2 Kings chapter 2 and verse 1. And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee, for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.

And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And he said, Yea, I know it. Hold ye your peace.

And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee, for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.

And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha and said unto him, knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head today? And he answered, yea, I know it, hold ye your peace.

And Elijah said unto him, tarry, I pray thee here, for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And the two went on.

And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood to view afar off, and they too stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle and wrapped it together and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they too went over on dry ground.

And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, thou hast asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee. 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. And Elisha saw it. And he cried, 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 and rent them in two pieces.

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.

Amen. May the Lord bless to us this reading from his word.

The Lord God greatly blessed and honoured his servant Elijah during the prophet's lifetime. Elijah received visits from the Lord and from angels. He was called to represent God during a period in Israel when idolatry was rife and many of the Lord's prophets and preachers were slain for their faith. Elijah was hated by kings and queens who sought his death, but by God's grace, he always evaded capture and was able to hide himself away only to reappear when he was least expected in order to bring God's message and do God's will.

But if Elijah was blessed and honoured in life, how much more was he honoured when his time came to leave this world? There is nothing quite like Elijah's death or rather his transition into glory. For in truth, he never died. He was transported in a whirlwind, in a fiery chariot with fiery horses into glory. a quite extraordinary and unique end to Elijah's life on earth. Our opening verse in the passage that we read today tells us that the time came when Elijah, sorry, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind. Elijah knew that his time on earth was coming to an end. And we're also told that Elisha is with Elijah at this time. So here we have them both together.

Elijah, the older man, the old prophet, with whom God had worked for many, many years, and Elisha, a younger man who had sometime previously been called by Elijah to follow after him. And we've not heard about Elisha since the time that Elijah called the younger man to follow him. But we might suppose that Elisha had stayed close by the old prophet all through this time.

One interesting thing that we learn from this passage, these verses that we read together as well, excuse me, is the presence of groups of prophets in different towns around the country. These seem to be like schools or colleges. And it may be that Elijah was a tutor to these men and he visited them from time to time like a visiting teacher to show them the ways and teach them the ways of the Lord.

If this is the case, then it shows that the Lord had maintained a witness in Israel and in Judah even when idolatry and Baal worship was widespread and dominant. Many years before, the Lord had told Elijah, that there were 7,000 men who had not bowed their knee to Baal in the country. Jezebel had tried to destroy the worship of God in the land, and many prophets we know had been slain. And yet God was faithful.

And whether these men met openly or secretly, It seems that Elijah was instrumental in preserving and encouraging these schools, the sons of the prophets, as they're called. And as his earthly presence comes to an end, he visits several of these groups where the sons of the students of the prophets dwelt and studied.

Several times Elijah tells Elisha that the Lord would have him go on a journey, go to a particular place and he asks Elisha to remain behind. But the young man will not have it. He's aware that Elijah doesn't have long on earth and he's determined to stay with him until the end, to be there when Elijah is taken up. And they visit several towns, Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho. And in each place, the students tell Elisha that Elijah will soon be taken from them.

So it was widely known amongst the Lord's people that Elijah's days on earth had come to an end. And there was some curiosity as well about what was going to happen, as we see from these 50 gathering on a vantage point to watch what's going to happen. Each time Elisha tells these sons of the prophet that he knows that Elijah is soon to leave, but he does not wish to discuss the matter. He's too intent on staying close to Elijah and he will not be distracted.

Finally, Elijah tells Elisha that he's going beyond the River Jordan. Perhaps it's a test. He says to him, you remain here, but Elisha will not stay. And the two men walk to the water's edge. And there Elijah takes off his garment and he rolls it up and he strikes the water. And the water divides, allowing the two men to cross on dry ground. And meanwhile, on the hill nearby, these 50 sons of the prophets from Jericho, they gather to watch what is going to happen.

And having crossed to the other side, Elijah invites Elisha to ask for a parting gift. Aware of his own deficiencies, and perhaps the great need for God's power for the land of Israel and Judah, Elisha boldly asks, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. This is not something that Elijah himself can give. It is a gift from God that Elisha is asking for. Nevertheless, the prophet tells him, if the Lord allows Elisha to see what God is about to do to his servant Elijah, that will be a sign that Elisha's request has been granted.

And so we read, 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. The Lord took Elijah to heaven without the prophet dying. He went straight from this world into the presence of God, straight from this earth into God's presence. Elisha witnessed it all. He rent his clothes in humble astonishment. And he cried out, my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof.

