A Series of Answers to Common Questions

Question:

Some Christians believe that Jesus’ miracles prove that he is God. The problem with this claim is that almost every single miracle performed by Jesus finds a parallel within the OT. There are many OT prophets that performed the very same kinds of miracles that Jesus did. If the miracles of Jesus make him God then why don’t the miracles of the other prophets prove that they are God/gods as well?

Answer:

Before responding to this question, we first would like to provide a few examples from the OT which Muslims often point to. In fact, we will simply quote from a Muslim article (*) which presents some examples for us:

Bringing the dead back to life:
"Then he cried out to the LORD , "O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?" Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD , "O LORD my God, let this boy's life return to him!"  The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!"  (From the NIV Bible, 1 Kings 17:20-23)"
"But the child's mother said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So he got up and followed her. Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy's face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, "The boy has not awakened." When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy's body grew warm. Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more.The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, "Call the Shunammite." And he did. When she came, he said, "Take your son."  (From the NIV Bible, 2 Kings 4:30-36)"

Jesus' dead body never caused for any dead to come back to life, but Elisha's did:
"Elisha died and was buried. Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring. Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.   Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz.  (From the NIV Bible, 2 Kings 13:20-22)"

Creating life:
Jesus only restored life, but never actually created one from scratch. Moses, however, did create a live snake from a wooden stick:
"Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied. The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the LORD said to him, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail." So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand.  (From the NIV Bible, Exodus 4:2-4)"

Curing the blind:
"When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "O LORD , open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD , "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. Elisha told them, "This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for." And he led them to Samaria. After they entered the city, Elisha said, "LORD , open the eyes of these men so they can see." Then the LORD opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria. When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, "Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?" "Do not kill them," he answered. "Would you kill men you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master." So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel's territory. Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria.  (From the NIV Bible, 2 Kings 6:15-24)"

Healing leprosy:
"Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed." But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage. Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.   (From the NIV Bible, 2 Kings 5:10-14)"

Feeding hundreds with few loafs of bread:
"A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. "Give it to the people to eat," Elisha said.  "How can I set this before a hundred men?" his servant asked. But Elisha answered, "Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says: 'They will eat and have some left over.' " Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.  (From the NIV Bible, 2 Kings 4:42-44)"

The preceding examples are given in order to undermine Jesus’ uniqueness, supposedly refuting Christian claims that Christ is God’s divine, unique Son.

With the foregoing in mind, we can now address the arguments. In the first place, it isn’t so much the miracles which make Jesus God, but the divine claims of Jesus which the miracles serve to validate. Jesus made certain statements that no other true prophet before him ever did, and then performed supernatural miracles to back up the truthfulness and validity of those claims:

"‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I GIVE THEM ETERNAL LIFE, and they will never perish, AND NO ONE WILL SNATCH THEM OUT OF MY HAND. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.’ The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?’ The Jews answered him, ‘It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your Law, "I said, you are gods"? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came--and Scripture cannot be broken-- do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, "You are blaspheming," because I said, "I am the Son of God"? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.’ Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands." John 10:25-39
"Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father"? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.’" John 14:9-11
"If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father." John 15:24
"concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God IN POWER according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord," Romans 1:3-4

Thus, the miracles do not make Jesus God, but rather it is Jesus’ own claims which demonstrate that he at least believed he is God. The miracles only served the purpose of providing divine validation for Christ’s claims.

Here, now, are some specific miracles which Jesus performed to prove that he has specific divine attributes and abilities:

Miracles Proving that Jesus Forgives Sins

"‘And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘My son, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ‘Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, ‘Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk"? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’ --he said to the paralytic—‘I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.’ And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" Mark 2:5-12

Miracles Proving that Jesus is Sovereign over both the Spiritual and Physical Realms

"And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’" Mark 3:9-11
"Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’ And Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’" Matthew 14:22-33
"The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us IN YOUR NAME!’ And he said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I HAVE GIVEN YOU AUTHORITY to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’" Luke 10:17-20

Miracles Proving that Jesus is the Sustainer and the Source of Life

"Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?’ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, ‘Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?’ Jesus said, ‘Have the people sit down.’ Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, ‘This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!’ Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself… Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.’ Then they said to him, ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ So they said to him, ‘Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat."’ Jesus then said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE; whoever comes TO ME shall not hunger, and whoever believes IN ME shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. FOR I HAVE COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, THAT I SHOULD LOSE NOTHING OF ALL that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, THAT EVERYONE WHO LOOKS ON THE SON and believes in him should have eternal life, AND I WILL RAISE HIM UP ON THE LAST DAY.’ So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ They said, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does HE NOW SAY, 'I have come down from heaven"?’ … ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I AM THE LIVING BREAD THAT CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, AND I WILL RAISE HIM UP ON THE LAST DAY. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I IN HIM. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live BECAUSE OF ME. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.’" John 6:5-15, 26-42, 47-59
"Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ … Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.’ … Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that YOU ALWAYS HEAR ME, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out.’ The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’" John 11:1-3, 23-27, 38-43

Miracles Proving that Jesus is co-equal to the Father

"Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids--blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, ‘Do you want to be healed?’ The sick man answered him, ‘Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Get up, take up your bed, and walk.’ And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, ‘It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.’ But he answered them, ‘The man who healed me, that man said to me, "Take up your bed, and walk."’ … And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is working until now, and I am working.’ This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will… Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here,when the dead will hear THE VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself… Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear HIS VOICE and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment… But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me." John 5:2-10, 16-21, 25-26, 28-29

No prophet or apostle ever made the claims that the Lord Jesus made, and none of their miracles were done to validate their claims of being Deity. The prophets went out of their to show that they were nothing more than fallible human beings whom God empowered to carry out his specific purpose and will. This is quite unlike the Lord Jesus.

