ELIJAH AND ELISHA’S EXPLOITS PART III

TRANSLATION ALERT 86

Elijah and Elisha’s Exploits Part III | CD #800 | 08/31/1980 PM

Praise the Lord Jesus! You are happy tonight? Are you really happy? Alright, I am going to ask the Lord to bless you…. Jesus, reach your hands down on this audience tonight and no matter what the need is whether it is financial or healing or whatever, broken home, it makes no difference to you. What counts is faith in the Name of the Lord Jesus. That’s what counts. And just a little faith will do a great many wonders even moving gigantic mountains of troubles. Bless them all together tonight, Lord, as we thank you. Come on and praise Him! The Lord moves in the atmosphere of His praises and the praises of His people. That’s the way the Lord moves. If you want to get anything from the Lord, you have to get into that atmosphere of the Lord. Once you get into the atmosphere of the Lord, then the anointing begins to do wonders, and that is faith when God begins to move. It’s really great! Go ahead and be seated.

Tonight, I won’t be preaching about prophecy, but about faith…. Tonight, it’s the Exploits of Elijah and Elisha: Part III. In the other ones we found out what faith would do and why faith alone would move kingdoms. He never calls a man to do something for Him unless He knows that that faith is born in there to get it done. You listen and it will build your faith, and it is absolutely true the signs and the phenomena, and the strange events that took place. They are all real and they are in the bible for one reason, and that is to produce faith in your heart and to have you grow in the Lord. The other reason is if you are doubting and don’t want to get on into believing God, it will set you backwards. So, it [the message] does two things: it brings in or it drives you back. So, if you want to go forward with the Lord and build your faith, then you listen to the great exploits here.

Elijah, the prophet, the Tishbite. He was a very rare man of God. He was like a hermit. He just lived all alone. There was nothing much known about the man. He would appear and leave as fast as he came and leave again. His whole life was brief, dramatic, explosive and fiery and he went out that way. He left the earth just as he came to the earth nearly. First, we find here among many of his exploits that he appeared before king Ahab and he pronounced that a drought and famine would come without even dew on the earth for 3 years and something [31/2 years]. Then he turned around after he had pronounced it on the king. That was a great, refined king. I mean royalty and so forth, and he was a man in ancient garb. He was just like a hairy man, they said, like a leathery thing, and he appeared like a man from another planet. He pronounced that doom there on him [king Ahab] and he left.

But for a while, they probably didn’t believe him. But then the brooks began to dry up. The grass began to wither. There was no more feed [for the cattle] and in the sky, there was no cloud. Things began to happen, then they began to believe him. They began to search for him to bring him back that it might rain, and they began to threaten him and so forth. But they never could find him. Then the Lord took him by a brook and fed him by the ravens supernaturally. Then he told him to go to the woman with the child and she was out of food. He took a little cake from her, a little bit of oil. The bible said it never ran out until the great rain came in Israel that God had promised. From there, the little child also got sick and died. Elijah, the prophet, laid him upon his bed and prayed to God. Life came into the child again and the soul lived by the faith of God that was in the Presence of God.

From there, the whirlwind on him began to head toward Israel. There was coming a showdown. Little by little, God began to lead him. He was headed for Jezebel’s state religion—the baal prophets that had tried to sour things up. He was going there with the power of God and it was going to be a great display of God’s power. Fire out of heaven, just came down before all of them. Huge crowds had gathered. It was like a great arena. Somebody reading the bible might think that it was kind of like an argument. No, it was like a great arena of people. Thousands had gathered around; the baal prophets, 450 of them, and there were 400 more of the grove prophets. But 450 baal prophets challenged him. There he was, in the midst of them and all Israel gathered around. Then they built their altars. Out of heaven came fire finally when he prayed. They could do nothing. They called on their god, but their god could do nothing. But the God that answered by fire, He came down, licked the sacrifice, the water, all over the wood, the stone and everywhere. It was a great display from God.

We know that Elijah fled into the wilderness and so forth. Many exploits took place there and angels appeared to him. Now, some time had passed. He was getting ready to get a successor. He was about to leave the earth and events began to take place. Now, fire came out of heaven again. We begin at the first chapter of Second Kings. There was a king, Ahaziah. He fell down through a ladder. Now, Ahab and Jezebel were long gone. The prediction that he put on Ahab and Jezebel took place; judgment fell upon them. They both died and dogs licked their blood just like he predicted. This king fell through the ladder in his chamber and he was really sick. He sent for baalzebub, the god of Ekron to ask whether “I shall recover from this disease” (2 Kings 2: 1). He sent to the wrong god. After all these events, he [the king] had heard of him [Elijah], he never even sought God. “But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite. Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron” (2 Kings 2: 4)? And Elijah stopped them [the messengers] and he told them to go back and tell the king, “Now therefore thus said the Lord, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die…” (v. 4). A few brief sentences said it all and he just disappeared from the scene there.

The king wanted to find him. They brought the message back to the king. He was well enough to leave that man alone. [Instead], he began to get some captains together. He was going to take 50 men at a time to get Elijah. He had gone to the top of Mount Carmel, I believe it was. He was sitting up there. He was getting ready to go home pretty soon. He had just got a few more details to take care of. The other two sermons [Parts I and II] told all about them. “Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down” (v. 9). But he doesn’t come down for a king unless God tells him to. How many of you know that? “And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, if I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came fire from heaven and consumed him and his fifty” (v. 10). Frisby read 2 Kings 1: 11-12). We’ve got a God of judgment. We’ve got a merciful God, but sometimes when they will not listen, then the Lord shows His hand. Not long before the prophet would be leaving and pretty soon, he [the king] sent another captain of fifty. The third captain fell on his knees and besought him and said, “O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty they servants be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came down fire from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties, therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight” (vs. 14-15). This is what God had done to the former captains and their fifties. He didn’t want to go up and he [third captain] asked him to have mercy on his life—the third captain that went there. God’s plan was revealed; the king died. Elijah told him what was going to happen because they didn’t inquire of the Word of the Lord (2 Kings 1: 17). You know, when you get sick or something is wrong, the first thing you should want to do is to inquire of the Lord and try to reach a prophet. Get a hold of God and let Him do something for you, but never turn to false gods and so forth. Those were some powerful things that the Lord had done.

But this now, we are entering the major part of my message. “And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan, And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as my soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on” (2 Kings 2: 6). Now, he came back and picked another man and he was going to be his successor. But he was supposed to stay very close. If he did not watch him go away or stay close to him, then he would not receive the double portion. So, he was standing very close. His name was Elisha; a name similar to Elijah separated only by the end of their names. “And Elijah said unto him, “Tarry, I pray thee….” (v. 6). And I will tell you, at the end of age, I am going to stay right with the Lord until I see Him come and we go up. Amen? Hold right on there and right in there! They were headed for Jordan. Jordan means crossing death and Bethel, the house of God. But each place they would make a stop, they would make a crossing and each place meant something there. Right now, they were headed for Jordan.

“And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan” (v. 7). Fifty is in there again, a number. They stood afar off. Now, here are the sons of the prophets and they stood afar off. Now, they were in awe of Elijah. They didn’t want any of that fire. Right now, they are not going to make a jest of him. They are not going to say anything, and they stood real far off. They had heard that he was going up. Somehow, they got wind that Elijah was going to be taken away. But they would stand and watch across the river and they watched as the two went up there. So, Elijah came to Jordan and Elisha was following him.

“And Elijah took his mantle and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went on dry ground” (v. 8). It was like thunder, it just parted. The same hand that he looked to in the heavens and there was no rain for three and half years and he said, I see a hand, a cloud, like a man’s hand (1 Kings 18: 44). Then in the next couple of verses, it said, “And the hand of Lord was on Elijah…” (1 Kings 18: 46). Now, he comes in that same hand that brought the rain; that brought the power that caused the rain. Now, the hand struck as the mantle struck and it parted it like that. Isn’t that wonderful? And Jordan rolled back. I tell you, God is really supernatural! What’s your little cancer going to do in that, or the tumor you have got there, your little sickness? Jesus said the works that I do shall you do, and greater works shall ye do. These signs shall follow them that believe. They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. All these things are possible to him that believeth. See; it’s laying in there with the faith.

