Answer:
God is about to take Elijah up into heaven, and everybody knows it.
When it happens, it will be an event such as no one has ever seen or experienced. Elijah is the only person in the whole Bible who visibly ascends to heaven without dying first. We watch as he is scooped up in a great whirlwind, with chariot and horses of fire. This is a world-class miracle, entirely unique, which vindicates Elijah’s whole prophetic career.
He could use some public vindication, since Elijah is almost always in an oppositional situation with the powers that be: Ahab, king of Israel, and his queen, Jezebel, who would like to see the contrary prophet dead.
