Chapter 2

Commentary

ELISHA, THE WONDER-MAKER (2 Kings, chapters 2 to 8) THE COMPASSIONATE FATHERHOOD OF ELISH: This section starts by the ascension of Elijah to heaven, after delivering the prophetic work to his disciple Elisha, who desired to have a double portion of the spirit of his master, to be able to fulfill his mission and to confront the increasing current of evil. God granted him the power to work double as many miracles as what was done by his master, not that he is greater than him, but to confirm the need for for a greater work because of the increasing corruption. Those miracles came in the Holy Book, not chronically, but in an exalted Theological order. They were not to demonstrate his possibilities and capabilities of Elisha, but carried practical Theological and spiritual concepts that touch our daily life, and our fellowship with God; and most prominently, those miracles done by God on the hands of Elisha, came to reveal the compassionate fatherhood of the prophet. By God’s exalted power, Elisha divided the River Jordan by Elijah’s mantle; and in compassionate fatherhood, he responded to the request of the sons of the prophets to send fifty men of valor to search for the prophet Elijah everywhere. He did not rebuke and remind them that they, themselves, have told him that he will be taken from over his head today; and that, even if they assumed that the Spirit of God has taken him away to another place, as it so previously happened, why should they search for him? Do they intend to offer him food or drink?Would the Spirit of God take him away, and do not provide him with all his needs? 1- He cared for the sons of the prophets, as a congregation; went with them to cut timber; and cared for the needs of each of them, as when the iron head of the ax of one of them fell into the water. 2- He cared for the poor widow, who was about to deliver her two sons as slaves to the creditor. 3- He cared for the notable woman, when he sought from God to grant her a child; and when he died, he cared to raise him from the dead.. 4- He cared for the army, and in jealousy upon the glory of God; he sought victory for them. 5- He cared for the common people, he sought from God to fulfill all their needs. 6- He equally cared for the king, for the prophets, and for the commons; carrying love and fatherhood toward all. 7- In his fatherhood, he used both firmness and compassion as tools to carry out his mission.; The fathers frequently counted him as a symbol of the Lord Christ, as a Minister and Philanthropic. THE MOST PROMINENT MIRACLES PERFORMED BY ELISHA AND THEIR SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE: 1- Dividing the River Jordan by the mantle of Elijah’s mantle, (Chapter 2) :Refers to the destruction of evil desired by our Savior. 2- Turning the bad water to sweet water (Chapter 2) Our Christ turns all the destructive energies ti our edification. 3- Cursing the young men, the opponents to the truth (Chapter 2 By our Christ, we have no fear of the opponents of the truth 4- His prophecy to the three kings against Aram (Chapter 3) Our Christ satisfies our needs, and grants us victory 5- Blessing the oil of the widow (Chapter 4) Our Christ fills our empty inner vessels with His grace 6- Raising the son of the Shenumite woman (Chapter 4) Our Christ is the Grantor of Resurrection 7- The deadly food becomes eatable (Chapter 4) By our Christ we challenge death 8- Satisfying hundred men with twenty loaves of bread (Chapter 4 ) By our Christ we challenge the laws of nature. 9- Cleansing Naaman the Syrian from leprosy (Chapter 5) By our Christ we enjoy the new birth in Baptism 10- Restoration of the iron head of the ax by a wooden stick (Chapter 6) By the wooden cross our burdened and sunken souls are lifted up 11- Making the Aramite men blind (Chapter 7) Those with us are more than those with them. The fellowship of the heavenlies) 12- The lepers and the Aramite camp (Chapter 7) Today is a day of good tiding; Care to let the others enjoy their good fortune. 13- Counseling the Shenumite woman to depart (Chapter 8) Our Christ the Controller of everything will take care of us anywhere we go. 14- His prophecy to the Aramite Hazael (Chapter 8) The cry-out of the heart upon the fallen CHAPTER 2 A DOUBLE PORTION OF ELIJAH’S SPIRIT This chapter starts by heavens, opening to receive the prophet Elijah (1 – 11); and ends by the wild bears mauling the young men who mocked the man of God. After talking about Elijah with his fiery heart, it mentioned his ascension to heaven in a fiery chariot with fiery horses; to refer to that whoever has his heart kindle with the heavenly love, and with the holy jealousy, his soul will be qualified to soar up as though with a fiery chariot, to ascend to where God, the Consuming Fire; sits, and to be counted as one of His fiery servants. Having fulfilled his mission, Elijah ascended to heaven; and there was need for someone, with the same spirit, to consummate his ministry, and to fulfill his mission,– Elisha who got his heart’s desire, to have a double portion of the spirit of his fiery master the prophet Elijah. As ‘Enoch’; was taken up to heaven without tasting death (Genesis 5: 24; Hebrew 11: 5); So was Elijah. That indicates that, it is God alone who has the keys of life, death, the grave, and the resurrection + Enoch and Elijah’s death was just postponed; for they will eventually experience death, and their blood will be shed by the vanity of the work of the antichrist (Revelation 11: 3) (The scholar Tertullian) The ascension of Elijah to heaven, reveals to us four kinds of persons, who encountered him, or heard about his ascension: 1- His companion who worked together with him: Namely Elisha, who, when Elijah threw his mantle upon him, he left the oxen and ran after him (1 Kings 19: 19-21), and served him for as long as about ten years. And when Elijah said to him to stay in Gilgal, in Bethel, or in Jericho, Elisha said “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you” (2 kings 2: 4). For nor delaying to accompany Elijah and to serve together with him, Elisha was qualified to be granted granted by God a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Elishah is considered a living example of whoever gets attached to the Lord Christ, and enter with Him in a fellowship, to enjoy the spirit of strength, and become an icon of Him. + Your features, O Lord, are printed on us. You created us in Your image and according to Your likeness; You made us Your currency; Yet, it is not befitting of Your image to stay in the dark, Send the ray of Your wisdom, to scatter our darkness, so that Your image would shine in us. + A perfect minister of Christ has nothing beside Christ. For, if he does, he would not be a perfect minister. (St. Jerome) + It is our right to be there in the presence of God in heaven, for we have learned the lesson while being on earth, and went there to heaven to enjoy the love of God the Father, whom we knew while we were on earth; and because God, the Holy Word, who made everything, taught and is teaching us everything, and trains us on all the good things. (St. Clement of Alexandria) 2- The group of watchers; who, although the Spirit told them what was going to happen, yet they were satisfied by just saying to Elisha: “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?” (2 Kings 2: 3). They came to have a true knowledge from God Himself, but they made no attempt to get attached to Elijah, to enjoy what Elisha did. … They are like those who believe in the Lord Christ, but do not walk by His Holy Spirit; they stop at the mental knowledge, and do not come to enjoy Him. 3- The group of workers: After Elijah was taken to heaven by a fiery chariot, Elijah did not erect a memorial stone, nor lived in, or for the sake of the memories of the past, , but moved to work (2 kings 2: 19-22). By that, Elisha came to be a living example of him, who perceive his being a son of God, and an ambassador of the heavenly Lord Christ. By that, our dust hearts would turn into a new heaven; and eternity would become a life that we taste its deposit; we touch in our practical actuality, and to which we testify , as ambassadors of the Lord Christ, and stewards of heaven; desiring for the earth to become heaven. + Indeed, the Lord came to annul the old things, to call us to a greater home; to do everything to liberate us from the unnecessary things, and from our love of the earth. Hence He referred to the pagans, saying: “For after all these things the Gentiles seek” (Matthew 6: 32); those who present all their labor for the sake of the present life, and do not care for the things to come, nor for any heavenly thought. (St. John Chrysostom) 4- The group of mockers: Many of those who heard the news in Bethel, stirred up young men to mock Elisha, by saying to him: “Ascend, O baldhead” (2 kings 2: 23); as though to say to him: [Ascend like you’re your master, O baldhead]. 1- Elijah’s splendid life qualified him for heaven 1 2- Why did Elijah conceal his ascension from his disciple Elisha? 2 3- The Lord proclaims the ascension of Elijah 3 4- Elisha had no intention to leave Elijah 4 5- The Spirit reveals the ascension of Elijah to the sons of the prophets 5 - 7 6- A miracle at the River Jordan 8 7- Elisha seeks a double portion of Elijah’s spirit 9 - 10 8- Mother earth bids Elijah farewell 11 9- Elisha mourns Elijah’s departure 12 10- Elijah’s mantle 13 - 14 11- The position of the sons of the prophets 15 - 18 12- The bad water becomes sweet 19 - 22 13- Elisha curses the youths, the opponents of the truth, who mocked him 23 1- ELIJAH’S SPLENDID LIFE QUALIFIED HIM FOR HEAVEN: “And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal” (1) While Elijah enjoyed ascension to heaven by a chariot of fire, Moses died and was buried. Yet both of them equally appeared in the transfiguration of the Lord Chris. The ascension of Elijah has its mission, so has the death of Moses. We should not discern between this and that, for each of them consummates the mission of the other in Christ Jesus, the Savior of the world. “Gilgal”: Gilgal here is a location different from that with the same name mentioned in Joshua 4: 19. For it is located in Mount Ephraim 8 miles north of Bethel. Nowadays it is ‘Galgalia’, where the sons of the prophets dwelt (2 kings 4: 38). The word ‘Gilgal’ means (rolling down). Leaving ‘Gilgal’, namely the (rolling down), the prophet Elijah, filled with zeal, went to dwell in ‘Bethel’, namely in the (house of God); a reference to longing to enjoy the heavenly world. The Holy Book told us nothing about Elisha all along the period between being called to the prophetic work (1 kings 19: 19-21) and the ascension of Elijah to heaven; which was most probably a period of discipleship by the spirit of prayer, together with caring for the way of behavior, being a disciple of the prophet Elijah. Looking at the scene of ascension of the prophet Elijah to heaven, St. Jacob El-Serougi calls him “the beautiful” or the “the splendid”; probably meaning the one bearing the reflection of the splendor of God on himself, to be qualified for a splendid heavenly chariot, to come down to carry him up to heaven. He marvels at such man of dust whom the earth could not take hold of him, to return, like his father Adam to dust; but who set forth to dwell among and mix with the heavenlies. It is as though he was taken away by heaven from the earth to proclaim his victory. Having enjoyed an encounter with God on Mount Sinai, Elijah’s soul was filled with the heavenly fire; and his ascension to heaven came as a natural extension of his perpetual attachment by his whole being to God, the Heavenly One. As there was nothing more in him, whether in his soul or in his body, with all his energy, that inclined to see the world; his ascension, therefore, came a fruit of his continuous ascension, his whole life, toward heaven, perpetually ascending on the ladder of the spiritual perfection. Not being preoccupied with the human or bodily encounters, he was qualified to dwell among the heavenlies; his continuous conquests qualified him to set forth from a world full of snares; and his spiritual condition qualified him to dwell among the heavenly creatures. The Holy One did not wish to let that victor become a bread for death! Before the head, that never bowed to sin and evil, the gates of heaven were opened, so as not to bow beneath the gate of the pit. + Let us then talk about the ascension of that beautiful, and about the splendid chariot that came to him on earth. Let us talk about the man of dust who was worthy of dwelling among the spirituals; and did not return to earth to become dust. Let us talk about the lowly creature who set forth up high; and about our fellow human being who left us to mix with the angels. Let us talk about the miracle, when the high-up creatures snatched someone on earth to be among their hosts. Let us see why, and how such thing happened; Having acquired such an exalted beauty; they took him up to dwell among those full of beauty. Having been enlightened on Mount Sinai, and his soul was kindled with that exalted scenery; Having been purified by the ‘Shakinah’ of secrets; and every worldly part in him was consummated, He ascended to dwell by his mind with God; and the Most High came down to dwell in him; The ‘splendid’ did not have to dedicate some time for perfection, for he mixed his whole life with God; After ascending to perfection, he did not descend; for he kept on ascending all his life long; Having had no part in him inclined toward the world, the Most High intended to take that lowly creature up to heaven; He intended to give him the immortal crown of life; which He took away from Adam once he got naked; He intended to crown the ‘beautiful’, for the sake of his strife in the world; He intended to give this glory as a gift of life to that activist who ran like champions in the tracks of righteousness. He intended to take him away from the world filled with suffering, for He found him not loving it, although he dwelt in it; He intended to give him a place in His own world of no suffering; for He realized that he lives in a place where he does not belong; He intended to lift him up from a pit full of snares, to an exalted and splendid place free of evil; He intended to let him ascend to dwell among the spirituals, on account of his spiritual beauty; The Lord intended to give rest to His good servant, saying to him , ‘Come, you who labored hard, have rest from your labor and affliction; ‘Come, O glorified, enter into the secret place of the new life, where the greedy death is not worthy of having you as its bread; Behold, the gates up high are open before you; Enter, O saintly man, lest your haughty head would bow beneath the gate of the pit. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) + While Elijah was taken up to heaven, Paul the apostle was taken up to heaven and paradise (2 Corinthians 12: 2, 4) (For the disciples of Christ are worthy of a double grace); where he heard unutterable words. Yet, Paul descended again, not on account of unworthiness to stay up there, but, having enjoyed all the things that surpass man’s perception, he had to return to preach Christ, and to die for His sake, to earn the crown of martyrdom. (St. Cyril of Jerusalem) 2- WHY DID ELIJAH CONCEAL HIS ASCENSION FROM HID DISCIPLE ELISHA? “Then Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here please, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel’, and Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you’; so they went down\ to Bethel” (2) “The Lord has sent me”. By a call from God, the prophet Elijah set forth in his last hours on earth to visit the sons of the prophets in their different locations, to establish them and t give them farewell words of encouragement. Why did Elijah sought from his disciple Elisha to stay in Gilgal? 1- In his last hours on earth, he probably intended to be alone to have hidden talks with God. 2- Having compassion on his very beloved disciple, he probably intended to spare him watching him taken from this world, after which he would be lonely 3- Elijah probably intended to test his disciple’s love and faithfulness; who, with great love said to him, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you” In very critical moments, Elijah perceived that it was time for him to depart from the labors of this world, to stand before God face-to-face, and to live on an exalted level, where his body needs no necessities of life here. And at the same time, Elisha perceived that it was time for his master Elijah to separate from him, whom he called: “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen” (13); and there was nothing to be said by any of them to the other; for the feelings were beyond any human expression. “I will not leave you”. Elijah intended to conceal his ascension to heaven from his disciple Elisha; seeking no glory from men, even from his own disciple, beloved by him, But God did not conceal it from him; hence Elisha insisted on sticking to Elijah during his last hours on earth. Elijah did not want to be celebrated by anyone on earth; and in his humility he sought from his disciple to forsake him, to spare him watching his ascension. But the Holy God revealed the secret to Elisha and to the group of the sons of the prophets. Elijah’s ascension was celebrated by the prophets on earth, while he was received with great joy by the heavenly hosts. + By a secret sign, Elijah moved, prepared himself to go on his way; Because of the beauty of his humility, he did not wish to be seen or celebrated by anyone when he goes up to his exalted place; Hence he hid the secret from his disciple, whom he tried to keep away by several excuses; Having attached his heart to the High One, he thought only of him, and wanted no lowly creature to see him; Disregarding the vain glory and honor of this world, he saw it as nothing of value. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) 3- THE LORD PROCLAIMS THE ASCENSION OF ELIJAH: “And the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, ‘Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?’. And he said, ‘Yes I know, keep silent’” (3) “The sons of the prophets” who used to call their head or teacher their ‘father’, were students in the school of prophets. Some of them were granted the gift of prophecy; and were on diverse spiritual levels. It so seems that it was the prophet Samuel who established that system, although it is difficult to say when those schools that spread everywhere began to function, in an attempt to confront the current of spiritual and faith corruption, that started in the days of Jeroboam, the first king of Israel, after his dissent from Judah. Those schools were found in Ramah (1 Samuel 19: 19-21), in Jericho (2 kings 2: 5), in Gilgal (2 kings 4: 38), in Bethel (2 kings 2: 3), and probably in other locations. Their number was substantial; claimed to be one hundred in Gilgal (2 kings 4: 43), and at least fifty in Jericho (2 kings 2: 7); in groups; some of them were married, and probably dwelt in their own houses (2 kings 4: 1-2), while others were not married, dwelt and ate their meals together in public buildings (2 kings 6: 1- 2). and each group assembled around a certain teacher, to learn on his hands how to talk about God. Those schools flourished in the days of Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha. Many scholars considered the sons of the prophets on the same level of the prophets (1 kings 20: 35, 38); although the prophet Amos discerned between the two categories (Amos 7: 14) It so seems that the sons of the prophets embraced the good as well as the bad; And probably among them some false prophets appeared, who perverted for some reason or other; whether to seek personal benefit from the kings and rulers, or to gain publicity through smooth false words, that deceived the people, instead of exhorting them to repent (Isaiah 30: 10; Jeremiah 6: 14; 8: 11). Having a specific system of education, the sons of the prophets studied the law, the history of the people of God, together with holy poetry and music; although they were not governed by any monastic system, nor were students of theological studies. Their mission was to help the prophets to fulfill their mission; and probably to succeed them in certain cases. Being aware of the ascension of the prophet Elijah, probably through a divine proclamation, when they inquired from the prophet Elisha if he knew about it, he answered ‘yes’, yet sought from them to keep silent; for it was not the time to discuss such an exalted topic concerning the prophet Elijah, nor the ministry; and on account of that his mind was completely preoccupied with the enjoyment of being attached to his master Elijah in the Lord. He was in no need of a word of empathy from anyone. He perceived that it was such an exalted subject that warrants neither discussion nor debate. + Intending to conceal the beauty of his way from everyone, the prophets celebrated him in groups; He attempted to hide himself in humility; yet his Righteous Lord revealed him to many; Once he perceived that God calls him to go up, he decided to hide himself from men; He even sought from his own disciple to depart from him; telling him that God sent him somewhere. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) 4- ELISHA HAD NO INTENTION TO LEAVE ELIJAH: “Then Elijah said to him, ‘Elisha, stay here, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho’. And he said. ‘As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you’. So they came to Jericho’” (4) While Elijah tried to conceal the issue of his ascension from his disciple Elisha, God, on His side, proclaimed that secret to the disciple who was qualified for prophecy. According to St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi, that proclamation by God came to let the disciple benefit from the treasure that was within his hands; to see his mentor Elijah as a sun to enjoy its light and splendor, and a fountain flowing with the water of life to drink from, to have his depths lifted up high; to see him as a splendid fire, to embrace to kindle the flame of love in his depths; and as a spiritual wave that fills him with strength; and as a sea full of divine proclamations, to receive their riches. As there were only few hours for Elijah on earth, the disciple, hastening to seek, was given, to enter through the door which was still open before him. It was amazing how Elisha swore, saying: “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives”, perceiving that the soul of Elijah has acquired life, by being attached to God the source of life. The disciple persisted on staying with his mentor to acquire the spiritual riches from him. As there only hours for Elijah on earth, it was up to his disciple to hasten to seek and to take; to enter through the door that was still open before him. It is amazing how Elisha vowed “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives”, having perceived that Elijah’s soul has acquired life, on account of that it was attached to God, the source of life. The disciple insisted on not leaving his master, to acquire from him the spiritual riches. + As that young man was worthy of prophecy, the divine inspiration secretly instructed him not to forsake the company of his mentor; Come, O young man, care to take for yourself a limitless wealth, as long as that great rich treasure is at hand; Before this treasure is lifted up from you, take for yourself as much as you can, to become, in your turn as rich and as learned; As long as the sun is still with you, seek from it light and adorn yourself with its splendor; As long as you are close to that fountain that flows with life, quench your thirst from it; for it will soon be lifted up from you up high; As long as that live and beautiful fire is with you, hold fast to it, and kindle yourself from it, for it is bound to disappear; As long as the wave of the Spirit follows you, open yourself to it, and get filled with its strength; As long as the sea, full of inspirations is still with you, trade with it, to become rich after it is lifted up from you; Do not forsake him until you see him ascend; after he gives you a valuable thing, to make you as rich; Hasten to get, seek to be given to you. The door is open before you; it is your lucky day if you dare; As the Spirit secretly inspired the young man about these issues, he refused to forsake his mentor; He said to him: “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives”, I shall not forsake you nor separate from you, O my good company; He swore, putting Elijah’s soul together with the soul of God, for he was sure that it was spiritually with God; By saying: “As God lives, and as your soul lives”, he meant that Elijah’s soul has acquired life in God; By it, his soul lives; and with it, is mixed; And as God lives, it lives as well with Him in one will; He did not intend to retreat from his decision, for he longed as well to acquire the spiritual riches from the company of that splendid mentor. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) 5- THE SPIRIT REVEALED THE ASCENSION OF ELIJAH TO THE SONS OF THE PROPHETS: “And the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, ‘Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?’. So he answered, ‘Yes I know; keep silent’” (5) Once the Spirit revealed Elijah’s ascension to heaven to the prophets; something that Elijah intended to conceal from them; they set forth to tell him what the Spirit revealed to them, to perceive that it was also revealed to him. + To make the celebration of Elijah’s ascension great, the Spirit revealed it secretly to the prophets; Inspired by the Spirit, the disciples came forth from Bethel and from Jericho; They came to tell their teacher with love, saying: “The Lord will take away your master from over you today” But Elisha told them to be silent, to keep the secret he already knew. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) “Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here please, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan’. And he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you’. So the two of them went on” (6) When he began his prophetic work in the days of Ahab, Elijah came forth from Gilead, east of the Jordan (1 kings 17: 1). And at the end of his prophetic work, he crossed the Jordan back, to ascend to heaven. After visiting the school of the prophets, the Spirit sent him across the Jordan, so that his ascension would be in a secluded location as much as possible; the way Moses ascended Mount Nebo to die. The river Jordan was a symbol of baptism, where the believer crosses over from the love of the fallen world to the promise of inheritance, namely to the life to come. The Lord Jesus fulfilled that promise by His incarnation and baptism (Mark 1: 9) + The name “Jordan” means (descent); which the Lord fulfilled, making those who dwell close to the River Jordan be purified from the contagion of sin (St. Ambrose) + At that time Elijah lived together with Elisha whom he consecrated a prophet by a divine command (1 kings 19: 19) .. They had the same way of life … When it was time for Elijah to ascend to heaven by a chariot of fire, with the same body that weighed him down to earth; it so happened that after they crossed over to Gilgal, on his way to Bethel, Elijah asked Elisha to stay in Gilgal, but Elisha disobeyed him, and refused to leave him, counting his words as though putting him in a prison. Hence Elijah consented to take him along with him. And when they reached Bethel where they spent few days, Elijah, planning to go to Jericho alone, asked Elisha to stay in Bethel, but Elisha persisted on disobeying him; for he felt being torn apart if separated from his master. And not knowing what to do Elisha consented on letting him stay in his company. (St (Mar Ephraim the Syrian) “And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood at the Jordan” (7) Those fifty men were from the school of the prophets in Jericho, for there were many of those schools around; as many people tended to flee to those schools to worship God, away from Ahab and his household. 6- A MIRACLE AT THE RIVER JORDAN: “Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water, and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground” (8) Having concentrated his sight on heaven, the River Jordan was not to be an obstacle against Elijah, who struck the water by his mantle to turn it into dry land on which both men crossed over. He who could cross over to heaven by a chariot of fire, would not be hindered by the river. The way Moses struck the water of the Red Sea by his staff, to turn it into a way through which his people crossed over to the wilderness away from the bondage of Pharaoh (the symbol of the devil); on their way to the promised land, Elijah struck the water to split the River to cross over dry land, he and Elisha. That was a testimony by the Lord for his work through the two prophets to liberate from the bondage of evil, and to proclaim the entrance into the comfort of life together with God. By crossing over the Red Sea, the prophet Moses referred to baptism (Exodus 14: 16-23). And Joshua commanded the priests who carried the ark of the covenant to put their feet in the River Jordan; and when they did the River split and the whole people crossed over to the promised land (Joshua 3: 13-17). Now, the prophet Elijah strikes the water with his mantle to split it, for the believer to cross over, not from the bondage of Pharaoh, but from the bondage to the earthlies, and to enter together with him as though into a chariot of fire, setting forth with their hearts to heaven. … What God did for the sake of the congregation, He also did for the sake of one man. + Elijah’s baptism in the River Jordan prepared him to ascend to heaven. … And through the River Jordan, the prophet Elisha received a double portion of Elijah’s spirit; probably on account of that he crossed the River Jordan twice: once together with Elijah and the second time when he struck the water with Elijah’s mantle, saying: “Where is the Lord, God of Elijah?”; and the river split here and there. + It is befitting of us to notice that before Elijah ascended in a whirlwind of fire, he took his mantle, rolled it, and struck the water to split it into two, to cross over together with Elisha (2 kings 2: 80. By that he was baptized in the Jordan; and was prepared to ascend high to heaven … Paul the apostle called that amazing crossing over ‘baptism’. (The scholar Origen) The mantle which Elijah cast over Elisha when he called him (1 kings 19: 19), refers to his partaking in the prophetic work; With it he struck the water of the River Jordan to split; According to the scholar Origen, Elisha struck the River Jordan twice; as the prophet Moses struck the rock twice. On one aspect for the water to flow to quench our thirst, and on another aspect to split the river, namely to discern and reveal to us the word of truth, to have its sound interpretation. + Elijah ascended to heaven, yet not without water; for he started by crossing over the River Jordan, then was carried by a chariot of fire to heaven. (St. Cyril of Jerusalem) + How great are the saints! Not just by their words, nor by their bodies, but even by their clothes, honored by all men. For by the leather robe of Elijah he split the River Jordan. (St. John Chrysostom) + The man of blessings full of glories walked and reached the Jordan together with his privileged disciple; The true, splendid, perfect, virgin, chaste, pure, righteous, glorious, amazing, and great man; set forth ahead, left the world behind his back, heading to heaven; and knew the earth no more; He stood before the River, full of might, putting on a great spiritual strength; He struck the river with his mantle to turn it into dry land; The free flow of water halted to open a way before the splendid man to cross over; The mighty waves forsook their normal violence, to suit the way of the saint, and not to be an obstacle before him; The man of God crossed over the dry land on his way to his amazing destination. (St. (Mat) Jacob El-Serougi) 7- ELISHA SEEKS A DOUBLE PORTION OF ELIJAH’S SPIRIT: “And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you’. And Elisha said, ‘Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me’” (9) Elijah left no money for Elisha his disciple or his spiritual son, to inherit; But Elisha got what is greater than all the things in this world. When the last hours of Elijah’s life were close at hand, his only companion was Elisha, whose only request was to have a double portion of Elijah’s spirit (2 kings 9: 2), based on his enjoyment of the firstborn to inherit a double portion of the inheritance, and the fatherhood leadership of the household after the death of the father. Elisha did not seek to be greater than Elijah, but to be worthy of being counted as his firstborn. Elisha’s request did not mean to be able to perform double the wonders and miracles that his mentor did; although it is befitting to know that the number of miracles performed by Elisha was about double as many as recorded for Elijah. He sought to have a double portion of his mentor’s spirit for ministry and testimony to God. Simply and with the spirit of humility, Elisha the man of God desired to consummate the mission of his mentor, looking at Elijah as a living role model. Elisha counted himself as the firstborn son of Elijah, who has the right of a double portion of the inheritance (Deuteronomy 21: 17). Counting himself, in the daring of love, as Elijah’s firstborn, Elisha asked for the right of the inheritance of the firstborn; a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Elisha did not desire anything except to follow the lead of his master, and to bear his spirit. But Elijah perceived that this was beyond his authority to give, but is a divine authority, granted by God who searches the hearts and minds of His faithful beloved servants. Elisha did not request to be greater than his master, nor more powerful; but considering how the kingdom persistently deteriorated, he saw that it was in need of an increasing divine power to confront that mighty sweeping torrent. The spiritual man, loving the others as his firstborn, desires to give them a double portion of inheritance in his farewell will. That is what Elisha desired when he asked his master, saying: “Let a double portion of your spirit be upon me” (2 kings 2: 9). Elisha asked with faith, feeling his weakness and his need for a double power from heaven, to support him to confront the drastic corruption of the people at that time. Elijah was not offended by Elisha’s request, but, even though he perceived that it is beyond his authority to fulfill it, yet his depths actually exulted to feel that his disciple will consummate his mission with the spirit of power. I wish we, on our turn, do not despise the new generation, but seek from God to grant them greater grace than we got, so that the church in the future would become more powerful and capable to confront the challenges with the spirit of victory and conquest, According to St. Augustine, by Elisha’s request to get a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, he actually meant the Spirit of God working in him. It is befitting of us, who enjoy the work of the Spirit, to seek an increasing portion of it.. As for those who still do not enjoy the work of the Spirit in them, they should seek it from God. + The promise (concerning the growth of the work of the Spirit) is not in vain; whether concerning him who still has not acquired (the Holy Spirit), or him who does. The former will have the Spirit to acquire; while the latter will have it increased. For, if (the Spirit) is not to be acquired by measure, less for some than for others, Elisha would not say to Elijah: “Let a double portion of your spirit be upon me” (2 Kings 2: 9). But when St. John the Baptist said: “God does not give the Spirit by measure” (John 3: 34); he was specifically speaking about the Son of God who did not acquire the Holy Spirit by measure; for the Spirit dwelt in Him with the perfection of divinity. + He who is ‘Omnipresent’, does not dwell in everyone, and does not exist equally in those He does; Otherwise what would be the meaning of Elisha’s request to get a double portion of the spirit of Elijah? And how would certain saints be more holy than others; except to have a more flow of the Spirit of God in them? (St. Augustine) + How can we perceive the words said by the Lord to His disciples: “He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also, and greater works than these he will do” (John14: 12), if we consider them in the light of His saying:: “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master” (Matthew 10: 24) As an example, while Moses killed only three kings, Joshua his disciple, killed thirty of them (Joshua 12; 1-24) While Moses persisted on praying and supplicating to enter the promised land, but his request was denied; Joshua, on the other hand entered it and partook of the inheritance (Deuteronomy 24; 4-5). Samuel was greater than Eli the priest; and Elisha has got a double portion of his master Elijah’s spirit, after his ascension (2 kings 2: 9-12). And the Lord Christ granted His disciples a double of his miracles. (St. (Mar) Ephraim the Syrian) “So he said, ‘You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so’” (10) Feeling the difficulty of the mission awaiting to come upon his shoulders, Elisha sought to get a double portion of the spirit of his spiritual father; But Elijah felt that Elisha has asked for a hard thing; for it was not within his authority to choose whom will succeed him, but it was that of God alone. Elijah’s answer came to say that it is not within my hand, but within the hand of our God…. If He grant you the grace to watch me while I depart from you, it shall be so for you; as though he says to him: “Let it be, not my will but that of My Father in heaven”. Elijah’s ascension was hidden from the physical eyes; as were the chariots and horses were hidden from the sight of Gehazi, Elisha’s servant in Dothan (17: 9). When Elisha saw it, Elijah perceived that God has granted him the power to look into the spiritual things to see and understand what others cannot. By that, Elijah perceived that his disciple has been appointed by God to be the head of the prophets, and a spokesman of the divine things to men. Having watched his master set forth in the chariot of fire toward heaven, that scene remained printed on his heart and memory all life long; by which his faith became stronger to be able to say in the time