You know, Elijah the prophet, was always honored because of what he went through and his steadfastness to the Lord. He feared no man. He stood before the Lord. The key to his life was: I stand before the Lord God of Israel. That was the utterance that he had there. Here was one that was not afraid except the one time that he fled after the showdown in Israel. Otherwise, he was fearless at every point and that was in the will of God. He feared no man and yet when God would appear—here was a prophet who wrapped his head up in the mantle, bowed his head between his knees before the Lord. There was a man of God! Can you say Amen? Remember when he came to the cave and Elijah put the mantle on him there. He looked out there, fire met fire! I believe the old prophet’s eyes had fire in them. Oh, glory to God! There was something there as he called fire. I tell you what? He was like the mongoose that was in the jungle; he got every snake. Their (mongooses) eyes look like fire sometimes. He got all the Jezebel’s snakes, everyone of them. He slew them down by the river there calling out the fire there. So, he got rid of the serpents and the snakes in every direction. He was on his way. The man [Elisha] was coming to take his place and it was going to be a double anointing of power.

Somebody said, I wonder if Elijah knew what happened after he left.” He knew before he left. He had already seen vision of what the prophet was going to do. He was daily with him for a long time before he left. He would talk with him and he told him some of the events that would take place. And by vision, sure, he saw what took place afterwards which was great judgment that fell on 42 children there at that time for the mockery of the power of God. So, he knew. And another thing: later, it is in the bible, they believed a letter appeared out of nowhere and they didn’t know how in the world it got there except that it was written and came back from heaven. But it was from Elijah to another king (2 Chronicles 21: 12). They couldn’t get rid of him. The bible said at the end of Malachi that before the great and dreadful day of the Lord, he would appear to Israel, just before the battle of Armageddon. He will step forth again, see? He is not dead. He was carried away. We find that at the transfiguration, there appeared Moses and Elijah with Jesus on the mountain, and Jesus was altered like lightning and he was standing there. It says two men stood with him, Moses and Elijah. There they appeared again. So, at the end of the age, chapter 11 of the book of Revelation; Malachi 4 at the end of the chapter, you can find out something is going to happen at Armageddon. The Gentiles gone; the bride of the Lord Jesus, the elect. Then He turns back to Israel in the great Armageddon. Revelation 7 also brings out the point, but I don’t have time to go in there. All of this comes together in there.

So, here he is, and he took the mantle and hit the water with it. That mantle had been wrapped around him. The anointing of God on that mantle was tremendous power. There, it was just a point of contact that God used. And the waters rolled back and they [Elijah and Elisha] were on their way. “And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me” (2 Kings 2: 9). You see, he knew he was going to be taken away. He suffered greatly, but he had wrought great and powerful miracles. One of the greatest sufferings he had was that his own people rejected him. No matter what he showed them—for a while—they still turned their backs on him until after the great drought. The rejection that he had to suffer in the wilderness was more than a moral man would ever know—what the man went through. He fled right in the middle of that drought and God took care of him.

Nevertheless, he was getting closer to that chariot. Let me tell you something: how would you like to see something like a supernatural chariot, a spaceship with fire in it and horses come up to you? And [that was] thousands of years ago, the old rustic wasn’t as modern as us or anything like that, and he wasn’t afraid of that [chariot of fire]. He said, “Any place is better than this, where I have been on earth. I am going in that ship. Glory to God!” He didn’t back down. He had faith. A lot of prophets can do a lot of miracles, but in that age, when something fiery comes right on the ground, whirling, do you think they would get in it? No, many of them would run. The sons of the prophets stood away off on the other side of the bank. That’s the distant followers today. They will be standing away off of the Lord. The translation will take place and after it is over with—we find in the bible that they thought the Lord had taken him up and dropped him down somewhere. They weren’t going to believe, and after the bride is gone–the translation is symbolic of it—they will do the same thing. They will say, “Oh, there are some people missing upon the earth.” But they will say, “Maybe some sorcerers or something got them in another world.” They will have excuses, but they won’t believe the Lord. But there will be a wilderness and a foolish virgin group that will begin to believe that something definitely took place. The bible says it will come like a thief in the night. I believe everyone here tonight ought to work as much as you can in the 1980s. The door is open, but it will close. He will not always strive with man on the earth. There will be an interruption. But now it is time, He is calling we should work too. We are coming near the time that is the last final work. the people of the earth. We should look for the Lord each night; I know that, but

We are getting to where Elijah was. Elisha was a type of the tribulation; the bears proved it. I am getting to that in a moment. They parted across and he asked him, what shall I do for you? And Elisha said, “Oh, if I could get twice as much.” He really didn’t know what he was asking for—he was tested too—”but if I could get a double portion”—and God wanted it that way—”of this mighty power.” You know, as long as Elijah ministered—Elisha was a great and powerful man of God—but [as long as Elijah ministered], he never did get out and do anything. He just stood there and poured water on the hands of Elijah. Until the day that Elijah left, he was silent. Suddenly, God came on him. God does not have confusion. There was no bickering between Elijah and Elisha there because Elisha, even though he knew him and talked to him, he [Elijah] would withdraw. He saw the prophet very little. He was a strange prophet; Elijah was. Now, Elisha could mix, and he could mingle. He did that with the sons of the prophets. Not Elijah, he was different. Everything that Elisha accomplished, it was because Elijah had broken it down, and had put the path, and had restored much power back to the Lord God in Israel there. So, the success of Elisha’s ministry under a peaceful time–later on, that he could into the city and talk—had been broken down [by Elijah]. So, Elisha could minister.

“And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing, nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so (2 Kings 2: 10). See; Elijah knew—evidently, in a vision he had seen the ship and it was already over them before they got across Jordan. It was up there. It’s been up there all the time watching them. He had been prepared by God. Now, he said, “This prophet [Elisha] here, he is going to follow me here.” God told him what to do. He said if you see me, then you will get the same anointing. Elijah said, “When he sees and hears what I saw in that vision and gets close, I want to see if he scatters. He will run off and not see me go.” Because even today, in a modern age, if something like that should light down on this field, most of you would run. You say, “Oh, I’ve got God.” You will run, if it was God. How many of you are still with me?

Now, we know satanic forces—I will get into this a little before somebody thinks the bible is getting off of God. No. There are supernatural lights of God, the bible says, and there are different lights of satan too. There are false saucers landing in the desert and talking to people. That is what you call witchcraft, getting on to séances and things like that—all kinds of sorceries and things. No, this [Elijah’s ship] is REAL. God has chariots. Ezekiel saw them; read Ezekiel chapter 1. Read the first couple of chapters of Ezekiel, you will see the lights of God moving in the speed of lightning and you will see the cherubims in the wheels of Almighty God. Of course, satan has lights too. He tries to imitate what happened to Elijah, but he can’t. God’s lights are greater and more powerful. HE IS THE REAL LIGHT.

Nevertheless, they went across Jordan and he said if you see me …. And as they went on and talked, we find out for the first time it said, Elijah was talking. They finally had a normal conversation. He just wasn’t hitting and going. They talked as they went along. I guess Elijah was saying, “I am going to leave,” and he said, “It looks good to me.” He said, “You can have a double portion. You can have it all. I am gone from here. God is coming to get me now.” Isn’t that a reward! Oh, he said just let me near that ship! I am going to get out of here! Oh, praise God! My work is finished! Behold, they were talking as they were walking along there. He probably began to say what he had seen God reveal to him, and he was saying the words that he had seen (maybe revelation). And as he was talking—he didn’t always talk—he would only come to pronounce judgment or to bring a display of wonders.

And as he was talking, all of a sudden, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire…. (v.11). This is some kind of a spaceship, whirling chariot of fire. A spaceship of some sort; we don’t know. We don’t even know what all this is about. You can only contemplate, but you never know exactly what it’s all about. Here is what happened: this ship—whirling chariot of fire came. See; it was powerful! It just parted them, all the water blew back and the sons of the prophets on the other side ran back. See, they didn’t know what was happening there far off. It just parted them asunder like that. And Elijah went up (v. 11). Isn’t that something! It was wheels and it was moving and it went away in fire. And then this is what happened: “And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces” (v.12). He [Elisha] got to stay right with him and he got to see it. I wonder how he would ever explain that to the sons of the prophet—what he saw? Evidently, Elisha got to see the Angel of the Lord. He got to see him [Elijah] go into this thing and he was standing there. It was very interesting in this part of the scriptures.

And one day the bride will be taken away. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we will be parted asunder from the people of the earth. The bible says CAUGHT UP! It says, come up hither! And we will be caught up–those dead in the graves that know and love the Lord with their hearts and those upon the earth that are yet alive—the bible says they are both caught up suddenly in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, in a flash of lightning, suddenly, they are with the Lord! They are changed—their bodies, eternal life there in a moment—and they are taken away. Now, that is the bible and it will take place. If you cannot believe these things and the miracles here, why do you even bother asking God to do anything for you? If you believe this, then believe He is a God of miracles, the bible says. And you tonight say, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?’ I believe it! Amen.

Here is what happened: “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 took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces” (2 Kings 2: 12). He rent them into pieces like that. See; it’s symbolic of one prophet taking the other prophet’s place. He stayed in the background until the very day that Elijah parted because two powerful men like that—in fact, the other fellow [Elisha] couldn’t do anything because he didn’t have the anointing. Elijah had it at that time. But now, it was his [Elisha’s] turn. He is going forth. Here is what happened: “He took also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan” (v. 13). Elijah left the mantle with him showing when he comes to the sons of the prophets, [he can say], “Here is the mantle of Elijah.” He is gone, you see.

“And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over” (v.14). Now, Elijah smote the water, it was like crackling, like thunder, smashed open like that! And when they went over, it closed back up again. Now, he had to smite it again, see? And he is going to open it up. Then he came to the water. He said, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” He had just seen that chariot—the fire. He had to believe. All that built his faith up too. Also, Elijah had spoken to him at different times about what to do to prepare himself for that great anointing. And he took the mantle of the Lord and smote those waters, and they parted hither and thither, meaning one went that way and one went the other way. And Elisha went over.

“And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah does rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him” (2 Kings2: 15). They knew that. They could feel it. They knew something had occurred in that blaze of fire. You see, glory was around that ship when it left there—the glory of the Lord. It went away. Ezekiel will get you close to something that Elijah went away in. Read the first two chapters of Ezekiel and chapter 10 and you will get pretty close to what Elijah was involved with and the glory that surrounded that ship. Whatever the Lord wants, He can do it whichever way he wants. He can come and go. He just appears and disappears, or His people can. He doesn’t vary His ways. He can do all kinds of things. They knew by looking at Elisha what had occurred, that he was different. They probably saw the light of God upon him and the power of the Lord, and they just fell on the ground. Now, these ones wanted to dedicate themselves. But they were going down to Bethel and this was where the mean ones were. Those ones did not believe anything. These fifty [sons of the prophets] were distant followers. They got shook up at that time [when they saw Elisha] after Elijah had been taken away].

“And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send” (2 Kings 2: 16). That is only fault in them. They could not believe it. They said, “Peradventure the Spirit of Lord hath taken him up….” And he said, “Ye shall not send.” See; it was no use. He was standing right there and saw it happen. And yet, it’s like the translation when it takes place in the world. Now, they kept on until Elisha was ashamed and said, “Oh, go ahead. Get it out of your system.” Three days, they searched everywhere; they couldn’t find Elijah. He was gone! They will search during the tribulation. They won’t find anything. Those elect, they will be gone! Can you say, Amen? That’s wonderful, isn’t it? They will be looking and can’t find anything. The people will be gone!