Secondly, Jesus has authority to grant others the ability to perform miracles. The NT is replete with examples of people performing miracles in Jesus’ name:

"And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits… And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them." Mark 6:7, 13
"John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons IN YOUR NAME, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.’ But Jesus said, ‘Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work IN MY NAME will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Mark 9:38-39
"Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, ‘Look at us.’ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, ‘I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!’ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him… ‘The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name--by faith in his name--has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.’" Acts 3:1-10, 13-16
"And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead--by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’" Acts 4:7-12
"There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, 'Aeneas, JESUS CHRIST HEALS YOU; rise and make your bed.' And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord." Acts 9:33-35
"As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.’ And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out that very hour." Acts 16:16-18

Again, there is not a single instance in the entire Holy Bible where persons performed miracles in the name of prophets, apostles and/or saints.

Third, even though it is true that specific prophets performed some of the same kinds of miracles that Jesus performed, no single prophet performed all of the miracles that Jesus did. Nor did any one individual prophet perform as many miracles as Christ performed.

Finally, Muhammad wasn’t able to perform any of the miracles that the Lord Jesus and the other true prophets of God did. The Quran mentions many of the miracles of the prophets but fails to record a single miracle of Muhammad. In fact, may passages of the Quran explicitly deny that Muhammad could perform any sign or wonder. Here are a couple of verses:

But (now), when the Truth has come to them from Ourselves, they say, "Why are not (Signs) sent to him, like those which were sent to Moses?" Do they not then reject (the Signs) which were formerly sent to Moses? They say: "Two kinds of sorcery, each assisting the other!" And they say: "For us, we reject all (such things)!" S. 28:48
Nay; rather it is signs, clear signs in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge; and none denies Our signs but the evildoers. They say, 'Why have signs not been sent down upon him from his Lord?' Say: 'The signs are only with God, and I am only a plain warner. What, is it not SUFFICIENT FOR THEM that We have sent down upon thee the Book that is recited to them? Surely in that is a mercy, and a reminder to a people who believe. S. 29:49-51 A.J. Arberry

The last passage expressly states that the Quran is sufficient as a sign, which means that no other sign or miracle was necessary. Thus, this surah poses huge problems for Muslims since if Muhammad did perform miracles then this means that the Quran is not sufficient, thereby falsifying the claims of the Quran!

It is true that the hadith literature ascribe miracles to Muhammad, but these sources were compiled over one hundred years (if not later) after Muhammad’s death. They were not written by eyewitnesses, but by overzealous Muslims seeking to make Muhammad more like Christ and the other miracle-working prophets.

Besides, these narrations expressly contradict the Quran’s clear testimony that Muhammad performed no miracles. Christian philosopher Norman Geisler and co-author Abdul Saleeb provide some strong reasons why the miracle stories of the hadith are spurious:

