How did Elijah send a letter to King Jehoram, if Elijah had already been taken to heaven?

Answer

In 2 Chronicles 21, the wicked King Jehoram of Judah receives a letter from the prophet Elijah. The message from Elijah stated: “This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: ‘. . . You have followed the ways of the kings of Israel, and you have led Judah and the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, just as the house of Ahab did. You have also murdered your own brothers, members of your own family, men who were better than you. So now the Lord is about to strike your people, your sons, your wives and everything that is yours, with a heavy blow. You yourself will be very ill with a lingering disease of the bowels, until the disease causes your bowels to come out’” (verses 12–15).

The account of Elijah’s stern and vivid letter to Jehoram appears quite direct—a prophet of God conveys a divine message of judgment to a corrupt ruler. However, the situation is complex when compared with 2 Kings chapters 2 and 3. In 2 Kings 2, Elijah ascends to heaven in a chariot of fire. Subsequently, 2 Kings 3 narrates King Jehoshaphat’s military campaign against the Moabites and his consultation with Elisha, Elijah’s successor. The sequence of events poses a puzzle: if Elijah was taken to heaven during Jehoshaphat’s reign, how could he send a letter to Jehoram, who ruled after Jehoshaphat?

Today, we are accustomed to having precise dates of significant events. However, this is not the style of writing in the Bible. Some biblical authors included historical context, such as the reigning king, and we can use these clues to estimate timelines, but the Bible seldom provides exact details on when events occurred. We are accustomed to historical records being presented in a strict chronological sequence, but in the Bible, historical events are often recounted based on thematic connections rather than strict chronology.Events are sometimes grouped thematically, with no real concern for chronology. If we follow the chronology based on the order the events are presented in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles, here is what led up to Elijah’s letter to Jehoram:

1. Jehoram is anointed king of Judah «So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son. », (2 Kings 1:17), ruling with his father, Jehoshaphat, for the final 5 or 6 years of his father’s reign.

2. Elijah is translated to heaven (2 Kings 2:1-18).

3. Jehoshaphat, advised by Elisha, teams with the king of Israel in a fight against Moab (2 Kings 3).

4. Jehoshaphat dies, leaving Jehoram to rule alone «Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. », (2 Chronicles 21:1).

5. Jehoram murders all his brothers «Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel. », (2 Chronicles 21:4) and builds idolatrous high places in Judah (verse 11).

6. Jehoram receives a letter from Elijah that details his judgment (2 Chronicles 21:12-15).

According to the above chronology, Elijah was taken from this world during the joint reign of Jehoshaphat and Jehoram. The question then becomes, how did Elijah send a letter to Jehoram about the evil the king did, when Elijah was not around?During that time?

There are several reasonable explanations for how Elijah’s letter was delivered to King Jehoram seemingly after Elijah’s translation to heaven:

First, it’s possible that the author of 2 Kings did not place the account of Elijah’s translation to heaven in chronological order with the surrounding chapters. Elijah could have still been serving as a prophet until much later in the reign of Jehoram.

Another possibility is that Elijah wrote the letter to Jehoram before his departure to heaven and left it for Elisha or someone else to deliver. Elijah was a prophet, after all. God could easily have given him the words to write ahead of time.

Another possibility is that, before his translation to heaven, Elijah told Elisha what Jehoram would do and what God’s judgment would be. When the time came, Elisha wrote out Elijah’s prophecy and delivered it to King Jehoram.

It’s also been suggested that Elijah was not translated to heaven but was whisked away to another location, much like Philip was in Acts 8:39–40. Elijah then was able to write the letter personally at the time of Jehoram’s sin and have it delivered through a courier. According to this theory, after the whirlwind experience of 2 Kings 2, Elijah lived out the remainder of his days in a secret location.

In any case, the letter from Elijah was prophetic in that it condemned Jehoram’s sin and predicted his judgment before the king became ill.