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The Chariot of Fire · The Chosen People

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Previously on The Chosen People.
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Go to Acheron.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Ask Beelzebub.
• 0:13
  Speaker 3: If I will recover. My lord, should we not inquire
• 0:20
  Speaker 3: of Yahweh? Do not speak that name to me.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Tell me, is it because there is no God in
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: Israel that you fools go to inquire of Baal-zebub? You
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: will not reach Ekron, and your king will not rise
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: from his bed. He will die.
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: They said that you will not rise from your bed,
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: that you will die. Elijah, just send men.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: A battalion.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: Fifty soldiers. Bring him to me.
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: Now! Man of God, by order of King Ahaziah, you
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: are to come down at once.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: If I am a man of God, let fire fall
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: The sky tore open. Not like a storm, not like
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: rain breaking through heavy clouds. This was violence, a wound
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: of searing white that burned the shape of its fury
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: into the retinas of all who dared look upon it.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: It simply erased. The sun hung low in the sky.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: Heat shimmered in the air, bending the horizon like a mirage.
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: It had been a long road. Too long, if Elisha
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: were honest with himself. He had followed Elijah for years,
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: through storms and famines, through victories and despair, through fire
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: and whispers of God. And now the road was coming
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: to an end. Elisha felt it in his bones. He
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: just wasn't ready to say it aloud. Elijah walked ahead,
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: his stride purposeful. He glanced sideways at his apprentice. Something
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: deep inside him resisted. He would not name the feeling,
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: because naming it would make it real. He would simply walk,
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: and when the time came, he would go. Elisha broke
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: the silence with a grin.
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: So, master, you're finally getting what you always wanted.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: Elijah said nothing. He kept walking. his staff tapping against
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: the road. Elisha waited, then sighed dramatically.
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: After all these years of groaning to the Lord, pleading
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: for him to take you away, bemoaning the burden of prophecy,
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: at last your wish is granted. Shall I weep for you,
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: or shall I rejoice?
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Weeping would be excessive, and your rejoicing would be insincere, huh?
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: Elisha smirked, but the humor sat heavy on his tongue.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: He did not want this to be their last conversation.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: He did not want to walk this road alone.
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: So, what's the plan? Will you start a fight on
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: your way out? One last rant at Jezebel? Perhaps you'll
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: shove a worshipper of Baal into a ditch just to
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: set the tone for the next generation.
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: Tempting, but no.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: It is time for you to deal with them now.
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: Ahab's house still lingers like the stink of the dead
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: ox in the sun. His sons, his alliances, his witch
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: of a queen. All of it will be your burden,
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: not mine.
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: Oh good, I was so worried I would have nothing
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: to do.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: Up ahead, a cluster of figures loomed near the roadside.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: young prophets, each of them wearing insufferable grins on their faces.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: Prophesying had become an upper-class sport for the elite of Israel.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: Every noble and rich merchant sent their sons to school
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: to become professional prophets to bless the halls of kings,
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: commanders and aristocrats. One of them, A sharp-nosed man with
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: the kind of expression that suggested he had corrected many
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: people's understanding of the Torah unprompted, stepped forward, practically vibrating
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: with self-importance.
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: Elisha, have you heard?
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: God has revealed it to us.
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: Today, Elijah, your master, will be taken from you. Oh,
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: what a revelation. What a grand unveiling of the mysteries
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: of heaven. If only I myself were a prophet, perhaps
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: I too might have discerned this truth.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: The prophet looked momentarily confused, then offended. Elijah, standing just
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: behind Elisha, let out a low chuckle. They passed the
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: group of men with a dismissive wave. The road stretched ahead,
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: endless and empty, save for the weight pressing down on
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: both of them. Elijah began to feel it, the pull,
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: the nearing moment. He had not wanted Elisha to come
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: this far and had tried more than once to leave
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: him behind. Not because he did not love him. No,
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: that was the problem. He had taken Elisha under his wing,
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: expecting another student, another apprentice. Instead, he had found a son.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: And now he had to leave him. Elisha, you do
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: not have to come with me. No, I will not
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: leave you. Elijah sighed. The words were simple, but beneath
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: them was something raw, something unspoken. The road had always
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: been lonely. Perhaps for this last stretch, it did not
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: have to be. They walked on. The sun inched lower.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: The world held its breath. The river lay before them,
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: a great sluggish thing, dark and wide, a barrier between
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: where they stood and what lay beyond. The air was
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: different here, thick with the kind of tension that only
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: came before something irreversible. Elijah, standing at the water's edge,
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: planted his staff into the earth and stared across, saying nothing.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: He had always been a man of action rather than explanation.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: He was more storm than man at this point, a
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: force of nature used by God for judgment. Yet here, now,
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: with Elisha at his side for the last time, he
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: felt painfully human. The sound of the river soothed his anxiety. Elisha,
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: sensing the tension, pointed to the water.
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: So how are we crossing? Shall I fetch you a raft?
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: Or will you call down a pillar of fire to
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: evaporate the river? That would be quite the farewell.
