Part 3: Transition of the Ages

Elisha, The Prophet of God

Thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel.—2 Kings 9:7

 The four remaining episodes of Elisha’s career in the sacred record pertain to judgments of God respecting the transition of the ages. The numbering resumes from the previous article.

11) The Siege of Samaria (2 Kings 6:24-7:20). This is a lengthy episode. Hostilities resumed between Syria and Israel. This was not a simple raiding party, but a full attack of Syria against Samaria, the capital city of Israel’s King Joram. The crisis was grave. Casting about for a scapegoat, Joram sent his officers to apprehend Elisha, but though they found the prophet, he was not arrested. Instead he predicted that by the following day the famine of the siege would be broken and “a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria” (2 Kings 7:1).

But—notably—the unbelieving agent of the king would see it, but not participate in it. “Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof” (2 Kings 7:2). This is the point of this episode—God’s judgment on the unbelieving among Israel. Ezekiel 20:38 says, “And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.” This episode illustrates that point.

The evening following this encounter, four lepers in Samaria, with no apparent prospects, decided to walk out to the enemy camp. They reasoned that if they were killed, they would but die as they would anyway in the city, but possibly the Syrians would allow them to live. They rose at dawn and went out. When they came to the Syrian camp, to their amazement, they found it deserted! God had caused the Syrians to hear a sound of chariots, which they feared were Hittites or Egyptians hired against them and they fled in panic. The abundance they left behind refreshed all of Samaria. There was such a rush at the gate of Samaria to acquire some of it, that the officer who scoffed at Elisha’s prediction was trampled—he saw the blessing, but he did not participate in it.

The staples cited in Elisha’s prediction—a measure of fine flour, and two measures barley—both speak of the merits of our Lord’s sacrifice. The first reminds us of the meal which made the pot of stew wholesome, and the two measures of barley remind us of the twenty barley loaves that fed one hundred people.

The deliverance of Israel in this experience was remarkable and represents God’s protection for Israel in their coming crisis. But this was also depicted in the episode about the Syrian raiders. The unique part of this experience is the judgment of the unbelieving leader. This represents that through unbelief some will be judged unworthy of receiving the blessings. They will be purged as rebels—not purged from all hope of life in the future, of course, but disallowed the blessings when those blessings first open.

12) The House Restored (2 Kings 8:1-6). The woman whose son was restored to life had been warned of a seven-year famine, so she and her family lived among the Philistines until it passed. Now she was seeking her property again. The seven years of dearth refer to the seven stages of the Gospel age when the Israelites found sustenance away from their land wherever they could, and their return represents the return of Israel at the end of the age.

The king appointed an officer to “restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land” (2 Kings 8:6). This accords with the prophecies which say not only that Israel receives their land again (Amos 9:15), but “I will restore to you the years” that they were blighted (Joel 2:25). This judgment of the king is the judgment of God, not as in the previous picture against unbelievers, but in this case on behalf of believers who seek favor from their heavenly king.

13) The Death of Benhadad (2 Kings 8:7-15). Elisha went to Damascus, the capital city of Syria, when its king, Benhadad, was sick. When Benhadad heard of it, he sent his servant Hazael to ask Elisha of his prospects for recovery and sent forty camels’ burden as a gift. Elisha admitted to Hazael that “he shall surely die” (2 Kings 8:10). The “forty” camels may represent this judgment. Camels, an unclean animal (Leviticus 11:4), are an appropriate figure for the “unclean” Gentile king who was to die.

Elsewhere in Scripture, Gentile kings sometimes represent Satan. The King of Babylon (Isaiah 14:12), Pharaoh of Egypt (Ezekiel 29:3), and King of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:14), are three examples. We propose that here the Syrian, King Benhadad, represents the “Dragon” of Revelation, namely Satan in his role as ruler of the nations of earth. Benhadad was a foe of Israel as Satan is a foe of the world.

Benhadad did die. On Hazael’s return from his visit with the prophet he gave a good report, but the next day suffocated Benhadad with a thick cloth dipped in water. Water represents truth, and truth is the agent which dispatches the dragon in Isaiah 27:1 (in this case depicted as a sword). Of course Satan himself does not die in the transition of the ages; the death of the dragon means the end of Satan in his role as master of kingdoms.

But there is another dimension to this episode. During Elisha’s interview with Hazael, the prophet began to weep, “Because I know the evil thou wilt do unto the children of Israel” (2 Kings 8:12). Hazael would be the next king of Syria, and in due course would bring affliction to Israel again. So with Satan; after he is bound for a thousand years, he will come back again at the end of the kingdom, renewing his deceptions, which God permits to sift out all not truly God’s. Then of course both Satan and the ungodly will perish, and righteousness prevail everlastingly.

This episode about judgment is about Satan, the leader of this world, the “Dragon” of Revelation. But there is a trio of confederates in Revelation who cling to each other for support in the dimming hours of the harvest period. They are represented as the Dragon, Beast, and False Prophet. The Dragon is governmental authority, the latter two religious authority. Here we have the judgment of the former, and in the next episode the judgment of the two latter.

14) The Death of Joram and Ahaziah (2 Kings 9:1 to 10:28). When Jehu was anointed king, he was given a charge to expiate the sins of Ahab and Jezebel upon his house. “Thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel” (2 Kings 9:7). Jehu did this swiftly and completely. He first met Joram with Ahaziah, killed them both with arrows, proceeded into Jezreel where Jezebel was thrown down, wrote letters to the leaders of Israel to dispatch the seventy sons of Ahab, and later slew forty-two companions of Ahaziah of Judah.

Jehu found Joram recuperating near Jezreel, and being visited by Joram’s nephew Ahaziah. (Joram was the son of Ahab and Jezebel. Their daughter and Joram’s sister Athaliah married Jehoram of Judah, whose son was Ahaziah of Judah, thus nephew of Joram.) At this time both kingdoms were in apostasy and were allied by marriage. Because they were leagued together, Jehu slew both kings together. We suggest that Joram of Israel represents Papacy, and Ahaziah of Judah his younger relative and companion represents the younger Protestant systems, chiefly the Church of England which had an empire as did Papacy, and martyred Christians as did Papacy.

The sons of Ahab who died in retribution for his sins were seventy in number, as were the early disciples which Jesus sent to represent him. These were in token of all the disciples through the age, many of whom were martyred under Papacy for their faith. The forty-two companions of Ahaziah remind us of the forty-two months during which this persecution occurred. The latter died “at the pit of the shearing house” (2 Kings 10:14), a reminder that the abuse of the Lord’s sheep was the underlying sin.

In the course of Jehu’s campaign he came across one whom he recognized as a righteous man. “He lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him … and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot. And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot” (2 Kings 10:15,16).

Rechab had been a devout man who abstained from wine after the custom of the Nazarites, and commanded his sons to do the same, which they did. The Rechabites thus were men of faith and devotion, and the one in this narrative, Jehonadab, represents the Lord’s people during the judgments who apprehend it as just retribution. From this standpoint they are sympathetic to Jehu’s campaign. The reward of the saints who appreciate the circumstances is to be lifted up into Jehu’s chariot—our Lord’s arrangement—and associated with him in his royal reign.

Ahab, Ahaziah, Joram

Ahab caused Israel to transgress more than his predecessors. Since the time of Jeroboam, who formed the independent northern kingdom of Israel, Israel worshipped Jehovah in the form of idols, two golden calves, one in the Dan and one in Bethel, which Jeroboam placed there to induce his subjects to forget their allegiance to Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:28, 29). Ahab retained these, but added to the sin by introducing the worship of Baal also, the god whom his wife Jezebel worshipped.

When Elijah confronted him and declared the judgment of God against his house, surprisingly, Ahab was remorseful. “And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly” (1 Kings 21:27). For this reason God told Elijah that the severest punishment would be deferred until after Ahab’s death. When he did die, he was succeeded briefly by his son Ahaziah for about a year. (This is not the same Ahaziah who was king of Judah, discussed above. Both kingdoms had an Ahaziah, and both had a Jehoram, or Joram.) Ahaziah fell through the lattice of a window and died later of his injuries. He was succeeded by his brother Jehoram, also son of Ahab, and it was upon him that the final judgments fell. What might these three final kings picture, as respects the final history of Christendom?

A recent presentation on this subject intrigues us. The speaker suggested that the passing of Ahab represented the passing of the Old World during World War I, that the despotic powers which united to take over the world thereafter, which also martyred saints along with millions of others, was represented in the brief reign of Ahaziah, who was no better than his father Ahab. But with his brother Joram things improved a little, as he put away the idols of Baal. So subsequent to World War II the world has moved away from the egregious conduct of past ages, and embraced a secular concern for human rights. Nevertheless, the systems must go in deference to the truly righteous reign of Christ.¹

Summary

The experiences of Elisha, fourteen in number, are divided into the first ten and the last four. Ten represents wholeness with respect to earthly things, and in these ten experiences are depicted God’s blessings for the world in the Millennium. These are divided into two segments of five each, the first pertaining to Israel, the second to the Gentiles.

Following this are four episodes of judgment, an appropriate number, because four, forty, or four hundred represent judgment. The first two episodes pertain to Israel, showing a judgment against the unbelievers, and favor to the believers, respectively. The next two pertain to the powers of this world, represented in Revelation as three in number. The first of these is Satan in his role as master of the nations of this world, by usurpation. The death of Benhadad represents his demise in this role. The next two systems are the beast (Papacy) and false prophet (the Church of England and associates). The judgment of these both is shown in the last episode. “The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet … these both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20).

Sequence

The blessings of Israel and the remainder of the world, naturally will come after the return of the Ancient Worthies. But the final judgments against the powers of this world are also represented as occurring during the time of Elisha, who represents the Ancient Worthies. Is this a proper thought to draw from these pictures?

Probably so. Revelation chapter 16 details the seven last plagues. Notice the sequence of events. In plague six the dragon, beast and false prophet lean on each other for support in fear of their weakness and the mounting problems in society. After this association comes an inducement for them to advance to the “battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Revelation 16:14). “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon” (Revelation 16:16). This gathering evidently is in Israel, according to Joel 3:2,11-16.

Then the seventh plague is poured. Presumably the battle ensues, but it is followed by another trauma: “And there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities [city, singular, in the Sinaitic] of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath” (Revelation 16:18,19).

If, according to Micah 5:5, the Ancient Worthies return at the crisis point in Israel, but the fall of Babylon in the seventh plague proceeds subsequently, then the Ancient Worthies will be on the scene at the time (although not before the bride class is complete and resurrected). Thus the pictures which indicate Elisha being present as the Lord’s representative during these judgments is consistent with the sequence that prophecy suggests elsewhere.

1, For more details on these suggestions, contact Richard Doctor at rdoctor@ntsource.com