"And when they had passed, Elijah said unto Elisha, ask what I shall do for thee, before I am taken away from thee. Elisha answered, I pray thee, let the double part of thy spirit rest upon me; And he said, 'You have asked for a difficult thing. If you see me being taken away from you, it will happen to you. But if not, it shall not come to pass.'" 2 Kgs 2:9,10

Elisha wanted to receive the double share of the spirit that he his spiritual father, Elijah, possessed and thus to become of his successor; to be distinguished from the sons of the prophets. This is reminiscent of the principle of the Mosaic Law of the father of a family allocating property to his sons. (Deut 21:17.)

Elijah found Elisha's request difficult. How to translate this difficulty into the antitypical reality? True, the Scriptures recognize the Great Company as a part of the Church of the First-borns, also class being begotten of the Holy Spirit, but inferior, largely devoid of that Spirit because of excessive care for temporal things. Because of this, the Great Company has fallen into a state of spiritual lethargy, complacency, and self-esteem – feeling "rich, and having need of nothing." (Rev 3:17.)

However, in reality it is the biblical state of "outer darkness." It is not only a lack of orientation in events, but also a lack of awareness of one's dangerous situation. Is it easy in this condition to see that "Elijah" was taken away, that the Church was glorified? The vision of Revelation 19:1-9 shows that only the events of Armageddon (especially the symbolic conflagration overwhelming the Great Harlot of Rome) can awaken the Great Company from their lethargy and realize the real condition of things, that they are not a Little Flock, and that they must make a heroic effort to save their spiritual existence as New Creatures.

 

Chariot of fire

 

"And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, [there appeared] a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariots 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." 2 Kgs 2:11,12

C. T. Russell; R-5844 (year 1916): "First, there will be the chariot of fire. We do not know what this will be; but we understand that some fiery experience will cause a separation between the two classes of the Lord's people. Then will develop the whirlwind of anarchy."

When the long-awaited date of the exalting of the Little Flock (1981-spring) did not bring any extraordinary manifestations, the authorities of the Association, with the participation of "secret collaborators" of the Security Office, prepared and launched the final assault on the Warsaw congregation. The preparation consisted in constant agitation among the members of the congregation and arousing disgust for everything that brother Tadeusz Wiśniewski preached. Finally, in 1982, when it seemed that after such preparation, the matter was decided, a vote was called in the congregation to decide whether or not brother Wiśniewski should continue to be an elder in the Warsaw congregation. As usual, a high electoral threshold was set – 75 percent.

The result of the vote completely surprised the numerous members of the Association's authorities. This was not what they expected. The number of votes in favor of keeping brother Wiśniewski as an elder definitely exceeded the required limit.

In such a situation, the leaders of the Association decided that any semblance of legality and treatment of the congregation's decision as God's will must be set aside. It is practically irrelevant whether the chairman of the Warsaw meeting has now made the decision on his own or whether he has planned option B in close cooperation with the leaders of the FBSA, in any case, he ordered as follows: "The congregation hall is the property of the Association, so all those who are against the teachings of brother Wisniewski have the right to gather in it, while the rest should go where they see fit." After this statement, he silenced the congregation, called them to rise, the Lord's Prayer was said and the whole thing came to an end.

The Bible compares the activities of the communist organization to the cavalry of fast chariots. See Nah 2:3; Hab 1:6-8; Rev 9:7-9; "Jehu drives furiously" (2 Kgs 9:20). When the ruling authorities decided that it was time to put an end to the troublesome prophetic movement they made its presence in the Association a fiery issue that ignites fear and emotions of its members. Thus communist authorities, by their agents turned the organization of this association into a chariot of fire which rode between the "Elijah" and "Elisha," separating the two classes. It is worth noting that the year 1982 marked the middle of the years 1980-1984, in which communism practically collapsed, completely corrupt and contaminated with cooperation with the Catholic clergy. The fall of Communism began to stir up the whirlwind of world-wide anarchy, in which the remainder of the Elijah class began to leave the earth ("Nevertheless ye shall die like men"; Ps 87:7).
 

 

The second smiting of the Jordan River

 

 

"He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan. … and when he also had smitten the waters, they were divided hither and thither; and Elisha went over." 2 Kgs 2:13,14
 

 

C. T. Russell; R-3415 (1904): "The receiving by Elisha of power from the departed Elijah seems to correspond in considerable measure to the 'foolish virgins' getting their oil and being able to trim their lamps after the 'wise virgins' have gone in to the wedding and the door is shut. As the foolish virgins were not evil but good – 'virgins' – so Elisha was not an evil man but a good man and a prophet: as the foolish virgins lacked something that the wise virgins possessed, so Elisha lacked something of what Elijah possessed, and that lack, which was supplied to the foolish virgins in the oil, is represented in Elisha's case in the mantle and blessing…

"As the Parable of the Virgins does not go on to show what happened to the foolish virgins except that they failed to enter into the marriage because the door was shut, so the Elisha picture merely shows that Elisha did not accompany Elijah, but on receiving his benediction and power he continued for a while the work that Elijah had been doing. So it is our thought that during the great time of trouble there will be a consecrated class who had not a sufficiency of zeal in self-sacrifice to be counted of the Lord as members of the Elijah class or body of Christ, who nevertheless will experience a great time of refreshing and become thoroughly devoted after they realize that the Church has been glorified – after they begin to see also the fulfilment of various Scriptures respecting Babylon.

