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As they continued on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha saw it, and he cried, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” He saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes, and tore them in two pieces.
He also took up Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
2 Kings 2:11-13 sits inside this longer paragraph.
As they continued on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha saw it, and he cried, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” He saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes, and tore them in two pieces.
He also took up Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan. He took Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and struck the waters, and said, “Where is Yahweh, the God of Elijah?” When he also had struck the waters, they were divided apart, and Elisha went over. When the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho facing him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. They said to him, “See now, there are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master. Perhaps Yahweh’s Spirit has taken him up, and put him on some mountain, or into some valley.” He said, “Don’t send them.”
As they continued on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated them, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
Elisha saw it, and he cried, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” He saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes, and tore them in two pieces.
He also took up Elijah’s mantle that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
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 it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them both assunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
And Elisha saw it, and he cried: 'My father, my father, the chariots 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 the Jordan.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v11 Thus God hath left a testimony in all ages…
Thus God hath left a testimony in all ages (both before the Law, in the Law, and in the time of the Gospel) of our resurrection.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv11–13 2Ki 2:11 And it came to pass, as they…
2Ki 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.
Ver. 11. As they still went on and talked.] Lo, Elijah was going and talking when the chariot of heaven came to fetch him. Surely, saith my reverend author, had not that conference been needful and divine, it had given way to meditation: and Elijah had been taken up rather from his knees than from his feet. {a} There can be no better posture or state for the messenger of our dissolution to find us in, than in a diligent prosecution of our calling; our busy attendance whereupon is no less pleasing to God, than an immediate devotion.
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A chariot of fire, and horses of fire.] Angels in this form. {Psa 104:4} Seraphims fetch up this seraphical doctor. He was zealous for the Lord of hosts: and they were all alight, on fire, as it were, with ardent affection toward him; so there was a suitableness. This candidate, therefore, of immortality - as the ancients call him and Enoch - went up by a whirlwind into heaven: he went most willingly with them. And Chrysostom hath a conceit, that Satan, the prince of the air, was very much amazed when he saw Elias thus convoyed through his country. But what a fool had he made of that woman of a sect and her companions at Newbury, A.D, 1647, whom he had persuaded that such a night she should be taken up into heaven: before which time many of them assembled together, took their solemn leaves of her with tears, and the time being come, out they go to see her ascension; but at length were fain to return to their homes, as wise as they came, having made themselves a ridiculous spectacle unto many. {b}
{a} Idem ib.
{b} Mr Clark’s Mirror, 2d edit., p. 230.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv11–13 A chariot of fire, and horses of fire; a…
A chariot of fire, and horses of fire; a bright cloud formed into such a likeness, managed by holy and blessed angels sent from heaven to conduct him thither.
Into heaven; into the third heaven being in the way so transformed and changed, as might make him meet to be admitted into those blessed mansions.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v13 We have here an account of what followed immediately…
We have here an account of what followed immediately after the translation of Elijah.
I. The tokens of God's presence with Elisha, and the marks of his elevation into Elijah's room, to be, as he had been, a father to the sons of the prophets, and the chariots and horsemen of Israel.
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1. He was possessed of Elijah's mantle, the badge of his office, which, we may suppose, he put on and wore for his master's sake, Kg2 2:13. When Elijah went to heaven, though he did not let fall his body as others do, he let fall his mantle instead of it; for he was unclothed, that he might be clothed upon with immortality: he was going to a world where he needed not the mantle to adorn him, nor to shelter him from the weather, nor to wrap his face in, as Kg1 19:13. He left his mantle as a legacy to Elisha, and, though in itself it was of small value, yet as it was a token of the descent of the Spirit upon him, it was more than if he had bequeathed to him thousands of gold and silver. Elisha took it up, not as a sacred relic to be worshipped, but as a significant garment to be worn, and a recompence to him for his own garments which he had rent. he loved this cloak ever since it was first cast over him, Kg1 19:19. He that then so cheerfully obeyed the summons of it, and became Elihah's servant, is now dignified with it, and becomes his successor. There are remains of great and good men, which, like this mantle, ought to be gathered up and preserved by the survivors, their sayings, their writings, their examples, that, as their works follow them in the reward of them, they may stay behind in the benefit of them.
2. He was possessed of Elijah's power to divide Jordan, Kg2 2:14. Having parted with his father, he returns to his sons in the schools of the prophets. Jordan was between him and them; it had been divided to make way for Elijah to his glory; he will try whether it will divide to make way for him to his business, and by that he will know that God is with him, and that he has the double portion of Elijah's spirit. Elijah's last miracle shall be Elisha's first; thus he begins where Elijah left off and there is no vacancy. In dividing the waters, (1.) He made use of Elijah's mantle, as Elijah himself had done (Kg2 2:8), to signify that he designed to keep to his master's methods and would not introduce any thing new, as those affect to do that think themselves wiser than their predecessors. (2.) He applied to Elijah's God: Where is the Lord God of Elijah? He does not ask, "Where is Elijah?" as poring upon the loss of him, as if he could not be easy now that he was gone, - or as doubting of his happy state, as if, like the sons of the prophets here, he knew not what had become of him, - or as curiously enquiring concerning him, and the particular of that state he was removed to (no, that is a hidden life, it does not yet appear what we shall be), - nor as expecting help from him; no, Elijah is happy, but is neither omniscient nor omnipotent; but he asks, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? Now that Elijah was taken to heaven God had abundantly proved himself the God of Elijah; if he had not prepared for him that city, and done better for him there than ever he did for him in this world, he would have been ashamed to be called his God, Heb 11:16; Mat 27:31, Mat 27:32. Now that Elijah was taken to heaven Elisha enquired, [1.] After God. When our creature-comforts are removed, we have a God to go to, that lives for ever. [2.] After The God of Elijah, the God that Elijah served, and honoured, and pleaded for, and adhered to when all Israel had deserted him. This honour is done to those who cleave to God in times of general apostasy, that God will be, in a peculiar manner, their God. "The God that owned, and protected, and provided for Elijah, and many ways honoured him, especially now at last, where is he? Lord, am not I promised Elijah's spirit? Make good that promise." The words which next follow in the original, Aph-his - even he, which we join to the following clause, when he also had smitten the waters, some make an answer to this question, Where is Elijah's God? Etiam ille adhuc superest - "He is in being still, and nigh at hand. We have lost Elijah, but we have not lost Elijah's God. He has not forsaken the earth; it is even he that is still with me." Note, First, It is the duty and interest of the saints on earth to enquire after God, and apply to him as the Lord God of the saints that have gone before to heaven, the God of our fathers. Secondly, It is very comfortable to those who enquire of him; it is even he that is in his holy temple (Psa 11:4) and nigh to all who call upon him, Psa 145:18. Thirdly, Those that walk in the spirit and steps of their godly faithful predecessors shall certainly experience the same grace that they experienced; Elijah's God will be Elisha's too. The Lord God of the holy prophets is the same yesterday, today, and for ever; and what will it avail us to have the mantles of those that are gone, their places, their books, if we have not their spirit, their God?
3. He was possessed of Elijah's interest in the sons of the prophets, Kg2 2:15. Some of the fellows of the college at Jericho, who had placed themselves conveniently near Jordan, to see what passed, were surprised to see Jordan divided before Elisha in his return, and took that as a convincing evidence that the spirit of Elijah did rest upon him, and that therefore they ought to pay the same respect and deference to him that they had paid to Elijah. Accordingly they went to meet him, to congratulate him on his safe passage through fire and water, and the honour God had put upon him; and they bowed themselves to the ground before him. They were trained up in the schools; Elisha was taken from the plough; yet when they perceived that God was with him, and that this was the man whom he delighted to honour, they readily submitted to him as their head and father, as the people to Joshua when Moses was dead, Jos 1:17. Those that appear to have God's Spirit and presence with them ought to have our esteem and best affections, notwithstanding the meanness of their extraction and education. This ready submission of the sons of the prophets, no doubt, was a great encouragement to Elisha, and helped to clear his call.
II. The needless search which the sons of the prophets made for Elijah. 1. They suggested that possibly he was dropped, either alive or dead, upon some mountain, or in some valley; and it would be a satisfaction to them if they sent some strong men, whom they had at command, in quest of him, Kg2 2:16. Some of them perhaps started this as a demurrer to the choice of Elisha: "Let us first be sure that Elijah has quite gone. Can we think Elijah thus neglected by heaven, that chosen vessel thus cast away as a vessel in which was no pleasure?" 2. Elisha consented not to their motion till they overcame him with importunity, Kg2 2:17. They urged him till he was ashamed to oppose it any further lest he should be thought wanting in his respect to his old master or loth to resign the mantle again. Wise men may yield to that, for the sake of peace and the good opinion of others, which yet their judgment is against as needless and fruitless. 3. The issue made them as much ashamed of their proposal as they, by their importunity, had made Elisha ashamed of his opposing it. Their messengers, after they had tired themselves with fruitless search, returned with a non est inventus - he is not to be found, and gave Elisha an opportunity of upbraiding his friends with their folly: Did I not say unto you, Go not? Kg2 2:18. This would make them the more willing to acquiesce in his judgment another time. Traversing hills and valleys will never bring us to Elijah, but the imitation of his holy faith and zeal will, in due time.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv11–13 And Elisha saw it,.... The ascension of Elijah to…
And Elisha saw it,.... The ascension of Elijah to heaven, the manner of it, and all relative to it, as the disciples saw the ascension of Christ, between which and this there is a great agreement, see Act 1:9, and so Elisha had the token by which he might expect to have the double portion, as the disciples after the ascension of Christ had an extraordinary effusion of the Spirit and gifts upon them:
and he cried, my father, my father; or my master, my master, as the Targum; Elijah being a father to Elisha, and the rest of the prophets, in the same sense as disciples of the prophets are called sons:
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the chariots of Israel, and the horsemen thereof; who was a greater defence to Israel, and was of more service to them by his instructions and prayers, than an army consisting of chariots and horsemen; so the Targum,"he was better to Israel by his prayers than chariots and horsemen:"
and he saw him no more; he was carried up in the above manner into the heaven of heavens, out of the sight of mortals, and never seen more, but at the transfiguration of Christ on the mount:
and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces; not on account of Elijah's case and circumstances, who was now in a most happy and glorious state and condition, but as lamenting his own loss, and the loss of the public.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv11–13 A chariot of fire - In this form the…
A chariot of fire - In this form the angels appeared. The souls of all the faithful, are carried by an invisible guard of angels, into the bosom of Abraham. But Elijah being to carry his body with him, this heavenly guard appeared visibly: Not in an human shape, tho' so they might have born him in their arms, but in the form of a chariot and horses, that he may ride in state, may ride in triumph, like a prince, like a conqueror. See the readiness of the angels to do the will of God, even in the meanest services for the heirs of salvation! Thus he who had burned with holy zeal for God and his honour, was now conveyed in fire into his immediate presence.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Verse 11. A chariot of fire, and horses of…
Verse 11. A chariot of fire, and horses of fire] That is a chariot and horses of the most resplendent glory, which, manifesting itself in coruscations or shooting rays, seemed to be like blazing fire, or like the sun in his strength. Some think that this circumstance, know in the heathen world, gave rise to the fable of Apollo, or the sun, being seated in a blazing chariot, drawn by horses which breathed and snorted fire. These horses were four, and called Pyroeis, Eous, AEthon, and Phlegon; all which words signify fire or resplendent light. So OVID:
Nec tibi quadrupedes animosos ignibus illis
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Quos in pectore habent, quos ore et naribus efflant,
In promptu regere est: vix me patiunur, ut acres
Incaluere animi; cervixque repugnat habenis.
OVID, Met. Lib. ii., 84.
Interea volucres Pyroeis, Eous, et AEthon,
Solis equi, quartusque Phlegon, hinnitibus auras
Flammiferis implent, pedibusque repagula pulsant
Ib. 153.
Meanwhile the restless horses neighed aloud,
Breathing out fire and pawing where they stood,
Nor would you find it easy to compose
The mettled steeds, when from their nostrils flows
The scorching fire, that in their entrils glows.
Even I their headstrong fury scarce restrain,
When they grow worm, and restiff to the rein.
DRYDEN.
Perhaps the whole of this fable, which represents Phaethon son of Apollo requesting to drive the chariot of his father (the horses and chariot of fire) for one day, was borrowed from the request of Elisha to his spiritual father Elijah, whom he afterwards saw borne away by a whirlwind, in a chariot of fire drawn by fiery steeds.
Elijah went up-into heaven] He was truly translated; and the words here leave us no room to indulge the conjecture of Dr. Priestley, who supposes that as "Enoch, (probably Moses,) Elijah, and Christ, had no relation to any other world or planet, they are no doubt in this;" for we are told that Elijah went up into heaven; and we know, from the sure testimony of the Scripture, that our blessed Lord is at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ever living to make intercession for us.
Elijah went up - into heaven] He was truly translated; and the words here leave us no room to indulge the conjecture of Dr. Priestley, who supposes that as "Enoch, (probably Moses,) Elijah, and Christ, had no relation to any other world or planet, they are no doubt in this;" for we are told that Elijah went up into heaven; and we know, from the sure testimony of the Scripture, that our blessed Lord is at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ever living to make intercession for us.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv11–13 2Ki 2:11. As they still went on and talked…
2Ki 2:11. As they still went on and talked — Of the happy state, probably, to which Elijah was going; behold, a chariot of fire, and horses of fire — A bright resplendent cloud, perhaps thrown into the form of a chariot and horses, by the angels who came in it; or rather, as some think, the angels themselves appearing in this form. The souls of all the faithful are carried by an invisible guard of angels into the bosom of Abraham. But Elijah being to carry his body with him, this heavenly guard appeared visibly: not in a human shape, though so they might have borne him in their arms; but in the form of a chariot and horses, that he might ride in state, might ride in triumph, like a prince, like a conqueror. See the readiness of the angels to do the will of God, even in the meanest services, for the heirs of salvation! Thus he who had burned with holy zeal for God and his honour, was now conveyed in fire into his immediate presence.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv11–12 Elijah went up ... - No honest exegesis can…
Elijah went up ... - No honest exegesis can explain this passage in any other sense than as teaching the translation of Elijah, who was taken from the earth, like Enoch Gen 5:24, without dying. Compare Ecclesiasticus 48:9.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv11–13 Horses. Angels assumed these forms, (Grotius) or a cloud,…
Horses. Angels assumed these forms, (Grotius) or a cloud, resembling a fiery chariot and horses, was impelled by a strong wind, under their guidance. (Tostat) (Menochius) (Salien, the year before Christ 914.) --- As the name of Elias is very like Helios, "the sun," some have supposed that hey have the same meaning: (Sedulius, pasc. 1.) but the Hebrew term signifies, "He is my God." The pagans have taken occasion from this history to represent the sun drawn in a fiery chariot, by horses composed of the same element. Animosos ignibus illis,
Quos in pectore habent, quos ore & naribus efflant. (Ovid, Metam. xii.) (Calmet)
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--- Heaven; (see ver. 1.) where he lives free from all disturbance. (Tirinus) --- It is a constant, that he will come again before the last judgment; as his representative, John the Baptist, announced the first appearance of our Redeemer. (St. Gregory, hom. 7. in Ev.) Of this the Jews were convinced. (St. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho) See Malachias iv. 5.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv11–13 HE IS TAKEN UP TO HEAVEN IN A CHARIOT…
HE IS TAKEN UP TO HEAVEN IN A CHARIOT OF FIRE. (Kg2 2:11-18)
behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire--some bright effulgence, which, in the eyes of the spectators, resembled those objects.
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went up by a whirlwind--a tempest or storm wind accompanied with vivid flashes of fire, figuratively used for the divine judgments (Isa 29:6).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv11–13 11. They still went on, and talked — What…
11. They still went on, and talked — What moments were those, what conversation never to be forgotten! It was a walking and talking on the verge of heaven!
A chariot of fire, and horses of fire — These were creations of the spiritual world; a part of that Divine machinery by which God consummates the purposes of his wisdom and providence. There are not only angels in heaven, but horses and chariots ready to do the bidding of the Most High. This heavenly scene which Elisha witnessed was no hallucination, nor were the chariot and horses of fire a mere ideal symbol seen only in vision, like the living creatures which Ezekiel saw by the river Chebar, (Eze_1:5-14;) but they had actual existence in the spiritual world, and were only a part of that vast host, the sound of whose movements David once heard over the mulberry trees, (2Sa_5:24,) and who at a later time filled the mountains round about Elisha. 2Ki_6:17. Why should we doubt this as a fact of the unseen world when we are told (Psa_68:17) that the chariots of God are אלפי שׁנאן רבתים, two myriads, repeated thousands, and they that minister unto him are thousand thousands, and they that stand before him are myriad myriads. Dan_7:10.
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Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven — That is, the moment the fiery chariot separated the two prophets a sudden tempest broke upon Elijah and carried him aloft into heaven. It is not said that Elijah went up in the fire-chariot, but in a tempest, the chariot serving to separate Elijah from Elisha, as if defining a boundary between the earthly and the heavenly states. It has been usually and very naturally assumed, however, that the translated prophet ascended in the chariot, and the chariot was borne aloft on the wings of the wind. Compare Psa_104:3. The heaven to which Elijah went was the abode of God’s saints, who rest from their earthly labours, but employ themselves in higher and holier works than it enters our minds to conceive. There he met with Moses, who had died and was buried not far from the place whence he ascended; and with that elder prophet he afterwards descended from his heavenly home to appear to the three disciples, and to talk with Jesus of his exit from the world. Luk_9:30-31. This translation of Elijah to heaven, and the appearance of the chariot and horses of fire, like other similar events of Old Testament Scripture, teach the existence of another world beyond us, unseen by the natural eye; a realm whose inhabitants and hierarchies and orders of ministries are numerous beyond all computation. But Elijah entered this heaven without tasting death, or at least by a marvellous transformation. The human body, with its earthly modes of life, must be unsuited to the heavenly state, and hence we suppose, in harmony with other Scripture, that at the moment of his separation from Elisha, Elijah was changed, as in the twinkling of an eye, and ascended with a renewed spiritualized body, made compatible with the nature of heavenly existence. Thus has he become a representative of those saints who shall not die, but be changed at the coming of the Lord. 1Co_15:51-52; 1Th_4:17. It is contrary to the evident import of this account of Elijah’s departure, and contrary to the teachings of other Scriptures, to assume that his body must have become suddenly decomposed and dissolved into dust, or that it was thrown down again, as some of the sons of the prophets thought, (2Ki_2:16,) on some mountain, or in some valley, a lifeless corpse. Elijah truly ascended bodily to heaven, but his body underwent such a spiritualizing change as fitted it for the heavenly life; hence our doctrine that man is all immortal — body as well as spirit.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv11–13 11. as they still went on, and talked] Elisha…
11. as they still went on, and talked] Elisha is to remain to the last. And now that the silence has been broken, and the request made, we can understand how much Elijah would find of exhortation and encouragement to bestow as parting counsels on his successor.
a chariot of fire, and horses of fire] Compare with this description the notice of the sight which Elisha’s servant (2Ki_6:17) was permitted to behold, when he was terrified by the king of Syria’s hosts. ‘The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.’ There it was in answer to Elisha’s prayer, ‘Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see’, that the encouraging enlightenment was vouchsafed. And here we may well think that it was of God’s grace and as an assurance that Elisha should receive his petition, that his eyes were opened to behold the glory which carried away his master. Henceforth he was sure that that power was constantly near God’s servants, and could say with firm assurance, ‘They that be with us are more than they which be with them’. The vision was a source of strength and encouragement in the labours which were before him with no master at his head. He learnt the source of his master’s spirit.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv11–13 (11) And it came to pass . . .…
(11) And it came to pass . . . talked.—Literally, And it came to pass, they (emphatic) were walking a walking and talking, i.e., were going on farther and farther, talking as they went. Whither they went is not told; probably some height of the mountains of Gilead, Elijah’s native country, was the scene of his departure. (Comp. Deu_34:5; Num_20:28.)
That, behold, there appeared . . . fire.—Literally, and, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire. Rèkeb is generally collective; so the Targum here. (Comp. 2Ki_6:17 : “Horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”)
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Parted them both asunder.—Or, made parting between them twain, i.e., the appearance of fiery chariots and horses came between Elijah and Elisha, surrounding the former as with a flaming war-host. (Comp. 2Ki_6:17.)
Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.—Rather, Elijah went up in the storm heavenward, or, perhaps, into the air. Sĕ‘ârâh, properly storm-blast; and so storm, thunderstorm. (Comp. Eze_1:4, seq., where Jehovah appears in a “whirlwind,” which is described as a great fiery cloud; and Job_38:1, where He answers Job “out of the whirlwind;” and Neh_1:3 : “The Lord hath His path in whirlwind and in storm (sĕ‘ârâh), and the clouds are the dust of His feet.”) The Hebrew mind recognised the presence and working of Jehovah in the terrific phenomena of nature; the thunder-cloud or storm-wind was His chariot, the thunder His voice, the lightning His arrow. (Comp. Psa_18:6-15; Psa_104:3.) We must therefore be cautious of taking the words before us in too literal a sense. The essential meaning of the passage is this, that God suddenly took Elijah to Himself, amid a grand display of His power in and through the forces of nature. The popular conception, which we see embodied in such pictures as William Blake’s Translation of Elijah, that the prophet ascended to heaven in a fiery car drawn by horses of fire, is plainly read into, rather than gathered from, the sacred text.
Went up.—Bähr may be right in asserting that ‘âlâh here means “disappeared, was consumed” (like the German aufgehen). He compares Jdg_20:40, “The whole city went up heavenward,” i.e., was consumed, and the Hebrew name of the burnt offering (‘ôlâh). But the same phrase (“to go up to heaven”) is used in Psa_107:26 of a ship rising heavenward on the stormy waves.
As regards the miraculous removal of Elijah and Enoch (Gen_5:24), Von Gerlach remarks: “All such questions as whither they were removed, and where they now are, and what changes they underwent in translation, are left unanswered by the Scriptures.” It may be added, that the ascension of Elijah into heaven is nowhere alluded to in the rest of the Bible.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv11–13 And it came to pass, as they still went…
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked. (Luk_24:50, Luk_24:51) The antitype answers to the type in little details as well as in the general outline. That behold, there appeared a chariot of firs, and horses of fire. God"s "angels are spirits, and his ministers a flaming fire". (Psa_104:4) When the eyes of Elisha"s servant were opened, and he saw the angelic host that protected his master, it appeared to him that "the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha". (2Ki_6:17) Material fire is, of course, not to be thought of. But the glory and brightness of celestial beings, when made visible to man, has some analogy with fire, or at any rate brings the conception of fire before the mind. The historian doubtless reports the account which Elisha gave of what he saw on this memorable occasion.
And parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven; literally, and Elijah went up in a storm into the heavens. There is no mention of a "whirlwind;" and "the heavens" are primarily the visible firmament or sky which overhangs the earth. Elijah, like our Lord, rose bodily from the earth into the upper region of the air, and was there lost to sight. Three only of the seed of Adam Enoch, Elijah, Jesus have passed from earth to heaven without dying.
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Vers. 11, 12.
Parted friends.
Elijah seems to have had a desire to avoid a final parting. Either for that reason, or to try Elisha"s devotion, he urged him to tarry first at Gilgal, and afterwards at Bethel. But in vain. Elisha remained with him to the last. What hours of emotion those must have been for Elisha! How he put away from him the very mention of his friend"s departure! When the sons of the prophets asked him if he knew that God was going to take away his master from his head that day, he answered, in words of natural impatience, "Yes, I know it; hold ye your peace." Their words were a thoughtless intrusion on his grief, an unintentional probing of his keen emotions. And so it was as if he said, "Don"t talk to me about it." "Talking of trouble makes it double." And when they had passed over Jordan, and still walked on, what a talk that was I Those who have ever sat by the bedside of a dying friend know what such moments are. The time seems all too short. So much is to be said. So many questions to ask. So many counsels to be given. So many wonderings as to what it will all be like when next we meet. But the sharp, decisive moment comes at last. Strange forms fill the sky. They draw near to the earth. They are chariots and horses of fire. They touch the earth. Elijah enters, and suddenly, in a whirlwind, is lost to mortal sight. Elisha stands a moment like one in a dream. Then, recovering himself, and gazing after his beloved leader"s vanishing form, he cries, "My father! my father I the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!" He felt, in the poignancy of his grief, as if the strength of Israel had been that day taken from it. But he soon resigns himself, and passes on, to carry on Elijah"s work. So, too, will the Christian think of his departing friend.
Sleep on, beloved, sleep, and take thy rest, Lay down thy head upon thy Savior"s breast We love thee well, but Jesus loves thee best: Good night!
When friends are parted by death, perhaps the one who remains wonders why one was take, and the other left. Perhaps you were not prepared to die. Perhaps you had done but little for your Master, and he wanted you to do some more for him. He gave you another chance. If God spares our lives, if he raises us up again from a bed of sickness, we may be assured that there is a gracious purpose in it all. But Elijah not only passed out of mortal sight. It is recorded that he went up into heaven. There is no word of an intermediate state. On through the pearly gates, on through the strains of heavenly music, on into the presence of the King. "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his." Let me live as Elijah lived, and I shall even though I pass through the valley of the shadow of death enter as Elijah entered into that house of many mansions, that home eternal in the heavens, that "city that hath foundations , whose Builder and Maker is God. C.H.I.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv11, 13 And it came to pass, as they still went…
2Ki_2:11-12
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked.
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The ascension of Elijah
1. Observe, first, how he was employed at the time of his removal: they were going on, and talking. Without this information, many would have concluded that after he had received the intimation of his speedy departure, he was engaged alone in meditation and prayer. But it is a mistaken sentiment, that a preparation for heaven is to be carried on only by abstraction, contemplation, devotion.
2. Observe how he was conveyed from earth to heaven. There appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. Was he removed by the instrumentality of a luminous cloud approaching and enclosing him, and then rising with a rapid curling motion? Or was he removed by the ministry of angels, disguised under these brilliant forms? This seems more probable. Is it not said that He shall send forth His angels and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the one end of heaven to the other? Is it not said that Lazarus died, and was carried by angels into Abrahams bosom?
I. Let us consider it as a gracious recompense of singular piety.
II. Let us consider it as intimation of the future happiness that is reserved for the servants of God.
III. We may consider this translation as a substitute for death. In some such way as this, it is probable, would men have passed from earth to heaven had they never sinned. In some such way as this will those living at the last day be qualified for glory.
IV. We may regard it as a mode of transition much to be desired. Death is not a pleasing subject of meditation. It is called an enemy. It is said to be the king of terrors. Even exclusive of the future consequences, there is much to render it formidable. Nature cannot be reconciled to its own dissolution. (W. Jay.)
The translation of Elijah and the ascension of Christ
These two events, the translation of Elijah and the ascension of our Lord, have sometimes been put side by side in order to show that the latter narrative is nothing but a variant of the former. The comparison brings out contrasts at every step, and there is no readier way of throwing into strong relief the meaning and purpose of the former, than holding up beside it the story of the latter.
I. The first point which may be mentioned is the contrast between the manner of Elijahs translation, and what of our Lords ascension. It is perhaps not without significance that the place of the one event was on the uplands or in some of the rocky gorges beyond Jordan, and that of the other, the slopes of Olivet above Bethany. What a different set of associations cluster round the place of Christs ascension--Bethany, or, as it is more particularly specified in the Acts, Olivet In the very heart of the land, close by and yet out of sight of the great city, in no wild solitude, but perhaps in some dimple of the hill, neither shunning nor courting spectators, with the quiet home where he had rested so often in the little village at their feet there, and Gethsemane a few furlongs off: in such scenes did the Christ, whose delights were with the sons of men, and His life lived in closest companionship with His brethren, choose the place whence He should ascend to their Father and His Father. But more important than the localities is the contrasted manner of the two ascents. The prophets end was like the man. It was fitting that he should be swept up to the skies in tempest and fire. Nor is it only as appropriate to the character of the prophet and his work that this tempestuous translation is noteworthy. It also suggests very plainly that Elijah was lifted to the skies by power acting on him from without. He did not ascend; he was carried up; the earthly frame and the human nature had no power to rise. How full of the very spirit of Christs whole life is the contrasted manner of His ascension! The silent gentleness, which did not strive nor cry nor cause His voice to be heard in the streets, marks Him even in that hour of lofty and transcendent triumph. There is no outward sign to accompany His slow upward movement through the quiet air. No blaze of fiery chariots, nor agitation of tempest is needed to bear Him heavenwards. The outstretched hands drop the dew of His benediction on the little company, and so He floats upward, His own will and indwelling power the royal chariot which bears Him, and calmly leaves the world, and goes unto the Father. Nor is this absence of any vehicle or external agency destroyed by the fact that a cloud received Him out of their sight, for its purpose was not to raise Him heavenward, but to hide Him from the gazers eyes, that He might not seem to them to dwindle into distance, but that their last look and memory might be of His clearly discerned and loving face.
II. Another striking point of contrast embraces the relation which these two events respectively bear to the lifes work which had preceded them. The falling mantle of Elijah has become a symbol, known to all the world, for the transference of unfinished tasks, and the appointment of successors to departed greatness. The mantle that passed from one to the other was the symbol of office and authority transferred; the functions were the same, whilst the holders had changed. The sons of the prophets bow before the new master; the spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. So the world goes on. Man after man serves his generation by the will of God, and is gathered to his fathers; and a new arm grasps the mantle to smite Jordan, and a new voice speaks from his empty place, and men recognise the successor, and forget the predecessor. We turn to Christs ascension, and there we meet with nothing analogous to this transference of office. No mantle falling from His shoulders lights on any of that group; none are hailed as His successors. What He has done bears and needs no repetition whilst time shall roll, whilst eternity shall last. His work is one: the help that is done on earth, He doeth it all Himself.
III. Whilst our Lords ascension is thus marked as the seal of a work in which He has no successor, it is also emphatically set forth, by contrast with Elijahs translation, as the transition to a continuous energy for and in the world. Clearly the other narrative derives all its pathos from the thought that Elijahs work is done. But that same absence from the history of Christs ascension, of any hint of a successor, has an obvious bearing on His present relation to the world, as well as on the completeness of His unique past work. When He ascended up on high, He relinquished nothing of His activity for us, but only cast it into a new form, which in some sense is yet higher than that which it took on earth. His work for the world is in one aspect completed on the cross, but in another it will never be completed until all the blessings which that cross has lodged in the midst of humanity, have reached their widest possible diffusion and their highest possible development. Long ages ago He cried, It is finished, but we may be far yet from the time when He shall say, It is done; and for all the slow years between, His own word gives us the law of his activity, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
IV. The ascension of Christ is still further set forth, in its very circumstances, by contrast with Elijahs translation, as bearing on the hopes of humanity for the future. The prophet is caught up to the glory and the rest for himself alone, and the sole share which the gazing follower or the sons of the prophets, straining their eyes there at Jericho, had in his triumph, was a deepened conviction of this prophets mission, and perhaps some clearer faith in a future life. The very reverse is true of Christs ascension. In Him our nature is taken up to the throne of God. His resurrection assures us that them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. His passage to the heavens assures us that they who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them, and that all of both companies shall with Him live and reign, sharing His dominion, and moulded to His image. That parting on Olivet cannot be the end. Such a leave-taking is the prophecy of happy greetings and an inseparable reunion. The king has gone to receive a kingdom, and to return. Memory and hope coalesce, as we think of Him who is passed into the heavens, and the heart of the Church has to cherish at once the glad thought that its Head and Helper has entered within the veil, and the still more joyous one which lightens the days of separation and widowhood, that the Lord will come again. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The chariot of fire
Life is often compared to a journey which a man makes from the cradle to the grave. The close of Elijahs life on earth is very suggestive of such a figure. Elijah and Elisha had been walking all day from Gilgal to Beth-el, and from Beth-el to Jericho, and then across the Jordan, towards Gilead. Perhaps Elijah had that feeling, common to men, that he would like once more, before he died, to look on the old hills of Gilead where he was born and brought up. There are some striking and important lessons here:
1. We are all walking towards eternity. Every step we take brings the end nearer. We are going right on like Elijah and Elisha, walking and talking, when suddenly, it may be without an hours time to prepare for the change, God will call for us, and we must go to meet our Lord.
2. Elijah died as he lived. He had lived a life of wonderful faith, and striking manifestations of the presence of God had marked his whole career. His life was full of romance and heroism, through his faith in God and the supreme daring and implicit obedience to Divine commands which had marked his career. Through the last day of his life he kept up his work, serving God, trusting Him with his whole soul, and now, when God calls and sends His chariot down to the roadside on which he is walking, he is ready. He steps in, and is carried up to heaven. You must not imagine because the chariots are not seen, and the angels are not visible, that Elijah was the only man thus carried up to heaven. For aught we know God takes all His children home that way. Death will have no more effect on your character and personality than does your going out of one room into another. The Elijah that walked beside Elisha across the Jordan, who stepped into the chariot of fire, and was carried up to heaven, was the very same Elijah that Peter and James and John beheld at the transfiguration of Jesus on the holy mountain centuries afterwards. No, if you want to be a good man after you are dead, you must be a good man before you die. Death is not going to work any change of that sort in you. As the tree falls, so it will lie. (L. A. Banks, D. D.)
The translation
I. The fitness of this translation.
1. There was fitness in the place.
2. There was fitness in the method.
3. There was fitness in the exclamation with which Elisha bade him farewell.
He cried, My father, my father! the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof! Doubtless, amid that sudden flash of glory he hardly wist what he said. Yet he closely hit the truth.
II. The reasons for this translation.
1. One of the chief reasons was, no doubt, as a witness to his times. The men of his day were plunged in sensuality, and had little thought of the hereafter.
2. Another reason was evidently the desire on the part of God to give a striking sanction to His servants words. How easy was it for the men of that time to evade the force of Elijahs ministry, by asserting that he was an enthusiast, an alarmist, a firebrand!
III. The lessons of this translation for ourselves.
1. Let us take care not to dictate to God.
2. Let us learn what death is. It is simply a translation, not a state, but an act; not a condition, but a passage. We pass through a doorway; we cross a bridge of smiles; we flash from the dark into the light. There is no interval of unconsciousness, no parenthesis of suspended animation. Absent from the body, we are instantly present with the Lord.
3. Let us see here a type of the rapture of the saints. We do not know what change passed over the mortal body of the ascending prophet. This is all we know, that mortality was swallowed up of life. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
Waggons
Waggons came for Jacob to bear him to Egypt. Waggons will come for us by and by to carry us home. A chariot of fire, with horses of fire, came for Elijah, and bore him away into heaven. The chariots need not be visible--are not visible--that come for Gods people; nevertheless, they are real.
A nations true dependence
Elisha gives vivid expression here to his sense of his own and his nations loss at Elijahs departure. His view of the situation was unselfish and patriotic; and yet it was the man who spoke rather than the Christian. Elijah had wrought wonders in Israel, and yet he was a man of like passions with others, as some acts of his life painfully show. Besides, he was simply Gods instrument, as Washington was. Israels true reliance was Jehovah Himself, and there was no occasion for the prophets despair. Nations are prone to make a similar mistake:
1. In the way of false reliance for deliverance and abiding prosperity.
2. In looking to the outward instrument rather than the unseen guiding Power.
3. In magnifying natural laws rather than looking to supernatural forces.
4. In deploring their dangers and losses instead of falling upon their knees before God in prayer. (Homiletic Monthly.)
Chariots of fire for the New Year
Clear and distinct as the narration is in my text, both the actual circumstances and their significance have been popularly misconstrued. It is generally assumed that the prophet Elijah ascended in a chariot of fire, with horses of fire, although the narrative most,, unambiguously, asserts that Elijah went up by a whirlwind rote heaven. This misconception has hidden from view, or at least obscured, the import of the appearance of the fiery chariot and steeds which appeared at that fateful juncture in the history of these two great prophets; and especially has it veiled the fact that it was not Elijah, but Elisha, who was in sorest need of the celestial chariot at that particular hour. In fine, I may say at once that, while the whirlwind came to transport Elijah to heaven, the chariot and horses of fire were sent to bear Elisha onward in the difficult way which lay before him, now that his leader and master was removed from his side. The dread responsibility which would descend upon his shoulders on the departure of Elijah had been weighing upon his mind as they travelled together. When the sons of the prophets asked him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day? he replied in tense accents, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. It was this new weight of responsibility that led him to seek at the last moment a double portion of the spirit of the departing prophet. To assure him of the Divine presence and power for his mission, he was granted, not only one wonderful glimpse of the translated prophet, but also a vision of the unseen chariots and horses of fire which were to remain as the permanent escort of the new prophet. The chariot and horses of fire parted them both asunder. As Elijah was snatched out of Elishas view, the empty space became filled with Gods flaming equipage. The eyes that had looked to the prophetic master for direction and encouragement were now fastened upon the embattled might of Jehovah. Elijah had ascended, but the chariots and horses of fire remained. The experience was similar to that of Isaiah when he received his prophetic call. The hopes based upon the good King Uzziah ended with the kings death. Then Isaiahs eyes were opened, and he writes, In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. The Lord God of Elijah remained to bear Elisha to the end of his journey. We have evidence that this vision remained as a permanent force and fact in the life of Elisha. In the sixth chapter of this Second book of Kings we read of Elishas servant being terrified by the surrounding host of Syrians, and of his receiving inward vision at the prayer of Elisha. And he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. Clearly, they were the prophets permanent escort. I am glad to think that these fiery chariots were, not for the translated Elijah, who had but little need of them when he was being ushered into the immediate presence of the Lord of hosts, but for Elisha, whose earthly way needed to be sustained and cheered by an escort from the skies. Many are the mighty dead in whom cur confidence was great. But there is no gap in the world. The vacant spaces are filled with the hosts of God. The Lord of hosts is with us.
I. There can be no progress in life except through Gods chariots of fire. The only dynamic power is bestowed by invisible forces. We cannot make any real progress without the guidance of God s hand.
II. The chariots of fire represent also Divine protection. They declare the presence of the Angel who redeems us from all evil. Through the panoply of science a myriad foes invade our safety. For our journey through the perils of the year we must seek the escort of the mailed hosts of God.
III. The chariots of life represent the impartation of strength. It was a strengthened Elisha that smote the waters of the Jordan with Elijahs mantle, and cried with strenuous energy, Where is the Lord God of Elijah?
IV. The chariots of fire are also the forces of purification. To those whom God leads onward He is as a refiners fire. The true law of the survival of the fittest is the survival of the purified. Without purification, the material of life becomes corrupt as a stagnant fen, and dies of its own self-created malaria. Yet visible fires cleanse not the soul. God is the only Purifier.
V. It is further evident that the renewal of our strength can be obtained only through the renewal of our vision of the invisible God.
1. We need a new vision of Divine truth. God is a fire, and His chariots are flame. The vision shows the awful, immutable, all-pervasive energy of righteousness. His truth flames through creation in chariots of fire.
2. We must also have a new vision of the love of God. It is not well to see the infinite truth without beholding also the infinite love. It is impossible to understand the infinite love without having beheld the majesty of infinite truth. Love also is a fire, consuming all selfishness. Love in the heart of God is a fire that has kindled a mystery of sorrow in the temple of the Deity itself. The fires of Gods chariots form letters of flame, and the reading is, God is love.
3. We need a new vision of the nearness of God. His chariots are at hand. Leap into them, and His glory shall be round about you.
4. We need a new vision of Gods intensity. Gods horsemen linger not. (John Thomas, M. A.)
And he saw him no more.
Three partings
Life is full of partings. Every day we see some one whom we shall never see again. Homes are full of these partings, and churches are full of these partings, and therefore Scripture also, the mirror of life, is full of these partings. When sin entered into the world, the first consequence was a murder, the second consequence was the Flood, but the third consequence was dispersion. The Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth. Speech itself--that dearest, most delightful communion between heart and heart--was confounded, was made a Babel of sounds. This was that great parting asunder of the human family, which had in it the type, and the substance too, of all partings--allowing but one real reunion, begun on Calvary, realised in Pentecost, to be consummated at the Advent. We speak of three partings.
I. Bodily partings. Those who were once near together in the flesh are no longer so. It is a thing of everyday experience. They are part of our lot. They remind us of the great dispersion; they should make us long for the great reunion. Some of these partings are easily borne. It is probable that every day we meet some one whom we shall never meet again till the judgment. There is little that is sorrowful in this--though even this has its solemnity. But some bodily partings have a more evident sadness. It is a serious thing to stand on the pier of some seaport town, and see a son or a brother setting sail for India or New Zealand. Such an experience marks, in a thousand homes, a particular day in the calendar with a peculiar, a lifelong sadness.
II. Partings between souls. I speak still of this fife. The sands of Tyre and Miletus were wet with tears when St. Paul there took leave of disciples and elders. But those separations were brightened by an immortal hope, and he could commend his desolate ones to the word of Gods grace, as able to give them an inheritance at last with him and with the saved. I call that a tolerable, a bearable parting;
III. The death-parting which must come. Set yourselves in full view of that--take into your thought what it is--ask, in each several aspect of earths associations and companionships, what will be for you the meaning of the text, He saw him no more. The life-partings, and the soul-partings, all derive their chief force and significance from the latest and most awful--the one death-parting, which is not probably, but certainly, before each and all. (C. J. Vaughan, D. D.)
Two prophets parted
In various ways we become associated in life--similarity of tastes in art pursuits, in literature, in polities, trade, religion. Sometimes, having travelled, we meet with some companion to whose soul ours is knit so long as life lasts. It is only natural that we should like companionship. Few men are fitted to live alone. Long-continued solitude is irksome; we become bored with self.
I. A suitable companionship on a heavenward journey. They two went on. The union between the two had been appointed by God.
II. Listen to elevating conversation between heavenward travellers. The text tells us that as they journeyed they talked. On what subject? Evidently it was concerning Elijahs departure. Both found it greatly wise, not only to speak with the past, but to talk of the future. We should speak sometimes of the ending of life, not that we may become gloomy, but that we may realise the value of life--its seriousness and its far-reaching effects. The telegraph clerk holds in his hands, when at the dial plate, the power to communicate a wish at the distance of thousands of miles; and thus we hold in our hands the character of a life that shall extend deep down into the ages of eternity. Hence we should he most anxious as to the correctness of our aims in the present, and desirous that holy influence should not be lost in the hereafter. Words may flash along wires, and convey no meaning; music may flit from a string, and die in the distance; but the message and music of life should have meaning and volume, vibrating along the wires of immortal being.
III. We have now to witness the sudden separation between heavenward companions. As they still went on and talked, behold! there appeared horses of fire and a chariot of fire, and parted them both asunder. The ending was anticipated, yet sudden. What sort of companionship have we in our heavenward journey? What is the general tenor of our conversation as we journey? What sort of hope have we concerning the end of our journey? What state awaits us? (F. Hastings.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv11–13 2 Kings
2 Kings
THE CHARIOT OF FIRE
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THE TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH AND THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST
2Ki 2:11. - Luk 24:51.
These two events, the translation of Elijah and the Ascension of our Lord, have sometimes been put side by side in order to show that the latter narrative is nothing but a ‘variant’ of the former. See, it is said, the source of your New Testament story is only the old legend shaped anew by the wistful regrets of the early disciples. But to me it seems that the simple comparison of the two narratives is sufficient to bring out such fundamental difference in the ideas which they respectively embody as amount to opposition, and make any such theory of the origin of the latter absurdly improbable, I could wish no better foil for the history of the Ascension than the history of Elijah’s rapture. The comparison brings out contrasts at every step, and there is no readier way of throwing into strong relief the meaning and purpose of the former, than holding up beside it the story of the latter. The real parallel makes the divergences the more remarkable, for likeness sharpens our perception of unlikeness, and no contrast is so forcible as the contrast of things that correspond. I am much mistaken if we shall not find almost every truth of importance connected with our Lord’s Ascension emphasised for us by the comparison to which we now proceed.
I. The first point which may be mentioned is the contrast between the manner of Elijah’s translation, and that of our Lord’s Ascension.
It is perhaps not without significance that the place of the one event was on the uplands or in some of the rocky gorges beyond Jordan, and that of the other, the slopes of Olivet above Bethany. The lonely prophet, who had burst like a meteor on Israel from the solitudes of Gilead, whose fervour had ever and again been rekindled by return to the wilderness, whose whole career had isolated him from men, found the fitting place for that last wonder amidst the stern silence where he had so often sought asylum and inspiration. He was close to the scenes of mighty events in the past. There, on that overhanging peak, the lawgiver whose work he was continuing, and with whom he was to be so strangely associated on the Mount of Transfiguration, had made himself ready for his lonely grave. Here at his feet, the river had parted for the victorious march of Israel. Away down on his horizon the sunshine gleamed on the waters of the Dead Sea; and thus, on his native soil, surrounded by memorials of the Law which he laboured to restore, and of the victories which he would fain have brought back, and of the judgments which he saw again impending over Israel, the stern, solitary ascetic, the prophet of righteousness, whose single arm stayed the downward course of a nation, passed from his toil and his warfare.
What a different set of associations cluster round the place of Christ’s Ascension-’Bethany,’ or, as it is more particularly specified in the Acts, ‘Olivet’! In the very heart of the land, close by and yet out of sight of the great city, in no wild solitude, but perhaps in some dimple of the hill, neither shunning nor courting spectators, with the quiet home where He had rested so often in the little village at their feet there, and Gethsemane a few furlongs off, in such scenes did the Christ ‘whose delights were with the sons of men,’ and His life lived in closest companionship with His brethren, choose the place whence He should ‘ascend to their Father and His Father.’ Nor perhaps was it without a meaning that the Mount which received the last print of His ascending footstep was that which a mysterious prophecy designated as destined to receive the first print of the footstep of the Lord coming at a future day to end the long warfare with evil.
But more important than the localities is the contrasted manner of the two ascents. The prophet’s end was like the man. It was fitting that he should be swept up the skies in tempest and fire. The impetuosity of his nature, and the stormy energy of his career, had already been symbolised in the mighty and strong wind which rent the rocks, and in the fire that followed the earthquake; and similarly nothing could be more appropriate than that sudden rapture in storm and whirlwind, escorted by the flaming chivalry of heaven.
Nor is it only as appropriate to the character of the prophet and his work that this tempestuous translation is noteworthy. It also suggests very plainly that Elijah was lifted to the skies by power acting on him from without. He did not ascend; he was carried up; the earthly frame and the human nature had no power to rise. ‘No man hath ascended into heaven.’ The two men of whom the Old Testament speaks were alike in this, that ‘God took them.’ The tempest and the fiery chariot tell us how great was the exercise of divine power which bore the gross mortality thither, and how unfamiliar was the sphere into which it passed.
