Originally posted by Chin Eng:
One view of [b]The Miracle Of Elisha's Bones by Wayne
Blank
"Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was
to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him, and wept before him
... So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used
to invade the land in the spring of the year. And as a man was
being buried, lo, a marauding band was seen and the man was cast
into the grave of Elisha; and as soon as the man touched the bones
of Elisha, he revived, and stood on his feet." (2 Kings 13:14,20-21
RSV)
Elijah and Elisha
Elijah, and Elisha who succeeded him when Elijah was taken away in
a "chariot of fire" (in illustration - see Where Did Elijah Go?)
were two of the most powerful Prophets of God in Bible History.
They did everything from calling down fire from heaven (1 Kings
18:37-3
to raising
the dead (2 Kings 4:18-37), but as true prophets of God, their
great power was of, and from, God. As even Jesus Christ said of
Himself (John 5:19,30), Elijah and Elisha could do nothing of
themselves, or for themselves. As the opening paragraph makes
plain, when Elisha's natural time to die came, he suffered and died
just like any other human - even though during his lifetime the
Holy Spirit healed the sick and raised the dead through him. It was
the Holy Spirit of God that made it possible.
Elijah was an ordinary human being, who knew hunger (1 Kings 19:6),
weariness (1 Kings 19:5), and fear (1 Kings 19:2-3), just like any
other. After being threatened by the wicked Jezebel, he "went a
day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a
broom tree; and he asked that he might die, saying, "It is enough;
now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am no better than my fathers"
(1 Kings 19:4 RSV). Neither was Elisha, or any other human before
or since.
The Holy Spirit Remained
In the miracle of Elisha's bones (unlike the widespread fraudulent
religious industry of "miraculous relics of saints" that has been
operating for centuries, right to the present day), for however
long it lasted (there is only one recorded miracle from Elisha's
bones), a measure of the Holy Spirit actually remained for some
time (at least a number of months, since all that was left was his
bones) with Elisha's body - the only way that the miracle of
reviving that dead man (back to physical life from which he would
again have died later - see "Resurrections" in the Fact Finder
question below) could have happened.
http://www.keyway.ca/htm2002/20020731.htm
...to me, this is no different from Balaam's donkey, a one time
occurence.
I do not believe for a moment, that anything that belonged to any
prophets, or apostles or Jesus Christ survived the ages. Therefore,
to me, no such items exist.[/b]
The Cross on which Christ was crucified do....
And if the Holy Spirit can linger on the bones of Elisha, what more
of the relics of the Saints (performed miracles as well) and
matyrs....
Numerous miracles have been atributed to such relics...does the
author of that article try refuting that?
