The Elisha Code and the Coming Revival: Rediscovering Jesus' Blueprint for Renewal

by David Kitz, Dr Ed Hird

Is there a “hidden code” to the Bible—a code hidden in plain sight—we have been missing for generations?

By studying the ministry of Jesus, we can rediscover the blueprint he was following to launch the first-century church. It is a blueprint patterned after the prophetic Old Testament ministries of Elijah and Elisha.

Together, let’s crack the Elisha Code, renew our first love, and become participants in the next great endtimes revival—a revival marked by a double portion of Christ’s miraculous anointing.

176 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2023

About the author

David Kitz is a Bible dramatist, an award winning author, a convention speaker and a retired public school teacher. For over twenty-five years, he has served as an ordained minister with the Foursquare Gospel Church of Canada.

David has a Master’s degree in Biblical Studies, in addition to Bachelor’s degrees in both Arts and Education. His love for drama and storytelling is evident to all who have seen his Bible based performances. For several years now, he has toured across Canada and into the United States with a variety of one man plays for both children and adults. Though born and raised in Saskatchewan, David now lives in Ottawa, Canada with his wife Karen. They have two adult sons, Timothy and Joshua.

Reviews

[Hildayoung8]

The Elisha Code: The coming revival : Rediscovering Jesus’ Blueprint for renewal by David Kitz and Dr. Ed Hird
Book review by Hilda Young
David Kitz and Dr Ed Hird are both well known members of The Word Guild. Dr. Ed Hird is an award-winning author and worldwide conference speaker. For more than forty-three years has served as an ordained Anglican pastor in BC. He received his Doctor of Ministry in 2013, in addition to a Master of Divinity and a Bachelor of Social Work. David Kitz is a Bible dramatist, award-winning author, and conference speaker. For more than 30 years he has served as an ordained minister with the Foursquare Gospel Church of Canada. David has a Master’s degree in Biblical Studies , in addition to Bachelor degrees in Arts and Education.
I gave the above summary mostly from the back cover of the book to give an idea of the academic background of the two authors. However I would like to state that although they treat the subject seriously , they also have a bit of fun with the comparisons to the current day! There is a message of hope throughout the book. This book has already won Braum Books award for 2023 and Award of Merit from the 2024 Word Guild award in Biblical Studies: Apologetics.
In the introductions the authors state :We live in dark times- times of fear, pestilence national and international intrigue and political turmoil.
Many are in despair.
“To fulfil its mission the church of the 21st century does not need to discover new and different truths for the current age. It needs to return to and needs to rediscover lived truths taught by Jesus and the apostles of the first century church., and put into practice by the leading men and women of god down through the ages’
David Kitz and Ed Hird go back to the Old Testament Prophets of Elijah and Elisha to bring parallels with John the Baptist and Jesus. The early part of the book focuses on drawing the comparison. Intersperset are references to modern times even as recent as the war in the Ukraine. The “ modern day evangelists such as Corrie Ten Boom, and earlier Martin Luther and John Wesley are all discussed in context of their own support and journey through the wilderness. The first chapter focuses: On the road to Emmaus. Do we suffer from the same spiritual blindness as those who saw Jesus in a different form just after his resurrection? At the end of the chapter the author ask are we interested in catching the fire that was created by the Holy Spirit?
Chapter 2 is called “The return of the dynamic duo” It focuses on the old Testament prophets: Elijah and Elisha and starts the parallel story with John the Baptist and Jesus. The chapter ends with Baptism of by John the Baptist as the new Elijah. Who then is the new Ellisha?
In chapter 4 the authors state that spiritual blindness is the most damaging. The cure is repentance and rebirth by the powers of the holy spirit. The third key to unlock the code is spiritual insight. Chapter 5 talks about Literary Prophets and Martin Luther and Leo Tolstoy are both quoted as well as Harriet Beecher Stowe. We need more literary prophets for our time. Perhaps Hird and Kitz are suggesting that this book is a key to understanding the code and can be used as a Literary text. IN chapter 6 Matthew is quoted as the temple is torn in two. Another miracle.
Each chapter ends with a statement enticing the read to continue on to have a life surrendered to the will of the father. The chapter titles entice the reader to continue to discover what more parts of the code will be revealed. Kitz and Hird work at making the Old and New Testament relevant with modern times as the two dynamic duo of Elisha, Elijah, John the Baptist and Jesus. In the conclusion there is a call to action for all Christians. The last paragraph in the book is a prayer: Lord Jesus grant us a mustard seed of your courageous, audacious faith- mountain moving faith. As we walk our own Emmaus Road light your fire in our hearts!