"There are many reasons for questioning the authenticity of these stories. Critics have observed the following.
First, none of them are recorded in the Qur'an. In fact, they are in general contrary to the whole spirit of the Muhammad of the Qur'an, who repeatedly refused to do these very kinds of things for unbelievers who challenged him (3:181-84; 4:153; 6:8-9).
Second, these alleged miracles follow the same pattern as the apocryphal miracles of Christ from a century or two after his death. They are a legendary embellishment of people removed from the original events. They do not come from contemporary eye-witnesses of the events.
Third, even among Muslims there is no generally agreed upon list of miracles from the hadith. Indeed, the vast majority of stories from the hadiths are rejected by most Muslim scholars as not being authentic. Different groups accept different collections of them.
Fourth, the collections of the hadith that are generally accepted by most Muslims are far removed from the original events by several generations. Indeed, most of those who collected miracle stories lived one to two hundred years after the time of the events-plenty of time for legends to develop. They relied on stories that had been passed on orally for many generations with ample embellishment. Even the stories accepted by Muslims as authentic, as determined by the isnad (chain of storytellers), lack credibility. For even these stories are not based on eye-witnesses but rely on many generations of storytellers, often involving hundreds of years. Joseph Horowitz questioned the reliability of the isnad:
The question as to who first circulated these miracle tales would be very easy to answer if we could still look upon the isnad, or chain of witnesses, as unquestionably as we are apparently expected to do. It is especially seductive when one and the same report appears in various essentially similar versions... In general the technique of the isnad does not make it possible for us to decide where it is a case of taking over oral account and where copying from the lecture of books of teachers.
Fifth, Bukhari, considered to be the most reliable collector, admitted that of the 300,000 hadith he collected, he considered only 100,000 might be true. He then narrowed this number down to 7,275, many of which are repetitions so that the total number is in fact 3,000. That means that even he admitted there were errors in over 295,000 of them!
Sixth, there is no one canon of authenticity for these stories accepted by all Muslims. Most Muslims rank their credibility in descending order as follows: the Sahih of Al Bukhari (d. 256 A.H. [after Hijrah]); Al Sahih of Muslim (d. 261 A.H.); the Sunan of Abu Da'ud (d. 275 A.H.); the Jami of Al-Tirmidhi (d. 279 A.H.); the Suand [sic] of Al Nasa (d. 303 A.H.); and the Sunan of Ibn Majda (d. 283 A.H.). Along with these hadith there were important biographers who related miracle stories. The most important ones are Ibn S'ad (d. 123 A.H.), Ibn Ishaq (d. 151 A.H.), and Ibn Hisham (d. 218 A.H.). The above six categories are rejected by Shia Islam. Yet they, along with other Muslims, accept the Qur'an as it is. Finally, what is of crucial significance here is that none of these miracle stories fit the nine criteria accepted by Muslims for a miracle that can confirm a prophet's claim (mudjiza). Hence, by their own standard, none of them have any apologetic value in demonstrating the truth of Islam.
Finally, the origin of the miracle claims of Islam is suspect. It is common knowledge that Islam borrowed many of its beliefs and practices from other religions. This has also been documented by many scholars. It is not surprising that Muslim miracle claims arise, then, as a result of Christian apologists demonstrating the superiority of Jesus to that of Muhammad by way of Jesus' miracles. It was only after two Christian bishops (Abu Qurra from Edessa and Arethas from Ceasaria) had pointed this out that the Islamic miracle stories began to appear. As Sahas notes, 'The implication [of the bishop's challenge] is quite clear: Muhammad's teaching is one that might have merit; but this is not enough to qualify him as a prophet, without supernatural signs. If such signs could be shown one could possibly accept him as a prophet.'
Thus, the task for Muslims was clear. If they could invent miracles they could respond to the Christian challenge. It was soon after this that Muhammad's miracle claims began to appear. Sahas notes that 'it is quite interesting that several of these (miracle stories) sound as if they are being offered as responses to Christians as Abu Qurra, and they bear an amazing resemblance to miracles of Jesus found in the Gospels.' Likewise, it was during this polemic that Muslims began to interpret certain events in the Qur'an as miracles. All of this points toward one conclusion: the Muhammad miracle stories lack credibility." (Geisler & Saleeb, Answering Islam - The Crescent in the Light of the Cross [Baker Books; Grand Rapids, MI; updated and revision edition, 2002], pp. 169-170; see also pp. 171-174)

For more on Muhammad failing to perform any miracles we recommend the following sources:

http://answering-islam.org/Books/Pfander/Balance/p306.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Campbell/s6c1.html
http://answering-islam.org/Books/Tisdall/Objections/p136.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Naik/quranclaims1.htm#part6
http://answering-islam.org/Responses/Azmy/mhd_miracles.htm

And for more on the relationship between Jesus’ divine claims and his miracles, as well as how these contrast with the purpose of the miracles of the OT prophets, we recommend that our readers review our rebuttal to Dr. Jamal Badawi:

http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/badawi-jesus.htm

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Was Elijah dead when a letter was sent from him?

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It is said from a Skeptic:

After Jehoram succeeded his father Jehoshaphat as king of Judah, "he did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh" (2 Chron. 21:6 ). [So what else is new?] As a result, "a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet" (v:12 ) telling him that because he had not "walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat," he would be afflicted with a disease of the bowels so severe that his bowels would fall out "day by day" (v:15 )...

The only problem is that the parallel story of Elijah and Jehoram in 2 Kings claims that Elijah died during the reign of Jehoshaphat before Jehoram succeeded to the throne. Well, of course, Elijah didn't die. He was "translated" into heaven in a "chariot of fire" (2 Kings 2:11-13 ), but the point is that the biblical account of Elijah's departure from this life occurred in the reign of Jehoshaphat....

All of this being true, how did Elijah write a letter to Jehoram after he had succeeded Jehoshaphat? The only possible explanation would have to be that dead men who can tell no tales can nevertheless write letters.

They can, or something else can happen. Our Skeptic goes on to take to task an explanation by Gleason Archer to the effect that there was a "co-regency" during which Jehoram and Jehoshapat both reigned. Our Skeptic calls this a "dodge," though how a social structure known to have existed in this period automatially can be declared a "dodge" is hard to say. Archer offers six examples of such co-regencies, and our Skeptic repeatedly notes how "confusing" he finds all of this. It isn't confusing at all after study.

Readers may wish to consider The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings by Edwin Thiele, as well as serious study of the ancient processes of kingship and of co-regencies (the most famous non-Israelite example is perhaps Belshazzar's co-regency with Nabodinus, but they were known in Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria. Talk about "arbitrary theories about unreported co-reigns and obscure methods of calculation" comes from those who are merely not familiar with history.

A quite detailed study is offered by William Munrane's Ancient Egyptian Coregencies, which for the most part notes that evidence for coregencies is difficult to discern, even considering the amount of material Egypt has left behind in the form of documents and monuments. "..[S]ometimes we are lucky enough to have direct proof [of a coregency], but often the interpretation of the evidence is in dispute." [xviii] Discussions and proposals of hypothetical coregencies are based on evidence that ranges from the direct and indisputable (direct statements, or double dates showing both kings reigning at once and indicating their respective regnal years) to the indirect or the possible (scarabs or monuments with both names only -- is this a coregency, or some sort of special memorial?).

Several things are worth noting from Munrane's work:

Munrane notes the variable use of regnal reckonings [1], in which a reign could be calculated according to actual time, or according to a system in which the first regnal year was equated with the first full calendar year -- something our Skeptic doubts the validity of elsewhere. Munrane also notes that the system of observation was changed in the 18th dynasty [31]. Thus we have a situation where Egyptian documents reflect a change of the sort that has been hypothesized in Biblical reckonings as well.
Referring to the 12th Dynasty in particular, Munrane notes that all info on coregencies from this period is from double-dated documents that are all private monuments -- there is no "official documentation" of such coregencies from this period. That the books of Kings and Chronicles, which clearly used royal archives as a source, do not mention coregencies directly does not mean a thing. Moreover, Munrane adds that "the existence of a coregency did not compel the use of double- at the expense of single-dated documents." [7-8]
One of the longest coregencies recorded lasted 13 years, with Thutmosis III and Hathshepstut. [43]
Obviously, a short coregency would not leave as much evidence as a long one. [201] It is possible that short coregencies left no evidence at all.

So why coregencies? Coregencies had very specific purposes:

They were meant to legitimate the rule of one's son (or successor) and avoid any fighting after the man in charge died. Establishing a coregency headed off any potential trouble or power struggles -- theoretically. Actually there was plenty of intrigue around even so; even the best laid plans are not immune to human tinkering, but there was certainly plenty of precedent and need for such an institution.
That it isn't mentioned as happening in the Biblical text means nothing -- the ancients were not in the business of disabusing us of our ignorance of the social structures they took for granted, that we have lost track of only because of our ignorance.
Coregencies allowed an heir to get "used to" the job and be a more effective king when the time came. For example, in Egypt, the junior member might rule Egypt itself, while the senior partner handled foreign affairs and correspondence. [240] In any event a prospective king would usually take on some admin duties beforehand.
Finally, a coregency might just be a way to gain honor or enjoy the results. The father of Ramses II said that his son was raised up as a king so that he could see his "beauty" while he was still alive.

That leaves these objections: "In view of Jehoshaphat's dedication to the laws of Yahweh, how likely is it that he would have allowed his son Jehoram to serve as co-regent in such a corrupt manner that the most notable prophet of his religion would have seen the need to write a letter of reprimand?"

This is humanist naivete at work, of the same sort found in a companion article, "How Likely Is It?" How likely is it? Spread a few bribes in the right places, shut the old man up in a room while still paying him lip service before the public, spice it with political intrigue, and there's plenty of room for "allowing" such misbehavior.

In fact, Elijah's letter, with its talk of killing brothers and others, suggests just such a personality. The objection here shows a remarkable lack of cognizance of the realities of politics. Perhaps we should consider the intrigue surrounding the court of Nebuchadnezzar as an example.

The further objections in "How Likely Is It?', asking how the Israelites could have been such unfaithful complainers in the face of Yahweh's displays of power, isn't any better and sounds fine as hindsight (and is also no more than the standard disposition against the miraculous, in essence, "I haven't seen any, so there aren't any.")

After years of working among criminals in my state's prison system, I would know better than to ask things like, "How can these guys misbehave so much when they know it will get their sentences extended?" Or, "How can they commit the same crime over and over after being punished so much?"

Next: "Besides this, the reference to Elijah's letter is near the end of the chronicler's version of Jehoram's life, an indication that it was written well into the eight-year reign of Jehoram (21:5) and not at some time during a hypothetical co-regency."

No such time-marker is attached to the receipt of the letter at all; this is merely an assumption by our Skeptic. Indeed, the letter must have been received earlier in the reign, for Jehoram's affliction lasted two years (21:19) and this happened after the stirring up of the Philistines and the Arabians (21:16) and their action against Judah. War and the formulation of alliances this took as long as years to accomplish in this time.

-JPH

A PROPHET'S PRAYERS ANSWERED

THIS story is about a wonderful man whose name was Elijah. Elijah was a man who served God as a prophet in Israel. All of God's prophets were his faithful servants. Elijah lived very close to God, and God heard his prayers and answered them. One reason God answered Elijah's prayers was that he prayed for the things which were pleasing to God.

Elijah lived at a time when there was a very wicked king ruling over the children of Israel. This made it a very hard time for a prophet of God. It meant that he had to tell the king he was wrong and try to make him do right, and it was very seldom that a king liked to be told he was wrong.

When Elijah first became a prophet God asked him to tell the king that there wouldn't be any rain for a long, long time. Now the reason for this was that Ahab, who was then king, was wicked. Because he followed the advice of his wife, who was a wicked woman, he had allowed the priests of the false god, Baal, to establish idol worship among the children of Israel. That was contrary to the law of God! There was only the one true God whom they were to worship, so it was very wrong for their king to allow them to worship any other god.

So God sent Elijah to warn the king, and to tell him that there would be no more rain until the prophet said so. Now you can imagine that Ahab was very angry with Elijah. The good prophet had to run away and hide, or else he would have been killed. But God took care of him.

God always takes care of those who do what he wants them to do!

And how did God take care of Elijah? Why, he told Elijah of a nice quiet place by the side of a brook. The name of the brook was Cherith. Probably it was in a cool sheltered place in the woods where Elijah could hide. While he remained there God took care of him in a most unusual way. He sent ravens to Elijah night and morning with a supply of food. Yes, these ravens brought bread and meat to the prophet twice every day. Of course he had all the water he needed from the brook. Ravens, you know, are large black birds. They are very much like our black crows. We don't think crows are so nice, but if we were very hungry and they brought us food we would think differently, wouldn't we?

