In ancient times the wealthy rode on chariots, nobles, kings, dignitaries rode on chariots.
Chariots were used in battle by kings and warriors in ancient times.
So, chariots can be a symbol of warfare.
They were also used for travel and royal processions.
It is a thing of honor if the king sends his royal chariot to pick you up as his guest, its a honor if the king has you ride in his chariot for a parade. It must mean you are being honored for something heroic or something good you have done.
It's evidence you are being rewarded and you've found favor with the king.
Some 2,870 years ago the prophet Elijah ascended to heaven on a chariot.
It was no ordinary chariot, this was a chariot that moved like a whirlwind, it is described as a chariot of fire!
Fire is associated with speed, power and the holiness of God!
What an exhilarating ride to heaven Elijah must have had, the sights, the sound and view along the way must have been quite an experience..
Let's be reminded, it was a situation of a human being riding on a spiritual chariot.
That was a honor no human being had enjoyed from the earth to heaven before.
Elijah didn't experience death!
His body was alive and fully functioning when he was taken up to God's presence in heaven.
The horses pulling the chariot were no ordinary horses, they were spirit horses.
These were horses aflame with the power and energy of God!
They moved like a wind, creating a whirlwind effect! That's why Elijah was caught up in a whirlwind as he departed from the earth.
Riding in a chariot is more safe than riding on the back of a single horse because chariots have an enclosure and is often pulled by two horses offering balance, speed and some form of luxury.
Elijah's chariot ride is evidence that serving God has it's own rewards.
That chariot ride was evidence Elijah found favor with God.
It was a confirmation God rewards after we have stood for Him, obeyed Him, and done His will here on earth.
The chariot ride was the beginning of Elijah's eternal reward before God.
God sent for him.
His chariot ride was God defying death for Elijah's sake, it was God suspending natural laws and processes for Elijah's sake, it was God granting a human being a supernatural experience, it was a situation of a human being getting rewarded with one of the most exciting rides ever, out of a corrupt world into the very presence of God!
The things Elijah's human eyes saw on that ride must have made the journey a journey of a lifetime.
The chariot of fire is evidence God has His own transportation system in heaven.
It shows us divine transportation is a reality and can be a possibility for us here on earth.
The Bible shows us what is possible, what is true, what is real.
Warriors use transportation means of horses and chariots.
The scriptures present a divine image of God being a warrior who rides gloriously!
"He rides on the wings of wind"
"He moves swiftly on the clouds"
"He rides on the wing of our praises"
The way God rides is evidence of His dominion, majesty, sovereignty over creation and power.
A God who makes the clouds His chariot is to be feared.
A God who makes the clouds His chariot is to be respected.
He rides swiftly.
He can reach you anywhere you are.
Anywhere where there are clouds above you in the sky, God can hear you there.
Anywhere where the wind blows God can hear you there.
There was something about Elijah's ministry for God here on earth that was associated with fire.
He is popularly known as the prophet of fire.
He called fire down twice on the two set of soldiers and their captains, each group made of fifty men, king Ahab's soldiers who came to arrest him.
He called fire down from heaven to burn the sacrifice on the altar he set up in the presence of the prophets of Baal.
Perhaps that's why the chariot that came for him, came as as a chariot of fire.
I wonder what my own heavenly chariot would be, perhaps a chariot of light!
I look forward to riding in chariots of light when I get to heaven.
What about you?
It might even start for us from here on earth..
