The Mantle of Jesus and the Mantle of Elijah
Elijah's Mantle Falling to Elisha
The Mantle
In the earlier hub The Mantle of Elijah and the Mantle of Jesus I described how Elisha stuck with Elijah till he saw him carried into the heavens. In parallel the disciples of Jesus stuck with Jesus until His trial and death. They rejoined Him after He rose from the dead, during the time when He appeared to them and talked with them over the 40 day period. 40 is number that is a prelude to a promise or an inheritance. Examples: 40 days to the promised land, 40 years wandering in wilderness before able to enter promised land, 400 years of silence between the Old Covenant and the coming of the New Covenant, Jesus 40 day fast before walking into His purposed destiny. You may know of many more but you get the point.
After the 40 days that Jesus gave His disciples some last instructions He lead them out to Bethany and was received up into heaven. Luke 24; 50. All His disciples got to see this event; a man in the same body that He suffered in had rose from the dead in, that had just ate fish with them, was lifted up into heaven. Wow, what a brain job that must have did on them, they are in awe. They worshipped Him and returned to Jerusalem.
They Saw
The Mantle Fell
One of the times Jesus appeared to His disciples in that 40 day period He did and said some interesting things.
Joh 20:21 He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.
Joh 20:22 When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
Joh 20:23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.
He puffed on them, or maybe He blew on them and said ‘receive Holy Spirit’, then He gave them some unique instructions. ‘The power to forgive or not to forgive’ is what He released to them. He was prophetically releasing His very own mantle and the power it welded. The power over guilt and shame by the forgiveness of sin was now placed on His disciples shoulders. He was releasing the mantle
The full manifestation of the mantle came on the day of Pentecost when Holy Spirit (the mantle) fell. His disciples immediately smote the waters that separated them from the promise manifestation of God saying ’Where is the God of the Lord Jesus’. The promise had come.
The ability to carry this mantle was secured by His shed blood, which when acknowledged will clear the conscience of guilt and shame. The blood replaces guilt and shame with innocence and confidence plus the ability to walk in harmony with Holy Spirit (the mantle of Jesus).
The subject matter of John 14 also was the very same positioning with the Father that Jesus had, the very same mantle. Read the whole chapter in context and you will realize He was not talking about the sweet by and by after you die. He was securing a relational position and His very own anointing so we could walk in it. He said also He would send Holy Spirit when He went away.
He sent back His very mantle.
Pick it up! