Elijah: Fire From Heaven

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on The Chosen People. There is one man, Micaiah. 00:00:09 Speaker 2: Son of Imla. But I hate him. Hate him? He never prophesies good concerning me, only evil. Very well. 00:00:24 Speaker 3: Hear ye, hear ye. I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep with no shepherd. And lo, Yahweh himself did speak, saying, These have no master. Let them return to their homes in peace. 00:00:41 Speaker 2: What did I tell you, Jehoshaphat? His proclamations are never good, always evil. 00:00:48 Speaker 3: The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. Yahweh has decreed your ruin. 00:00:58 Speaker 2: Insolent whelp! Tell me, which way did the spirit of Yahweh go when he left me to speak to you? 00:01:06 Speaker 3: If you return in victory, God has not spoken through me. Mark my words, the only one who will be victorious in this story is Yahweh, not you. 00:01:22 Speaker 2: Hold the line. It won't be long now, before the dogs come. 00:01:31 Speaker 3: I suppose I mourn him as one would a lost sandal. Less sorrowful, more perturbed that now I have to find. 00:01:38 Speaker 2: A new one. 00:01:47 Speaker 1: Ahaziah had never been meant to wear the crown. 00:01:51 Speaker 2: Not really. 00:01:52 Speaker 1: It was supposed to go to one of Ahab's stronger sons, the ones with their father's wits and their mother's teeth. But war had taken them, and disease had claimed others, and so the crown of Israel had passed to him, not by merit, not by strength, but by the cold, cruel lottery of survival. Ahaziah was not his father. He had none of Ahab's determination, none of his wit. He certainly had none of Jezebel's ruthless cunning. And worst of all, he knew it. The people whispered it in the markets. His own servants muttered it when they thought he couldn't hear. His enemies, Syria, Moab, Judah, saw Israel's new king and sharpened their swords. And now he had fallen. through the lattice of his own upper room like an idiot, like a drunken court jester. 00:02:58 Speaker 2: The wounds were deep. 00:03:00 Speaker 1: He lay on his bed, sweat pooling at his collarbone, his ribs a ruined mess beneath the bandages. Every breath was a labour. He lay there, whimpering commands at his servant. 00:03:16 Speaker 2: Go. Go to Ekron. Ask Beelzebub if I will recover. 00:03:27 Speaker 4: My lord, should we not inquire of Yahweh? 00:03:33 Speaker 2: Do not speak that name to me. 00:03:36 Speaker 1: Yahweh, the God of his ancestors, the God of the prophets... The god who had hounded his father to the grave. He could not bow to that god, even in his pathetic state. Because to do so would be to admit what everyone already whispered. That his kingdom was a dying ember. That he ruled only by the lingering fumes of his mother's terror. 00:04:05 Speaker 2: And his father's blood. Go. 00:04:10 Speaker 1: Go now. 00:04:12 Speaker 2: They left. 00:04:13 Speaker 1: The doors slammed behind them. Ahaziah lay back, panting, swallowing the taste of bile and dread. The messengers rode hard for Ekron, dust rising in the torchlight. The road stretched ahead, winding through the hills, silent but for the whisper of wind through the trees. Suddenly, they saw him, not emerging from the darkness. not stepping onto the road, just there. A figure rooted to the earth, cloak heavy around his shoulders, the staff in his hand planted like an anchor. There could be no mistake. It was Elijah, the prophet of fire. Beside him stood his apprentice, Elisha, arms crossed, studying the approaching riders like a gambler sizing up a rigged game. but it was the third figure that made the air crackle. He stood just behind Elijah, his form shimmering, as if the very air around him bent in reverence. A man, but not a man. When he moved, the dust did not stir beneath his feet. Elijah sighed, rubbing his temple like a man enduring a familiar headache. 00:05:38 Speaker 2: You'll Always show up when things are about to get interesting. And yet, you still act surprised. Not surprised. Just... exhausted. So, are we just going to not talk about the glowing man, or... Show some respect, boy. He's no man. He's an Elohim of the Lord. An ancient one. The one who speaks for Yahweh himself. 00:06:08 Speaker 1: Elisha raised an eyebrow. The angel smirked. 00:06:13 Speaker 2: He will understand in time. 00:06:16 Speaker 1: Elijah exhaled through his nose. There was a weight in those words, a current beneath them that Elisha could not yet feel. 00:06:25 Speaker 4: Well, master, I can see where you get your affection for the cryptic. 