[Janet Sketchley · Rating 4 out of 5]

If John the Baptist fulfilled the role of the Old Testament prophet Elijah, was there a corresponding prophet Elisha to follow him with a double blessing of power? The authors of The Elisha Code and the Coming Revival point to Jesus as a type of second Elisha—not in the sense of denying His deity, but as continuing and building on John’s call to repentance and allegiance to a new Kingdom.

They are very clear in affirming that Jesus is indeed the Son of God. Their call is for readers to be “Rediscovering Jesus’ Blueprint for Renewal” and to follow in His way.

The opening chapters of the book trace a number of parallel miracles between Elisha and Jesus (those of Jesus being greater). I’m familiar with comparisons between Jesus and Moses, and Jesus and Joshua, but this connection with Elisha was new to me.

The book also delves into past spiritual awakenings, outpourings, and renewals. For Christians praying for revival, it echoes that longing and points us to inspect our own hearts: are there aspects needing repentance and to come (back?) under the Kingdom authority of Christ?

Despite possible first impressions of the title and cover, this is no trendy, hype-driven “new” revelation. The truth it contains may well be a catalyst, but as the natural result of considering Jesus and His work.

In fact, the introduction explains, “To fulfill its divine mission, the church of the twenty-first century does not need to discover new and different truths for this current age. It needs to return to and rediscover lived truths taught by Jesus and the apostles of the first century church, and put into practice by leading men and women of God down through the ages” [Introduction, page 3 Kobo version].

The book’s premise is that the key to revival is the “return to a Holy Spirit-powered church growth” [chapter 18, page 4 Kobo version]. As readers accept the challenge to seek God and be found by Him, and to prepare their own hearts for what He may be about to do, may we see results in keeping with the truth of the Gospel.

David Kitz is an award-winning author and Bible dramatist. Dr. Ed Hird is a writer and speaker and former pastor. Each is an ordained minister in his respective denomination. This is their first book collaboration.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the clarity of writing style. There are so many scriptures quoted in full to explain and draw the reader’s learning forward. The final summation in the last pages is super. Certainly a fascinating connection between OLT prophets Elijah/Elisha and NT John the Baptist/Christ Jesus. Keeping in mind Psalm90:4, I was able to more fully understand Matthew 4:17, 6:9-15,26:39. Actually way more than that. Matthew 27:54 where the Roman centurion speaks of Christ on the cross and all the signs and wonders of that moment, declares Jesus as God.
🎼Revive us again, fill each heart with Thy love, May each soul be rekindled with fire from above🎼

[Selah Selah · Rating 5 out of 5]

God himself inspired this book as it so clearly unveils the Scriptural truths and discovers more of God’s own character through His Son Jesus Christ - as this book reveals, forshadowed through prophet Elisha. It is so interesting to see the Biblical accounts are so connected and offer so much understanding into God’s own plans for us today as His followers. Nothing is wasted by God and He is the ultimate script writer of His divine and perfect plan for our salvation! We are truly blessed by the book. All the blessings for David&Ed. Ivana💖

[Danny Covey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this “connect-the-dots” blueprint between the Old Testament ministries of Elijah and Elisha and the New Testament ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus. I found each chapter engaging, relevant to today, and insightful in a way that makes me eager to revisit these passages in my Bible. The Elisha Code has helped me see deeper connections between the Old and New Testaments, and has truly helped the Bible come alive in my own reading! I’m thankful to know author David Kitz and am grateful for this book and more books to come!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Elisha Code by David Kitz and Dr. Ed Hird brilliantly shows the correlation between Elijah with John the Baptist and Elisha with Jesus and their corresponding miracles. They are referred to as “dynamic duos.” I have read the Bible countless times, and yet this comparison was so clear that I was stunned that I hadn’t seen it before. I was excited to keep reading.

