THE TRANSITION OF ELIJAH AND ELISHA
April 4, 2010
by Pastor Wayland Henderson – New Castle, PA, US
I say greetings to all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are in exciting times in anticipation of the coming glory and I hope this letter finds you in preparation for it. I have been in a time of deep prayer and consecration and Dad has been revealing things to me that I believe are essential for us to understand in this season. A few years ago Dad revealed to me the transition of The Spirit of Elijah and what that would mean for our ministry. In 2 Kings 2 Elijah is making transitions in preparation for the time when he would be taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. Every place that Elijah came to he tells Elisha to stay there, but Elisha’s response was, “As the Lord lives and as your soul lives I will not leave you”. When you understand this in Hebrew he essentially said “As long as revival is in you I’m not going anywhere!” Then the scripture says, “And they both went on!” WENT ON in Hebrew means they both began to walk out a message until they became the manifestation of that message! We must also remember too that when Elijah first came and threw his mantle on Elisha he was plowing his field with twelve teams of oxen and he was with the twelve! Twelve is a symbolic number of apostolic government, meaning Elisha was already preparing his field (heart) for the apostolic! When he became Elijah’s servant it means he became yoked to the spirit of Elijah that would take him to his apostolic destiny! Many of us who have become yoked to this ministry was because our destiny wasn’t to just move in the prophetic anointing of the spirit of Elijah but to also to lay hold of the apostolic anointing that would lead us to becoming the bride! Now we come to the final transition before Elijah is taken up. 2 Kings 2:7-8 reads like this:
2 Kings 2:7-8
7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan.
8 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.
Here we find there are the sons of the prophets who watch from a distance while Elisha is transitioning with Elijah. We must ask ourselves where do we stand? Will we be the sons of the prophets, those who are under the prophetic teaching of the spirit of Elijah but watch from a distance because they like the message but are not willing to pay the price to become the manifestation of the message? Elisha is a true son who not only follows a man, but understands that where the Spirit of Elijah goes is also his destiny as well. These are those who are willing to go the distance no matter the cost. Are we those who stand at a distance to see what will happen with Elijah or are we those who will stand the test and follow wherever the Lord will lead? When Elijah and Elisha arrived at the Jordan it was a place of transitioning over and taking dominion over sin. The point that is powerful here is that the word crossover is the word for Passover! That means that they transitioned at Passover! Passover was the time of being birthed out of limitations by dying to carnal mindsets. It’s an exodus out of one place and preparation to enter into something else. What happens next is the thrust of the prophetic decree The Lord would have me to release now.
II Kings 2:9-12
9 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?” Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”
10 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.”
11 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.
12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.
When they experienced Passover together, is when Elisha asked for the double portion of the spirit of Elijah. The firstborn sons are those who receive the double portion! Elisha was asking for his birthright! Elijah’s response was this is a hard thing, but if you see me go up then you can have it! To see in Hebrew doesn’t just mean to see with your eyes but to experience what you see! That means when the Elisha generation can enter into the same experience of Elijah they can receive their birthright. When Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind in a chariot of fire it is a picture of the prophetic mantle of Elijah transitioning to an apostolic mantle! When Elisha saw Elijah go up he called him father, father! He saw the transition of his spiritual father transition into an apostolic father. This Passover season The Lord said to me now is the time to ask for the double portion! I knew that meant that Elijah was going from a prophetic to an apostolic mantle. Pentecost was the release of the first apostolic mantle in the Book of Acts and this Pentecost will be the release of the next apostolic mantle. This time between the Passover to Pentecost is called the counting of the omer. It’s the countdown to the Feast of The Firstfruits Harvest (Pentecost)! The apostles were the firstfruits or the firstborn of the first apostolic movement and this Pentecost will be the release of the next apostolic release. The double portion goes to the firstborn and firstfruits comes from the word firstborn! This is for those who are willing to pay the price and step into their birthright! The firstfruits was the lump that was symbolic of what the whole harvest is to look like! What is coming is a preview of what the whole body will look like! Hebrews 12 lets us know that the church is the firstborn so this is something that we all have to step into. It’s time for the church to arise to her birthright and claim back the authority in the heavenly realm that was given to us by Jesus.
As a prophetic act The Lord has instructed me to give a firstfruits offering to be a part of what’s coming and I believe this is for all of us. This offering is not just your money but it’s all of you! We give in prayer, fasting, studying of the word and giving of our time, energy and money to see this next move be released. The Lord said to me this offering will brings us out of debt and I am not afraid to decree it! The debt isn’t just money it’s the deception and bondage that the spirit of religion has put many of us in. Exodus 22 says when a thief is found he must restore double! The word found comes from word unleavened bread, which is the bread that is eaten at Passover. The Lord is saying that He is getting ready to restore double of what was released to the early church because through the mysteries of the kingdom we will take back what the thief has stolen! Double, Double. It is the abundant, overflowing, more than enough, excessive life of God that Jesus was talking about in John 10 “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy but I have come to give you life and life more abundantly!” Get ready for the transition!
Shalom.
Pastor Wayland Henderson