00:06:30 Speaker 1: Elijah ignored him. He turned to the angel with a resigned expression. My time is nearly up, isn't it? The angel did not answer. He did not need to. 00:06:44 Speaker 2: I assume I don't get a say in the matter? You never did. Wait, what are you two talking? Elijah, it is time for one last assignment. Ahaziah has forsaken the covenant. You must put the fear of the Lord in him and in those who serve him. Tell him. of the judgment to come. 00:07:08 Speaker 1: Elijah's expression was unreadable, but for the first time, Elisha caught something beneath the iron, something deep, something final. The realization hit like a blade between the ribs. His master was leaving soon. The angel smiled warmly at the prophets, and then, light disappeared. a flash that tore through the air like a blade of pure radiance. 00:07:37 Speaker 2: And then he was gone. 00:07:39 Speaker 1: In his place, a mighty wind rushed, rippling towards the king's incoming messengers. Elisha exhaled, blinking against the afterimage burned into his sight. 00:07:52 Speaker 2: What a dramatic exit. Seems excessive, don't you think? No subtlety. 00:07:57 Speaker 1: Elijah ignored his apprentice. His jaw was set. His eyes already locked on the messengers, who sat frozen in their saddles, gripping their reins as if they might keep them tethered to reality. Elijah shouted at them. 00:08:13 Speaker 2: Tell me, is it because there is no God in Israel that you fools go to inquire of Baal-zebub? The leader flinched. 00:08:23 Speaker 4: We were ordered. 00:08:26 Speaker 2: Don't give me that. We are just following command's horse dung. You know the law of Moses. If you want to listen to that, listen to me speak from the Lord himself. You will not reach Ekron, and your king will not rise from his bed. He will die. The wind rose. 00:08:49 Speaker 1: Elisha watched the messengers shudder, watched the way their hands trembled on the reins. The messengers did not argue. They turned their horses and rode back the way they came. Elisha searched to look at his master for a long while. It looked as though a weight was slowly. 00:09:08 Speaker 2: Falling from his chest. You're really going, aren't you? 00:09:14 Speaker 1: Elijah did not answer. The messengers returned pale, hollow-eyed, looking as if they had glimpsed something they were never meant to see. Ahaziah forced himself upright, pain screaming through his ribs. 00:09:34 Speaker 2: Well? 00:09:34 Speaker 4: My lord, we never reached Akron. 00:09:38 Speaker 2: What? 00:09:39 Speaker 4: A man, a prophet, intercepted us. 00:09:43 Speaker 2: A prophet? 00:09:45 Speaker 4: Well, three prophets, then two, strangely. They said that you will not rise from your bed, that you will die. 00:09:57 Speaker 2: The room went silent. 00:09:59 Speaker 4: Ahaz. 00:10:00 Speaker 1: Breath was ragged, fury simmering just beneath the surface. He clenched his jaw. 00:10:07 Speaker 2: Elijah. 00:10:10 Speaker 1: A name like an old wound reopened. His father's ghost lurked at the edges of the room. 00:10:17 Speaker 2: Elijah. Elijah. 00:10:19 Speaker 1: The storm that Ahab could never outrun. The prophet who defied kings and called down fire. The executioner of his mother's priests. Ahaziah took a breath, then rage. 00:10:36 Speaker 2: Just send men, a battalion, fifty soldiers. Bring him to me, now! 00:10:43 Speaker 1: The messenger bowed, retreating. Ahaziah sat in the thick silence, his ribs aching, his pulse a thud, thud, thud of fury. Elijah had delivered his verdict. Ahaziah would deliver his. King Ahaziah's men came like thunder. Elijah stood at the crest of the hill, unmoving, unblinking, his cloak coiling in the wind like a living thing. Below him, Elisha shifted his weight, fingers twitching as he stroked his short beard. 00:11:23 Speaker 2: That's a lot of men. Yes. They're armed. Most soldiers are. Then they saw them. 00:11:33 Speaker 1: Fifty men, steel catching the last light of the day, faces set like stone. A captain at the front, his stance wide, his hand never straying far from the hilt of his sword. The wind was rising, an unnatural thing, pulling at cloaks and banners, hissing through the dried grass like the whisper of something vast and unseen. The captain stepped forward, chin raised. 00:12:02 Speaker 2: Man of God, by order of King Ahaziah you are to come down at once. 00:12:09 Speaker 1: Elijah turned his head slightly, just enough for Elisha to see his face. Elisha felt a shudder pass. 00:12:17 Speaker 2: Through his bones. 00:12:19 Speaker 1: There was rage in Elijah's eyes. Not mere annoyance, not the dry exasperation he so often showed. This was real, holy fury. Because this was not just about the king. This was about Ahab's legacy. This was about Israel bleeding out under the weight of its own rebellion, about Jezebel's corruption still festering in the heart of the kingdom, about a people who had seen fire fall from heaven and the Red Sea split in two, and still chose to bow to lesser gods. Elijah's jaw tightened. 00:13:01 Speaker 2: So, the son of Ahab sends men to seize me, as if the Lord were some court magician he could summon. Master, maybe we should go with them. Come now, Elisha. Where is your faith? If the Lord could handle the entire Egyptian army at the Red Sea, surely fifty men is no large task. Have you not read the writings of Moses? Yes, Master, of course, but I just think. 