Of course ravens, or crows, or any other kind of bird, wouldn't bring food to boys and girls or to men and women unless God caused them to do so. We don't know how God directed those ravens to take food to Elijah. God does many things which we do not understand. We don't understand how he makes beautiful flowers grow. We just know that he does. The Bible tells us that God caused the ravens to bring food to Elijah, So we know he did, because we know that the Bible is true. And the ravens kept right on bringing food to the prophet as long is he stayed by the side of that brook.

But what do you suppose happened after awhile? You may think those ravens flew away and didn't come back. No, that wasn't it. Why, that brook dried up so there was no water in it! That was very serious, for no one can live without water, and eating bread and meat every day must have made the prophet very thirsty, so he just had to have water.

The brook dried up because of the weather. Just as Elijah had told the wicked king Ahab, there was to be no more rain for a long time. It is the rain that keeps brooks and rivers flowing, and when there is no rain for a long, long time, the water begins to get low in brooks and rivers; and if the weather continues without rain, finally they dry up entirely. Well, that is what happened to the brook Cherith that supplied water for Elijah.

And now what was Elijah to do?

Again God took care of him. God told the prophet to move to another place. The name of the place is very hard to pronounce, but you can try to pronounce it if you wish. It was Zarephath. God told the prophet that there he would find a widow woman who would take care of him. Elijah went where God asked him to go and there he found the widow. The dry weather had also caused a famine where this widow lived, and she was nearly out of food. All she had was enough flour to make one small cake, and a little olive oil to mix with the flour.

But God was taking care of Elijah and as long as he obeyed God, everything was all right. It didn't seem like a very nice thing for a man to do, but just the same Elijah asked this poor woman for that very last bit of food that she had. He did not do this because he was selfish. No, he did it because he was putting his trust in God. God told him that this widow would take care of him, and Elijah was sure that God was able to fulfill his promise.

The widow did as Elijah asked her to do, and then what do you suppose occurred? Why, that little supply of oil never ran out! The widow kept the oil in a pitcher called a cruse, and every time she used oil from the cruse, she found more oil there to take its place. Wasn't that wonderful! And it was the same way with the flour. So day after day both the widow and the prophet were supplied with food.

Now it really wasn't difficult for God to supply flour and oil in that way. You see, he Supplies all the flour and oil and all the other food that the whole world eats. Only he does it in a different way. He makes the grain grow, and he makes the olives grow from which we get the oil. We don't know how he makes the grain and the olives grow. We just know that he does. We don't know how God kept the widow's cruse supplied with oil, and why she never ran out of flour during that long dry spell.

This widow had a very dear son. He was just a young boy. One day that dear boy became very ill, and he died. His mother was heartbroken. At first she blamed it on Elijah, but of course Elijah had nothing to do with the boy's becoming ill and dying. But Elijah did something about it after the boy died. He carried that youngster upstairs in the widow's house, laid him down on the bed, exercised his arms, forced air into his lungs, and the boy came to life again. Wasn't that grand? Of course, it was really God who restored the boy to life. Elijah couldn't do that all by himself.

But we can imagine how happy that mother was to have her boy alive again. I like to think about that wonderful experience, for you know the Bible tells us that the time is coining when all who have died will be brought back to life again. All the boys and girls, and the grown-up folks as well, who have died are to be given life and they will be back home again with their families. That is something really worth knowing, isn't it? The power of God will do this. We know that God has power to do anything and everything he has promised to do. Yes, we know that his promises will come true! That is what the Bible tells us, and we know that the Bible is true.

It had now been three years since it had rained in the land of Israel, and the people were becoming quite worried. It was then that God told Elijah to go and show himself to King Ahab. He did this, and Ahab, of course, was very angry with the prophet, because he blamed him for the lack of rain. But Elijah made it plain to the king that the cause of all the dry weather was his own wickedness in allowing his wife to introduce the worship of the false god, Baal.

Then the prophet told the king what should be done. By this time the king was so worried that he was willing to do anything that Elijah suggested. You see, God did not keep it from raining just to make the people suffer, but to cause them to stop worshiping false gods.

So this is what Elijah told them to do: all the people were to be invited to assemble on a mountain called Carmel. The priests of the false god Baal were invited to come up onto the mountain also. There were four hundred and fifty of these priests, but Elijah was the only prophet of the true God. Thousands and thousands of the people traveled up Mount Carmel as Elijah had suggested. If you were ever up on a high mountain you know what a sight that must have been to look down over the Mountainside into the valley below and watch that great multitude of people slowly making their way over the rocky, dusty trails as they moved as near to Elijah as they could get.

All day long they kept coining. What a sight!

Meanwhile, Elijah was preparing the people for a great demonstration to prove who was the true God. First he told the priests of Baal to prepare a sacrifice to their god, and then call upon him to send fire from heaven to burn the sacrifice. So they tried it, but there was no answer to their prayer. They kept shouting to Baal as loudly as they could all day long. Elijah mocked them. He said, "Cry a little louder!" suggesting that "perhaps Baal is asleep, or maybe he has gone on a journey." I suppose Elijah enjoyed that quite a bit, don't you?

