Show PROM FROM THE UNSEEN WORLD A letter from the prophet elijah to king Je horam I 1 written for the DESERE T NEWS by J M SJ A very remarkable incident connected 1 with toe the ot the prophet elijah is told in 2 chron chiron axi 1215 1213 12 15 13 one which is perhaps not so well known as the rest of the history of that great servant of god it is well known that the prophet for several years was the terror of the idolatrous kings of israel abat abac amaziah Aba ziah and Je horam in the nancie name of the lord he be rebuked them for kneir sins and foretold the punishment of their idof idolatry atry ahab particularly thirsted for the blood of the prophet and searched for him bun everywhere without beins being able to find him aim during a period of three years and six bix months elijah having havio ha vio finished his mission on earth was taken up into heaven far out of the reach of ars godless idolatrous persecutors this glorious orious I event took place in the year B C according to usher the same year in willed the bon of ahab ascended the throne of israel and while was kin of judah the son of horam Je succeeded his father ou the throne of judah in the year B 0 seven years after the ascension of the prophet elijah this Je horam although a descend ant of david and a son of the righteous king beho apha seems to have sold himself to do that which was evil before god he married the daughter of ahab and was by this relation tion brought into a sphere of s he walked in the way of the kins of israel like as did toe the house of ahab an instance indeed of the fatal result which always follows when man tries to join together to ether what gott gort has ted his people and the world scarcely bad had Jeh orarn ascended the thrane hrone before he be showed plainly what effect bit association with the house of ahab had had bad upon him he commenced his bis reign by killing his bis brothers and several of the most prominent men of israel and not satisfied with bloodshed he built altars on the mountains and compelled the people of god to apostatize from jehovah the kins king evidently nattered flattered himself that there was no prophet any longer who like elijah dared to tell a king that he be must repent or die but one day a servant banded the king a letter he takes it wondering no doubt if the newly elected king of edom or libnah or any other potentate had bad sent it he breaks the seal rolls the letter up and looks at the top for the signature and there look how pale the king is the blood has rushed from his face his heart has almost ceased beating be atins he trembles as only sinners can tremble there is the name of the prophet elijah that man again who vanished some thirteen years azo aso A letter from the unseen world yes indeed it is not d difficult to fancy what impression this mysterious letter must have made on the king at least for one moment with his hands bands red with the blood of his bis brothers with wath a conscience ac cusin him of numerous sins gins he must have felt this letter even before reading it as the sea seal ot of his death doom its contents were also something fearful let us pick it up from the floor where the peking king in his rage has thrown it aul read rea d it it says thus saith the lord god of david thy eliy father because thou hast not walked in the ways of thy father nor in the ways of asa king of J Judah udah but hast bast walked in the way of the kin kings a of israel and hast made Judah and of jerusalem to go a whoring like to the whore doms of the house of ahab land and also hast slain thy brethren of thy fathers house which were better than thyself behold with a great plague will the lord smite thy people and thy children and thy wives and all thy goods and thou have great sickness by disease of thy bowels until thy bowels tall fall out by reason of the sickness day by day JJ 11 chron 21 1 1315 1215 13 12 15 this was the mysterious message from the unseen world watch which like a thunderbolt struck in the midst of his sinful career from this day he had bad no peace no rest the letter was speedily literally fulfilled fui Philla philistines tines combined with the arabs and fell upon judah and carried away all the prop erty of the king as well as his wives and his children the king took sick and suffered for two years finally his bowels fell out aud and he be ended ended his miserable life forty forte years old those that doubt or deny the miraculous have offered several explanations of the of this mysterious letter some think that it was written by ellsha in the name of elijah in order to frighten the king others suggest that elijah might have written it before his ascension and deposited it with elisha to be delivered at a certain time and one author thinks that elijah was still on earth in his bis native land wherefrom efrom this letter came none of those explanations is supported by the sacred acted history itself the letter came from elij elijah h thirteen years after his ascension to heaven this and jo nothing gothing thing elsette sacred history states in plain words it ic is a great comfort to reflect upon this in the place where the prophet was taken he be could still know what was going on here on earth he could communicate with the children of men and he be had bad lost none of his bis character esties the letter written from the unseen world is just as like the prophecies of elijah as anything he be said while bore acre it is the same prophet serving his god as faithfully as he had bad done here well may gods people rejoice while the wicked tremble murdered prophets are not annihilated nor even silenced or cut off from communication with earth they live and their existence shall be manifest W |