00:13:31 Speaker 1: Before the apprentice could finish his thought, Elijah stepped forward. The wind caught the edge of his cloak, sent it billowing like smoke. The sky, already dimming, darkened further. Clouds thickening like ink spilling across parchment. Elisha could feel it now. The weight in the air, the hum beneath his feet, like the very ground was waiting. The captain's hand tightened around his sword. 00:14:01 Speaker 2: Come down, man of God! 00:14:05 Speaker 1: Elijah's voice cracked through the air like a thunderclap. 00:14:10 Speaker 2: You fools! If I am a man of God, let fire fall from heaven and consume you and your fifty men! 00:14:19 Speaker 1: Elijah's words echoed, rolling down the hill like a shockwave, carving silence into the world. For a moment, there was nothing. The captain's sneer faltered for half a breath. He glanced up, just for a moment, just to check. The sky was still. One soldier let out a chuckle, then another. Then a ripple of laughter spread through the ranks. The captain exhaled through his nose, shaking his head. 00:14:52 Speaker 2: That's what I thought. His grip tightened on his sword. If you won't come down on your own, we will drag you. 00:15:02 Speaker 1: The men moved, boots scraping against dirt, armor clanking, swords lifting. Elisha inhaled sharply, bracing. 00:15:11 Speaker 2: For the worst. 00:15:13 Speaker 1: Then it happened all at once. The sky tore open, not like a storm, not like rain breaking through heavy clouds. 00:15:23 Speaker 2: This was violence. 00:15:26 Speaker 1: Lightning split the heavens, a wound of searing white that burned the shape of its fury into the retinas of all who dared look upon it. And from that wound, the fire came. Not drifting down, not falling like an earthly flame, it plunged. A spear of raw, undiluted judgment. A river of white-hot wrath. It did not flicker, did not waver, did not spread like mortal flames seeking something to devour. 00:16:01 Speaker 2: It simply erased. 00:16:03 Speaker 1: One moment there were men standing on the hill below, the next, nothing. The smell of ozone and burning flesh filled Elisha's nostrils, but the flesh was already gone. 00:16:16 Speaker 2: No screams, no bodies. 00:16:19 Speaker 1: Just ash whipping through the wind like the remnants of a dead civilization. Elisha had seen fire fall before, but this was different. It was not a sign to prove a point. This was judgment. 00:16:36 Speaker 2: I saw what you did on Carmel, but this. 00:16:40 Speaker 1: Elijah turned to him, and for the first time, Elisha saw something beyond the fury, the weight of it, the massive burden of this calling. Elijah took no joy in watching men perish. In his eyes burned twin fires of righteousness and sorrow. 00:17:00 Speaker 2: Look, son, being a prophet is not about spectacle. It is not about miracles. It is about carrying the weight of God's justice. 00:17:16 Speaker 1: Elisha exhaled sharply, grounding himself, trying to shake the trembling from his hands. The captain emerged, face half-melted and armor singed. 00:17:28 Speaker 2: Please, please, man of God, have mercy. Go back to your king. Tell him what you have seen. Tell him Yahweh has spoken. 00:17:42 Speaker 1: The captain did not hesitate. He stumbled to his feet, barely able to stand, and fled. Elisha watched him go, the fire still burning in his vision long after it had vanished from the sky. Elijah entered King Ahaziah's halls. 00:18:06 Speaker 2: Like a storm. 00:18:08 Speaker 1: His bones were older, but the fire in his belly still burned hot. Elisha followed, keeping silent behind him. Ahaziah lay sprawled in his bed, propped up by pillows that did nothing to disguise the sweat pooling at his collarbone, the waxy pallor creeping across his skin. 00:18:29 Speaker 2: He was failing. 00:18:31 Speaker 1: His ribs ached with every breath, his lips were dry, but the cup of wine beside. 00:18:36 Speaker 2: Him sat untouched. 00:18:38 Speaker 1: And yet, his voice still carried its old petulance, its old arrogance, like a boy refusing to acknowledge the coming night. 00:18:51 Speaker 2: Elijah, finally, you've come to face me. 00:18:58 Speaker 1: Elijah stopped at the foot of the bed. 00:19:01 Speaker 2: He did not bow. He did not greet the king. 00:19:05 Speaker 1: Ahaziah's fingers twitched against the sheets, but he lifted his chin, desperate to hold on to the illusion that he was still the ruler of this place. 00:19:17 Speaker 2: Tell me, prophet, who will I leave? Shut up! Ahaziah blinked. 