Finally, as the evening drew near and the people were nearly all gathered where they could see and hear, Elijah's turn came to show what the true God could and would do. He had an altar built, and a sacrifice placed upon it. He gave orders to dig a ditch all around the altar and to fill the ditch with water. Then he told his helpers to pour water over the sacrifice and the altar. You see, he wanted the people to be convinced that the God of Israel was really the true God, the only living God with power to take care of his people.

When everything was prepared to the prophet's satisfaction, he prayed to God and asked him to accept the sacrifice of the young bullock that was being offered to him, and to show that he was accepting it by causing fire to come down and burn it up.

Then followed a marvelous display of God's power. Flames of fire appeared, burning, not only the bullock, but also licking up the water that was in the ditch around the altar. When the people saw this there arose a great shout of rejoicing, proclaiming that Israel's God was the true God.

From then on things changed. To complete the work of restoring the worship of the true God in Israel, all the priests of Baal were killed. A short time after that Elijah prayed that it might rain in the land of Israel, and the rain came.

Elijah had many more wonderful experiences, and he continued to be a faithful prophet of God. He came to the end of his life in a very unusual way. When his work was finished he was standing one day by the side of the Jordan River, when suddenly there arose a mighty whirlwind. Then Elijah saw a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and the whirlwind lifted him up from the earth, and he was seen no more.

Of course Elijah died. We know that, but no one could find his body.

I am telling you how Elijah died because some people think that he was taken up into heaven to live with the angels, but that is not so. We know this, because Jesus, years and years afterward, said that no one had gone up into heaven. We know that everything Jesus said is true. So let us remember that Elijah died, only that he died in a different way than most people die.

Everybody has to die now, but it won't be that way by and by. There is a time coming when no one will need to die. That is what the Bible says, and we know that the Bible is true.

A PROPHET'S PRAYERS ANSWERED
QUESTIONS

Who was the king of Israel at the time the Prophet Elijah's prayers were answered?

Why was there no rain in the land of Israel for a long time?

How did God feed Elijah while he lived alone by the side of a brook?

How did God answer Elijah's prayer on a high mountain called Carmel?

How did Elijah die?

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Are Enoch, Moses, Elijah, in Heaven?

Enoch was translated not to see death. Elijah was taken up to heaven by a whirlwind. Moses appeared at Christ's transfiguration. But your Bible says they are not in heaven. Here's the answer to why they are not.

