The first chapter of the book of 2nd Kings describes how the prophet Elijah twice burns 51 people alive by sending fire from heaven.
This story obviously raises many questions.
For did God answer Elijah’s prayer by sending fire from heaven?
And so did God give Elijah permission to kill those 102 people?
The answers to these questions are given by Jesus.
In fact, the answer always lies in Jesus!
HE shows you who you are.
HE shows you where your origin lies, for if you have seen HIM, you have seen the Father.
Therefore, let’s see what we can find in the Bible about Jesus and what answers he provides to our questions.
The first thing that stands out and relates to our study is a statement from John.
He says:
John 1:17 (BSB)
The law was given through Moses,
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
For Elijah lived after Moses,
he lived according to the law of Moses.
But he lived before Christ.
He did not yet know grace and truth.
And Jesus says:
John 10:8+10 (BSB)
8. All who came before Me were thieves and robbers.
So also Elijah! Although that may be hard to believe now.
I will show you that it is the words you speak that make someone a thief and a robber.
10. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy
I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.
Jesus is the Word of God in a body.
It is very important that you understand the depths of this.
Because….
Proverbs 18:21 (BSB)
Life and death are in the power of the tongue.
The words you speak either create life or they take something away from the other person.
Everything God says gives life in abundance; everything the world says steals the life of the other.
Jesus had come so that we might have life and have it in abundance.
He speaks only the words of God.
Thus the word became flesh and dwelt among us.
John 1:4 (GNT)
And… The Word was the source of life.
John 1:14 (NKJ)
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Everything Jesus said gave life.
Elijah’s words, however, stole the lives of 102 people
Jesus was not living on earth at the time of Elijah, otherwise He would have rebuked Elijah for the words he spoke.
In fact, James and John spoke the exact same words as Elijah and they are rebuked by Jesus for this.
They say:
Luke 9:54-55 (NKJ)
“Lord, do You want us to command
fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”
But He turned and rebuked them, and said,
“You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.
For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”
Jesus says to his disciples, ” You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.”
That’s interesting, isn’t it?
It is the same spirit from which Elijah commanded fire to come down from heaven.
That is not the Spirit of Christ, that is the spirit of the world!
Proverbs 18:21 (BSB)
Life and death are in the power of the tongue.
That is why it is important for the word of God to once again become flesh.
This time in you!
Because in that word is life.
John 1:4 (GNT)
The Word was the source of life.
When the word of God grows in you and matures, all the words you speak give life in abundance.
With those words, His will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
With those words, you create a new heaven and a new earth, just as God created the heaven and the earth, as described in Genesis 1.
God created heaven and earth only by speaking.
That is what the word does; it creates something.
John 1:3
All things were made through the Word,
and without this Word nothing was made that was made.
Let this truly sink in!
All things were made through the Word,
and without this Word nothing was made that was made.
Jesus also did nothing but speak.
That’s how he created life in abundance.
It’s all about the words you speak.
If you speak from an wordly spirit you speak death and destruction.
This then makes you a thief and a robber; you steal that which is given by God, which is eternal life.
If you speak from the Spirit of God you speak life.
Thus by speaking you create the new heaven and the new earth.
This new heaven and new earth is you.
And when the Word has become flesh in you, you speak only words of life, allowing the person who hears your words to also grow into a new creation.
Cause….
2 Corinthians 5:17-19 (NAS)
17. If anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation;
the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
18. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
Do you see that?
God has given us the same ministry as Jesus and all Jesus did was speak.
In Him, the Word of God became flesh.
19. For it was God Who in Christ reconciled the world to Himself
and He has put the Word of reconciliation in us.
When you learn to speak the loving words of God, you speak words that give life in abundance.
This is how you create the new heaven and the new earth.
This is how you enter the rest of God.
Hebrews 4:10 (NAS)
10. For the one who has entered His rest
has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His
From what works did God rest?
From creating the heaven and the earth ➡️ by speaking.
From what works will you rest when you have entered His rest?
From creating the new heaven and the new earth ➡️ by speaking the Word of God.
11. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest!
12. For the word of God is living and powerful,
and sharper than any two-edged sword!
