2 Kings 2:10-13 says
"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. 2:11 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. 2:12 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. 2:13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;"
When Elijah was taken to heaven, Elisha tore his own dress and picked up the mantle of Elijah that fell. You cannot 'put on' until you have 'put off' (Colossians 3:8-11). The old must go before the new can come. In Philippians 3:7-11, Paul said all the things that were gain to him he counted as loss to know Jesus and the power of His resurrection. You do not put new wine in old wine bottle.
Why tear my garments?, it was when Adam and Eve came to God that He made them a garment from the skin of animals. The initially covered themselves with leaves. God replaced leaves with leather jacket. In Isaiah 6:1-7, Isaiah had been prophesying for Years until he saw the king in His glory and said, "Woe is me! For I am undone...", that is, exposed. The moment you take off your shoes, the old garment becomes unfit for you. You tear it for God to give you a more befitting one.
Elisha picked up the mantle of Elijah that fell. Can you handle anointing? Can you handle success? Its easier to handle failure than success. Gideon refused being the king, but he asked for gold to make an ephod (judges 8:22-27). The ephod eventually became an idol; he could not handle the success. David was anointed thrice (1 Samuel 16:11-30, 2 Samuel 2:4, 2 Samuel 5:1-3). The comfort that comes with the throne got into his head and he misbehaved (2 Samuel 11:1-11). Comfort is already reducing the efficiency of many of us even though we have not gotten anywhere yet.
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Can you handle popularity?, king Saul could not handle popularity and was unable to obey God completely (Samuel 15:1-30). He feared the people because he did not want to lose his popularity.
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Can you handle tremendous wealth?, Solomon could not. He started with wisdom but ended up a fool.
If you don't learn to come down from your so called throne, the day you tumble, the whole world will hear!