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: Elijah exhaled sharply through his nose, a sound that could
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: almost be mistaken for amusement. He unfastened his robe, the worn, red,
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: tattered thing that had hung from his shoulders through years
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: of drought, persecution, and the fire of Mount Carmel. Rolling
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: it in his hands, he lifted it high and brought
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: it down against the surface of the river. The waters recoiled.
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: A shudder ran through the ground as the river peeled apart,
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: its depths standing back in defiance of nature itself. A
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: dry path stretched before them. The riverbed cracked and waiting.
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: Oh, well, that works too. I suppose Moses would be proud.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: They walked across, the walls of water towering around them.
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: When they reached the far shore, Elijah stopped. The road
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: had ended. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Then,
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: without turning, Elijah finally asked, Tell me, Elisha, what would
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: you have of me before I go? Elisha had not
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: expected the question. The answer surged up before he could
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: stop it, raw and unfiltered. Stay. The words sat between them,
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: fragile as glass. Elijah did not move, but the silence
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: was answer enough.
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: You could not. Even if you wished to, I know.
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: I just... I'm not ready.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: You doubt yourself.
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: Master, of course I doubt myself. I've watched you stand
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: alone against kings and slaughter false prophets. I've even seen
• 9:41
  Speaker 3: you call down fire and part rivers. And now you're
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: leaving me to take your place. I am not you, Master.
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: I have no fire, no boldness, no strength. The only
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: thing I know how to do is pray.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: Then you know enough.
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: No, I don't, Master. I'm not half the man you are.
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: If I'm going to survive in this calling, this path,
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: please grant me a double portion of your spirit.
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: Elijah stilled. His expression did not change, but something flickered
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: behind his eyes. For a long moment, he simply studied Elisha,
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: as if weighing the request, measuring the man before him.
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: You ask a hard thing.
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: I ask because I have no choice. If I am
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: to carry this mantle, if I am to face what
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: you faced, then I need what you had, more than
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: what you had.
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: If you see me when I am taken up, taken
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: in the chariot of the spirits, then you will know
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: in your heart that Yahweh has granted your request. But
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: if not, then it is not mine to give.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: He let the words settle, let them sink in. But
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: then his gaze sharpened, something like quiet amusement glinting at
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: the edges of his expression. Elisha frowned. His anxiety spread
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: all over his face.
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: You always had so much boldness when you were standing
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: behind me, Elisha. If only you could see that it
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: is the Lord who stands behind you.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: Elisha's breath caught. Tears stung the corners of his eyes.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: His lips parted slightly as if to respond, but nothing came.
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: Elijah let the silence linger just a moment longer. Then,
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: without breaking eye contact, he crouched, picking up a small,
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: jagged stick from the ground, rolling it between his fingers.
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: Tell me, Elisha, which is stronger, the arrow or the archer?
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: Elisha stared at his master.
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: This is a strange question.
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: Shut your mouth and listen.
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: Elijah turned the twig over in his palm as though
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: weighing it. It was time for one final lesson.
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: Let's say a great warrior, a giant, like Goliath, stands
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: before you. And let's say you place an arrow at
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: his feet. What happens?
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: He crushes it beneath his heel.
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: Because the arrow by itself is nothing.
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: It's weak.
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: It's pathetic. But if that same arrow rests in the
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: hands of a skilled archer....
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: Elijah exhaled. He already knew where this was going.
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: It flies true.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: Through the eye of the giant. Elijah let the words settle.
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: I have never been powerful, Elisha. I have never been great.
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: I am an old, tired man.
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: It is Yahweh who is powerful. I have only ever
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: been an arrow in his hands.
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: Elisha swallowed his throat tight. The wind shifted. The heat
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: in the air deepened, heavy and electric, a storm with
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: no rain. Elijah's gaze lifted to the sky. The time
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: had come. The ground trembled. Elisha felt it before he
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: heard it. The vibration in his bones, the shifting of
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: the dust beneath his feet. A sound, deep and resonant,
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: like a storm circling inside the earth itself. His breath hitched.
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: He turned to his master. Elijah stood at the edge
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: of the world, gazing out at the horizon. His eyes,
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: old and weary, now burned with something new. Something fierce. anticipation.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: And then the sky split open. A whirlwind of fire
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: spiraled down from the heavens, splitting the very air apart.
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: It ripped through the atmosphere, a force too vast for
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: mortal minds to comprehend. Elisha staggered back, raising his arms
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: to shield his face. The heat blistered his skin, the
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: light seared his eyes. Then He saw them, the horses,
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: their manes burned with celestial fire, their hooves struck sparks
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: against the air itself. They thundered, a stampede of light
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: and fury. Behind them was a chariot. It was forged
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: of flame and glory, of power beyond this realm. The
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: wheels spun, each spoke a whirlwind of fire. The breath
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: of God filled the air. Elijah's lips parted. He stared
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: in wonder and acceptance. He raised his hands, beckoning the chariot.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: And then he laughed again.
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: Yes, at last!
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: Master.
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: Elijah turned to young Elisha, and for the first time
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: in years, his face was free of pain. His eyes,
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: full of tears, alight with fire. And something deeper. Peace.