Here is what happened: “And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men, and they sought three days, but found nothing. And when they came again to him (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, did I not say unto you, Go not” (2 Kings 2: 17-18). Elijah was now in Jericho, from Jordan to Jericho. “And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant as my Lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren” (v. 19). See; they began to give honor to that prophet at the time. They had already seen so much until they were humbled for a while. This [Jordan] was probably the place where at one time that Joshua came in there and for reasons that the Lord told him to do, he cursed the water and the ground in every direction. And for years and years, nothing could become of it. It was just desolate and barren. So, they had seen that Elisha was there; maybe he could do some of the miracles that Elijah had done. See; the ground was brackish, they couldn’t grow anything there. It had been cursed and it would take a prophet to take that curse off.

“And he said, bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him” (v. 20). The water of the city had salt in it. He is going to use salt to fight salt, but God’s salt is supernatural. Can you say Amen? They have traced the history of the city and it was salt-like water. “And he went to the spring of the waters and cast the salt in there, and said, thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be thence any more death or barren land. So, the waters were healed unto this day, according to the sayings of Elisha which he spake” (2 Kings 2: 21-22). Isn’t that a wonderful miracle? Their problem was solved. They could farm and they could live there. The water had been cursed and the land was barren at the time, and Elisha fixed it up. I tell you, we’ve got a God of miracles, a God of miracles. You ought to understand that He is supernatural. The natural man cannot see eye to eye with God, but the spiritual part within you, the Spirit of God that He has given you—if you would give that part a chance and allow that Spirit to begin to move—then you are going to begin to see eye to eye with God. You will begin to be eye to eye to a miracle. But the natural man, he cannot see the supernatural things of the Lord. So, you must give [yourself] over to the supernatural part that’s within you. It will come out just allow God to work it. Praise the Lord. Believe the Lord and He will bless you there. And so, the water was healed.

Now, watch the final thing: “And he went forth from thence unto Bethel: and he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head” (2 Kings 2: 21). This [Bethel) was supposed to be the house of God, but it was no place for protection when they did what this people did. I believe in Hebrews they were called youths. They were teenagers really. The King James called them children. Now, you see, Elisha was bald headed, but Elijah was a hairy man, the bible says in one place. And they said, “Go up, thou bald head.” See; they wanted to prove it to them, “Elijah went up, you go up.” See; that’s the same doubt and unbelief. Right after a powerful thing takes place or in your life after a miracle takes place, old satan will come around and begin to chide. He will come along and begin to mock. The same thing when the translation takes place, they are not going to believe what has occurred. They are going to follow that antichrist system and the mark of the beast on the earth until God meets them in Armageddon, and a showdown takes place again over in that land where the great prophet appears once again (Malachi 4: 6; Revelation 11).

Listen to this right here: “And he turned back, and looked on them, cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. And he went from thence to Mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria” (2 Kings 2: 24 & 25). They began to scream and to run and the bears began to take care of them one by one, and got all of them because they mocked the power of God. They had heard of the great miracles. They had heard also of Elijah going away, but satan got in them and they were going to mock. These were the young ones that could have been some of the sons of the prophets, but they were too organized, given to unbelief and would have gone to idols. God saved them [the sons of the prophets] a lot of trouble there. So, don’t mock God; know the power that be of God. And right away, He established Elisha. And that other prophet [Elijah] was going out there in a whirlwind and behind him, it just seems like that thing was whirling, just getting ready for destruction. As he went out, the last of the destruction began to take place there. Then when it happened, the bears began to take them down one by one and they tore forty-two children and destroyed them. They all died.

Now, in the bible, we know that Elijah speaks of the great translation, the going away. Elisha is more of the tribulation. Anyway, the two bears: we know in Ezekiel 38, the Magog and Gog, Russian bear. We know that will come down on Israel and tear the earth. It will be 42 months of great tribulation upon the earth. There were forty-two youths here and it is symbolic, two she-bears. Russia is called a she-bear—but they will come as Russia and her satellite bears. That is what it is. They will come down. Ezekiel 38 will show you the final chapter of the history of our age. And it will be great tribulation, the bible says, for 42 months upon the earth there. So, it symbolic of the great tribulation there. And then when that was wrought, he went from thence to Mount Carmel. The house of the Tishbite was at Carmel. Then from thence, he returned to Samaria. But first, he went to Carmel and he returned to Samaria. All these names mean something.

