26/10/2022 - AND NEVER SAW HIM AGAIN

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And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.  2 Kings 2.12

The separation that occurred between Elijah and Elisha, when the former was taken up to Heaven, leaves us with a good and important message: death (which was not the case with Elijah, for he was taken alive to Heaven – 2 Kings 2.11) separates us from those who are dear and loved by us. Many people of God, unaware of what the Bible says about the dead, call upon them for advice, or for them to intercede with the Lord for protection.

Can someone who has died – and, in his days on Earth, was used by the Lord – speak to God better than we now? Now, the Word clarifies this matter definitively: For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten (Ecclesiastes 9.5). Only a living saved person is able to intercede in prayer (1 John 5.13-16).

It’s good to remember: a saint is one who has accepted Jesus as Savior and has therefore been justified in His death, washed in His blood, and baptized in water by the pastor and in the Holy Spirit by the Savior Himself. While they are amongst us, those sanctified in Christ will have their prayers and supplications answered. However, when they die, their memory will be in oblivion – they will have no recollection of things past. It is not good to put your hope in the words of man. Only the Word of God is the Truth!

Elisha struggled to remember what his master had told him: When Elijah was taken up to Heaven, a double portion of his anointing would rest on Elisha. This was to be well connected; in a lapse of time, the prophet would ascend, and so it happened. We have to be attentive to what the Spirit of God says, and pray when we feel the moment to act (Ecclesiastes 8.5). Those who do not watch lose the opportunities to be blessed.

Seeing the prophet being caught up, Elisha cried out, calling on the Lord this way: My father, my father, chariots of Israel and its horsemen! Elisha realized that this was the power that accompanied his master in his deeds and would follow him from that moment on. There is no magic in the work of faith, but God’s action. When we receive the answer from Heaven, there is the manifestation of the power that has been given to us.

As soon as he saw Heaven open, Elisha tore his clothes, as if to say, “From this moment on, I can enter the atmosphere of the Spirit of God. His clothes were no longer human, but heavenly. It is necessary to grow in the Word and in divine power: Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? (Mark 12.24). What do you say?

Elisha’s bond with Elijah was cut at that moment. Then, he would have to seek the Lord to give solution to people’s problems. When the Most High takes any of His shepherds, don’t fall into the evil one’s trap of praying for such a servant to help you. Besides being a false doctrine, it’s a deception of the devil. Whoever is taken to Heaven will know nothing more from here!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares