Classic Sermon Outlines
SERMON SEVENTEEN
THE TRANSLATION OF
ELIJAH AND THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
—II KINGS 2:11
And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was departed from them, and carried up into heaven.
Knee
I COULD wish no better foil for the history of the ascension than the history of Elijah's rapture. The comparison rings out contrasts at every step, and there is no readier way of throwing into strong relief the meaning and purpose of the former than holding up beside it the story of the latter.
I. THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE MANNER OF ELIJAH'S TRANSLATION AND THE MANNER OF OUR LORD'S ASCENSION.
A. The Manner of Elijah's Translation.
1. It was a tempestuous translation. The prophet's end was like the 'man. It was fitting that he should be swept up into the skies in tempest and