And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
– 2 Kings 2:11
I love this verse. Just imagine. So, put yourself in Elijah’s shoes. You’re walking beside Elijah, and you both know that at any moment, God has said he’s going to bring Elijah home. And all of a sudden, in the middle of conversation, chariots of fire and horses of fire come down in between the two of you. Just picture that in your mind. Chariots of fire, fire chariots, and horses of fire, fire horses, and they immediately pick Elijah up and take him up into heaven by a whirlwind. Is that not an incredible scene?
2 Kings 2:11 foreshadows the return of Christ for his people.
Just imagine that you’re talking with somebody and in an instant, chariots of fire and horses of fire pick this person you’re talking with up and take him away.
And I read this verse and my mind immediately goes to 1 Thessalonians 4:16. It says, “One day the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, with the sound of the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and we will always be with the Lord”. In other words, one day this is going to happen, not chariots of fire and horses of fire, but one day. And it could be today. I think about one brother in our church family who’s now with the Lord. But he always said, Tom, whenever I saw him, he would always say, and he was in a wheelchair struggling with his health.
He would look at me with a smile on his face, and he’d say, “Perhaps today”. And I remember the first time he said that to us. I asked, “What do you mean ‘perhaps today’? He said, “Perhaps today will be the day when Jesus comes back”. And then, every Sunday I saw him, he would say the same thing, “Perhaps today”. And it just was such an encouragement to me in a way that I want to encourage you today. To live today like this could be the day, like this could be the day.
2 Kings 2:11 teaches us to live every moment ready for Christ’s return.
Think about it. This could be the moment in the next hour when Jesus comes back. This could happen at any time. And to live today in light of that reality, to live today in light of the reality that Jesus could return at any moment or he could bring us home at any moment.
So to make every moment count for his glory in ways that are pleasing to him, ways that are glorifying to him. That if he were to come back at any moment, we would be ready, and we would not be doing anything, thinking anything, desiring anything that would not be pleasing to him.
That everything in our life would be pleasing to him, glorifying to him, and waiting for him. Oh God, please help us to live that way at every moment. God, we praise you for your promise that one day you’re coming back. And you’re going to free us fully and finally from this world of evil and sin and suffering and sorrow and death. We praise you for that promise that Jesus is coming back for his people and whether we’re alive or dead at that point, that we will be caught up together with you and we’ll always be with you.
This verse reminds us to live with an eternal perspective.
So help us, we pray today, to live in light of that day, help us to realize our lives are missed, that we’re here for a vapor and then gone the next. Help us then, we pray, to think, to speak, to desire, to live in every way today, like we’re waiting for that moment and yearning, longing for that moment.
Help us to be active in not just us being prepared, but in leading others to be prepared for that day. God, we pray for family members and friends and coworkers and classmates who are not ready for that day right now because they don’t know you. God, help us to share the gospel with urgency. Help us to spread the gospel around the world with urgency.
Prayer for the Salar People
We pray specifically today for the Salar people of China, 150,000 of whom are not ready for that day. God, we pray that you would cause the gospel to spread to all the peoples, including the Salar of China. That they might know your grace and your mercy and your love, and they might be looking forward to and ready for that day to meet you. Oh God, we pray. Help us to live with urgency and anticipation in light of this picture in 2 Kings 2:11 in our lives today. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