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: The time has come, my boy. Be strong. Be courageous. Yes.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: Elisha reached for his master. His fingers curled around the
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: edge of Elijah's cloak, but the wind ripped it from
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: his grasp. The chariot descended. The whirlwind howled.
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: Father! Father! Don't leave me!
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: His voice broke. The words tore from his throat, raw
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: and desperate. Not the cry of a prophet. but of
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: a son losing the man he loved most. The fire
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: enveloped Elijah, wrapping him in light, lifting him from the earth.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: His form blurred, first flesh, then flame, then something beyond
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: even that. And as he rose, he cast one last
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: look down at Elisha and smirked. Try not to burn
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: the whole place down, son. Then, Elijah was gone. Gone.
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: Elisha collapsed. His knees struck the earth. His hands dug
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: into the dust where his master had stood. His breath
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: came in ragged gasps. Silence. The fire was gone. The
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: wind had ceased. The world so loud a moment ago.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: was now unbearably quiet. Only one thing remained. Elijah's mantle
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: lay in the dust, caught in the fingers of the breeze,
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: weightless and waiting. The last remnant of a man who
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: had once called down fire from the heavens, a man
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: who had defied kings, slain false prophets, outrun chariots, and
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: walked through famine and war with nothing but the certainty
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: that God was enough. Elisha reached out with shaking fingers.
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: He had expected it to be warm, to still carry
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: the fire of his master's departure. But it wasn't. It
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: was just cloth, a weight settled deep in his chest.
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: He sat back on his heels, gripping the mantle in
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: his fists. his breath coming fast and uneven.
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: He's gone.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: He's actually gone.
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: What am I supposed to do now?
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: The wind shifted. The river murmured before him, a slow,
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: unyielding barrier. He had crossed it with Elijah. Now he
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: stood before it alone.
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: Oh, this is ridiculous. He was one man who did
• 18:51
  Speaker 3: all of this. The fire, the power, the miracles. Him,
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: not me.
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: The whisper of doubt dug deeper. What if it was
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: not enough? What if he was not enough? Elisha turned,
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: looking over his shoulder, half expecting, half hoping to see
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: Elijah standing there, watching, grinning. giving him one last impossible
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: task before vanishing into the wilderness. But there was no one.
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: He was alone.
• 19:25
  Speaker 3: This mantle should have gone to someone else. Someone stronger.
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: Someone worthy.
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: The river didn't move.
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: God! What am I supposed to do? You took him!
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: And now I'm.
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: Supposed to, what?
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: Walk in his place?
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: The doubt curled around him like a snake.
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: I can't. I'm not Elijah.
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: I'll never be and then a still small voice not
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: from the sky not from fire but from memory be
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: the arrow the wind stirred Elisha sucked in a sharp
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: breath The river whispered before him, waiting. The choice was his.
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: He exhaled, stood, stepped forward, and lifted the mantle high.
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: His voice rang out, steady and unchanged, but no longer uncertain.
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God of Joseph
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: and Moses, God of Elijah, my God! I am your servant.
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: Show me your power.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: Elisha lifted Elijah's robe and struck the water. The river
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: recoiled the same way it had for his master. The
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: waters peeled away, shuddering, parting. A dry path yawned before him.
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: The answer had come. His heart thundered in his chest.
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: His mind warred against itself. This is real. This is happening.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: The mantle is mine. This calling is mine. This weight
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: is mine. He took a step forward, then another. Then
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: he walked straight through the river, the waters standing still
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: around him until he reached the far shore. The prophets
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: were waiting. Their expressions, once doubtful, now carried something new.
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: They had seen what he had done. They had seen
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: the waters move at his word. And they knew. They
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: fell to their knees.
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: Elisha said nothing. He did not bask in their reverence,
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: nor did he rebuke them. He simply stood there. feeling
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: the weight settle onto his shoulders. One of the younger
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: prophets stepped forward, wide-eyed, staring at him as if seeing
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: him for the first time. Master Elisha, you parted the waters.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: Elisha turned to look at the river behind him, now
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: whole again, as if nothing had ever happened. He exhaled
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: through his nose.
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: No.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: The young prophet blinked, confused. Elisha turned back to them,
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: adjusting the mantle on his shoulders. His voice was steady, quiet,
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: but unshakable.
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: It was the Lord who parted the waters, not I.
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: He is the archer. I am just the arrow.
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: The road ahead stretched wide and uncertain. Ahab's house still
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: lingered like a disease. Jezebel still breathed. There was work
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: to do. Elisha walked on, but he knew he did
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: not walk alone. This PrayDogCon production is only made possible
• 23:20
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• 23:25
  Speaker 1: Zach Schellevager and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: The Chosen People, narrated by Paul Colter-Fianu. Characters are voiced
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvato, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwald,
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: Sylvia Zaradok, Thomas Copeland Jr., Rosanna Pilcher, and Mitch Lashinsky.
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: Music by Andrew Morgan Smith. written by Aaron Salvato, Brie Rosely,
• 23:50
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• 24:01
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