When I began the study (or rather the study came to me–praise the Lord) of the Old Testament (OT) & New Testament (NT) connections between Elijah & Elisha in conjunction with John the Baptist & the Lord Jesus Christ–barely scratching the surface lead to an overwhelming amount of information.
For instance, a study of parallels between Elijah versus Ahab/Jezebel in relation to John the Baptist versus Herod/Herodias involves a large quantity of scripture in itself. There are an abundance of comparisons surrounding the article’s title, so I decided to highlight the following portion from my study:
We can set a base for relating John the Baptist with Elijah via Malachi 4:5-6, Luke 1:17, Matthew 11:13-14 & Mark 9:13. When it comes to Elisha & the Lord Jesus–we can find portraits of Christ throughout the OT. So let us dive in.
In 2 Kings 2 we read of the passing of the mantle from the prophet Elijah to the prophet Elisha (the OT verse will be followed by the NT parallel):
2 Kings 2:7 “And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.”
Matthew 3:13 “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.”
In 2 Kings 2:7 “the two” at the Jordan were Elijah & Elisha; in the NT John & the Lord Jesus. In the OT series Elijah parted the waters of the Jordan & they two crossed. Then Elijah was taken up into heaven by a whirlwind. Straightway, it is written of Elisha:
2 Kings 2:14 “And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.”
Matthew 3:16 “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
A couple of awesome parallels–praise the Lord. Elijah’s mantle fell to Elisha; meanwhile after the baptism of John, the Spirit of God descended like a dove & lighted upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice also that the waters parted for Elisha, meanwhile the heavens opened for the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider the notion of waters & heavens with:
Genesis 1:7 “And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.”
After Elisha smote the waters & they parted:
2 Kings 2:15 “And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.”
John 1:32 “And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.”
Thus, with the mantle, the parting of the waters & the spirit resting/the Spirit remaining–glorious parallels.
THE EXILE OBSERVER 