Journey To The Double

And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. 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. 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. 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. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and 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 chariot 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. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; 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. II Kings 2:1-14 (KJV) emphasis mine

There is great spiritual significance in this passage for us. This details a journey to receive the double. We’ll see some interesting things if we look at the meaning of the places where Elijah and Elisha traveled on their journey.

• Gilgal means rolling away.

• Bethel means house of God.

• Jericho speaks of strongholds and warfare.

• Jordan points to crossing over, obedience, and stepping into new territory.

Let’s look at all four of these to see how we can journey to receive the double.

Gilgal/ Rolling Away

You must be willing to let things roll away and be removed from your life. Let go of the old to embrace the new. Let go of the old you to become the new you. You are positioning yourself with a renewed mind, a stable and made-up mind, that you are going all the way with God, no matter what.

Bethel/ House of God

Get planted in God’s House to hear God’s Word, to know Him. Here you can receive direction and vision from the Lord. You can mature in God’s House. Here, He is preparing you to move on to Jericho.

Jericho/Strongholds and Warfare

As you let go of old things, you won’t give the enemy place. At Gilgal, you went through circumcision, or a cutting away and rolling away of the heart. Covenant was cut with God so your flesh does not distract you. It was cut away and you don’t give into the flesh. In God’s House, you learned to serve and mature in God. At Jericho, you learn how to overcome the enemy through spiritual warfare, using your spiritual weapons (II Corinthians 10:4-5). You learn to overcome all that would try to hold you back.

Jordan/Crossing Over, Obedience, and Stepping Into New Territory

Coming to the Jordan, you are baptized. When Jesus Christ was baptized in the Jordan, He also experienced the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:21-22). At Jordan, you experience the Holy Spirit and power. This is where you cross over from old experiences with God to brand new ones. It is where you reach a new level of power and anointing.

When we take these steps to journey with God, paying the price to go all the way with Him, we show that we want all God has for us. We can’t let anything stop us from receiving from Him. Elisha got a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. He took up Elijah’s mantle, struck the Jordan and crossed over like Elijah did to begin his ministry. He got a double portion of inheritance, like a father-son relationship. We have a spiritual Father, and we get a spiritual inheritance. What was on Elijah was doubled for Elisha, and Elisha did twice as much as Elijah. Jesus said that we would do the same works He did and even greater works (John 14:12). We just have to take the journey to the double.