Elijah Calls Fire on the Soldiers
Twice, soldiers came to seize Elijah and fire fell from heaven; the third captain fell on his knees and begged - and was spared.
When the wicked King Ahaziah sent a captain with fifty soldiers to seize Elijah, the prophet answered, 'If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty,' and fire fell and consumed them. A second company met the same fate. But the third captain fell on his knees and pleaded for his life, and the angel of the LORD told Elijah to go with him. The episode displays both the fearful authority God gave his prophet and the sparing of the one who came in humility.
Details
- Category
- Judgment
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Performed by
- Elijah
Key Chapters
Key Passages
Let Fire Come Down from Heaven
2 Kings 1:9-12
9hen the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.
Did You Know?
Fire fell from heaven on two companies of fifty soldiers sent to seize Elijah.
The third captain begged for his life - and was spared.
When James and John wanted to call down similar fire, Jesus rebuked them.
It confronted King Ahaziah, who had consulted a pagan god instead of the LORD.