00:19:26 Speaker 1: His mouth twitched as if he wanted to argue, but Elijah was already shaking his head, already moving, already cutting him down before he could rise. 00:19:38 Speaker 2: You dare to summon me here with your breath as short as your time to ask if you will live? You, son of Ahab, son of Jezebel. who saw the fire fall at Carmel, who clung to your father's robes as the one true God turned your mother's priests to ash? 00:20:00 Speaker 1: There was no satisfaction in Elijah's voice, no playful teasing as he had with Ahab, no righteous glee. Just disgust, Elijah took a step closer to Ahaziah. 00:20:16 Speaker 2: I remember you, boy. I remember the way you trembled in the shadow of your father. I remember the way you saw the truth that day and still turned your back on it. 00:20:29 Speaker 1: The king opened his mouth. Some feeble attempt at a defense, Elijah didn't let him. 00:20:36 Speaker 2: You could have bowed. You could have repented. Instead, you ran to the shrines of Baal like your witch mother. Instead, you built altars to silence. Instead, you threw in your lot with a corpse god that cannot even keep you from falling through the floor of your home. 00:21:01 Speaker 1: Elijah leaned in closer, voice dropping to something almost gentle. 00:21:07 Speaker 2: They still sing songs about the greatness of King David. When the nation had a real king, a real leader, a man, not a shriveling and entitled brat, you shamed the ancestors who came before you and bled for the throne you wrought upon. Ahaziah was breathing hard now. 00:21:36 Speaker 1: He wanted to speak, to rise, to throw back some semblance of control, but Elijah stopped him. 00:21:44 Speaker 2: Do not speak. Only listen. You will not leave this bed. You will not rise again. You will die. 00:21:57 Speaker 1: The silence pressed down, thick and suffocating. Ahaziah's lips parted, a whisper of something, fear maybe, a plea, but Elijah was already turning, already gone. Elijah and Elisha had left the king's presence, widening the distance between them and the palace walls. The sun was setting, painting crimson hues over the dry hills of summer. They sat on a stone resting upon a hill. Elisha sat beside his master, looking out over the city. 00:22:40 Speaker 2: What fuels your rage? At first, it was the blatant corruption, the taxes, the way the kings paid little regard for the people. Injustice. 00:22:57 Speaker 1: Elijah pursed his lips. searching his heart for the right words to answer his apprentice. 00:23:02 Speaker 2: Ahab, Jezebel, Ahaziah are not the true enemy. They were never the disease, Elisha. They were only symptoms. What do you mean? The true enemy is older than Israel, older than this kingdom, older than the altars of Baal. Ancient. Ancient. It slithered into the garden. It whispered to our first mother and coiled around our first father. Elisha swallowed hard. The words stirred something in him, something deep, something older than his own lifetime. Memories. 00:23:53 Speaker 1: Sitting at his father's feet as a boy. His father's voice, low and steady, reading from the words of Moses. The serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field. Did God really say, you will not surely die? They seemed like stories, but Elijah knew they weren't fairy tales. Elijah exhaled, his gaze fixed on the darkened horizon. 00:24:22 Speaker 2: The people refused to see it. They refused to listen. The Lord brought us out of Egypt. He split the sea, fed us in the wilderness, and made a covenant with us in fire and blood. He has shown himself again and again and again, and still, still they run to the gods of the nations, to the empty idols, to the tombs, same lies, different skins. 00:24:57 Speaker 1: Elijah's hands tightened into fists. 00:25:01 Speaker 2: They could not see it, Elisha. They could not see that the Lord is doing something with our people. He led us to this land for a reason. The story is much bigger than what is front of our eyes. They are like our forefathers in the wilderness. They are blind. 00:25:22 Speaker 1: The wind pressed against them, cold and restless. Then Elijah turned, and for the first time in all their years together, Elisha saw something in his master's eyes he had never seen before. 00:25:38 Speaker 2: Not rage, not even sorrow. Hope. But you, you will show them. My apprentice. 00:25:50 Speaker 1: Elisha's chest tightened. Elijah exhaled. Looking up toward the sky, the clouds were parting, silver light breaking through, illuminating the tired, weathered lines of his face. 00:26:06 Speaker 2: Your time is soon. 00:26:09 Speaker 1: Elisha looked up at him. The wind howled, and the night held its breath. This Pray.com production is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Schellewager, and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwald, Sylvia Zaradok, Thomas Copeland Jr., Rosanna Pilcher, and Mitch Lashinsky. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith. Written by Aaron Salvato, Brie Rosely, and Chris Baig. You can hear more Prey.com productions on the Prey.com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People, please rate and leave a review.