of affliction: “Those with us are more than those with them” (16: 6). Before seeing such a scene, Elisha probably used to lean upon Elijah the man of God, but after seeing it, God came to occupy his whole mind, and to fill his whole heart and inner being. The scene of the chariot of fire that carried Elijah was not to be seen by his physical eyes, unless God opens the eyes of man by His divine grace. Gehazi the servant of Elisha could not see the valley full of chariots and horses of fire, except after Elisha asked God to open his eyes (6: 17). Elijah therefore perceived that if Elisha was granted by God to watch his departure in the chariot of fire to heaven, he would be granted to power of sight in the spiritual things; and would be appointed by God to succeed him as the head of the prophets. According to St. John Chrysostom, No man can enjoy a divine grace unless he longs and watches for it. It was not possible for Elisha to get the grace of having a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, unless he longed and watched to see it. For this reason the Lord Jesus promised His disciples to get a power from above through the dwelling of the Holy Spirit upon them, without revealing to them when would that be, to exhort them to long and to watch for it. + Splitting the River, the splendid man crossed over together with his disciple; and said to him with love: [Now ask me what would I do for you before I depart from you. Whatever you ask I shall give you, as long as I am still with you]; With a good heart, the blessed disciple, seeing that a door was open before him to ask whatever he likes, he wisely asked for a great treasure; He asked with confidence that his master will not disappoint him; He asked for a double portion of his master’s spirit to come upon him; Although his master said to him: “You have asked a hard thing” (2 kings 2: 10) yet he did not deny him; But said to him: “If you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if not it shall not be so” He placed the issue in God’s hands; the same way the divine Son said to His Father: ’”Not My will but Yours be done” (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) + If the angels who carried Elijah up to heaven guarded Elisha on earth; there is no wonder that the angels who set forth with the Lord, have protected His disciples. It is befitting of us to notice that the honor the angels gave to the father (Elijah), they also gave to Elisha his spiritual son, and the heir of his holiness, as justified by getting a double portion of Elijah spirit…. What an amazing inheritance!,… when the heir gets more than what the giver processes,. Elijah left two portions of holiness to Elisha, even though he himself processes only one portion. In an amazing way, Elijah left a grace on earth, greater than what he carried to heaven. (Father Macximus, bishop of Torin) 7- MOTHER EARTH BID ELIJAH FAREWELL: “Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (11) The way Elijah was separated from Elisha reveals God’s power and authority. According to some fathers, the chariot and horses of fire, are heavenly hosts that came to carry Elijah the fiery man of God to heaven. And according to St. Augustine, Elijah will come again before the day of judgment; and the Jews will believe in the Lord Christ through his preaching and interpretation of the Holy Book. Preparing us to encounter Him face-to-face in heaven, and to enjoy the fellowship of the heavenly glories, God presents to us in the present life the enjoyment of continuous glories as a deposit of what we shall get. + When your eyes are opened, you will see a chariot of fire like that of Elijah, waiting to carry you up to heaven (2 Kings 2: 11). Then you will sing with joy: “Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers. The snare is broken and we have escaped” (Psalm 124: 7). + For us, humans, life is like a wrestling arena; we wrestle here, but will be crowned somewhere else. No one can feel safe, while surrounded by serpents and scorpions which attack him on all sides. The Lord says: “My sword shall be bathed in heaven” (Isaiah 34: 5). Shall we expect to find peace on earth?.... No!, for the earth produce only thistles and thorns, and its dust is the food of the serpent (Genesis 3: 14, 18); “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6: 12). We are surrounded by enemies on all sides. The weak body will soon become dust. We are one against many; fighting against horrible adversaries. “The ruler of this world has not yet come, and had nothing in Him (Jesus Christ). Up till now you are not listening in peace to the words of the prophet, saying: “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day… “ (Psalm 91: 5-7). When you are afflicted by the enemy; when your desires stir up; when you say; ‘What shall I do?’ Then you will be answered by the words of the prophet, saying: Do not fear, for those with us are more than those with them”. and by his prayer, saying, “O Lord, I pray open his eyes to see” And when your eyes are opened, you will see a chariot of fire like that of Elijah, waiting to take you up to heaven (2 Kings 2: 11); Then, you will sing with joy, saying: “Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snares of the fowlers; the snare is broken and we have escaped” (Psalm 124: 7). (St. Jerome) + Although Elijah was carried by a chariot of fire; yet it did not consume him. + “Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrew 12: 10); that consumes the wicked … It is the Holy Spirit who carried Elijah in a chariot of fire; from whom the weak Elisha sought help; and who led and strengthened David. (St. Gregory the Nezianzen) + If that is the way our souls will ascend, like Elijah, and our minds will be taken up high as though in a chariot of fire; lifted up to the heavenly beauty; we should understand that the chariot of fire is the Holy Spirit who came to dwell upon the disciples, like tongues of fire divided upon them. You will dare to approach the stars, namely, the holy things that give light to our souls by the heavenly spiritual word of God. (St. Gregory of Nyssa) + To those who consider the ascension of the Savior as something impossible; let them remember how an angel carried the prophet Habakkuk by the hair of his head; For then, the God of the angels and the prophets could rather ascend on a cloud from the Mount of Olives by His own power. Remembering such wonders, you should give the precedence to God the wonder-Maker. For all those were raised up, while He, on the other hand, is the One who raises everything up by His might. Remember that ‘Enoch’ was taken; while Jesus ascended. Remember how Elijah was taken up to heaven by a chariot of fire; while “the chariots of God are thousands of thousands” (Psalm 68: 17). Remember that Elijah was taken up to heaven, but Christ is in heaven; Remember that Elijah sought from God to grant his blessed disciple Elisha a double portion of his Spirit; But Christ granted His disciples the grace of the Holy Spirit; and let the believers partake of Him through the laying of hands. (St. Cyril of Jerusalem) + Having controlled the desire of the body,. Elijah denied the adulterers the rain of heaven.; … Having overcome the carnal desire while living on earth, Elijah soared up high to where holiness dwells in peace; + Elijah longed to see Him (the Lord Christ); and having not seen Him on earth, being utterly purified by faith, he was raised up to see Him in heaven. Moses and Elijah saw Him; the meek ascended from the depths of the earth, and the zealous descended from up high; and in the middle they saw the Son; both symbolizing the secret of His coming. Moses, the symbol of the dead; and Elijah, the symbol of the living, who fly to encounter Him on His coming; Those who tasted death are ahead; and those who did not, will follow lead to encounter Him. (St. (Mar) Ephraim the Syrian) + Having his heart in heaven, the birds of heaven used to bring food to Elijah; … Being in the likeness of the angels of heaven, the angels used to bring bread and water to him; … And having put his thoughts in heaven, Elijah was taken up by a chariot of fire to heaven where a place for him was eternally set. (St. Ephrahat) + Of the Spirit who carried Elijah in a chariot, Elisha requested a double portion. + According to some, having embodied no physical desire, Elijah was taken up to heaven on a chariot of fire; appeared glorified together with the Lord (Matthew 3: 17); and will come as a forerunner to the second coming of the Lord (Malachi 5: 4). + Good are the wings of love, the true wings that hover on the mouths of the apostles, the wings of fire that utter the pure words (Psalm 12: 6) On these wings, ‘Enoch’ was taken up to heaven (Genesis 5: 24) On these wings, Elijah set forth on a chariot and horses of fire up to the high places (2 kings 2: 11) On these wings, the Lord God led the father Patriarchs by a pillar of fire (Genesis 13: 21) The seraphim have such wings; When a Seraph took a live coal from the altar, and touched with it the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, his iniquities were taken away, and his sins purged (Isaiah 6: 6-7). By the fire of those wings the sons of Levi were purified (Malachi 3: 3); … the tribes of the Gentiles, according to the testimony of St. John, were baptized , when he said that the Lord Jesus “will baptize you with Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3: 11; John 1: 33). David, knowing that he should not fear the fiery wings of love, wished that his loins and heart be consumed (and proved) by fire (Psalm 26: 2). The Hebrew young men did not feel the heat of the furnace, for the flame of love gave them coolness. And to know how the perfect love has wings, hear the Lord Christ say: “O Jerusalem, , … how often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wing” (Matthew 23: 37). + The fiery Spirit kindles the hearts; for the divine spiritual fire has the activity to give light to the souls; and try them, the way pure gold is tried in the crucible. But the divine fire consumes every evil like thistles and thorns, “for our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrew 12: 29); “In flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1: 8). This fire gave the disciples the power to talk by tongues of fire (Acts 2: 25). This fire, surrounding (Saul of Tarsus); even though the voice enlightened his mind, the fire blinded him.. This fire appeared to Moses in the bush; and, in the form of a chariot, carried Elijah up to heaven (2 kings 2: 11) The blessed David sought the activity of this fire when he said, “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; Try my mind and my heart” (Psalm 26: 2) (St. Maccari the Great) In his debate against the heretics, St. Erinaos uses the episode of Elijah’s ascension to heaven, as a prophecy about the resurrection of the body, which is denied by the heretics. + Elijah was taken while in his natural body form, proclaiming by prophecy, the ascension of the spirituals; and that nothing would stand as a hindrance against the ascension of their bodies; For by the same hands by which they were created at the beginning, they will ascend. + Not confronting death, ‘Enoch’ and ‘Elijah’ are assigned for eternal life, and testify to our future and sure resurrection. Let us quote the words of the apostle, that they are our examples (1 Corinthians 10: 6) He wrote about them for us to believe that the Lord is more powerful than all the physical laws concerning the body. + Although Enoch did not experience death (Genesis 5: 24; Hebrew 11: 5); So did Elijah (2 kings 2: 11); yet that is certainly just a postponement; for both are kept to suffer it; that by their blood they will destroy the antichrist (Revelation 11: 3). (The scholar Tertullian) + Matrimony was granted to preserve the human race. Yet, concerning Elijah who mounted the chariot of fire, and dwells in heaven, hasn’t he embraced virginity? … Hadn’t he a virtue that proclaimed his exalted ascension? …Who closed heaven shut? …Who raised the dead? … Who Split the River Jordan? (2 Kings 2: 14) …Wasn’t he the virgin Elijah? Didn’t Elisha, his disciple, after proving that he was equally virtuous, sought to get a double portion of Elijah’s spirit? How about the three young men? Haven’t they, by being virgins, become stronger than fire? Hasn’t Daniel body, through virginity, confronted the fangs of the wild lions (Daniel 3: 20)? … Didn’t God, when He intended for the children of Israel to see Him, command them to purify their bodies (Exodus 19: 15; Numbers 6: 2)? … Haven’t the priests purified themselves before approaching the sanctuary, to offer sacrifices? … Didn’t the law call purity ‘a great vow’? (Father John of Damascus) + How (delicious) you are, O fasting! … Blessed is he who conquers by you!; for in you all secrets are present; … By you, Elijah became beautiful and pure!; acquired two wings; flew and ascended to where death cannot enter (2 kings 2: 11). (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi presents to us the following marvelous poem, as though uttered on the tongue of the earth, and addressed to its son Elijah, to whom it gave birth; before he became counted among the heavenlies.; when it felt that it is not worthy of being treaded by him; having lived pure, while it was filled with corruption + Go ahead, O lowly one who was found worthy of living and counted among those high up; … whom I raised, and of whom I am proud for giving birth; Go ahead, O beautiful one; Be my deposit among the angels; Enter as a firstborn offering before the Mighty One; Because of you, the congregation of the heights will acknowledge me, saying:: [It is the earth that raised this fruit, and sent it to our place]; This bunch of grapes, from that crucible corrupted by Adam; gathered sweetness from among the thorns, for us to savor.. This head of grain came up from that cursed field, and safely ripened among the tares. Go ahead, O saint; for whose steps I am not worthy, because of the corrupt adultery practiced daily on me. Go ahead in peace, for heaven – my sister – desired your beauty, and took you away from me; for she deserves to have all the beautiful righteous. Go ahead, for you have amazed me by your actions and your splendid spiritual intimate relationship Go ahead in peace; for although I am sad because you left me, yet I boast the fruit which I raised. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) 9- ELISHA MOURNS THE DEPARTURE OF ELIJAH: . “Now 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” (12) Elisha called Elijah “The chariot of Israel and its horsemen” ; on account of that the Lord used him to guide the people, warns them against the enemies, and grant them conquest. The word “chariot” in the origin came in pleural as “chariots”; for he was considered as the mightiest weapon that reveals the power of God to defend Israel at that time. What happened with Elijah was like what happened with the prophet Moses, who disappeared, and the location of his burial was not known to this day (Deuteronomy 34: 6). + When the disciple saw his mentor separated from him, he cried out with a voice filled with grief; The heir mourned his spiritual father, whose valuable company he was denied; The wise son cried out: “My father, my father”; and tore his clothes, because his spiritual father was taken away from him; He called him “the chariots of Israel and its horsemen”, for by him, Israel conquered in all its battles; He took his mantle, and inherited his spirit; although he was denied the company of his mentor who was taken up high. (St. (Mar)Jacob El-Serougi) + Even though Elijah endured hunger, treason, fear of death, and bitter labor; he was the only one who left the earth to heaven, carried on a chariot and horses of fire. He denied any worthiness for getting such a grace; and, regardless of any human consideration, he referred it to the Holy One. + The soul says: “You had made me as the chariots of noble people” (Songs 6: 12). The soul, like a chariot that carries its good master; has both good and bad horses. The good horses are the virtues of the soul, whereas the bad are its physical desires. Hence the master tends to rein the bad horses, keeps them back, while urging the good ones ahead. The good horses are four: reason, moderation, abidance, and justice; And the bad horses are: anger, evil desires, fear, and oppression. It so happens sometimes that there is controversy between the two categories; as for example, when anger or fear stir-up, and hinder the progress of the chariot. The good horses, on the other hand, set forth flying, lifting the soul up from earth to high up places; especially if it has the easy yoke and the light burden of the Lord (Matthew 11: 29-30) The clever master knows how to control his horses, keep them all going with the same step in harmony; because If the reason is too zealous, and the justice is too slow, he would yrge the slow one with his whip; and if moderation is too mild, and abidance is too sharp, he knows how to harmonize them both to keep on their progress. (St. Ambrose) Despite what Elisha reached of spiritual maturity, and what he enjoyed of blessings, he, in weakness, not enduring the departure of Elijah; tore of his clothes into two pieces as a sign of his great grief for being separated of his mentor; But, holding fast to Elijah’s mantle, he felt that Elijah was still with him. Elisha believed that, with the holiness of Elijah’s soul, and his body that was qualified to be carried by a chariot of fire to heaven; even his mantle carried a power by which to split the river Jordan…. God sanctifies the souls, the bodies, the clothes of His children, and even their shadows, as we see in the book of acts, when the handkerchiefs, aprons, off the sick apostle Paul, and the shadow of the apostle Peter performed miracles and wonders. It is the work of God who sanctifies all what belong to his believers. The prophet Elijah, for Israel , has been like chariots and horsemen, and even better, for by him, the Lord used to guide and warn His people, and grant them conquest. St. Athanasius the apostolic presents to us the following comparison between the ascension of Elijah to heaven and the ascension of the Lord Christ: + For the Lord Christ, the angels used to appear all the time: when He was born, when He was risen, and when He ascended to heaven. According to the Holy Book, the angels said to His disciples:: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1: 10-11). Now concentrate your attention with me! Why did the angels say that to the disciples? … Haven’t they seen by their own eyes what happened before them? Hasn’t the Evangelist said: “While they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight?”.(Acts 1: 9). Why then did the two angels tell them about His ascension into heaven? The first reason: For the disciples started to grieve because Christ was going to leave them … “None of you asks Me: ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart” (john 16: 5-6) … That is why the two angels stood by those who grieved at the ascension; to remind them that He will come again, saying: “The same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven”. It is as though they tell them: ‘Now you grieve because He ascended; Do not grieve, because He will come again’…. They so told them, lest they might do what Elisha did when he tore his clothes when he saw his master set forth up into heaven (2 kings 2: 12); because no one came to tell Elisha that Elijah will come again. The second reason, is not less important. The angels said: “Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven!”. As heaven is so far away beyond the power of their eye sight to reach; the two angels came to tell the disciples the truth of Jesus’ ascension, lest they may think that He goes up to where Elijah was taken; but He truly ascended to heaven. … Elijah was taken (as though) into heaven, on account of that he is just a minister; whereas Jesus ascended into heaven (where the divine throne is); for He is the Lord…. To one (the servant) a chariot was sent to take him up; while the other – the divine Son, having the throne of His Father, according to the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud” (Isaiah 19: 1)… When Elijah was taken up, his mantle fell down to Elisha (2 kings 2: 13); whereas Jesus when He ascended, He sent graces to all His disciples, and not to one prophet. For there were many among them who were like Elisha, and who were even more glorious than him. (St. Athanasius the apostolic) + Let us set up, O beloved brethren; Let us raise the eyes of our souls toward Him who will come back; For the apostle Paul says: “For the lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God ; and the dead in Christ will rise first; then we, who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonian 4: 16, 17).. But not everyone will so enjoy, but some will ascend to heaven, and some will remain; … Listen to the words of the Lord Christ saying: “Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and the other left: (Matthew 24: 41)…. Shall we also ascend? When I say “we”, I count myself not worthy of being among those who will ascend, for I am not without sense or understanding to disregard my own sins. But, lest I cry with bitter tears, when I recall in my mind these words and remember my sins, and spoil the joy of this holy feast,. I shall therefore, end my sermon,. to let the joy of the feast radiate in your minds, by saying to you: ‘Let the rich not rejoice in his riches; nor the poor feel miserable because of his poverty; but let everyone, whoever he is, do his work according to his own conscience. For it is not the rich who is happy, nor the poor who is miserable; but he is rather blessed, and even triple as much, he who is found worthy to ascend on the clouds, even if he is the poorest of all. And he is truly miserable, and triple as much, he who is counted along with those lost, even if he is the richest of all. (St. John Chrysostom) 10- ELIJAH’S MANTLE: “And he also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen down from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan” (13) Elisha has previously taken Elijah’s mantle on the day he was called for ministry (1 kings 19: 19); then he gave it back to him, because it was not yet time to succeed him. The falling down of the mantle refers to the spirit and the power crossing over from Elijah to Elisha. In a similar way the robe of Christ moved to the church after His ascension into heaven, on the day of the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit dwelt upon the church; giving a true meaning of the words spoken by Christ to His disciple, saying: “He who believes in Me, the work that I do he will do also, and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14: 12). According to St. Jerome, in the falling of Elijah’s leather mantle, when he was taken up into heaven, there is a living portrait for the believer who intends to have his heart raised up to heaven, to take off from himself the evil carnal desires. The way Adam put on a leather shirt after his fall, the devil – the ancient serpent – intends for us to put on the deadly desires. + Once Elijah was taken up into heaven by the chariot of fire, he left his sheep-skin mantle on earth … As long as our souls are preoccupied with things of this world, and chained by the temporal possessions and wealth, we shall not be able to think freely in God … Now, casting wealth aside is for the beginners on the way, and not for those who became perfect … For, presenting oneself to God, concerns the Christians and the apostles; those who liken the widow “who out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood” (Mark 12: 41-44). By presenting all their possessions to the Lord, they are counted worthy of hearing His words, saying: “You will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19: 28). + Should it not be befitting of us to cry and sigh when the serpent seduces us as it seduced our early parents, to eat from the forbidden fruit?. And after we are driven away from the paradise of virginity, it intends for us to put on a mantle of sheep-skin, like that left by Elijah on the earth, before being taken up to paradise?... Say to yourself: What shall I benefit from the pleasures of the senses that will soon come to an end? …What shall I do with the sweet, yet dangerous ‘Sirens song’, on him who listens to it? + That is why the rich find difficulty in reaching the kingdom of heaven, that requires from its citizens, souls that soar up high, free of all bonds and obstacles. When the Lord says: “Go and sell”, he means, not a part, but all you have, and give the poor, not just your relatives and friends. When He says: “No one having put his hand on the plow, and looking back, is fitting for the kingdom of heaven” (Luke 9: 62) When you are on the roof, do not think about your clothes in the house, to flee from the hand of your Egyptian mistress (Genesis 39: 12). Leave behind the mantle of this world. For Elijah in his swift departure into heaven, could not take with him his mantle, but left in the world the clothes of the world. (St. Jerome) + While Elijah left his mantle (of sheep-skin) to his disciple, the Son of God, left His body for our sake, then took it back before ascending. I wish we do not cast away Jesus’ robe;… I wish we do not feel sorrow or fear because of the difficulty of times;… for He, who did not hesitate to shed His own blood for the sake of all, and allowed us to partake of His body and blood again and again, What would He not do for the sake of our faithfulness?! (St. John Chrysostom) “Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, ‘Where is the Lord God of Elijah?’ And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over” (14) According to some scholars, Elisha struck the water once and not twice. And according to others, when Elisha struck the water with Elijah’s mantle and nothing happened the first time; When he said: “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?”, and struck the water by the mantle a second timer time, the water was divided this way and that…. It so happened so that the Lord would confirm to Elisha that the power was not in the mantle of Elijah, but in the Lord of Elijah. The Holy Book, the Word of God, finds pleasure to refer God to His godly men, on the level of the congregation, as well as of the individuals; so that every believer would desire to have God referred to him, as well as to his brethren, and to the church as a whole. Elijah’s mantle was nothing but a symbol of the power of God by which the prophet was clothed. Elijah’s mantle was therefore analogous to the rod of Moses and Aaron (Exodus 4: 1-9; 7: 9). + It was said that God is the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob (Exodus 3: 6). He truly wishes for His light to be referred to no one but to men; being written: “The Life is the light of men” (John 1: 4). And lest it may be assumed that He is just the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, alone, He is also said to be “The God of Elijah” (2 kings 2: 14); “He is God of my father Simeon” (Judith 9: 2); And “He is the God of the Hebrews” (Exodus 3: 18; 5): + Elijah lived in the wilderness, so did John the Baptist. The former was sustained by ravens, and the latter despised all the worldly pleasures, loved poverty, and hated luxury. The former did not seek favor from king Ahab; and the latter despised that of king Herod. The former appeared with the Lord in glory; and the latter lived with the Lord on earth The former will precede the second coming of the Lord; and the latter preceded His first coming. The former brought rain down on a land that suffered draught for three years; and the latter, for as long as three years, cleansed the dust of our bodies in the water of faith. If you may ask me which three years I mean? I shall refer you to what is written: “For three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down. Why does it use up the ground?”(Luke 13: 7). The first year is the era of the early fathers, when the harvest reached a level never to happen again. … The second year is the era of Moses and the prophets. … And the third year is when our God and Savior came “to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4: 19) 11- THE POSITION OF THE SONS OF THE PROPHETS: “Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, the said, ‘The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha’. And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him” (15) The sons of the prophets showed the befitting honor to the saintly prophet Elisha, as a symbol of the apostolic succession. Although Elisha was denied the presence of his master Elijah in the flesh, yet he was surrounded by the power of God that worked in him. Seeing how he inherited Elijah’s mantle by which he divided the River Jordan, the sons of the prophets were sure that he replaced him. The prophets in Jericho did not see the chariot and horses of fire; but noticing how Elijah disappeared, and how Elisha returned and divided the river, they perceived that the power and authority of Elijah have dwelt upon Elisha. They bowed to the ground before him, as a sign of honor and acceptance of the divine will that set him to replace his father Elijah. + Elisha embodied two persons: Elijah from above, and Elisha from below. According to the scholar Origen, it is important to know that the talk here, that Elisha enjoyed a double portion of Elijah’s spirit; And what came in the gospel according to St. Luke, that John the Baptist “will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1: 17); does not imply that Elijah’s soul is the same in John; For the Holy Book discerns between ‘the soul’ and ‘the spirit’, as it came in 1 Thessalonian 5: 34: “May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”; and also what came in the song, by the three young men, saying: “Bless the Lord, O spirits and souls of the righteous” (Daniel 3) [That is why Elijah was not called ‘John’, because of the soul, but for the sake of the spirit and the power; something that does not contradict with the teaching of the church]. “Then they said to him, ‘Look now, there are fifty strong with your servants, Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley’. And he said, ‘You shall not send anyone’” (16) They said “The Spirit of the Lord has taken him up”, on account of that Elijah used to disappear and appear all of a sudden. Although the sons of the prophets in Jericho, have enjoyed a divine proclamation concerning Elijah’s ascension; and said to Elisha: “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?” (2: 5); Yet they chose fifty strong men to set forth to search for Elijah, “lest perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley” + Their search testified to his ascension.. As putting guards on the Lord’s tomb, judges the Jews, for it confirms Your resurrection. (St. (Mar) Ephraim the Syrian) “But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, ‘Send them out’. Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days, but did not find him” (17) Why was Elisha ashamed when they urged him? He knew that God proclaimed to them the ascension of Elijah, as they themselves so testified; yet wished to debate with him before it happened. … Now, as Elijah has already ascended, as he himself has seen, hating to enter into more vain debate, he was ashamed, and consented to their request, to let them perceive by themselves the issue of ascension. + Who are those sons of the prophets, who encountered Elisha, and who told him that his master will be taken away from over him; and who, despite their knowledge of his ascension to heaven by a chariot of fire, they insisted on sending fifty strong men to search for him in the mountains, and did not find him? The sons of the prophets refer to the Jews who received the law, and enjoyed the appearance of the prophets. Who, through the prophecies, knew about the Heavenly Christ who was to descend to us and then ascend to His heavens. They seek the Messiah, yet according to their material thinking. Searching for him by strong men, and not by the Holy Spirit, they failed to encounter Him. They did not find Him, for “He came to his own, and His own did not receive Him (John 1: 10), … For He did not come according to their wish; hence they were denied His presence. + When Elijah, in the old, set forth from the earth to God, that brought sorrow to the people of Israel; but Elisha comforted them, when he put on the mantle of his master. (St. Gregory, bishop of Nyssa) “And when they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho, he said to them, ‘Did I not say to you, ‘Do not go?’” (18) 12- THE BAD WATER BECOMES SWEET: After dividing the water of the River Jordan by Elijah’s mantle, by which God proclaimed that Elisha is surrounded by a cloud of witnesses, among whom was his master Elijah, God allowed him to turn the bad water sweet. It is claimed that it is the spring of sweet water called ‘Ein Sultan’ nowadays. “Then the men of the city said to Elisha, ‘Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the ground barren’” (19) The geographic location of the city was pleasant, and the soil was fertile, but the water was bad and corrupting the fertile soil making it barren, not fit for agriculture. That city refers to the people of God as a congregation and as individuals. God created man good, to set from his depths a holy paradise for himself, to rejoice in it, and to call the heavenly creatures, his friends, to enjoy, together with him, the joyful fruits of the spirit; according to the words of the song: “Let my beloved come to my garden and eat my honeycomb with my honey; … Eat, O friends; drink, yes, drink deeply” (Songs 5: 1).. What does he mean by the bitter water? … If the water refers to the law and its statutes, the literals have corrupted its meaning and message, to become bitter, … No one can take its bitterness away but the Lord Christ, the Holy Salt, who lifts us up from the letter to the spirit. In a message sent by St. Jerome to comfort Ostochiom for the departure of her mother Paula, he referred to her mother’s visit to the holy land including Jericho, where she saw how the barren and extremely bitter spring of the law was healed by the True Elisha, by His wisdom, turning it into a sweet spring, grantor of fertility + About him the prophets spoke, saying with amazement: [His master’s spirit dwelt upon him with abundance]. As a spiritual physician, they sought from him to heal the sick, corrupt, and barren land; Seeing his power, they sought from him to heal the bad water, and to give prosperity to the whole city; He asked them to bring him a new bowl, and put salt in it; and they did; Bringing it up to the spring, he cast in it the water with salt, and Healed it. (St. (Mar Jacob El-Serougi) “And he said, ‘Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it’; So they brought it to him” (20) ‘Tselochith’ was sometimes translated as ‘a bowl’ (2 kings 21: 21; Proverbs 19: 24, 26, 35), or ‘a frying pan (2 Chronicles 35: 12);; supposed to be a flat metal plate. + Nowadays, the sweet salt of the prophets is scattered upon the Gentiles; Let us acquire a new taste; Let us utter wisdom, and not what is contrary to it; lest we, as well, would become outside the wisdom. (St. (Mar) Ephraim the Syrian) “Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, ‘Thus says the Lord: I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness” (21) The healing power was not in the new bowl, nor in the salt, but in the saying of the Lord and His active word in the believer, being a new bowl, by which he enjoys the new life, resurrected together with Christ Jesus. For, once the believer receives the Lord working in him, he would become, according to the words of the Lord “salt of the earth”, that takes away the corruption from it. The secret of the newly acquired sweetness of the bad water is the name of the Lord; and Elisha was just a tool in the hand of the Lord. The way the Lord healed the water of Jericho by the salt, the incarnated Word of God renewed the whole creation. According to father Methodeus: [What Elisha did, refers to the work of the Lord Christ. By offering food without leaven, as a sign of His birth without human seed, He took away from the food the bitterness of death. As to casting the natural elements in the Jordan, it refers ahead to the descent of our Lord to Hades to save those on whom corruption dwelt. + This is the secret of the Son; He healed the bad water, and reformed the spring, when He visited it; Once the prophet crossed over the river, he encountered the Secret who transfigured; The city with pleasant location, is the whole creation, which was beautiful before breaking the commandment; The bad water is the sin that came upon men, braught death upon all the human race, by which they became barren; The big serpent vomited venom in the head of the spring, bringing corruption, and hence death to the whole river; And as the creation, by nature, used to be full of beauty, it became corrupted by sin, to become hateful and barren; Breaking the commandment brought forth death, and made earth barren by the dreg of the wine mixed by the serpent in Eve’s ear. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) “So the water remains healed to this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spoke” (22) The message of every true prophet and ministry of the word, is turning the souls, made barren by the spirit of the world, the bitter water, to become a spiritual paradise for the Lord. This is realized by casting the salt in it through a new bowl; which is the experience of the resurrected life. As, according to the Holy Book: “Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5: 17). The salt is the work of the Holy Spirit in us; turning us into salt to the world. It is befitting of the believer who bears the Spirit, to become like salt; by whose light touches, he would make the others salted, as the salt does to the food keeping it from corruption. It is befitting of him not to put his nose in the life of others, to be as though pouring too much salt on the food and corrupting it. . Let us then do it in light, tranquil, and active touches; Let us not be busybodies, committing others to adopt our own thoughts and concepts. + It so seems that that bitter spring refers to Adam, the early man from whom all the human race emerged, and remained fruitless and bitter through his sin; before the coming of the True Elisha, namely our Lord and Savior. …..Although the new bowl in which the salt was put, may represents the apostles; but fittingly, we should see in it the incarnation of the Lord. Now, the salt was put in it, namely wisdom; as we read: “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4: 6). Besides, As Christ is not only the “Power of God”, but the “Wisdom of God”, as well; the body of Christ, when the Word incarnated, would be like a new bowl filled with the divine wisdom, That is why Elisha cast the salt in the new bowl in the bitter water to turn it sweet and fruitful. So is the new bowl, namely the incarnateWord, sent by God the Father to turn the human race from being a spring of bitter water into sweet water, to lead them to the pure love, instead of the evil practices, and the barrenness of good works; and to bring them back to fruition. Indeed, brethren, Does it not seem to you that the new bowl filled with the salt of the divine wisdom, was put in the water, when the Lord Christ came down into the river to be baptized? For then, all the waters turned sweet and were sanctified by such a new bowl, namely the body of Christ. As a result of this, the water not only became not barren, but the water of baptism produced in the whole world, a multitude of Christians, as increasing fruition, and extremely abundant crop. + Water in the book of Revelation refers to the people “The water which you saw …..peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues” (Revelation 17: 15). And it is obvious that the bowl with the salt, cast into the water, represents the apostles, according to the words of the Lord to them, saying: “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 13: 5). By His grace He made a new men from the old ones, filled them with the salt of His divine teachings and wisdom, and sent them to the whole world, as though to the spring of the human race, to take away the barrenness in their good deeds and dealings.. + We, as well, brethren, without any prior worthiness, have received great good deeds from the Lord through His rich grace; were found worthy to have sweetness instead of bitterness, and were called from unfruitfulness to fruitfulness in the good deeds (Father Caesarius, bishop of Arle) + You should notice the greatness of the worthiness of Elisha in his first visit to his sons the prophets, when he produced abundant fruits. For by taking away the barrenness from the water, he brought benefit to the inhabitants of the whole city; which otherwise would be completely deserted. By purifying the water, he purified the people, and through purifying the fountain of water, he purified the souls. According to the blessed apostle Paul, these things happened to them as a symbol (1 Corinthians 10: 6). What was said: “Rejoice O barren who do not bear! Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor; For the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband” (Galatians 4: 27; Isaiah 54: 1), was said concerning the church, referring to it as the barren city, whose water was bad before the coming of the Lord Christ, because of the defilement of the people of the Gentiles; that made her unable to conceive with sons of God. But when Christ came, and took a human body like an earthen bowl, He reformed the bad water, namely He took the defilement of the people away; and turned the church from barrenness into fruitfulness. (Father Maximus, bishop of Turin) + He cast the salt in a new bowl as a symbol of the perfect birth given from the womb of the pure virgin; He portrayed the virgin as the new bowl, completely pure of defilement; By the salt he portrayed the only-begotten Son, by whose distinguished taste, He salted all the worldly food; By the new bowl he portrayed the pure body of the young woman; The salt healed the bad water, namely, the Son, by His birth healed the race of Adam; The pleasant city was sick with corruption, until the Salt visited it and healed it; So was the whole beautiful creation full of death, until the Son shone on it and healed it; The sick water would not be healed unless the salt in the new ball was cast into it; As the human race would not be set aright from its fall, unless the Virgin gave birth to the Son of God; The salt was mixed with the water for everyone to drink; as God the Father mixed the Son with men, to let all live; Come and see how the salt is taken up by the bad water; how the dead men live through eating the Son of God; By the salt for the water, and the body of the Son, they acquired health; and the earth of Jericho was healed; By casting the salt, Elisha proclaimed the secret of the Son; took the curse away, and healed the sick water; At the beginning, God the Father cursed the earth because of Adam; and Joshua the Son of Nun cursed Jericho; He portrayed Christ who voided the verdict of God the Father; and how, by His cross He took the curse away from the earth; And by the salt, Elisha voided the verdict of Joshua the son of Nun on Jericho (Joshua 6: 26); and took the curse away from the water.. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) 13- ELISHA CURSES THE YOUTHS, THE OPPONENTS OF THE TRUTH, WHO MOCKED HIM: “And he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, ‘Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead’” (23) As in Bethel, in the city where Jeroboam made a golden calf, there lived, as well, some of the sons of the prophets, who considered Elijah their master and mentor; It was therefore a place of violent religious controversy. Having his head covered as it was the custom in the Middle East at that time, the words “You baldhead, you baldhead” was not a shout by some mocking youths, as much as it was an insult to the head of the sons of the prophets, namely a direct insult to God; most probably provoked by their parents, who reaped the punishment that dwelt upon their children. The Hebrews used to admire the head covered by dense beautiful hair, and despise the baldhead (Isaiah 15: 2); hence the shout “You baldhead” was used for ridicule. While Elijah was “a hairy man”, Elisha had an distinctive bald head. + It so seems that the attitude of the youths was a fruit of their upbringing by their parents, who bore animosity toward Elijah and his disciples, who proclaimed the news of the ascension of their master, fiercely received by the people in Bethel. The youths did not therefore, by their shouts, mock Elisha’s bald head, as much as, by them, they meant to distort his reputation, and ridicule his claim about the ascension of Elijah, which was well received by the people of Jericho. (St. Ephraim the Syrian) “So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods, and mauled forty-two of the youths” (24) After enjoying such an exalted power from God, by which, directly after the ascension of Elijah, Elisha divided the water of the River Jordan by Elijah’s mantle; and turned the bad water into sweet water by the salt in the new bowl, the youths of the city, came out to mock him. Their action was not some sort of innocent children play to entertain themselves, but was rather one by grownups to oppose the work of God. They seemed to be a great crowd; for it is said that the two bears, “mauled forty-two of the youth”, who came out of the city with an obvious plan to mock the prophet with words they intentionally uttered. Who were those youths? 1- As Bethel was the main center of the worship of the golden calf made by Jeroboam, Elisha, the man of God was not welcome by some of its inhabitants. What happened, was probably according to a plan set by the devil through the priests of Baal, and those who worked to the account of idol-worship; and the punishment that dwelt on the youths, was therefore, to chasten their families, the opponents to the divine truth. 2- According to some others, they were disciples of a certain teacher who dedicated his life to teach against godliness and good life. Some may wonder: How would God allow for forty-two youths to be mauled by the bears for some words of ridicule they uttered against the prophet Elisha? 1- They were most probably members of a gang of young men, by whose mocking words they meant to destroy the faith in the living God, and who could draw a multitude of other young men to follow lead. Elisha’s life was therefore in danger for their great number and the nature of their obvious disregard of his authority as a prophet 2- By that God intended to put fear in the hearts of any other gang, who could become a serious danger against all the men of God. 3- According to some, their shouts: “Go up you baldhead”; and repeating it, they mocked what he proclaimed to the people concerning the ascension of his master Elijah; as though they meant to say: [If the long-haired Elijah has ascended to heaven by a chariot of fire, why should you not do likewise, O baldhead?!]. The mocking was meant to be against Elijah, claimed to have ascended to heaven by a chariot of fire, whom the wicked kept on opposing even after his ascension. It was, therefore, not directed against the person of Elisha, as much as it was against his prophetic mission as a whole, and the divine work through him and through his master Elijah. What those young men did, represented a serious plan by the people of Bethel, who heard how the sons of he prophets in Jericho honored Elisha when they saw how he divided the water of the River Jordan by Elijah’s mantle; and how he reformed the bad water to the account of all the inhabitants of the city, by which, Jericho testified to the ascension of Elijah, the man of God into heaven by a chariot of fire. In order to confront that claim, before the arrival of the prophet Elisha to Bethel, they sent those young men in an attempt to break down his psyche; and to keep anyone in Bethel from listening to his claim.. Father John of Damascus used that event as an example of the importance of giving honor to the men of God. The places where the Holy God finds comfort are the “Theotokos” and the saints who strive to liken God as much they can, having opted to cooperate with the divine will. For in those God dwells, and calls them ‘gods’, not by nature, but through adoption; like when we call the red hot iron bar ‘aflame’, not by nature, but because it partakes of the work of fire. He says: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy’ (Leviticus 19: 2).This is first, then followed by choosing good; for once we choose it, God will help us to increase in it; saying: “I will walk among you” (Leviticus 26: 12). … “You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you” (1 Corinthians 3: 16);… “When He called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease” (Matthew 10: 1); …”He who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also, and greater works than these he will do” (John 14: 12);…..; “Far be from Me, for those who honor Me I will honor” 1 Samuel 2: 30);… “f indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” Romans 8: 17); … and, “God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods” Psalm 82: 1). Hence, Being gods, not by nature, but because they partook of the divine nature, they should be honored, not because they are worthy, but because they bear inside them, Him who is worshipped by nature. We do not touch the red-hot iron, because of its nature, but because it partakes of what is hot by nature. The saints are honored for God glorified them; and through Him they are feared by enemies. They are not gods by nature, but because they are ministers who love God, we honor them, because the king is honored through giving honor to his beloved servants. When someone prays by faith in the name of an apostle, God will listen to his prayer, because He acknowledges the honor given to His faithful servants, whose shadow, handkerchiefs, and aprons had the power to heal. On the other hand, those who seek to be worshipped like God by others, are hated and are worthy of the eternal fire. And those who, because of their haughtiness reject giving honor to God’s ministers, will be condemned because of their attitude, of not giving honor to God through them. The young men, therefore, who mocked the prophet Elisha, were so condemned, and mauled by the bears (2 Kings 2: 23). (St. John of Damascus) 4- Those young men paid their temporal life a price for the corruption and abomination in which they lived, and for rejecting the reproaches of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. 5- The prophet did not call the two bears, but left the matter in the hands of God, who sent the two bears from the forest. The prophet cursed them by the name of the Lord, whom they opposed and mocked. He did not seek revenge for himself, nor any action to chastise them; but it was God who sent the bears to proclaim the seriousness of opposing the divine truth. 6- God allowed for that, because mocking the men of God was a common thing all along the eras, particularly among the young generations; God, therefore, intended to present a lesson to all generations. What they did was not a little insult; for they mocked the prophet of God, who utters the words of God. What those young men did, therefore, was not only directed against the prophet of God, but to God Himself in the person of the prophet. 