Question:
My question relates to 2 Kings and the prophecies Elisha gave concerning the King and his illness and eventual murder.
It is assumed that since the King did not recover, but was killed that the first prophecy was false and, therefore, one of the Lord’s prophets is a false prophet. So, if Elisha could be a false prophet and still be a man of God and followed, so can Mormon prophets.
The reason I ask this is because I’m in a discussion with a Mormon who has pointed this scene out to me.
Thank you for your time.
Answer:
II Kings 8:9,10 says, “So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath showed me that he shall surely die.”
The problem with the Mormons is found in I Corinthians 2:14, which states, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Elisha did not lie, but told the exact and full truth. God would have allowed Benhadad to recover of the disease — it was not a “sickness unto death.” But God also knew that Benhadad was going to die, not by that sickness, but by the hands of wicked Hazael.
II Kings 8:12-15 says, “And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child. And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover. And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.”
Elisha was a faithful prophet, and what he said came to pass. If it would not have been for wicked Hazael murdering Benhadad, he would have recovered from his sickness. Elisha prophesied what would kill Benhadad, and what he prophesied came to pass.