Jehovah's Witness Scripture Proof Texts Answered Did Elijah send a letter to King Jehoram after his ascension into heaven? - 2 Chronicles 21:12
 |
 |
|
Did Elijah send a letter to King Jehoram after his ascension into heaven? JEHOVAH'S WITNESS ARGUMENT: Jehovah's Witnesses teach that no person who lived prior to the coming of Jesus Christ went to heaven. In order to support their ideology, they explain Elijah's ascension into heaven as a temporary removal from one place on earth to another and claim that Elijah reappeared on earth to send a letter to King Jehoram (2 Chronicles 21:12), years after he went up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11).1.
BIBLICAL RESPONSE: There is no indication that Elijah went up to heaven before he sent the letter to King Jehoram of Judah. We read at 1 Kings 22:50 and 2 Kings 1:17 that Jehoram became King of Judah two years before a different King Jehoram became king of Israel. It wasn't until the NEXT chapter at 2 Kings 2:11 (during the reign of this other King Jehoram of Israel) that we read of Elijah's ascension into heaven. It is important to note that nowhere does the Bible give a specific year for Elijah's translation into heaven. We only know that it happened sometime during the reign of King Jehoram of Israel. Since King Jehoram of Judah (who received the letter from Elijah) had already been reigning two years by the time King Jehoram of Israel took the throne, Elijah could have easily sent his letter to King Jehoram of Judah before his ascension into heaven at 2 Kings 2:11. 2 Chronicles 21:19 notes that Jehoram of Judah began to experience the effects of the condemning words in Elijah's letter two years before he died in the eighth year of his reign, so it is reasonable to conclude that Elijah's letter and his subsequent translation to heaven occurred sometime between Jehoram of Judah's second to sixth year of reign. Furthermore, if Elijah was to reappear on earth and resume his ministry after ascending into heaven for a few years, one would have to question why Elijah spoke of being "taken from" his apprentice Elisha and why he would have gone to the effort of requesting for Elisha a "double portion" of his spirit upon leaving.2. Such commitment to Elisha would hardly seem relevant if Elijah was to resume his work on earth only a few years after the whirlwind incident. Thus, we see that not only does the Scriptural account negate the Watchtower's view of Elijah's ascension, but the circumstances surrounding the event speak of the permanence of his ascension into heaven (that is in the Abraham’s bosom portion of Hades described at Luke 16) until he appears with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration at Matthew 17:3. ============ 1. Reasoning from the Scriptures, p. 314 |
Testimonials
I LOVE this site!
“I just wanted to write and tell you that your website is absolutely FANTASTIC and invaluable. Thank you so much for providing fantastic resources that true Christians can use to reach out in love to those caught in the lie of Mormonism and the Watchtower Society. I love this website.”
Your site is the best!
“Just want you to know that I love your website. What a wealth of information …I have been looking for a website to aid in my witnessing to my Mormon and Jehovah’s Witness friends. This is the best one I have seen by far. Please keep up the good work!!!!”
Your website is crucial in my witnessing efforts!
“Your website is crucial in my witnessing efforts to Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses. I cannot get the Mormons to come back anymore, but I had my first study with the Jehovah’s Witnesses today. ...One has been in the Society for over 50 years!!! I was very intimidated by this. ...But the thing that really got them squirming in their seats today were the questions I got off your website regarding the use of the Divine Name. It was almost as if they had never heard questions like this before. ...thank you so much for what you do. God has used your talents in such a wonderful way to bring glory and honor to our King Jesus Christ.”
I appreciate the loving tone of your website...
“I need to say thank you so much to the people involved in this website! I am a Christian and have been in contact with a Jehovah's Witness for several months, and at the beginning I was very unfamiliar with Jehovah's Witness teachings. Your website has helped me tremendously. I feel much better acquainted with Jehovah's Witness teachings and able to question her on her beliefs, and point her to the Truth of Jesus in the Bible. I enjoy the thoughtful, loving tone your website has in pointing out the error of the Watchtower organization, and the error of Jehovah's Witness beliefs.”
Thanks for providing the documentation to back up what you're saying.
“I recently became acquainted with a girl who was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, and I am a solid evangelical Christian. Despite our differences, we have become good friends ...I have had the hardest time talking to her about my concerns regarding the Watchtower because I understood so little about it. In my search for resources online, it is so refreshing to find a website that is not slanderous or based on opinion, but that simply provides the facts. Thanks for providing documentation to back up what you're saying. This is legitimate journalism and it has been incredibly useful to me.”
I Feel So Much Better Equipped!
“I just wanted to say thanks for the tremendous amount of effort it must have taken to put together this website. I am a Christian who has been visited by Jehovah’s Witnesses for about 7-8 years… I was online …when I came across your site. Having found what I was looking for, I continued on with browsing your site. There is so much useful information here! Recently, one of the young Witnesses that had previously come to my door ...came back to my door alone. … After reading many pages on your site, I feel so much better equipped to speak with her. …I hope to show her the joy that is in the freedom we have in Christ.”
What's New!
