Throughout history, the majority of people have believed in some form of spirituality. This might seem contradictory since it appears that matter is above spirit, yet most people still hold some belief in a spiritual tradition. One explanation for this is the concept of miracles, which essentially express that mind, soul, and spirit hold sway over matter.
These moments of spiritual miracles form the foundation of almost every spiritual tradition. Miracles are seen as proof of a high level of spiritual accomplishment. It is entirely another thing if these miracles can be summoned at will, especially within the context of a competition against another highly accomplished being.
In this article, we aim to give you an overview of the oldest prophet, Prophet Elijah, also known as Eliyahu in the Jewish tradition.
Who Was Prophet Elijah?
Elijah was prophesied to come again before the Messiah, before Christ, and to announce the Messiah. For this reason, Christian texts associate him with John the Baptist. In the text Pistis Sophia, one of the more esoteric texts of Christianity, Jesus speaks to his disciple and says, “I called upon the soul of Elijah to be born in John the Baptist.” Elijah is still very loved and well-known in the Christian tradition.
Elijah lived during the time of Moses, Judges, David, and Solomon, around 3,000 years ago. After Solomon, the kingdom of Israel split into Israel in the north and Judea in the south. After a few centuries of this split, a king named Ahab ruled in Israel. Ahab was described in the Bible as the one “doing bad” in the eyes of God. He was married to a Phoenician woman who rekindled the worship of Baal in the northern kingdom of Israel. Baal is considered a god of fertility and is also considered a demon in many Christian and Jewish traditions.
During this time, Elijah was born and from a young age, he began practicing very severe austerities. He would go to the desert, pray, and fast. He followed very clear mystical practices, which involved astral projection and going to the world of the angels to receive various initiations.
Elijah Works Miracles
Elijah attained a significant spiritual awakening through these intense mystical practices. Seeing the people around him degenerate due to their dealings with black magic and the adoration of false idols for the sake of material gain or pleasure, he confronted the king and queen. This led to his persecution. At one point, he declared that it would not rain until he said it would, effectively stopping the rain for three and a half years.
Elijah performed many miracles during this time, including resurrecting the child of a widow that he was caring for. He eventually called for a competition against the prophets of Baal. The competition involved lighting a fire through prayer alone. 450 prophets of Baal started. They would give a certain emotional intensity to their entity, performing a dark practice hurting themselves, crying, and suffering to create that intensity.
Despite the efforts of the prophets of Baal, they were unable to light the fire. Then Elijah took 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel, put them into a fireplace, dug a wedge around it, and filled everything with water. He stood next to the wood, and very simply, with firmness, he said, “God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Israel, light the fire, please”. And the fire grew so big, it wasn’t just the wood that was burning, but the water was burning, everything was burning in this tremendous mystical fire.
Elijah Gains Followers
Upon witnessing this, the spectators chose to follow Elijah and returned to the God of their fathers. Elijah then commanded the people to take all the prophets of Baal and kill them, as the Old Testament is very harsh. After this, Elijah prayed seven times, and on the seventh time, clouds came from the sea and rain came, ending the drought and hunger.
The king and queen were extremely angry with Elijah and persecuted him until they died. Elijah warned them to change their ways or face death. The king eventually died in battle, and his son also died shortly after him.
Elijah himself had a unique way of leaving this world. He was with his disciple Elisha and they were walking together when they split the water. Elijah told his disciple that he was leaving this world and asked him to make a wish. Elisha wished to have double the power of Elijah’s prophecy. Elijah told him that he was going to ascend to heaven in chariots of fire and if Elisha could see that, he would have double his power. Indeed, chariots of fire came and took Elijah alive to heaven.
This article was transcribed and edited by Tony from the following video: