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Caution to students of God's Word - Please remember two things when using our studies: #1. Our commentary is not God's Word. It is only our interpretation or understanding of "His Word" and even though we try our best to be accurate we may or may not be correct. #2. The King James translation, or any other translation, of the original Hebrew text has some words which were given different translations at different places probably because of the interpreters preconceived ideas of what they think God meant to say. For example: According to the notes in the "Drake's Annotated Reference Bible" the Hebrew word hayah in the KJV is Trans. (became) 67 times, (becamest or came to pass) 505 times, (become) 66 times, and (come to pass) 131 times, but for some reason in Genesis 1:2 it is translated (was)! That sure changes the way a person perceives the original creation of the earth, doesn't it? Gen. 1:2 And the earth was (became) without form, ... Having said that, let us continue with our "Key Knowledge" lessons. These are pamphlets containing knowledge, we believe, you must have to fully and accurately unlock and understand the Word of God.

John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:13-14
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

This Bible Study was originally written by Roger Christopherson,
published at http://www.theseason.org/

Without the leading by the Holy Spirit, there is no understanding of the truths, for all the truth of the Scriptures are revealed to us by God's Spirit.

II Kings 2:1 "And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal."

"Elisha" in the Hebrew tongue means "God has salvation". God has salvation but we have to repent and ask for that salvation before it becomes ours personally. So the next question to ask is what is a "whirwind"? This thing that carried Elijah up to heaven is that same object that was seen by Ezekiel, as recorded in Ezekiel 1:4; "And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire."

We know that this "whirlwind" was also seen by Job when God came to him in this whirlwind, and all these are identified in Strong's Hebrew Dictionary as # 5591; "Ca-`ar, a hurricane: tempest." This hurricane or what ever it appeared to be was the color "amber" and when we identify the true color, it is # 2830 in the Hebrew dictionary; "Chashmal, khash-mal'; bronze or highly polish spectrum metal:-amber."

This was not a UFO for God knows exactly what this highly polished bronze vehicle was that took Elijah, and appeared to Job and Ezekiel. It simply was a mode of transportation that is far beyond our imaginations of today's minds. There are no mysteries as far as God's Word is concerned, once you understand God's plan.

II Kings 2:2 "And Elijah said unto Elisha, "Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el." And Elisha said unto him, "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." So they went down to Beth-el."

By this time the Lord had revealed to Elijah that his duty here on earth is finished and that another man, Elisha, is going to take his place. This revelation came to him while he was up on mount Sinai [Horeb] when he was fleeing from Jezebel, Ahab's wife who was trying to kill him.

I Kings 19:15; "And the Lord said unto him, "Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, Anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:"

I Kings 19:16 "And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in they room."

God already let it be known that at the appointed time Elisha would take over his duties and that he would be gone. The time that God would take Elijah is approaching, and Elisha wants the same degree of authority that Elijah had, only Elisha will ask for a double portion. God told Elijah that; "today I'm taking you home", and to Elisha He told, "today is the day that you are going to lose your teacher". Elisha will no longer have a mentor and spiritual father, for Elijah is telling Elisha to be prepared for what is about to happen.

Stop and think of it for a moment, Elijah woke up in the morning, and he knew that that would be his last day on earth in his flesh body. At the same time also all the prophets that he was teaching knew that it was happening today. No, Elijah was not going to die, but be translated into another dimension. These Prophets knew that God had taken Enoch centuries earlier, but here the same event was going to happen again to him. Of course the first thing that Elijah would be thinking of was the work that he had started in the name of the Lord. That became foremost in his mind.

Remember that Jezebel had tried to destroy all the prophets, but Elijah had reestablished three separate schools after the loss of those hundreds of prophets. So God is allowing Elijah to return to each of these three schools, and alert them also that this was the day that God would take him. So on this day Elisha would take over the position that Elijah had, and continue the work of Elijah. Again, Elijah would not die, but be translated, just as Enoch was, as is recorded in Genesis 5:24; "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him."

II Kings 2:3 "And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, "Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day?" And he said, "Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace."

