Trying to do a study for Sunday, I first hit a wall with Elisha, then with Elijah. After 10’s of thousands of hours in studies over the years, the Lord opened my eyes to a simple thing. I want to share it with you now. While studying both Elijah and Elisha for separate studies I found similarities through out the bible. But first I must begin with Moses and Joshua. We know that God used Moses to bring his children out of bondage, and as they left Egypt Moses parted the Red Sea, and they came out on dry ground. Then after 40 years in the wilderness, it was time for Moses to pass the mantle. We begin in Deuteronomy 34 and it reads.
Deu.34:1] And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,
[2] And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea,
[3] And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.
[4] And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.
Moses had made the mistake of striking the Rock twice, instead of speaking to it as the LORD had commanded. Unfair? No, it was like crucifying Jesus twice. But the Lord loved Moses. Moses means drawn from the water.
Deu.34:5] So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.
[6] And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.
The LORD buried Moses, and Michael and Satan argued about this in Jude 1:9. What happened was the Lord took Moses, he was transfigured. That we find in Matthew 17:1-8.
Deu.34:7] And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.
[8] And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
[9] And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.
Here we have the mantle passed from Moses to Joshua.
Deu.34:10] And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
[11] In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land,
[12] And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.
Moses passes the mantle to Joshua. Joshua takes Israel into the land that was promised. Now, let’s go to Joshua and begin reading from 3:11.
Josh.3:11] Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
[12] Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
[13] And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
Interesting choice of words, waters cut off from the waters that come down from above. This will make perfect sense later.
Josh.3:14] And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
[15] And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
This is not a little creek, but a large river and it is overflowing its banks.
Josh.3:16] That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
[17] And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
This Jordan is the Jordan river. This is the first time this river will be parted. Passing the mantle always happens with the dividing of the waters. And is done with either priest or prophets. Moses and the Red Sea, Joshua and the priest that bare the Ark of the Covenant. Now let’s go to 1Kings19:17, Elijah and Elisha.
1Kings19:17] And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.
[18] Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
That last verse is very important to understanding these end times, these seven thousand are Gods elect today. They never bowed a knee to Baal, that’s Satan, in the first earth age. Reserved for today.
1Kings 19:19] So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him.
Twelve yoke of oxen represents the twelve tribes of Israel.
1Kings19:20] And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?
[21] And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.
What Elisha did was take two of his oxen and sacrificed them on fire made with the wood of the yoke. Signifying his release from the bondage of the field (this world). Notice here we have being released from bondage again. The next time we hear about Elisha is in 2Kings chapter 2:1. And it reads.
2Kings2:1] And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
[2] And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.
Elisha is not going to let Elijah out of his sight.
2Kings2:3] And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
[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.
What Elijah is doing is he’s going throughout the schools of the prophets, and saying goodbye to all of them.
2Kings2:5] 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.
[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.
[7] And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.
These fifty were most likely from the school of Jordan. They, Elijah and Elisha, stood by the Jordan river.
2Kings2:8] 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.
This would be the 8th. and final miracle that Elijah would perform. These are the same waters that Joshua divided. This now being the second time this river has been divided, when the mantle was passed from Moses to Joshua.
2Kings2:9] 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.
This would mean that Elisha wants twice the blessings. Elijah did 8 miracles and Elisha would do 16.
2Kings2:10] 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 not be so.
Knowing that it was up to the Lord, and the Lord would give him his answer.
2Kings2:11] 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.
In Ezekiel you will find these chariots of fire. Ezekiel would describe them and some would say today he was describing UFO’s. Not so, these vehicles are not for outer space, on the contrary, these are the vehicles used to travel from that dimension to this dimension. From heaven to earth.
2Kings2:12] 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.
[13] He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;
[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.
His first miracle, he parted the river and walked over on dry ground. Moses parted the Red Sea, but this river Jordan has now been parted 3 times. Notice that river is translated waters for a reason.
Elijah= H452 in the Strongs’. And means Yah is God.
Elisha= H477 in the Strongs’. And means God is Salvation.
What we have here is the promise of Jesus Christ and the 2nd. Covenant, or Testament.
Moses and Elijah, both transfigured by God and met with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration, will be used in the end times as the Sons of Oil. Those two that are killed in the streets, or Patha in the Greek, and will rise again on the third day. Rev.12 and verse 3 begins.
Rev.12:3] And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
[4] These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
They stood by Jesus at the mount of transfiguration, Mat.17:1-8. Moses the law giver, and Elijah the Prophet of prophets.
Rev.12:5] And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
[6] These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
Turn the waters to blood. Spiritually dead. But, notice these waters again.
Rev.12:7] And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
This is the 6th. trump, this beast is Satan. Only he can kill them, and we just read the consequences for it.
Rev.12:8] And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Meaning of coarse Jerusalem.
Rev.12:9] And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
[10] And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
[11] And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
Remember Jesus was in the tomb for 3 and a half days.
Rev.12:12] And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
This is the 7th. trump. And all is fulfilled. But, why was the river referred to as waters? The river was divided, when the mantle changes hands it is a great division. Let’s go to Rev.17:15 and read.
Rev.17:15] And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
The waters are the peoples, and the Lord will divide them. He will divide the sheep from the goats, he will divide the wicked from his children. And we will again pass the mantle from this earth age to the third, to the eternity with our Father. The Elect will pass the mantle to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Let’s go now to Matthew 25 and pick it up with verse 31 and it reads.
Mat.25:31] When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
[32] And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
[33] And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
[34] Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Foundation is G2602 in the Strongs’, Katabole. And means from the overthrow of Satan in the first earth age. Gen.1:1-2, we studied this in our first lesson. The three earth and heaven ages.
All the examples given to us from the beginning to the end. 1Cor.10:11 reads.
1Cor.10:11] Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
So, you see the Lord opens eyes when it is time to know his word, his truth. We are closer than ever to his will being done. Parting of the waters, that is his children, those that love him will hear “job well done my good and faithful servant.” Passing of the mantle, for it was written that this age will be passed to the last. And I say “Come Lord Jesus come.” Let’s go to his throne.
Father, we thank you for your word and ask that you bless all that love you in Jesus’s precious name, Amen.