7- According to the scholar Tertullian, God allowed for the mauling of those young men who mocked the prophet, to confirm that He has no partiality; for the way He allows for the perdition of the foreign pagans, opponents to the divine truth, He also chastens His own people, even if they are young men, if they persist on their evil doing. 8- Some fathers, like St. Augustine and St. Jacob El-Serougi, bind this episode to the crucifixion of the Lord of glory Jesus Christ, whom the crucifiers mocked, crying out “Crucify Him, crucify Him”. They justify the mauling by the two bears of the young men who mocked the prophet Elisha; by seeing Elisha as a symbol of the Physician who healed the water of the human nature on which corruption dwelt; and the young men to refer to the congregation of the crucifiers who mocked the work of redemption. The crucifiers who denied the Lord Christ who walked among them doing good, became like irrational young men walking in ignorance, and bringing the curse upon themselves. So were the high priests, the priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees who mocked the Lord Christ during His trial, because He exposed their hypocrisy; instead of giving Him thanks for coming, of preaching them, and testifying to the fulfillment of the prophesies. + Remembering the gospel (Matthew 27: 33), I wish no one mocks the cross of Christ; for the demons devoured the Jews who cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify him” (Luke 23: 21), the same way the young men who cried out, saying, “Go up, O baldhead” (2 kings 2: 23), Infancy is put before us to imitate humility, as well as to beware of foolishness. (St. Augustine) 9- According to some interpreters, the word “baldhead” probably refers to lepers, who used to shave their heads; Namely, those young men looked at Elisha as an unclean leper. And according to St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi, behind those young men, was the devil who provokes his followers to mock the Savior, and to bark like dogs against Him. For the devil could not stand still, while seeing the Heavenly Physician healing the human nature, and restoring her health and beauty. 10- It was befitting of all to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God for turning the bitter into sweet water; and the barren into fruitful land. But instead of thanksgiving and praise, they mocked God, and His prophet Elisha. What befell the young men was therefore a natural fruit of the spirit of mocking God, His works, and His ministers. + While being in Judah, the blessed Elisha and the other prophets, were not honored by the majority of people, but were mocked, insulted, and counted as crazy men possessed by the devil. As it happened at that time that, when Elisha sent one of the sons of the prophets to anoint Jahu a king, the captains of the army who were sitting with Jahu said to him: “Why did this madman come to you? (2 Kings 9: 11). Because the young men would not do what they did unless they were provoked by their parents, the Holy Spirit, intending through Elisha to confront the pride of the Jews, let two bears to maul 42 young men; so that by striking the young, the old would be chastised, and probably learn to fear the prophet whom they rejected, despite the miracles he performed before their eyes. Anyway the Jews persisted on their evil ways; so that in them the written: “In vain I have chastened your children. They received no correction” (Jeremiah 30: 2) was realized. (Father Caesarius, bishop of Arle) + God visited His people, even while chastising them, when they denied Him (see Numbers 11, 21); as He did when He sent two bears to maul the young men who mocked His prophet. (The scholar Tertullian) According to St. Jerome, the 42 young men refer to the 42 years between the ascension of the Lord Christ to Bethel (heaven), and the coming of the two (bears) the Roman leaders Vasbesian and Titus, who burned the temple. + Now, according to the letter, O beloved brethren, It is befitting of us to believe that the blessed Elisha was motivated by a divine zeal to reform the people, more so than by anger, when he caused the two bears to maul the Jewish young men. He did not intend to have revenge, but rather to reform. … He, as well, bore here a symbol of the passion of our Lord and Savior . For, the way the ill-behaved young men cried out, saying “Go up, O baldhead”, the Jews foolishly cried out with evil words against the Lord Christ, the true Elisha, saying: “Crucify Him, crucify Him”. For what “Go up, O baldhead”, mean, but [Rise up on the cross at the Golgotha]. … Now, notice, O brethren, that 42 young men in the days of Elisha were killed; and 42 years after the passion of the Lord Christ, two Roman (bears) -- Vasbesian and Titus came to put Jerusalem under siege. Notice also that the siege of Jerusalem happened during the celebration of the Passover, by which the Jews got the punishment due to them, after 42 years of the day they crucified the true Elisha, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. History tells us that out of three and a half million Jews who gathered together in Jerusalem, one million and a hundred thousand were killed by the sword or famine, beside one thousand young men led into captivity to Rome. … Jerusalem was put under siege for as long as two years, and dead bodies were cast outside the city, in heaps as high as the city walls. That desolation was previously symbolized by the two bears that mauled the 42 young men who mocked the blessed Elisha; to realize what the prophet David said: “xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx” (Psalm 14: 79). ; For, as we said before, After 42 years of the passion of the Lord Christ, the evil nation got what it deserve on the hands of the two Roman bears: Vasbesian and Titus. (Father Caesarius, bishop of Arle)` + Yes indeed, Elisha was the disciple of that beautiful Elijah, and his beauty was shown by his actions wherever he went. He healed the bad water, and the barren and sick land; He annulled death and put an end to it; While on his way up to Bethel, some young men dared to mock him; Some ill-behaved and cursed young men mocked the physician who healed them for free; In that he was like our Lord who was mocked by the Jews whose sick He healed; The foolish young men were like those who, having seen the powers performed by our Lord, they reviled and mocked Him; Those young men secretly referred to the crucifiers; for Elisha, as well, bore the secret of the Son of God; As he was mocked after healing the bad water, he likened the Lord Christ who was mocked after performing divine powers; After putting an end to death, the Hebrews paid him back with evil; for they were used to slander all the good deeds; For bandaging and healing a great wound for free, they paid him back with reproach and revile; After visiting the bad water and healing the spring, they mocked the good physician; When he healed them, he did not seek a reward; but the children of the serpents reviled him. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) According to St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi, the prophet Elisha did not seek revenge, nor was overcome by anger, but sought the purification of humanity of the spirit of mockery. His attitude was like what Phinehas did, for the sake of his jealousy on the holiness of the house of the Lord (See Numbers 25: 11), who in appearance, killed the two who despised the sanctity of the temple, yet in his intention, it was a prayer and an attempt to purify the sanctuaries of God of adultery, corruption, and despite.. The cause of being sometimes offended by the behavior of the men of God, is not perceiving the spiritual concepts, and not knowing what lie in their hearts and minds. What the men of God do, are sometimes not perceived by the carnal laymen, who do not enjoy the fellowship with God like the spiritual men of God, who do nothing except through their union with the Holy One. + When you hear that he cursed the young men, do not think that he was overcome by anger, and tended to avenge himself; His tree was all-good, and never produced bad fruits; He, in whom are life for the dead and the prophecy, never did a thing with anger; He did not intend for them to be mauled by the two bears; Can we say that Phinehas was a murderer, who, by killing the adulterous, saved the camp (Numbers35: 8)? The splendid man carried a prayer in his heart, and a spear in his hand; He used the killing as though a prayer; So are all the honorable and children of the light, they move by the Spirit; When they kill they intend to make alive; their will, like God, is more exalted than the evil; The spiritual is different from the physical in his actions, which are not always perceived; That is why, his actions may sometimes cause offense; When you look at Elisha, look at him under this light; for he is a man full of spirit and discernment; Having his soul made by God, all his actions were to help others by a good heart; His heart was captivated by the Spirit he took from God, and never moved to work without it’ His soul was enlightened by the Lord who dwelt in him; he never trip because he walked in Him as though in daylight; That man was enriched by the divine treasure given to him by his mentor before his ascension; He received the great key by which he could open and close, like a steward of the house of God. (St. (Mar) Jacob El-Serougi) “Then he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria” (25) Samaria was the capital of the kingdom, where Elisha had a residence (5: 3, 9; 6: 32); had a close relationship with the king and elders, and enjoyed a special position among them. THE PROPHET ELISHA AS A SYMBOL OF THE LORD CHRIST ELISHA THE LORD CHRIST 1- He had a double portion of Elijah’s spirit (1) He is the Lord of the prophets 2- He was mocked by the young men of Bethel (2) He was rejected by His own 3- He prophesied the conquest over Moab, when the water appeared red like blood (7) He proclaimed the conquest over the devil by the water of baptism that bears the power of blood 4- He blessed the oil (4) He gave the riches of the ointment of His Holy Spirit 5- He raised the son of the Shunammite woman from the dead (4) He is the Grantor of resurrection 6- He reformed the venom in the pot (4) He is the Creator and the Reformer 7- He fed hundred men by twenty loaves of bread (4) He is the Bread of life 8- He cleansed Naaman the Syrian of leprosy (5) He cleanses us by the water of baptism 9- He made the iron head of the ax float by casting a branch of a tree into the water (6) He changed our nature by His cross. 10- He revealed the secret plans of the king of Aram (6) He reveals the hidden tricks of the devil 11- His prophecy concerning opening the windows of heaven (7) He is God of the impossible 12- His prophecy to Hazael that he will prosecute the believers (8) He reveals the afflictions to come ----------------------------------- AN INSPIRATION FROM 2 KINGS 2 YOUR FIERY SPIRIT CARRIES ME TO YOUR HEAVEN + Who will not long to ascend together with Your prophet Elijah? Who will not seek a chariot and horses of fire to carry him up to heaven? To dwell together with Your angels, the messengers of fire. Grant me to bear Your fiery Spirit, so that I know no slothfulness Behold, Your Holy Spirit comes down like tongues of fire; He turns my depths into a fire of flaming love; That all the water of the world could not quench. + Let me have the fiery heart, to be qualified to ascend to You; To see the gates of heaven open, to find comfort. + Like You brought joy to Elijah’s heart by Elisha; Grant me joy of seeing all practice Your work; To see all carry, together with me, not Elijah’s mantle; But Your amazing body, as an eternal life. + Let me enjoy Your mantle, by which I can divide the river of the world; And find a way for myself amid the water, to cross over to You; To walk in it, and not divert to the right nor to the left. + Let me enjoy the true fatherhood as a gift; By which I cast, not fine flour in a new bowl; But Your body that renews my nature; And turns my wilderness, and that of my brethren, into a living spiritual paradise; Yes, to find in us the fruit of Your Holy Spirit; To find pleasure in it, and to call the heavenlies to enjoy it. + Your fiery Spirit grants me an unbeatable power By which, the opponents of truth would be like the mocking young men; Let them mock me and my mission that I received from You; How miserable they are! The bears will certainly come out to maul them; O Lord, take away all opposition to the truth; As to the opponents, bring them back to You, to exult in Your salvation.

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