How full of the very spirit of Christ’s whole life is the contrasted manner of His Ascension! The silent gentleness, which did not strive nor cry nor cause His voice to be heard in the streets, marks Him even in that hour of lofty and transcendent triumph. There is no outward sign to accompany His slow upward movement through the quiet air. No blaze of fiery chariots, nor agitation of tempest is needed to bear Him heavenwards. The outstretched hands drop the dew of His benediction on the little company, and so He floats upward, His own will and indwelling power the royal chariot which bears Him, and calmly ‘leaves the world and goes unto the Father.’ The slow, continuous movement of ascent is emphatically made prominent in the brief narratives, both by the phrase in Luke, ‘He was carried up,’ which expresses continuous leisurely motion, and by the picture in the Acts, of the disciples gazing into heaven ‘as He went up,’ in which latter word is brought out, not only the slowness of the movement, but its origin in His own will and its execution by His own power.
Nor is this absence of any vehicle or external agency destroyed by the fact that ‘a cloud’ received Him out of their sight, for its purpose was not to raise Him heavenward, but to hide Him from the gazers’ eyes, that He might not seem to them to dwindle into distance, but that their last look and memory might be of His clearly discerned and loving face. Possibly, too, it may be intended to remind us of the cloud which guided Israel, the glory which dwelt between the cherubim, the cloud which overshadowed the Mount of Transfiguration, and to set forth a symbol of the Divine Presence welcoming to itself, His battle fought, the Son of His love.
Be that as it may, the manner of our Lord’s Ascension by His own inherent power is brought into boldest relief when contrasted with Elijah’s rapture, and is evidently the fitting expression, as it is the consequence, of His sole and singular divine nature. It accords with His own mode of reference to the Ascension, while He was on earth, which ever represents Him not as being taken, but as going: ‘I leave the world and go to the Father.’ ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father.’ The highest hope of the devoutest souls before Him had been, ‘Thou wilt afterwards take me to glory.’ The highest hope of devout souls since Him has been, ‘We shall be caught up to meet the Lord.’ But this Man ever speaks of Himself as able when He will, by His own power, to rise where no man hath ascended. His divine nature and pre-existence shine clearly forth, and as we stand gazing at Him blessing the world as He rises into the heavens, we know that we are looking on no mere mysterious elevation of a mortal to the skies, but are beholding the return of the Incarnate Lord, who willed to tarry among our earthly tabernacles for a time, to the glory where He was before, ‘His own calm home, His habitation from eternity.’
II. Another striking point of contrast embraces the relation which these two events respectively bear to the life’s work which had preceded them.
The falling mantle of Elijah has become a symbol known to all the world, for the transference of unfinished tasks and the appointment of successors to departed greatness. Elisha asked that he might have a double portion of his master’s spirit, not meaning twice as much as his master had had, but the eldest son’s share of the father’s possessions, the double of the other children’s portion. And, though his master had no power to bestow the gift, and had to reply as one who has nothing that he has not received, and cannot dispose of the grace that dwells in him, the prayer was answered, and the feebler nature of Elisha was fitted for the continuance of the work which Elijah left undone.
The mantle that passed from one to the other was the symbol of office and authority transferred; the functions were the same, whilst the holders had changed. The sons of the prophets bow before the new master; ‘the spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha.’
So the world goes on. Man after man serves his generation by the will of God, and is gathered to his fathers; and a new arm grasps the mantle to smite Jordan, and a new voice speaks from his empty place, and men recognise the successor, and forget the predecessor.
We turn to Christ’s Ascension, and there we meet with nothing analogous to this transference of office. No mantle falling from His shoulders lights on any of that group, none are hailed as His successors. What He has done bears and needs no repetition whilst time shall roll, whilst eternity shall last. His work is unique: ‘the help that is done on earth, He doeth it all Himself.’ His Ascension completed the witness of heaven, begun at His resurrection, that ‘He has offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever.’ He has left no unfinished work which another may perfect. He has done no work which another may do again for new generations. He has spoken all truth, and none may add to His words. He has fulfilled all righteousness, and none may better His pattern. He has borne all the world’s sin, and no time can waste the power of that sacrifice, nor any man add to its absolute sufficiency. This King of men wears a crown to which there is no heir. This Priest has a priesthood which passes to no other. This ‘Prophet’ does ‘live for ever,’ The world sees all other guides and helpers pass away, and every man’s work is caught up by other hands and carried on after he drops it, and the short memories and shorter gratitudes of men turn to the rising sun; but one Name remains undimmed by distance, and one work remains unapproached and unapproachable, and one Man remains whose office none other can hold, whose bow none but He can bend, whose mantle none can wear. Christ has ascended up on high and left a finished work for all men to trust, for no man to continue.
III. Whilst our Lord’s Ascension is thus marked as the seal of a work in which He has no successor, it is also emphatically set forth, by contrast with Elijah’s translation, as the transition to a continuous energy for and in the world.
Clearly the other narrative derives all its pathos from the thought that Elijah’s work is done. His task is over, and nothing more is to be hoped for from him. But that same absence from the history of Christ’s Ascension, of any hint of a successor, to which we have referred in the previous remarks, has an obvious bearing on His present relation to the world as well as on the completeness of His unique past work.
When Christ ascended up on high, He relinquished nothing of His activity for us, but only cast it into a new form, which in some sense is yet higher than that which it took on earth. His work for the world is in one aspect completed on the Cross, but in another it will never be completed until all the blessings which that Cross has lodged in the midst of humanity, have reached their widest possible diffusion and their highest possible development. Long ages ago He cried, ‘It is finished,’ but we may be far yet from the time when He shall say, ‘It is done’; and for all the slow years between His own word gives us the law of His activity, ‘My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.’
Christ’s Ascension is no withdrawal of the Captain of our salvation from the field where we are left to fight, nor has He gone up to the mountain, leaving us alone to tug at the oar, and shiver in the cold night air. True, there may seem a strange contrast between the present condition of the Lord who ‘was received up into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God,’ and that of the servants wandering through the world on His business; but the contrast is harmonised by the next words, ‘the Lord also working with them.’ Yes, He has gone up to sit at the right hand of God. That session at God’s right hand to which the Ascension is chiefly of importance as the transition, means the repose of a perfected redemption, the communion of the Son with the Father, the exercise of all the omnipotence of God, the administration of the world’s history. He has ascended that He might fill all things, that He might pour out His Spirit upon us, that the path to God may be trodden by our lame feet, that the whole resources of the divine nature may be wielded by the hands that were nailed to the Cross, that the mighty purpose of salvation may be fulfilled.
Elijah knew not whether his spirit could descend upon his follower. But Christ, though, as we have said, He left no legacy of falling mantle to any, left His Spirit to His people. What Elisha gained, Elijah lost. What Elisha desired, Elijah could not give nor guarantee. How firm and assured beside Elijah’s dubious ‘Thou hast asked a hard thing,’ and his ‘If thou see me, it shall be so,’ is Christ’s ‘It is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away the Comforter will not come, but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.’
Manifold are the forms of that new and continuous activity of Christ into which He passed when He left the earth: and as we contrast these with the utter helplessness any longer to counsel, rebuke or save, to which death reduces those who love us best, and to which even his glorious rapture into the heavens brought the strong prophet of fire, we can take up, with a new depth of meaning, the ancient words that tell of Christ’s exclusive prerogative of succouring and inspiring from within the veil: ‘Thou hast ascended on high; Thou hast led captivity captive; Thou hast received gifts for men.’
IV. The Ascension of Christ is still further set forth, in its very circumstances, by contrast with Elijah’s translation, as bearing on the hopes of humanity for the future.
The prophet is caught up to the glory and repose for himself alone, and the sole share which the gazing follower or the sons of the prophets straining their eyes there at Jericho, had in his triumph, was a deepened conviction of his prophetic mission, and perhaps some clearer faith in a future life. Their wonder and sorrow, Elisha’s immediate exercise of his new power, the prophets’ immediate transference of their allegiance to their new head, show that on both sides it was felt that they had no part in the event beyond that of awe-struck beholders. No light streamed from it on their own future. The path they had to tread was still the common road into the great darkness, as solitary and unknown as before. The chariot of fire parted their master from the common experience of humanity as from their fellowship, making him an exception to the sad rule of death, which frowned the grimmer and more inexorable by contrast with his radiant translation.
The very reverse is true of Christ’s Ascension. In Him our nature is taken up to the throne of God. His Resurrection assures us that ‘them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him,’ His passage to the heavens assures us that ‘they who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them,’ and that all of both companies shall with Him live and reign, sharing His dominion, and moulded to His image.
If we would know of what our manhood is capable, if we would rise to the height of the hopes which God means that we should cherish, if we would gain a living grasp of the power that fulfils them, we have to stand there, gazing on the piled cloud that sails slowly upwards, the pure floor for our Brother’s feet. As we watch it rising with a motion which is rest, we have the right to think, ‘Thither the Forerunner is for us entered.’ We see there what man is meant for, what men who love Him attain. True, the world is still full of death and sorrow, man’s dominion seems a futile dream and a hope that mocks, but ‘we see Jesus,’ ascended up on high, and in Him we too are ‘made to sit together in heavenly places.’ The Breaker is gone up before them. Their King shall pass before them, and the Lord at the head of them.’
There is yet another aspect in which our Lord’s Ascension bears on our hopes for the future, namely, as connected with His coming again. In that respect, too, the contrast of Elijah’s translation may serve to emphasise the truth. Prophecy, indeed, in its latest voice, spoke of sending Elijah the prophet before the coming of the day of the Lord, and Rabbinical legends delighted to tell how he had been carried to the Garden of Eden, whence he would come again, in Israel’s sorest need. But the prophecy had no thought of a personal reappearance, and the dreams are only dreams such as we find in the legendary history of many nations. As Elisha recrossed the Jordan, he bore with him only a mantle and a memory, not a hope.
‘Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.’ How grand is the use in these mighty words of the name Jesus, the name that speaks of His true humanity, with all its weakness, limitations, and sorrow, with all its tenderness and brotherhood! The man who died and rose again, has gone up on high. He will so come as He has gone. ‘So’-that is to say, personally, corporeally, visibly, on clouds, perhaps to that very spot, ‘and His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives.’ Thus Scripture teaches us ever to associate together the departure and the coming of the Lord, and always when we meditate on His Ascension to prepare a place for us, to think of His real presence with us through the ages, and of His coming again to receive us to Himself.
That parting on Olivet cannot be the end. Such a leave-taking is the prophecy of happy greetings and an inseparable reunion. The King has gone to receive a kingdom, and to return. Memory and hope coalesce, as we think of Him who is passed into the heavens, and the heart of the Church has to cherish at once the glad thought that its Head and helper has entered within the veil, and the still more joyous one, which lightens the days of separation and widowhood, that the Lord will come again.
So let us take our share in the ‘great joy’ with which the disciples returned to Jerusalem, left like sheep in the midst of wolves as they were, and ‘let us set our affection on things above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v12 1. The Beginning of His Ministry
II. THE PROPHET ELISHA
1. The Beginning of His Ministry
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CHAPTER 2:12-25
1. The mantle used (2Ki 2:12-14)
2. The sons of the prophets (2Ki 2:15-18)
3. The healing of Jericho’s waters (2Ki 2:19-22)
4. Judgment upon the scoffers (2Ki 2:23-25)
Both Elijah and Elisha are types of our Lord Jesus Christ. Their names indicate this. Elijah means “my God is Jehovah,” and Elisha, “my God is salvation.” Suffering, affliction and rejection are prominent in the life of Elijah, but it ended for him by being taken into heaven. It foreshadows the path of Him who was rejected by His own, cast out by the world and who has gone to heaven. In Elisha and his ministry, sovereign grace towards Israel in apostasy and ripening for judgment, is the predominant feature, foreshadowing Him who appeared in the midst of His people, ministering grace and truth (Joh 1:14; Joh 1:18). (Another typical application is to look upon Elisha’s ministry as typifying what will be bestowed upon Israel and upon the Gentiles with the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.)
Elisha had seen Elijah’s departure into heaven, and when he saw him no more “he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.” He thus expressed his grief, but at the same time he took Elijah’s mantle (symbolical of the prophetic ministry, which had fallen upon him) and used it at once. He smites with it the waters of Jordan and the Lord God of Elijah answers faith by parting the river. It was the first miracle of his administration. “So shall the waters of difficulty, nay, the cold flood of death itself, part, if we smite in faith with the heaven given garment; so shall the promise of God ever stand sure, and God be true to His Word; and so may we go forward undauntedly, though humbly and prayerfully, to whatever work He gives us to do” (A. Edersheim).
The sons of the prophets then acknowledged Elisha. They are seen ever after in close fellowship with the prophet; they belonged to the faithful remnant in Israel. However, not having witnessed Elijah’s translation they were unbelieving and thought that the Spirit might have transported the prophet (1Ki 18:12; Eze 3:14; Eze 8:3). They were not obedient to Elisha’s command and urged him to send, till he was ashamed and yielded to their request. After a three days’ unsuccessful search they returned and now they had to be ashamed, when their master told them, “Did I not say unto you, Go not?” They were like the disciples of our Lord “slow to believe.”
The second miracle is one of mercy, followed by a miracle of judgment. The healing of Jericho’s waters is a miracle of much significance. Jericho is a type of the world under the curse (Joshua 6). The water was naught and the ground barren. A new cruse with salt is brought. The salt is put into the waters and the prophet said: “Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.” When He, who is greater than Elisha, comes back to this earth again, now under the curse and death reigning upon it, the curse will be removed; there will be healing as it was for Jericho. The other miracles of grace and mercy teach the same lesson.
The third miracle is one of judgment. Judgment well deserved fell upon those who despised the chosen messenger of God. The mockers were not “little children,” but young men. They were of Bethel, and no doubt associated with the wicked worship established there (1Ki 7:25-33). They were infidels and scoffers. They mocked the translation of Elijah and taunted Elisha. The curse of the Lord fell upon them. Forty-two of their number were torn by she-bears. The punishment has been declared by critics “disproportionate to the offence.” It certainly is not when the offence is considered as an insult to the man of God, who had gone to heaven and to the prophet who had taken his place; besides, these young men had scoffed at the power of God. And we must not overlook the fact that present day mockers and rejecters of the ministry of the gospel and grace of God will also receive their punishment in due time (2Pe 3:3-7).
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv11, 13 The word "behold" here alerts us to pay attention…
behold
The word "behold" here alerts us to pay attention to the surprising information that follows.
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a chariot of fire and horses of fire
Here the phrase "of fire" means that these were surround by fire. AT: "a chariot surrounded by fire pulled by horses surrounded by fire" (See: Possession)
went up by a whirlwind into heaven
"was carried into the sky by a whirlwind." Translate the word "whirlwind" the same as you did in 2 Kings 2:1.
My father, my father
Elisha is calling Elijah his respected leader.
tore them into two pieces
People would often tear their clothes as a sign of great sadness or grief. AT: "ripped them in two pieces to show his great sadness" (See: Symbolic Action)
translationWords
chariot
fire
horse
ancestor
kingdom of Israel
horseman
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv11–13 2:11 Chariot of fire . . . horses of…
2:11 Chariot of fire . . . horses of fire . . . whirlwind: These things represent God’s appearance in mighty power (cp. Isa 66:15). • Elijah was carried . . . into heaven, like Enoch (Gen 5:24), without dying. Some believe that Enoch and Elijah will reappear at the time of the end (see study note on Rev 11:1-13).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.