Hundreds of years after Enoch, Moses and Elijah had supposedly "gone to heaven," Jesus, who was WITH the Father from the beginning(Jn.17:5, 1:1-2,14) came down from the Father (Jn. 17:4,8) as a flesh and blood human and plainly said, "NO MAN has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven - Son of man... (Jn.3:13). Jesus said that HE alone of all humans was the only one to ascend to heaven. (For a full understanding of how Jesus ascended to heaven, request the article "GOD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT"). Enoch, Moses and Elijah were not IN HEAVEN! It is written, "Enoch walked with God: and HE WAS NOT: for God took him." (Gen.5:24). Notice what this verse DOES NOT SAY. It does not say Enoch went to heaven. It says he was NOT FOUND, for God TOOK HIM. But this verse does not say WHERE God took him! To say God took Enoch to heaven is only human conjecture that has no basis in Biblical FACT. Concerning this event Paul said, "By faith Enoch was TRANSLATED that he should not see DEATH: and was not FOUND, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God" (Heb.11:5). Many have just assumed again that the word "TRANSLATED" must mean "made immortal". They have assumed WRONG! The Greek word for "translate" is METATITHEMI. According to VINE'S Dictionary of NT Words, this word means, "to transfer to another place." This same Greek word is rendered "REMOVED" in Gal.1:6. In ACT 7:16 it is rendered "CARRIED OVER" where we read that after Jacob DIED his body was "carried over" - removed, TRANSLATED - to Sychem. God took Enoch. God removed him - translated him - so that HE WAS NOT FOUND. Nobody knew where he was! The LAMSA translation renders Gen. 5:24 as "And Enoch found favor in the presence of God, and DISAPPEARED; for God took him away." (emphasis ours throughout). In Deut. 34:6 we read also how God TOOK Moses from the people, after which he DIED and was BURIED by God. "But no man knows his sepulchre unto this day." God REMOVED Moses - God translated him also - and HE WAS NOT FOUND either! LAMSA translates the Aramaic Heb. 11:5 as, "By faith Enoch DEPARTED and did not taste death, and was not found, because God took him; but before he TOOK HIM AWAY, there was a testimonial about him, that he pleased God." ENOCH DIED! Does Heb.11:5 mean that Enoch NEVER experienced PHYSICAL death? Is this what Paul was trying to convey to us? Oh no! For after Paul had spoken about a number of FAITHFUL people of God (Enoch one of them), notice what he says in verse 13: "These ALL DIED in faith - NOT HAVING RECEIVED the promises..." Later in this same chapter, after talking about yet more of the faithful, Paul, as if to emphasize his point, again says, "And THESE ALL, having obtained a good report through faith, RECEIVED NOT THE PROMISE" (verse 39). What promise? The "...hope of ETERNAL LIFE, which God, that cannot lie, PROMISED before the world began" (Titus 1:2). Enoch did NOT - has not, as yet - received the promise of eternal life. Why? Paul answers in Heb. 11:40: "Because God had us in mind and had something better and greater in view for US, so that THEY (those heroes and heroines of faith) should not come to PERFECTION apart from us, (that is, before we could join them)" The AMPLIFIED BIBLE. And when do we join them? When do we ALL come to PERFECTION together? AT THE RESURRECTION! See 1 THES. 4:13-18, 1 COR. 15:49-54. Paul says the faithful ALL died. Enoch was one of "all these." Enoch, then, DID DIE. Jesus said only the Son of man had evee ascended to heaven, so Enoch never went to heaven! Now GEN. 5:24 and HEB. 11:5 should start to become plain. Enoch was a man of God, walking with God by obeying and seeing His maker. He was a man of whom the world was not worthy (Heb. 11:38). Evil and sin were all around him, yet he had FAITH. It was nearing the time when the wickedness of man became so great that only Noah and his family were found worthy to escape destruction. Enoch would have had MANY enemies - enemies that would want to see him DEAD. After only 365 years (relatively a short period for the length of days they lived back then) God REMOVED Enoch - took him away from his enemies and spared his physical life from destruction and death at their hands. NONE could find him. Just like Moses was removed from Israel and died sometime after (only known to God), so too Enoch was removed by God to live in safety and eventually DIE at some point and place only known by God. Enoch, like all the faithful, awaits the promise of eternal life at the RESURRECTION. WAS ELIJAH TAKEN TO HEAVEN IN A WHIRLWIND? If Jesus said NO MAN had ascended to heaven except Himself, then WHERE did Elijah go? It may surprise many, but there are THREE heavens mentioned in the Bible, not just ONE! The first heaven is the ATMOSPHERE, the air surrounding the earth. Birds fly "in the heaven" - certainly NOT to God's throne. We read in Gen.l:2 of "foul that may fly ABOVE THE EARTH in the open firmament of heaven." Jacob, when blessing Isaac, said: "God give you of the DEW of heaven," and Moses was joyful that the "heavens shall drop down dew" (Gen.27:28; Deut.33:28). The DEW comes from the FIRST heaven - the atmosphere. The SECOND heaven is the expanse of this awesome universe - where the stars, comets, moons and planets are. The Psalmists often wrote about the "HEAVENS, the work of Your fingers, the moon, and the stars, which You have ordained" (Ps.8:3; Gen.1:15-17). The THIRD heaven is where the throne of God exists, where the heavenly temple is found and the heavenly Jerusalem. It is the heaven where Paul and John were caught up to in vision (2 Cor.12:l-4; Rev.4:l-2). As Elijah could not have gone to the heaven where God's throne is found, then into which heaven did he go? We read, "and Elijah went up by a WHIRLWIND into HEAVEN" (2 Kings 2:1,11). The answer should be obvious! Elijah was carried by the whirlwind into the FIRST heaven, where physical whirlwinds function. WHY WAS ELIJAH TAKEN UP? Did God intend to make Elijah IMMORTAL by taking him up into the atmosphere? There is not one word to that affect in the scriptures ! Turn to 2 Kings 2:3,5 and see for yourself WHY Elijah was to be taken away. Elijah had been used by God as head or leader of the sons of the prophets. Now God wanted Elisha to assume leadership. God wanted Elijah to by-and-large "retire" - at least in an active and open directorship. Elijah granted Elisha a request before he was taken away (verse 9) and Elisha requested that "a double portion of your spirit be upon me." If he was to see Elijah taken away it would be granted (verse 10). Elisha DID SEE Elijah taken away and he inherited his MANTLE (verses 12-14). The mantle had great significance, it was, "worn by PROPHETS and PRIESTS as the simple insignia of their office" (CLARKE'S COMMENTARY VOL. 2: p. 484). The purpose of removing Elijah was to replace him with another man who would assume his office in Israel as head of the prophets. Elijah, having ascended into the AIR by a whirlwind was carried away out of sight - beyond the horizon. WHERE DID ELIJAH GO? He did not go to the THIRD heaven of the throne of God. Jesus said so! But he also could not logically remain in the air forever either. And God did not say Elijah was to