrews 11:5). “Enoch walked with God; then he was not there because God took him” (Genesis 5:24). Enoch didn’t die. He just went to heaven. God took him home.
And that’s what happened to Elijah. He didn’t die. God just snatched him up and took him home to Heaven!
Here’s how it unfolded. As Elijah and Elisha were “walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind” (2 Kings 2:11).
God appointed an angelic Uber. He wasn’t driving a four-door Nissan, but a gleaming, glistening chariot drawn by stampeding stallions. The sound was deafening, like the raging, rushing winds of a hurricane. A “chariot of fire” and a “whirlwind.”
Slack-jawed, Elisha watched it happen.
Years later, Elisha saw the “chariots of fire” again. While surrounded by the Syrian army, God revealed His powerful presence. Just beyond his evil enemies, “he saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire” (2 Kings 6:17). Though the Syrians were mighty, God, with His angelic army, is All-Mighty!
I’ve never seen a fiery chariot or the hosts of Heaven’s Army, but I know they’re present. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens” (Ephesians 6:12). Like Elisha, we’re surrounded by the enemy. And like Elisha, God’s powerful presence overwhelms our adversary.
The God of Elijah and Elisha is still alive! He hasn’t changed. He’s All-Powerful and Ever-Present!
