2 Kings 2:1

2 Kings 1:1 says, And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.  God would took Elisha up in a whirlwind.  He never faced physical death, just as those followers of Christ who are alive when Jesus returns will not face death, but will be caught up into heaven in the twinkling of an eye.  Before this, Elijah went to Elisha from Gilgal.  Verse two adds, And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.  Elijah told Elisha to tarry there, but that God was sending him to Bethel.  Elisha, who had been following Elijah, basically took an oath to not leave Elijah, even though he had been asked to.  We need to be careful that our devotion to a particular person does not keep us from obey God's commands to us.  Verse three continues, And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.  The other prophets at Bethel asked Elisha if he didn't know that God was going to take away Elijah that day, and he said that he did.  He also told them to hold their peace.  When we know God's plan, even if we may not like it from a personal perspective, we need to be at peace with it.  Verse four states, And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.  Elijah asked Elisha to stay at Bethel because God had sent Elijah to Jerico, but once again Elisha refused to stay.  If God had told Elijah to tell Elijah to go and Elisha to stay, Elisha was disobeying God, but Elijah never really said God had told Elisha to stay.  Verse five adds, And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.  Once more, Elisha was asked by the sons of the prophets, this time in Jericho, if he didn't know that God was going to take away his master that day, and he again said yes and for them to hold their peace.  As stated, once we know God's plan, we need to simply be at peace with it.  Verse six continues, 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 thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.  Once more, Elijah attempted to get Elisha to stay behind while he went to Jordan, and once again Elisha refused to leave him.  We have to be certain that what we as Christians are telling others is God's word and not our own desire, and as we listen to others proclaim God's word we must make sure that it is His word.  I cannot say who was not strictly following God's command in this, but both could not have been.  Verse seven says, And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan.  Fifty other sons of the prophets stood far off and watched Elijah and Elisha as they stood by the Jordan.  Sometimes, all we can do is stand and watch what God is doing through the lives of other Christians.  Verse eight adds, 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 over on dry ground.  Elijah used his mantle to part the waters of the Jordan and Elisha and he went over on dry land.  Matthew Henry says this was a preface to Elijah's translation into heaven just as the parting of the Jordan preceded the Israelites journey into Canaan.  At the second coming of Christ, those of His people who are still here will be miraculously translated up into heaven, just as Jesus was before them.  Verse nine continues, 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.  After crossing over, Elijah asked Elisha what he could do for him before he was taken away.  Elisha did not ask for riches, power, or honor, but only that he be blessed with a double portion of God's spirit.  This is the best that we can ask for today from our spiritual mentors, and not so that we may be more glorified than they were, but that we might be even more effective in doing God's work for His honor and glory.  Verse ten concludes, 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.  Elijah basically said that Elisha was asking something that he could not give.  God's Spirit cannot be given to one person by another.  Still, Elijah told Elisha if he saw him when he was taken up that God would grant his request and if he didn't see him, God wouldn't.  Then, Elisha would have to be satisfied whichever happened.  If God's will is being done, we as Christians need to be satisfied whether it is what we personally wanted or not.