Elijah charged Elisha to ask him what he should do for him before he was taken from him, and Elisha asked, "Let a double portion of your spirit be upon me" (2 Kings 2:9).
A chariot of fire and horses appeared to separate Elijah from Elisha. Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven, and Elisha saw it and cried, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" (vv. 11-12a). Thus Elijah was taken up, leaving Elisha alone on the earth.
Elisha gained the double portion of the spirit of Elijah (vv. 12b-18). After Elijah was taken up, Elisha grasped his clothes and tore them in two pieces. Then he picked up Elijah's mantle, which had fallen from him, returned and stood by the bank of the Jordan, and struck the water, saying, "Where is Jehovah, the God of Elijah?" (vv. 12b-14). The water parted, and Elisha crossed over. When the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho opposite him saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha" (v. 15). Then fifty sons of the prophets attempted to seek Elijah for three days to no avail (vv. 16-18).
Elisha surely received the spirit of Elijah. However, as we will see, the Spirit, who at Elijah's time performed great miracles such as shutting up the heavens, opening up the heavens, and calling down fire from heaven, acted in a different way through Elisha. Elisha behaved in a way which was very similar to that of the Lord Jesus in the Gospels, doing many gracious and sweet things.
For three and a half years the Lord Jesus brought His disciples from the dealing with the flesh (Gilgal), to the giving up of the world (Bethel), to the defeating of Satan, the head of the demons (Jericho). Eventually, the Lord Jesus brought His disciples to the river Jordan. The one hundred twenty who were praying in Acts 1 had all been brought to the Jordan to die with Christ and to be buried with Him. I believe that, as a result, they no longer treasured what they were or what they could do but had torn this "into two pieces." Through all these steps, they were in a position to receive the mantle of Elijah, the power from on high. Therefore, on the day of Pentecost the Spirit of power came upon them. Today we are those who are following the Lord Jesus from Gilgal to Bethel, from Bethel to Jericho, and from Jericho to the Jordan. Through all these steps we enter into a new age, the age of the New Testament, where Christ is doing gracious things.
Elijah's rapture typified the termination of the Old Testament age in God's economy. But Elijah himself was not terminated. He was taken up into heaven to await the next age to see Elisha (Christ) doing many gracious and sweet things. We are now in the age of the New Testament of Christ, who did and is still doing everything graciously.
The Scriptures say that Elijah will come back again (Mal. 4:5; Luke 1:17; Matt. 11:14; 17:10-13; cf. 17:3-4; Rev. 11:3-12). At the end of the New Testament age, the great tribulation will be a time like Ahab's time, and Elijah will return as the same kind of witness. During the three and a half years of the great tribulation, God will be forced to use Elijah again to burn His enemies with fire (Rev. 11:5). Eventually, Elijah will be killed, and after three and a half days he will rise up and be raptured to join not just the Old Testament saints but also the New Testament overcomers.