Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 2 Kings 2:11
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Mal. 4:5
“I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” . . . If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. . . . These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy. Rev. 11:3–6
Elijah, too, was taken up when he was yet in the substance of the [natural] form. Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.530
In that week, the two prophets, Enoch and Elijah, will take up the half. For they will preach 1260 days clothed in sackcloth, proclaiming repentance to the people and to all the nations. Hippolytus (c. 200, W), 5.213
Of the removal of a man from earth to heaven, the Creator has afforded us an example in Elijah. Tertullian (c. 207, W), 3.456
But Elijah is to come again, not after quitting life, but after his assumption. It is not for the purpose of being restored to the body from which he had not departed, but for the purpose of revisiting the world from which he was taken up. It will not be by way of resuming a life that he had laid aside, but by way of fulfilling prophecy. He will really and truly be the same man, both in respect to his name, his designation, and his unchanged humanity. Therefore, in what sense could John be Elijah? You have your answer in the angel’s announcement, who said: “And he will go before the people in the spirit and power of Elijah”—not in his body and soul. Tertullian (c. 210, W), 3.217
However, it is likely that before the second and more divine coming of Christ, John or Elijah will come to bear witness about life. Origen (c. 228, E), 9.345
And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God.” He speaks of Elijah the prophet, who is the precursor of the times of the Antichrist—for the restoration and establishment of the churches from the great and intolerable persecution. . . . The aid of the great eagle’s wings is the gift of the [two] prophets, which is given to that catholic church. In the end times, a hundred and forty-four thousand men will believe on the preaching of Elijah. . . . The “two great wings” are the two prophets—Elijah and the prophet who will be with him. Victorinus (c. 280, W), 7.352