Elisha, when his master Elijah was taken away from him, witnessed an awesome sight: a chariot of fire and horses of fire that came between the two prophets. Elisha cried, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof!” Who was he speaking to? Elijah? God? Both? And what was the connection with Israel?
In II Kings 6:15, Elisha and his servant are besieged by Syria’s army. Elisha prays that his fearful servant may be able to see what Elisha could see. When he looked, he saw chariots of fire and horses of fire on the mountains all around, a clear demonstration of God’s power and protection. Was this vision open to Elisha’s eyes all the time? What did he see and what was he talking about?
Psalm 104:3-4 talks about God’s power and might and His creative force in the forming of this world: Who maketh the clouds his chariot and his ministers a flame of fire. Isaiah 66:15 speaks thus: The Lord will come with fire, and with chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames office. Habakkuk 3:8 has this: Was thy wrath against the sea, that thou didst ride upon thine horses and thy chariots of salvation?
In II Samuel 22, David speaks of God’s saving power in song and describes how God had protected those who called upon His name. Was David privy to the same vision witnessed by Elijah and Elisha, because the language is so similar? In verse 11, we have a big clue to our understanding of this subject. The Hebrew word for chariot is the same root word as that for cherub. The chariot and the cherubim are one and the same, the means by which God moves around.
Ezekiel 1 fills in many details. There we have many significant features: clouds, a whirlwind or tornado, a fantastic vehicle with wheels full of eyes, and strange living creatures. Above the creatures was a sheet of ice or crystal that appears to be supported by the wings of the creatures. There was a throne like sapphire, and a rainbow of many colours. The appearance was the likeness of the glory of the Lord. In chapter 10, the man clothed with linen (a prophecy of Christ?) was told to go in between the wheels under the cherub and fill his hand with coals of fire. The court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord. Was this the same glory used to lead the Israelites through the desert in the pillar of cloud and fire?
What we see here is a vision of God’s glory demonstrated in the construction of a fantastic vehicle. This vision of God’s power and activity in the world was seen by Moses, Elijah, Elisha, David, Ezekiel and other faithful ones, giving them all the strength and encouragement they needed to witness to the truth. Could this be the means by which the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven by the cloud that received him9 And he will come back “in like manner” as he went. Will we be ready when our Lord and Master, the Son of God, rides upon his horses and chariots of salvation?
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One