Prophet Elias (Whirledge) Icon - S721

Elias (or in Hebrew, Elijah) lived under the rule of the cruel King Ahab, “who did evil before the Lord, more than all who were before him” (3 Kgd. 16:38). Through Elijah, God gave the world a voice of justice in an unjust time—a prophet who, by miraculous signs, prefigured the saving work of Jesus Christ centuries later.

This icon by the renowned iconographer Brian Whirledge is a classic example of a multi-scene “icon biography” in which the life of a saint is presented through different events. The scenes here begin with the depiction on the left of Elijah offering up sacrifice to God, the fire for which came down miraculously as a demonstration of God’s power before the pagan priests of Baal. Below this in the lower left corner, an angel is seen tending to Elijah when he was weak and close to death as he starved in the wilderness. In the center, he is shown both considering the food a raven brings to him for sustenance, while also looking beyond to the upper left where the hand of God is shown directing and ordering his life. In the bottom right, Elijah crosses the Jordan river with his disciple Elisha. Lastly, he is shown at the top as he ascends in a fiery chariot to his Lord and Master, bestowing his cloak (and by symbolism, his legacy of prophetic power) on his awestruck disciple below him. This great prophet of ancient Israel is commemorated on July 20.

This icon is offered by Legacy Icons with the permission of the iconographer, Brian Matthew Whirledge.