This class, whom we understand to be represented in the Scriptures as the 'Great Company,' whose number no man knows, who wash their robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb, and eventually come up to spirit conditions, though not to be of the Royal Priesthood in the throne (Rev 7:9-17) – these are represented as recognizing by and by that the little flock, the Bride class, the Elijah class, have passed beyond the vail and they are shown to rejoice accordingly, saying, 'Let us be glad and rejoice and give glory to God, for the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath made herself ready!' This class in turn, though not worthy to be the Bride, the wife, is invited to participate in the great marriage feast which is to take place shortly after the glorification of the Church. (Rev 19:7-9.)…

"But if Elisha was a type, we believe that we are justified in considering him a type of two classes. First, of the class already suggested, who are with the Elijah class and who maintain relationship to the close of Elijah's period and who then become partakers of his spirit. And this type would seem to extend as far as Elisha's re-crossing the Jordan, smiting it with the mantle of Elijah. If the crossing of Jordan into the land of Canaan be taken to represent death, then the picture should be read as indicating that this 'great company' will all pass through death, which is just what the Scriptures elsewhere seem clearly to show – that in order to be on the spirit plane at all it will be necessary for them to 'all die as men.' (Ps 82:7-9.)"

C. T. Russell; R-3428 (1904): "The spirit of devotion previously manifested by the little flock would thereafter be manifested by those who had hesitated and refrained from a consecration of themselves and all their interests in the fullest degree. This would imply that the remainder of their lives would be of the same character as that of the little flock, although it would then be too late to gain a part and place in the Elijah class, or a share in the glory, honor and immortality which the Lord has prepared for them. With this view, Elisha's recrossing Jordan might be understood as representing their faithfulness, their testimony, and their passing over the Jordan of death without being overwhelmed by the waters--that is to say, that the death of this Elisha class would be a passing over without 'sleep,' a change from human to spirit conditions, though not to the conditions to which the Elijah class will attain."

It is worth mentioning at least two major events on the world stage which, as Scriptural signs, have sufficient power to convince that in the spring of 1981 the Great Tribulation, Armageddon, world anarchy, began.

The Little Flock class reads the Divine purposes in advance by understanding the prophecies, while the Great Company class gain a knowledge of this plan after the fulfillment of the prophecies has become a fact. Before the little flock, the John class, the Lord revealed the secret that at the end of the High Calling (1977) the Roman Catholic Church would begin to celebrate its three-and-a-half-year triumph, and then the Epiphany of Christ's presence (1980) would cast it off its pedestal of glory and lead it to utter destruction.

(1) In the autumn of 1977, "the ten kings (horns; Rev 17:12)", or the ten members of Comecon entered into political cooperation with the Church of Rome (the Great Harlot of Rome, the Man of Sin, the Antichrist, the Abomination of Desolation) and gave her great privileges and ensured popularity (Rev 13:2; 18:7.)

 

 

 

"And the ten horns which thou sawest, and the beast, these shall hate the harlot, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with fire." (Rev 17:16)

"And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming [Grec: tee epiphaneia tees parousias autou.]" (2 Thes 2:8.)

Since the attempt on the life of Pope in May 1981), it has been the privilege of the Great Company class to notice and to react for the process of the rapidly progressing irreversible destruction of the Roman Antichrist.

(2) It was the privilege of the John class to understand before the time the secret that the end of the High Calling, in 1977, would be a turning point in the history of spiritual Israel and Israel after the flesh (Rev 7:1-3). After sealing the 144,000 members of spiritual Israel, God ordered the "four angels" (the communist ideology) to "free the four winds" (that is to allow for madness of human passions and theories), to begin "harming the earth" (the conservative world) and the "sea" (the revolutionary world), so that the whirlpool of the Great Tribulation would overturn the entire diabolical order of the world (Rev 7:1-3).

From the beginning of Christ's second presence, the Little Flock took on the role of Old Testament prophets to prophesy in the Christian world the coming Kingdom of God on earth, preceded by the destruction of apostate Churches and the rebirth of Israel according to the flesh. One such prophet was the modern-day "Ezekiel," or Bible Students in the United States, who proclaimed to the whole world that the "double" chastisement of Israel was over (1878; Isa 40:1) and that the nation would begin to return to national existence as "dry bones." (Ezek 37.)

A century later, Ezekiel announced (Ezek 37:9) that from 1977 onwards the "four winds" would begin to blow, or events would come which would cause the dead organism of fleshly Israel will began to be revived with the spirit of life. Then Israel will gradually come into full harmony with God and become the earthly seed of Abraham, through whom all the families of the earth will be blessed. (Gen 12:3; Acts 3:25.)

But the role of "Ezekiel" did not end there. The "Polish Ezekiel", informed by God, identified Gog and exposed his possessive intentions. It turned out that this mysterious invader is the bankrupt ideology of the "four angels", represented by post-communist Russia.

