The Hebrew Jesus Figure Elijah

By James Donahue

When digging through the Books of Kings in the Old Testament, we find the amazing story of Elijah, a figure that portrays the Jesus story in so many ways the Jewish people even today are awaiting his "second coming" just as contemporary Christians are looking for the return of Jesus.

Like Jesus Elijah lived in poverty, receiving only the food the shelter offered him by the people as he wandered the land. He was a prophet, accurately predicting important events like the death of kings. He raised the dead. He used a miracle to win a confrontation with the demonic Baal, whom the Israelites perceived as the true god, and convinced the people that YHWH was the true and only God. This angered Jezebel, who attempted to have Elijah put to death, forcing Elijah to flee into the wilderness where he met an angel while sitting under a juniper tree. (Shades of the Buddha story here.) Also, like Moses, when Elijah crossed the Jordan from Jericho, he used his cloak to "smite" the water and it "divided hither and thither" to allow him to walk across the river.

While Elijah had enemies that sought to kill him, the only thing missing from his story is the crucifixion, death and resurrection in the Jesus story. The Kings account also fails to contain details of the teachings of Elijah including anything similar to the Sermon on the Mount.

In the end, Elijah ascended into the sky and was never seen again. And this story strongly suggests a connection with alien craft, or that he, himself, was an alien or supernatural being. The story says he "went up by a whirlwind into heaven" after the appearance of a chariot of horses and fire.

Elijah appears to have been the only human to have ever walked this Earth who has been spared the pain of death and dying. Was this truly a gift because of a special favor he had with the Creator, or was he, indeed, an alien that walked among us for a brief time?

If he was the latter, the Jews may have a better chance of seeing the return of Elijah, or at least another "person" like him than the Christians do of experiencing a Second Coming of Jesus.