“As they were walking along, a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared…and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind…He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan…When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. The company of the prophets from Jericho…said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.”

Artist’s Interpretation:

Elijah, like Moses before him, had witnessed the authentication of God’s power through fires from heaven. This same fiery power escorts him to God in a whirlwind. Elisha, committed to stay with Elijah until the very last moment, is the only witness to the dramatic ascension. The power through Elijah’s mantel is passed on with a parting of the Jordan to begin his own mission and Elisha became the Lord’s official servant in the difficult times of the apostate kings.