So, tonight, we are serving a supernatural God of miracles. Whatsoever you need, and whatsoever you can believe you can believe for, it is easy for God to do it. But the thing is, you must contend for the faith and honestly expect the Lord to do something for you. So there, as we see this Part III, we see the power of the Lord displayed like never before. This was just a few chapters of a lot of things that took place in the bible. He is a God of miracles. Fascinating!

All those things took place, and somebody said, “Where is Elijah?” I can tell you one thing: he is still alive! Isn’t that something? Praise the Lord! And if somebody didn’t believe so, when Jesus came many hundreds of years later on, there they two stood with Him on the mount, Moses and Elijah. They were standing there when His face was transfigured and altered like lightning before His disciples. So, he [Elijah] wasn’t dead, he appeared right there. Faith is a wonderful thing. It motivated that prophet to hold up against all circumstances and his key was that he stood before the God of Israel right there and humbled himself before God. And the Lord loved him too and the Lord blessed him there. But one thing was his uncompromising faith and he knew the Word of the Lord. He had that faith with him, and he kept that faith. He went right there to the chariot and it carried him away. And tonight, we will have that translative faith of Elijah. A type of a double anointing will come upon the church and we will be carried away by the power of God. And that same strong determined faith that just grips and is grounded in you—that will take you away. The prophet was able to be carried away because of faith in the Lord.

The same about Enoch, the other one that mysteriously left the earth—the only two men that we know off there. So, faith is very essential. Without faith, it is impossible to please the Lord (Hebrews 11: 6). Now, the just, the people that love the Lord, shall live by faith. Not by what people say, not by what man says, but by what God says. The just shall live by faith (Hebrews 10: 38). Isn’t that beautiful in there? That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God (1 Corinthians 2: 5). Don’t let your faith stand with men or yourself, or the science age that we have today. We have the Lord Jesus and the Lord God. Let us stand tonight in the Lord and not in men. Let us believe God with all of our hearts. And where is the Lord God of Elijah? Behold, saith the Lord, He is with His people, and the people that have the faith that is being born in their hearts. Through the tests and trials, out of these will come forth the people. Out of the wilderness, saith the Lord, shall come forth my people again and they shall march, saith God and with my power, saith the Lord, and ye shall receive. Behold, the mantle of the Lord is spread across the people. They shall part the waters asunder. They shall leave saith the Lord at my Word. Prepare ye for the Lord! Oh, glory to God! I cannot add anything to that message and I feel the Lord saying, “It is well spoken.” Oh, see the anointing and power!

Bow your heads here tonight. Just believe the Lord Jesus in your heart. Activate your faith. Expect, even though you say, “I can’t even see it. I can’t see it coming.” Believe in your heart that you have it. Believe Him with all your heart. I mean don’t say anything that you shouldn’t say up here. But I am talking about faith, even though you can’t see it, you know you have it from the Lord and it will explode in your life. And salvation, the same way. Trust in the Lord with the same kind of faith.

Now, with your heads bowed tonight, begin to expect. Expect the Lord to do something for you. No matter what your problem is in your heart, they don’t get too great for the Lord Jesus. In my ministry, I have seen everything that can be imagined in the world fall before the faith and the power of God.

PRAYER LINE FOLLOWED

Come boldly to the throne of God and believe Him! Believe God! The God of Elijah is here! Amen. I tell you, ask what you will. It shall be done. God is wonderful. It doesn’t matter who you are, how simple, how educated, how rich or how poor. What counts is, do you love God and how much faith do you have in Him? That’s what counts. In other words, it doesn’t make a difference about your color or your race or religion, just how you believe in His Word and in Him.

Elijah and Elisha’s Exploits Part III | CD #800 | 08/31/1980 PM