06/08/2018 - FINAL DESTINY OF THE TRAITORS

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Now therefore, thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’  So Elijah departed. 2 Kings 1:4

Elijah did not know that God had another important mission for him and also did not know why he was where the angel of the Lord had sent him.  Nevertheless, as he always undertook and finished the challenges of the Most High, he readily obeyed.  Never rise up in rebellion against the Lord, thinking He did not give you a task or sent you to a specific place.  In the end, when all is ready, He will instruct you how to proceed.  Serve Him, then, with joy!

Ahaziah, son of Ahab, succeeded his father and reigned only one year. In spite of his name having the meaning of “whose Jehovah is Lord”, he worshipped Baal.  One day the king fell from a window of a high room and became very ill.  Instead of seeking Him who had shown him to be the true God, when Elijah was through with the 450 prophets of Ball and the 400 of the idol post, Ahaziah insisted in seeking Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron (2 Kings 1:2).

The angel of the Lord told Elijah to go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and to tell them: “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ Now therefore, thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ (v. 3,4) Whoever disdains the only God, even knowing the proof that He gave concerning Himself and other false gods, has no correction.

It is a grievously serious error to abandon the Fountain of Life to adore the devil in his manifestations.  Whoever does this will be ashamed and perish.  The king’s men returned and reported to him (v.5). He should have thought and meditated and remembered what Elijah did on Mount Carmel, when he proved the existence of one God only.  But in his foolishness, Ahaziah thought he was able to teach Elijah a lesson and ordered the men to take the prophet to him. 

Many people will not mend their ways, even though they know they will face eternal condemnation and will be sent to endless suffering.  They seem like drunkards, who feel not the pain from whippings or lashings.  Nevertheless, when they realize they were condemned to Hell to never leave there, they will go into despair, just like it happened to the rich man, who asked Abraham that Lazarus, the leprous beggar would wet his finger in the water to refresh him (Luke 16:24).

After teaching the king a lesson – by sending three captains with 50 soldiers each – and ordered fire to be rained from heaven to consume the first two captains and their soldiers, because they did not respect the anointment from Above over him, the prophet spared the third contingency, because they addressed the man of God respectfully and piously, and he went to meet the king.  Finally, before Ahaziah, Elijah repeated the divine sentence and the king died (1 Kings 1:10-17).

Death will come to all persons, but the eternal destiny will be dependent on the decision of each one. Those that were born again will be saved from condemnation.  But the iniquitous and rebellious will suffer permanently and verify they were foolish to refuse the heavenly offer.

In Christ, with Love,

R. R. Soares