"The Rights of God" # 32

The Victory Over the Power of Darkness (continued)

Let us stand together! Let us be one in spirit! Let us be one for the purpose of the battle with which we have been charged, because as long as divisions exist, as long as the flesh can assert itself, it will be difficult to keep the ground. It is normally assumed that Elijah went to heaven in a chariot of fire. This does not correspond with the facts. In the first verse of the second chapter of 2 Kings we are expressly told that the Lord was going to take him to heaven in a whirlwind. And that is exactly how he went!

But what do we do with the chariots and riders? They have a special and very important meaning. Do we not still see them standing with Elisha in chapter six? Here he is in danger, but knows that chariots and riders  surround him. How frightened his servant is in the light of the seriousness of the situation! But when his eyes are opened, he sees the mountain full of chariots and horses (2 Kings 6:15-17).

In chapter thirteen we find  Elisha on his deathbed. The king who approaches him, however, senses a power surrounding the one dying.  Therefore he exclaims: "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof!" They still surround him, because they are God's gift to His servant. They represent the power in which Elisha dared to stand up against the powers of darkness. Chariots and horsemen mean victory. As the powers of darkness were targeted against God's servant, God had surrounded him with chariots and horsemen which caused the defeat of the powers of darkness.

~Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 33)