ELISHA and the mystery of The Swimming Axe Head.
Greetings in The Name of Jesus (Yeshua). Among all the Bible stories that prophecy people study, the story of the swimming axe head in 2 Kings chapter 6, for sure , is one of the most mysterious. There are many interpretations about the meaning of this story. I do not claim to be any expert about this subject but if you don’t mind, I would like to share an opinion about it. I will do my best to take a complicated story and try to simplify it in a way you can visualize it prophetically.
As we unpack this story it’s important, we lay down a foundation that will lead us into chapter six. We really need to go back to the prophet Elijah in 2 Kings chapter 2. This is the chapter that Elijah will be translated into heaven via a fiery chariot. As we begin, it’s time to put on your prophetic hat. So I want to introduce you to a group of men who are called “The Sons of The Prophets“ (SOTP ). In Elijah’s past, he created a school to train men to be Prophets. Elijah and the men underneath him are connected with the Tribe of Issachar. This is the prophetic Tribe (1 Chronicles 12: 32).
I want to point out in 2 Kings chapter 2, The (SOTP’s) show up and ask Elisha- and I will paraphrase this, “Do you know your master (Elijah) is going to be RAPTURED today? “. Elisha says yes, I know this, but don’t tell this to anyone else. This happened at Bethel. (The House of God) This Bethel is near the Jordan river where Israel first entered the Land. Later that day, some other SOTP’s show up at Jericho and ask Elisha the same question “Do you know your master is going to be RAPTURED today “. And Elisha says, “Yes I know it, but don’t tell anyone else about this “. Now we have to ask the question, did the Sons of The Prophets know that Elijah was going to be RAPTURED that day? The answer is YES they did!
We could write a book about this story but to keep it simple, what is this story prophetically about? It’s a type and shadow story of YOUR RAPTURE! It’s important we look at Elijah, did you know his name is one of the holiest under Christ? ELIJAH is actually two Hebrew words put together- ELOHIM and YAHOVAH. Remember, Elijah to this day has never died. Prophetically, he represents all those who go in The RAPTURE – Alive and well. If this is true, who does Elisha represent prophetically in this story? He represents the 144,000 witnesses left behind in the Tribulation, who will all be Jews and have The Seal of God on their foreheads. And keep in mind, Elijah (and the other witness) will be coming back to Earth immediately after you go up. We think it will be Elijah who will designate who will be the folks in the 144,000. The two witnesses including Elijah will be killed by the Anti-Christ in the middle of the Tribulation, their bodies will be lying in the streets of Jerusalem for 3 and a half days, then their RAPTURED up into heaven. So the last 3 and a half years of the Tribulation, it’s the 144,000 who are the last REMNANT- As my old friend Zola Levitt used to say. Just as Elisha had the double blessing, the 144,000 will also have a double- blessing. So let’s fast forward to 2 Kings chapter 6.
Let’s introduce the characters in this chapter, we have Elisha and The Sons of the Prophets (SOTP’s). This is the chapter where one of the men loses the iron head on his axe as it falls into the Jordan river. The main talking point in this story is it’s all about something lost that was BORROWED! The SOTP’s needed another building because their number was expanding. (Pastors- love that story).
So they’re chopping trees down alongside the Jordan river. As our handler (the guy with the axe) is chopping away, the head of the axe is slowly coming off the top of the handle. Then without warning, the iron blade separates and falls into the Jordan. It’s important to note, he is doing his job in a Godly way. He is now extremely anxious, mainly because this axe was borrowed by someone else, and without it he cannot fulfill his job. So he contacts The Boss- ELISHA, and tells him his problem. Elisha tells him, “Show me the place where you lost the axe head”. So Elisha goes to the spot, he cuts down a branch of wood (A stick) and places it in the water of the Jordan (2 Kings 6: 6)- he actually stirs it. By the way, this event is in verses 1 through 7. All of the sudden, the iron axe head swims to the top of the water and over to the shore where the handler will retrieve it. Now we must carefully ask the question, what on Earth is the prophecy behind this story? It’s now time to tighten your seat belt!
Let’s start with The Jordan river. Did you know, prophetically, the Jordan river always represents “DEATH “! Secondly, certain metals in the Bible have certain meanings, like Gold associated with Deity, and Silver associated with “redemption “. Iron is always associated with something “negative “. As an example, Hewn Stone (Cut stones as well as the metal IRON could never be used in the construction of The Holy Temple. In the context of our story, the axe head is made of IRON. What could this iron axe head, prophetically represent, in this story? It represents “Spiritual ISRAEL “. We all know when an axe head falls into the water (The Nations) there is no possible way it’s going to swim to the top.
So let’s ask, why did Elisha cut off a stick of wood from a tree. The Tree represents- The Tree of life, because its ALIVE. It also represents The Cross of Jesus and the provisions He made to SAVE Israel – AND to bring them back into their LAND after nearly 2000 years. But there’s much more to this story that takes place in YOUR future!
Let’s go back and set the Prophetic Timeline of this subject. Remember before the axe head story, Elijah was Raptured into heaven, that’s the equivalent of The Rapture taking place, then Elisha takes his place ( the 144,000 in the Tribulation ) the swimming of the axe head to the top of the water ( above The Nations ) is a TYPE and SHADOW of the fulfillment of Jesus Saving Israel after His return and Israel will be the Center of ALL The Nations when that takes place. The reason the axe head was iron in this story was because over time, Israel had lost its cutting edge over time in Sin and Degradation. They also turned their back on God and forsook their Mission to the world. When the axe head went into the Jordan, it was the Death of Israel cut-off from God- and The Nations. That’s why it was of Iron metal. It literally took the power of GOD for that lost axe head to rise to prominence. Just as this axe was something BORROWED, your life and my life is something borrowed too. It was only through The Blood of Christ when we came to Salvation that OUR iron axe head turned into Gold and we too – WILL RISE TO THE TOP- AMEN. I trust you’ve been blessed by this story.
May The Lord richly bless you. Sincerely and Shalom, Michael Samuel Smith.