die at that time, otherwise there would have been no need for such a spectacular removal of him from his office of head prophet. The sons of the prophets who KNEW Elijah was to be removed DID NOT BELIEVE he was to DIE then or to go "to be with the Lord." That's why they were fearful that the Spirit of God might have allowed him to drop " upon some mountain, or into some valley " (verse 16). Upon their hard pressed persistence Elisha allowed 50 men to go out and try to FIND Elijah - "they sought for three days, but found him not "(verse 17). Now if Elijah knew it was time to go and "join the Lord" it would have been easy for him to have told Elisha, who then would have told the sons of the prophets. The whole happenings before and after this miraculous event would clearly indicate that neither Elijah, Elisha or any of the fifty prophets understood that the removing of Elijah was to make him immortal and take him off to the third heaven. Where was Elijah taken? The Bible itself gives us the answer. Several years AFTER he was taken away, King Jehoram received a LETTER from him! How long after? There are some difficulties in figuring the EXACT chronology, it varies from 2 to 10 years or more. A note in JOSEPHUS (a Jewish historian of the first century A.D.) says 4 years, while the JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA figures it at 7 years. Regardless of the exact number of years, "there came a writing to him (Jehoram) from Elijah the prophet, saying..." (2 Chron 21:12). Now the wickedness of Jehoram, for which he was being rebuked in the letter, took place AFTER Elijah was taken away, yet the letter speaks of these things as PAST events, and the punishment to come upon him as yet FUTURE. So the idea of some, that Elijah wrote the letter BEFORE he was removed by the whirlwind, is proved wrong.. Elijah was taken up by the whirlwind into the first heaven and transported to another location ON EARTH. God did not see fit in His purpose to reveal his whereabouts. Some copies of JOSEPHUS come right out and offer this explanation: "For he was yet upon earth" (ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS, 9, 5:2). ELIJAH DIED! A marginal note found in SOME editions of the Bible concerning Elijah's letter says this: ".. .which was written before his death," meaning, the death of Elijah. There is a traditional site of Elijah's TOMB near a tributary of the Jordan River. HARPER'S BIBLE DICTIONARY (p.760), which lists various feasts and fasts of the Jewish calendar, says the tenth day of the second month ZN was a "fast to commemorate the DEATH of Elijah." The main proof that Elijah DIED is in the Bible itself. Paul, speaking about the people of FAITH says, "And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jeptha, of David also, and Samuel, AND OF THE PROPHETS..." (Heb.11:32). Elijah was ONE of the PROPHETS! Did Elijah receive the promise of ETERNAL LIFE when taken by the wind into the heaven? NO! "And these ALL (including the prophets), having obtained a good report through FAITH (and faith is the confidence of things HOPED FOR, the evidence of things NOT SEEN: Heb.11:1) RECEIVED NOT THE PROMISE." (Heb.11:39). Why? "...that THEY without US should not be made perfect" (verse 40). We shall all be made PERFECT together in the RESURRECTION! MOSES DIED Besides the verses in the book of Hebrews that show Moses did DIE, we have also the plain statement in the book of Deuteronomy, "So Moses the servant of the Lord DIED there in the land of ....... And He(God) buried him in a valley in the land of Moab... And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he DIED ..." (chap.34:5-7). There's just one remaining section of scripture that puzzles some: Jesus' TRANSFIGURATION. Did not both ELIJAH and MOSES appear with Christ on the mount of transfiguration? The record of the event is found in MAT. 17:1-9; MRK.9;2-1O; LK.9:28-36. But the ANSWER is only given by Matthew. Leaving the mountain, Jesus told his disciples: "Tell the VISION to no man" (Mat. 17:9). In part the DICTIONARY defined VISION as, "...the power of perceiving some-thing not actually present to the eye..." A VISION IS NOT A MATERIAL REALITY but a supernatural picture. JESUS HAS PRE-EMINENCE!! Of all that have ever been FLESH & BLOOD - born of women - Jesus Christ ONLY has gained IMMORTAL LIFE! So says your Bible. He alone of all humans was RESURRECTED to receive the promise of ETERNAL LIFE. He alone is the only one to be changed from MATTER into SPIRIT - from human to DIVINE! Read it in your own Bible, never forget those plain verses. A child can understand them: "But now is Christ risen from the DEAD and become the FIRSTFRUITS of them that slept...For as in Adam ALL die (that includes, Enoch, Moses and Elijah), even so in Christ shall ALL be made alive (see Jn 5:25-29 and request our article "WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT") BUT every man in his own order: CHRIST THE FIRSTFRUITS..." (1 Cor. 15:20-23). It was not Moses that was first from the dead, nor was it Elijah or Enoch that first received eternal life - IT WAS CHRIST JESUS! "And He(speaking of Jesus) is the head of the body, the church: who is THE BEGINNING, the FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD..." (Col. 1:18). Jesus was "the firstborn of every creature" (Col. 1:15). Yes, the FIRST Human to be BORN into life eternal. Christ was the FIRST to be PERFECTED as an immortal being and so, "...being MADE PERFECT, He became the AUTHOR (the one who wrote the book on it - who led the way) of ETERNAL SALVATION unto all them that OBEY Him" (Heb. 5:9). Do you see friends? It was NOT Elijah, Moses or Enoch that led theway to eternal life. It was not Noah, nor David, nor Abel, Sarah or Abraham. It was not ANY other human person but JESUS that wrote the book on how to attain IMMORTALITY. He ALONE is the author. He is the CAPTAIN, the leader into eternal Salvation (Heb.2:10). Why? "...that ALL THINGS He might have the PREEMINENCE" (Col. 1:18). Read that wonderful passage of scriptures in COLOSSIANS 1:15-19. Jesus was and is the FIRST in creating ALL things (it wasn't Enoch, Moses or any other man). He is the FIRST, the head of the church (it's not Elijah, Paul, Peter or any other man). He is the FIRST from the dead (it wasn't Moses or any other man). Jesus is FIRST in CREATING, first in the CHURCH, and first of any human in eternal SALVATION. All children of God in by-gone ages who "died in faith" (including Enoch, Moses and Elijah) are awaiting the TRUMPET SOUND - when they, together with us who shall remain and be alive at Christ's coming, will be raised and CHANGED from MORTAL to IMMORTAL (1 Cor.15:50-54; 1 Thes. 4:13-17). So shall we ever be with the Lord. God speed that glorious day! For further study on this subject of DEATH, HELL AND IMMORTALITY read the articles "LAZARUS & THE RICH MAN," and "MANSIONS IN THE SKY?" ................................ Written in 1981

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Are Enoch, Moses, Elijah, in Heaven?

Enoch was translated not to see death. Elijah was taken up to heaven by a whirlwind. Moses appeared at Christ's transfiguration. But your Bible says they are not in heaven. Here's the answer to why they are not.