Which seems actually to be a reference to Elijah rather than the chariot and the horses that had so recently been seen. He seems to be saying that Elijah was powerful for Israel. and valuable like a troop of chariots. As Elijah ascended into the sky, his garment, his mantle, fell from his shoulders. Elisha picked it up. He had seen what God had done. and therefore the role Elijah vacated now fell to Elisha. He put on Elijah's mantle and he returned to the river Jordan.

Reaching the water's edge, he did as his master had done previously. He rolled up the garment and he struck the water. Would there be evidence that God's spirit was with him? The river parted as before and Elisha walked across. The spirit of God that had been with Elijah now rested upon Elisha. This is the place where we get our saying that the mantle has passed. when someone takes over another person's role and duties. So the mantle had passed. Elijah's role and responsibilities had become Elisha's and Elisha took up the mantle of Elijah and he wore it upon his own shoulders.

Here's a few applications that we can draw from these verses, which I trust will be meaningful to us. The first one is a little bit of a curiosity, really. We might wonder why God chose to translate Elijah in this way. Such an unusual, such an extraordinary miracle performed here at this time upon this man, Elijah. And why? Why did that happen? I think that the answer is that the Lord wished to provide the Old Testament church with clear evidence and recorded proof of life after death. That is what the Lord is showing. You say, well, that doesn't mean anything because Elijah never died. Exactly, exactly. Elisha and these 50 sons of the prophets witnessed Elijah's ascension. And they would tell and they would teach and they would preach what they had seen. When the question was raised, where is Elijah? The answer would be given, he is with the Lord. And we saw him travelling up into heaven in that fiery chariot.

I wonder if perhaps you remember ever having heard of a man called Enoch. Well, Enoch was another one of the Lord's faithful witnesses. He lived before the flood, so a long, long time before the time of Elijah, Enoch was alive. He was Noah's great-great, no, he was Noah's great-grandfather, great-grandfather. Enoch also did not die. We read in Hebrews 11, verse five, by faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death and was not found because God had translated him. So that Enoch and Elijah are proof that somewhere there is a new world. Somewhere there is a place where our bodies have existence and live. Our resurrected Saviour proved this to the church by ascending bodily into heaven, which all the Lord's redeemed people will do someday. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4, for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and the voice of the archangel and with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord.

translation or the ascension of Enoch and Elijah and the Lord Jesus all prove to believers that heaven exists and give us hope of everlasting life. So that I think is why the Lord took Elijah to heaven in the way that he did. It shows that heaven is a place where our bodies shall live.

And one of the interesting things, this is the second point, one of the interesting things about Elijah is the way he seemed to, in his life, just appear and disappear. No one could find him. and then suddenly God would call him to action and he'd appear before the king or in a particular place to do God's will. Well again, it's interesting that this appearing did not stop when Elijah went to heaven. The prophet Malachi told the church in Malachi chapter four, verse five, behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

Well, I'm quite sure that John the Baptist was a fulfilment of this prophecy. But note as well, that Elijah did come as well as John the Baptist. Elijah came with Moses and met the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. Just like in his life, he appeared and disappeared again. And some people actually think that Elijah's work may not yet be over. and that he might yet come again before the Lord Jesus returns in the day of judgment.

Be that as it may, this is a picture of the way in which Elijah lived his life and was used of God at different times throughout the history of the church. And just thirdly, Elijah was gone to heaven and Elisha picked up his mantle and began to serve the people as God's chosen successor among them. And this is how the Lord works. This is how the Lord uses people in his service. He gives a preacher to each generation. He sends a witness to each generation. And when a preacher dies, another is raised up to take his place. When one faithful witness is taken, another is called who continues to preach and to teach the gospel of God's grace in Jesus Christ. Telling sinners about the cleansing blood of Jesus and encouraging them to trust in Christ's atoning work for salvation.

The Lord will not leave himself without a witness. Elisha knew that he didn't have the strength to serve the Lord in himself. So he asked for a double portion of Elijah's spirit. The task before Elisha was great, so God's help and assistance must be greater. If you are one of the Lord's people, if you trust in Christ as your Saviour, then the Lord will employ you too in His service and for His testimony. He will call you to stand for truth and He will call you to honour Him. He will equip you with such gifts and portions of His Spirit as will suit your need. In such ways, God is honoured in this world and His gospel continues to be preached.

Elijah was gone, but Elisha remained and the work of the Lord went forward. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us today. Amen.