Heaven is used 327 times in 313 verses and the word heavens is used 114 times in 108 verses. Since the word for heaven in Hebrew is in 313 verses, the contextual meaning must be found for verse 11, which is also true for the use of heavens in the other verses. Both heaven and heavens translate the Hebrew word shamayim -- pronounced: shaw-mah'-yim heaven; heavens; sky; visible heavens (Judg. 5:20); as abode of the stars; as the visible universe, the sky, atmosphere, etc.; Heaven (as the abode of God) (1 Kings 8:30,32). (Brown-Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon, Concise Addition) Strong’s adds dual of an unused singular shameh shaw-meh'; from an unused root meaning to be lofty; the sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve): KJV -- air, X astrologer, heaven(-s). (After Exodus 20 when God gave Moses the Commandments and later the Law, heaven and earth often refers to the Law and its attendant trappings. For example, Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. (Isaiah 13:13) and Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; (Haggai 2:21) Heaven and earth refers to the Jewish system given to them by God.

There are three heavens; the atmosphere/sky in which all humans, animals, birds and plants live; the second heaven or space where the stars are found and the third one, the abode of God as describe by Paul in II Corinthians 12:2. (The logical explanation is that Paul had a vision much like the Transfiguration.) The context of the two words in the Old Testament will determine the meaning for the heaven(s) divisions (the third heaven is not delineated as such in the O.T.; context determines it), the use of the words for the Law and system of earthly matters attendant to the Law.

A careful study of the word heaven used in verse 11 shows that when a weather event of wind, storm, whirlwind, hail, rain, lightning and thunder occurred, shamayim always referred to the first heaven/sky/atmosphere. There isn’t any verse that indicated that any of those events went higher than the first heaven. Since that is the evidence furnished by the scriptures, Elijah didn’t go to be with God as is falsely taught. Where did he go? Before answering, one final look at Jimmy Swaggart’s comment on verse 11 is in order. He wrote and Elijah went up in a storm into the heavens. Mr. Swaggart uses a plural for heaven in his comment when the word is singular in the context. Storm or whirlwind is never associated with heavens; they always refer to heaven in the singular. What is the reason Jimmy Swaggart deliberately changed heaven to heavens in the verse? While Mr. Swaggart is the only one who could explain it, it is noted that he did not make any comment for II Chronicles 21:12 which mentions Elijah sending a note/letter to Jehoram.

  Now the answer begins for where Elijah went in the whirlwind. The men wanted to go find Elijah and addressed Elisha, verse 16 And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. Finally, Elisha relented. Fifty men looked for three days and could not find him. The sudden disappearance didn’t phase Elijah’s friends since they wanted to go look for him because they knew he has habit of disappearing suddenly.

 Several years later Elijah surfaced and sent a writing(letter) to Jehoram admonishing him concerning his behavior, II Chronicles 21:8-15 and in the next part, Part XII, a few of the remarks that have been made relative to II Kings 2:11 and II Chronicles 21 will be examined in light of biblical evidence.

© 12-16-2012 DEC

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