So when Elijah came to the first school at Beth-el and told the prophets there, and along followed Elisha. These student prophets ran to Elisha to tell him that Elijah would be taken. When they approached Elisha, Elisha told them to keep still. Why? Because Elisha did not want Elijah to know that he knew. Elisha wanted to go with Elijah to the Father, and not stay here on earth.

Elijah did not want to be glorified in the eyes of Elisha, for that would have taken away the glory that belonged the Father, and Elijah did not want that. That is why he kept it a secret from Elisha. Elijah did not want Elisha to pull away from the worship of the Father, and think of him in any form of deity. It is a matter of thought to consider, for Elijah was a very humble person and God must get all the glory.

II Kings 2:4 "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."

So now Elijah is going to the second of the schools to reveal what was about to happen, and he told Elisha to remain at Beth-el until his return. Elisha would have nothing to do with this idea, for he knew that Elijah may not return from Jericho. The time was short and Elisha would not let Elijah go out of his sight.

II Kings 2:5 "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 to day?" And he answered, "Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace."

Here again the prophets that were in this school did just as the student prophets that were at Beth-el did, and they told Elisha. However, Elisha told them also to be still, for he did not want Elijah to know that he knew that God was going to take him. Even though it is obvious that God had spoken to all the prophets, Elisha still hasn't gotten it through his mind.

II Kings 2:6 "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 they two went on."

The school on the river Jordan was the third school that Elijah had founded, and the same thing happened here as at the other schools. Elijah did not refuse Elisha the right to stay right by his side, but allowed him to go along.

II Kings 2:7 "And fifty men of the sons of the prophets sent, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan."

Every last one of these fifty men that would become prophets of God, knew what was about to happen, and they all wanted to see it in person. They all knew that they would not go, but what a time of excitement. They all gathered on the ridge looking down over the Jordan river, where Elijah and Elisha were standing below at the river side.

II Kings 2:8 "And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground."

It is important that you note this, for Elijah has a great deal to do with our generation. This miracle is just as Moses did under God's instructions in Exodus 14:16; "But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea."

The chief man of the Law took the staff and parted the waters, while the prophet of God took the mantle of God, and "wrapped" or in the Hebrew text "folded it back", like you would a blanket, and the waters departed and Elijah and Elisha went across on dry ground. Remember that both Moses and Elisha appeared on mount transfiguration, along with Jesus, on that day before Peter, James and John.

Matthew 17:1 "And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,"

Matthew 17:2 "And was transfigured before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light."

Matthew 17:3 "And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with Him."

This is why I feel that Moses body could never be found, for Moses was taken just as Elijah was. We also know that in our day, God is going to send Elijah back again, and the final generation will see him, for he shall turn the hearts of all over God's children back to their fathers. There are two fathers, the fathers are Jesus Christ, and Satan in his role of Antichrist, and during that great and dreadful day of the Lord there will be no fence sitters. You will either be sealed in your mind [forehead] with the knowledge to know that Satan the Antichrist will come first, or you will be taken by his lying wonders, and become part of Satan's world beastly system.

That spiritual mantle of the Elijah ministry will cause all men to love either Satan the false Christ who is coming first, or Jesus Christ the True Christ. So the parting of the water with that mantle says a great deal more than just a miracle. But is shows that at the time of the end, just before the day of the Lord, that mantle of Elijah will prepare the way for the elect to return back to the True father, while the rest of the waters [people or nations] have all flowed to Satan's world system. That knowledge of truth will only come to pass through that spiritual mantle, that would be Jesus Christ. You will escape the captivity of the deceptions that Satan will throw our way when you have that spiritual mantle on. That flood of lies has already begun.

II Kings 2:9 "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."

It is true that Elijah allowed this to happen, because Elisha preformed sixteen miracles, while Elijah has eight recorded in Scriptures, these are listed at the close of this chapter. Elijah is the spiritual father and mentor to Elisha, and because Elijah had no other children, God allowed the prophet Elisha the right to a double portion. Elisha wanted to become a spiritual father just as Elijah was, and have double the knowledge that Elijah had and that would be impossible for Elijah to give. The point is that a man can't give double what he doesn't have, so it would require a special gift from God.

II Kings 2:10 "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 be so."

Stop and think for a moment what Elijah is saying. Elijah is saying that if Elisha was there and witnessed his being taken into heaven, then this double portion would be granted to him. However if Elijah was gone, the double portion would not be up him, but at the will of the Father. The double portion come only from God, and not from any man. Elijah did not have the power to grant or to give, but if God saw fit to give it, it would be done.

II Kings 2:11 "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."

This chariot of fire landed right between them, and took Elijah up in this vehicle. The complete description of this highly polished bronze vehicle is given in Ezekiel 1. This word used here for "horses", is # 5483; and it is an unused Hebrew word. "Cuwc, soos; from and unused root word, meaning to skip (as for joy), As a horse leaping; also a swallow (as from a rapid flight)." Remember that God created this entire universe, and he controls all the forces within it. One hundred years ago, it was a great thing just to get off the ground, and fifty years ago it was unthinkable to go to the moon. All the thought of space travel is common only to our generation. All the years that mankind has existed, those things that are common today, were unheard of and unthinkable then. If this vehicle landed today in your front yard, you would think that it was some medical vehicle or part of the military, but the knowledge that built this vehicle that took Elijah was far beyond what we have today.

There are powers in the universe that we have no idea of, for today we are still burning fossil fuels to make our space ships go. A "put put" here, and "loud boom" there, and off into space that cumbersome vessel leaps. Living in our age, we have seen jets, and even flown in them, yet the fastest thing these people had ever seen was a horse drawn chariot. So as these men of Elijah's day stood on that river bank and watched God's spaceship taking Elijah into heaven; think of the awesomeness that it would appear to them, in their complete lack of modern day technologies. However some day very shortly, all this knowledge will be common to everyone, as the people of the world move into their incorruptible bodies at the sounding of the seventh trumpet.

Remember that God took Moses also, however there were no witness to that event recorded in the Scriptures, only that God took him. These two men appeared in their transfigured bodies along with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration. Both Moses and Elijah parted water, one with his staff, and the other with his mantle. The staff and the law represented order here on earth, while the mantle represented the spiritual power of God that rests upon the prophet carrying that mantle.

II Kings 2:12 "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."

Elijah was Elisha's spiritual father, and not his physical father. Elijah had taught Elisha the spiritual knowledge and mysteries of God, and taught him the love of God. Now Elijah is gone, and this is the sign of Elisha's sadness to have his spiritual father taken from him. Rather than just tare his clothes, he rent them completely in two with the grief of Elijah's departure. Yet, at the same time Elisha had to be happy for he was there when God took Elijah, and he had the faith to know that God's promise to grant him his request would come to pass. Only God had the power to fulfill that promise. That power that would come from the hands of Elisha could only come from God, and that is what Elijah was training Elisha for, before his departure. All power that any prophet had came from the hand of God. A man can leave only what he has in a will, but the double portion that Elisha sought was a provision that only God can give.

II Kings 2:13 "He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;"

Elijah was taken after this miracle took place, the men had crossed over the river, and this vehicle landed and took Elijah. Elijah's mantle was laying there, and Elisha picked up Elijah's mantle and went back to the bank of the Jordan.

II Kings 2:14 "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."

This was the first miracle of Elisha, for Elisha did exactly as Elijah had done just minutes or hours before. As Elisha smote the water with the mantle, the waters parted, and Elisha went back to the other side. The student prophets were still up there on the ridge, standing in awe, and all these things were happening before their eyes. The power is not in Elisha, but in the mantle that God has ordained through his prophets. The mantle was nothing more than a piece of clothing, but the man that wore that piece of clothing, and the power of God within his hands. The power that came through that mantle was the gift from God to the individual [prophet] to do what God allows him to do.

II Kings 2:15 "And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha." And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him."

These fifty young men had gone out to observe Elijah being taken. They watched as the river Jordan parted and the two went across on dry land. Whether they saw from a distance the actual taking of Elijah is not recorded, but they did see the return of Elisha coming back through the parted waters wearing the mantle of Elijah. They knew immediately that Elisha had been blessed.

II Kings 2:16 "And they said unto him, "Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley." And he said, "Ye shall not send."

These young strong fifty men from the Jordan prophet training school thought that they were ready to charge out into the world to teach and become prophets. They had the desire and the vitality to do the work, yet they did not have the training in the knowledge of God's Word. Elisha knew this, and told them not to go for that it was not their time.

When Elijah would show up before the king, before the altar or right in the middle of a conflict, it was at God's instruction. God did not just send a person blindly, but He allowed Elijah to know what the problem was, the words to say, and what he was to do. What ever that prophet did, whether Elijah, Elisha or one of these students, it must be from God's direction, for they would be acting from their own imagination, and that is what a false prophet does. A false prophet is one that says God told him to do something, when He did not. Elisha had the full impact of what had just happened to Elijah, but these students witnessed wonders of God, and attributed them to the man. When they get to the point of attributing them to God, then they are ready for service to be prophets of God.

II Kings 2:17 "And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, "Send." They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not."

After these fifty young men kept on badgering Elisha for three days to allow them to go out as prophets of God, Elisha broke down and allowed the all to go into their ministry. Sometimes it is better to learn their lessons the hard way, and that they will.

II Kings 2:18 "And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, "Did I not say unto you, `Go not' ?"

It didn't take long after these fifty young men went out into the world, that they all returned to Jericho, where Elisha was staying. They came back dragging their spirits behind them, as a bunch of whipped puppies. The first thing that Elisha told them, was "Did I not say to you, Don't go!" This was a great lesson to them to show the need for a proper preparation for the ministry. If a man of God has the mantle of God, everything that he states will be documented by the Word of God. If he is out there stating things that do not conform to God's holy Word, than he is a fake. This is why it is important to have the knowledge of God's Word before you pick up that mantle, for when spirits come at you, and place things in your mind, you can separate the evil spirits, from what God is saying through His Holy Spirit. These fifty young men in training did not have the knowledge of God's Word in their mind, and when they started following all the spirits that came their way, it didn't take long to see that something was seriously wrong.

II Kings 2:19 "And the men of the city said unto Elisha, "Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren."

Elijah had build a school in this town of Jericho, after Ahab had rebuilt it. Now that the people have returned to Jericho, they had some serious problems, for in the Hebrew text it said that; "every female, both of the animals and the women miscarried, that drinks water from their well." The men of the city knew their problem, and they knew of the miracle that had taken place right out of their city, and that Elisha was truly a man of God that had the power to perform miracles. They came to Elisha and sought help to correct this well and give them good water.

II Kings 2:20 "And he said, "Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein." And they brought it to him."

Notice that Elisha never hesitated a moment when asked for this help. Every time a man [woman] of God leaves a place, we are to leave a place a little better than when we arrived. God's people are the salt of the earth, and when they have lost their saltiness, they are good for nothing, but to be cast out. Elisha was going to leave Jericho far better than when he arrived, and rest assured it will be God that gets all the glory. Elisha took the old filthy water, and he put the salt of God into that filthy water, and it brought life back into the water, and cleansed it.

Spiritually speaking, we can see that even in our generation, the generation of the fig tree, that in the transfiguring of Elijah, Elijah's mantle of the living water that would flow through God's Spirit, that truth would continue down through the generation to purify those that would drink of that living water, which is Christ. The "living water" that we take of today is Jesus Christ, and when He is in us and we are drinking from that spiritual fountain, then our lives will not turn bad and spiritually die of the filth of this world age. We are to stay close to the source of the living water that gives us our spiritual strength. We get our living water from the Word of God, and with in His Word is all the water we need to direct us through all of the problems in our lives.

II Kings 2:21 "And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, "Thus saith the Lord, `I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.' "

Elisha did as the Lord instructed him, "Thus saith the Lord, "I have healed these waters..." God received all the credit and glory for the purifying of that spring at Jericho, and Elisha made it clear that what God has healed, is healed permanently.

II Kings 2:22 "So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake."

II Kings 2:23 "And he went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him. "Go up, thou bald head; go up thou bald head."

So Elisha is returning to that first school, that Elijah had established, after Elijah's departure. Remember that Elijah started here at Beth-el, at the house of God, and went on to Jericho, the first city to be taken when the Israelites entered into the promised land, and then on to the river Jordan. So now as he is going back into the city, these little children are coming to Elisha, and mocking him, in their chant, "go up bald head, ..." over an over. "Little children", in the Hebrew text is "na'ar", and it refers to "being rowdy, like on the main of a lion, cocky, and at the prime is like to growl." In other words, there children were rowdy. They were not children like we think of small children, but these were young people from late teens, into their thirties.

Keep in mind that every last one of these young people had only known Baal worship, and the worship of their two calves. They were under the educational system of Ahab and Jezebel's school system. Baal worship was the religion, and the practices under grove and Baal worship was their way of life. Is it any wonder that they would act in such manner before a true man of God. Their consciences were dull if they had any at all.

Elisha was a young man when Elijah was taken, so Elisha will live for another fifty years from this time. What these young people were mocking was the fact that Elijah went up, and Elisha was left behind. Follow him, get out of here, is the attitude that these kids were taking. This was not just an insult of Elisha, but it was also an insult to our Heavenly Father.

II Kings 2:24 "And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them."

This verse is what gives the power puff preachers of today a lot of trouble, for they lie to themselves and find every excuse in the world that Elisha did an evil thing. They say, "you are not to curse in the name of the Lord". When God's wrath come down on the rowdy children, these bears came out of the woods and tore them apart. They were not around to harass any other prophet of God.

The number forty two, had a deeper message then what first meets the eye here. It represents the forty second generation. There would be forty two kings all together that would rule over all Israel in both houses, before each is hauled away into captivity. The House of Israel by the Assyrians between 745 and 722 B.C., and the house of Judah going into captivity in Babylon, many years later. These evil children that God allows the bears to have their way with, mimicked the things that are precious to us. God loved Elijah because of his loyalty to Him, and for anyone to mock him and those ways, God thinks nothing wrong to set an example for the rest of the community. You can be sure that their families and the rest of the community got the message, when their youth never showed up at the dinner table that night.

Did Elisha get the blame, hardly, for to blame Elisha meant that these people had to recognize the power of God that was in Elisha, so the bears got the blame. This is a teaching aid, and what is worse; the death of your soul, or the death of your flesh body? This is a teaching aid to be passed on from one generation to the next, for God cares more about the soul of that person than he does the flesh body. However, He does consider the flesh body to be important. This was a lesson; to pay attention to what the rowdy youth are doing in our generation, and see how the bears of our day, and taking these youth out of the way. It may be by aids of the sodomites, by drugs, gunshots, knives, or what ever the cause, many youth are being taken out of the way for their words and deeds against the Father. Many just give up in suicide from lost hope, for they can see no hope for themselves.

When God is removed from the teaching of the youth, the Jezebel teachings of the school systems of today have molded their lives to stand against God and His Word. The youth will suffer from the removal of God's laws and teachings from their minds. Any nation that removes God from their land, their schools and they will suffer the consequences right in their own homes, and yet in ignorance they will blame everything but the true cause.

II Kings 2:25 "And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria."

So Elisha is now back in Samaria, after visiting the sight of Elijah's residence up on mount Carmel.

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To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals. We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.

The American Wisdom Series

Published by:

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E-mail address - americanwisdomseries@verizon.net

Here at the American Wisdom Series our goal is to make you think about and question the wisdom of the current:

doctrine of many of our Christian churches, (The Man on a White Horse)
political direction of our country, (The Man on a Red Horse)
economic direction our country has taken, (The Man on a Black Horse)
and teaching of our schools and media, (The Man on a Pale Horse)

The Four Hidden Dynasties of the New World Order Revelation 6:1-8
"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"
Did you know all four are being ridden by Satan?