While most Bible Students are still unsure who this mysterious invader from the "farthest north" named Gog is, a large number of Protestants, who do not have a deeper understanding of God's plan, proclaim with conviction that Russia's aggressive actions in the Middle East are in fact plotting of the biblical Gog and his coalition partners against Israel.

For now, Russia is acting from behind the scenes, secretly, but the prophecy foretells her open actions. Russia's right-hand, that is Iran (the former Persia), controls terror organizations that directly and boldly harass Israel, weakening it more and more psychologically, militarily and economically. But this is only a prelude to the showdown, which, according to Israeli journalist Amir Tsarfati, "will bring Israel to its knees in 2014." Russia (Gog) is waiting patiently for the opportune moment to finally enter the action. Israel's main ally, the U.S., continues to distance itself from Israel. World opinion, backed by God's adversary, Satan, is increasingly critical of the chosen people.

The prophecies of Gog's invasion, understood and set in time, clearly tell us how the whole battle will end. Israel, completely abandoned by its allies, virtually defenseless against quantitative and military superiority of invaders, will succumb to violence and will briefly be left at the mercy of them. In this hopeless from the human point of view situation God will come to the rescue of his people, He will annihilate the power of Gog and his allies, and by this miraculous action he will cause a deep shock in the psyche of both the Israelites and his persecutors.

The former will be made aware that they were saved by the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, whom their ancestors crucified, but God raised Him from death and exalted Him to glory. And "they shall look on him whom they have pierced and shall wail over him…" (Zech 12:10,11). The latter, "the nations that come against Jerusalem [to their destruction]..." (Zech 12:9) will realize to what blindness and madness Satan has led them to that they dared to go to war against the Most High God, the mighty defender of the chosen people.

The sooner the Elisha class, the Great Company, will recognize these signs, the sooner will they take up Elijah's mantle, and will strike the waters of river Jordan again, or they will confirm that the previous, the Little Flock’s witnessing was true: "It is done!" Recognizing that all has been accomplished as the Lord foretold to the Elijah class, the Elisha class (the foolish virgins) will stand up boldly in defense of the Truth and in defense of the Chosen People, Israel.

 

The sons of the prophets want to look for Elijah

 

"And when the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho over against him saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him. And they said unto him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not." 2 Kgs 2:15-18

C. T. Russell; R-5771 (year 1915): "The sons of the prophets may also be types. If so, they would seem to represent a third class, acquainted with Elijah and Elisha, yet not particularly associated with them. The fact that the sons of the prophets discussed with Elisha the going of Elijah does not necessarily signify that they believed the matter. They knew that Elijah expected to go, but their own doubts on the subject are intimated by the fact that they subsequently made a search of the land to see if Elijah had not really fallen somewhere, dropped by the whirlwind. Their search and final conviction represent that for some time certain classes of Christian people may doubt that the Church has really gone to glory, but that afterwards they are thoroughly convinced. Possibly the three days of search may be symbolic, representing three years."

The significant events of the years 1977-1981-1984 proved that the prophetic movement in Poland, which announced them, was inspired by God Himself. The given light was recognized only by the "little flock," or "Elijah" class, completed by the last members, chiefly in Poland. The remainder, the Great Company, or "Elisha," and the "sons of the prophets" class will receive the light with a delay.

The Great Company, wherever they are still in the centers of true faith in the world, must surely see the fire engulfing the Great Harlot of Rome (Rev 19:1-9) and the anarchist unraveling of the world order after the fall of Communism. Since this is a class begotten of the Holy Spirit, they must ultimately awaken from their lethargy and save their eternal life threatened by spiritual neglect. Her salvation will be to wash away the defilement garments of justification and make them white in the blood of the Lamb in the time of the severest tribulation. (Rev 7:9-17.) The severity of this tribulation (anarchy) is increasing hour by hour.

Still another attitude characterizes the "sons of the prophets," who are the most numerous class among the household of faith. Before the close of the High Calling (1977), God did not beget members of this class if their consecration was superficial, merely nominal, not backed up by works. At the close of this Call, the natural course of the Divine Plan of the Ages, the begetting ceased, though consecration to God's service has been, is and will be proper always. From this typical history it is evident that the "sons of the prophets" will have no idea of the events of increasing Great Tribulation, even the most turbulent, until they hear the news from Israel that the Ancient Worthies, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the prophets, have been raised from the dead in a "better resurrection." (Lk 13:28,29; Heb 11:35.)

C. T. Russell; R-3415 (1904): "In this view of the matter we assume that Elisha, after crossing the Jordan and entering Canaan, would represent another, a different class, namely, the earthly phase of the Kingdom – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets, the beginning of the restitution class. Elisha's work after crossing Jordan was restitution work in many respects, and in this particular would well correspond to what we may expect of the earthly phase of the Kingdom after its establishment – after the great time of trouble. But again we remind the reader that the typical character of Elisha is not beyond question, as it is nowhere affirmed in the Scriptures, but merely inferred by us because of his association with Elijah."

 

End