2 Kings 2:12
And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
Elisha watched Elijah carried alive to heaven and then lost sight of him forever on earth. His cry claimed Elijah as his spiritual father and confessed him to have been Israel's true protection, strength and defense. Tearing his own clothes in two showed his grief and mourning over that loss. Taking up the fallen mantle marked his succession as prophet with the double portion of spirit he had sought for the work ahead now granted to him. Elijah's translation foreshadows those saints who will be taken to heaven without dying, as shown when Elijah represented them at the transfiguration, while Elisha's following ministry joined Elijah's power to the gentleness, mercy and tender compassion of Christ.
Elijah Taken, Elisha Succeeds
Elisha stood as eyewitness when Elijah was translated to heaven without dying, watching him taken away until he could see him no more. The departure was a taking into heaven, not a death, and the moment when sight failed marked the end of Elijah's visible presence with him. As he watched, Elisha cried out, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. By calling him father he acknowledged a close filial bond, and by naming him chariot and horsemen he confessed Elijah's importance to Israel as its protection and strength, its defender in whom the nation's true defense lay.
When Elijah was no longer visible, Elisha took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces. The rending was an act of grief and mourning for the loss of the one he had called his father. He then took up Elijah's fallen mantle and entered upon succession as prophet in his place. In taking the mantle he continued Elijah's work, and those who saw recognized that Elijah's spirit rested upon Elisha, with Elisha's subsequent ministry, including the healing of the waters, following directly upon this ascension.
Before the parting Elisha had sought a double portion of the spirit given to Elijah, because he knew he needed it for the work ahead. The fall of the mantle to him confirmed that the request had been granted and that he had received that double portion for his prophetic charge.
Prophetic Type and Ministry
Elijah's departure into heaven was witnessed by Elisha, who cried out to him as his father and as the chariot and horsemen of Israel, then tore his own clothes in grief when he could see him no more, and that translation is a type of the saints who will be taken to heaven without experiencing death. Translated to heaven without dying, Elijah appeared at the transfiguration as the representative of those who will be changed to immortality and translated to heaven at Christ's second coming.
Elisha received Elijah's mantle and a double portion of his spirit when he took up Elijah's work, and his ministry joined Elijah's spiritual power with the gentleness, mercy, and tender compassion of Christ's Spirit. His example applies to the need for kindness, for his lamb-like gentleness is to exceed Elijah's severity.
Training and Warning Example
2 Kings 2:12 belongs to the final journey of Elijah with Elisha when Elijah was translated, and Elisha had left his home and work to serve Elijah, willingly carrying out humble duties and relying on God through trials. That faithful service was part of the experience that prepared him for greater responsibility.
Elijah's educating of Elisha by giving him example and opportunity to learn illustrates the close training and mentorship that ministers should give to younger workers. Experienced workers are to train younger workers and show them how to teach the truth, preparing them to carry on the work. The departure of Elijah and succession of Elisha thus shows the transition from an experienced worker to the one who follows him.
The account to which the verse belongs, in which after Elijah was taken up his mantle fell to Elisha, carries a warning in its later episode of young people mocking Elijah's ascent, that scoffing at God's work brings punishment. In the following verses the youths' mockery of Elisha's baldness, after Elijah's translation and Elisha's taking up of his prophetic work, was an insult to God's servant that brought immediate punishment.