The introduction asks the question: Is there a hidden code to the Bible – a secret interpretation that we have been missing for generations? If so, what are the implications for Christians today? The authors then assert that The Elisha Code cracks that code and that Jesus shared this code with his disciples. It further asserts that this code is the pattern for a coming global revival.

The authors then connect the dots for us from Jesus’ earthly ministry and the pattern he followed to lead people to God, and to church history which involved times of spiritual awakening. Using Jesus’ own words the authors show us the connection between Elijah and John the Baptist. Both had ministries of repentance. The authors then show us how the miracles of Elisha ran parallel with the miracles of Jesus. The difference was, of course, that Jesus’ miracles were on a whole new level.

While I enjoyed learning about this connection, the authors lost me when they assumed that the miracles of Jesus were still needed today to bring about revival. Jesus himself said in Matthew 16:4, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” So, it was disappointing to see the authors venture into this arena of signs and wonders as the only way of revival.

While the book rings true about many distressing elements in the church today (political involvement, declining attendance in churches, etc.), I cannot agree with the author’s assumption that healings, signs, and wonders are how revivals begin. Or, more importantly, that a worldwide revival is coming. This teaching itself, while hopeful, is a false teaching. The Scriptures do not point to an end-time revival before Jesus returns. It says the exact opposite.

In Luke 18:8 Jesus asks, “When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” Even the Apostle Paul in his letters to Timothy did not think there would be a worldwide revival. “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:1–2). Rather than repenting in a worldwide revival he said, “People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:2–5). While it would be wonderful to hope that a worldwide revival is coming, it is highly unlikely.

Overall, this book starts well, showing how the prophets Elijah and Elisha aligned with John the Baptist and Jesus. It has many positive points to make and is well-written, but for me, it presented too many doctrinal problems.

[Neil J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title, The Elisha Code, might make one think of a book like The Da Vinci Code and its search for a secretive, hidden key that would enable a special few to decode a mystery. Or it might even cause some to think back to the early days of the Christian Church and the rise of Gnosticism with its guarded secret knowledge available only to initiates. But not this book.

For these authors—this “dynamic duo”—the “code” is there for all to see if they know where to look for it in God’s Word. What David and Ed have done is to discover and reveal amazing—might I say, “uncanny”— parallels between the two Old Testament prophets Elijah and Elisha, and the two New Testament personages of John the Baptist and Jesus. The uncovering and displaying of these parallels, which help us see scripture with new eyes, is the heart of the book, and in themselves make it worth the read.

But one might ask, “To what end?” The authors clearly answer that question in the latter half of the book (and in the second half of the book’s title—the Coming Revival). The authors’ goal is not just cleverly to point out these complementary passages, but to bring the reader to see the conditions required for revival that will inevitably come if God’s people will meet them.

Delving deep into the lives of great men and women whom God anointed and used to bring about revivals and do transformational gospel work; and in laying out the spiritual requirements for revival, they challenge us today to give ourselves fully to God so that we ourselves, living in this twenty-first century, might be his instruments in enabling the revival to come.

Neil Bramble—freelance writer and editor, longtime magazine editor, published author and book editor, and a professional member of The Word Guild.

[Andrew Nicholls · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love God's Word then this book is for you! David Kitz and Dr. Hird masterfully connect the Old and New Testaments and brilliantly connect the ministry of Elisha to the ministry we see with Jesus in the Gospels. The thread of practical applications to our own lives is impactful and encouraging. This book is a blueprint for the revival we need in our lives and in our churches! A great book to read on your own or to study deeper with others.

[Milos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of meeting David Kitz,and sharing stories with him.i picked up his book (the Elisha code the coming revival) and it has definitely has helped me to pick up on things in the Bible,I would have missed.Thank you for helping me on my spiritual walk

[Ed Hird · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Kitz was a remarkable author with which to co-write the Elisha Code. His writing shows a remarkable ability to express narrative and flow. I particularly enjoyed seeing how David identified the systematic ways that Elisha and Jesus were correlated.

[David Kitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ed Hird's contribution to this book is deeply appreciated. His knowledge of key revivalists and leading figures in church history enhances and brings applied truth to the principles found in this book.