Actually, instead of calling this series of articles “A Chariot of Fire” I should have called the series “The Whirlwind,” because THAT is what caught away Elijah from Elisha’s side – a whirlwind, NOT a chariot of fire. The first verse of 2 Kings Chapter 2 clearly says, “And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven (actually meaning the sky) BY A WHIRLWIND, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.” Elijah did not board a fiery chariot at all. Beginning with verse 9 of 2 Kings 2, we read: “And it came to pass, when they were gone over (the Jordan River – see verses 6 through 8), that Elijah said unto Elisha, ‘Ask what I shall do for you, before I be taken away from you?’ And Elisha said, ‘I pray you, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.’ And he (Elijah) said, ‘You have asked a hard thing, nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so unto you, but if not, it shall not be so.’ And it came to pass as they still went on and talked that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, AND PARTED THEM BOTH ASUNDER, AND ELIJAH WENT UP BY A WHIRLWIND INTO HEAVEN (or into the sky). And Elisha saw it, and he cried (yelled to Elijah), ‘My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. AND HE SAW HIM NO MORE, and he took hold of his own clothes (in anguish and frustration) and rent them in two pieces.”
Elisha did NOT see Elijah caught away by the whirlwind as God separated them by this chariot of fire. Not seeing Elijah, not knowing the whirlwind had caught Elijah away, Elisha cries out to Elijah, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof!” He was saying, “Elijah, LOOK, LOOK, a chariot of fire.” When the chariot of fire passed then Elisha noticed that Elijah was gone. He then knew he was not going to receive a double portion of Elijah’s spirit as he had missed seeing the whirlwind envelop Elijah and carry him away.
Continuing with the 2 Kings 2 account, we read: “He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back and stood by the bank of Jordan, and he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and smote the waters, and said, ‘Where is the Lord God of Elijah?’ And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither, and Elisha went over (passing through the dry riverbed much as the children of Israel had passed through the Red Sea when it was parted by Moses). And when the sons of the prophets, which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, ‘The spirit of Elijah does rest on Elisha’ (which was true, but not a double portion of that spirit). And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him.” (verses 13 through 15). To be continued…..
Christ’s Aged Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley