I was leading the Bible study at home group tonight and hadn’t forewarned people about the exact topic. That allowed me to start with cryptic question: which biblical prophet is often sung about at England rugby games, what is the song and how is it connected to them?

Here is a copyright free picture from Flickr that may give you a clue … and also give you a chance to answer the question before scrolling down to find the answer:

The answer is Elijah who features regularly from 1 Kings 17 until 2 Kings 2. The song is Swing Low, Sweet Chariot and the connection is found in 2 Kings 2. Yes, that is when the story of his life ends because God sends a “chariot of fire” (cue another well-known song) to sweep him up to heaven. Along with Enoch (who, as mentioned in Hebrews 11, was the focus of last Sunday’s sermon at Hathern Baptist Church), he is one of two people in the Bible who doesn’t experience death.

What about Jesus? He is alive (hallelujah!) but it would be heresy to suggest he didn’t die. To quote the Nicene Creed:

For our sake he [Jesus] was crucified under Pontius Pilate; 
he suffered death and was buried. 
On the third day he rose again 
in accordance with the Scriptures; 

So that’s the answer to my cryptic question, a snippet about Elijah and a bit of Christology thrown in for good measure.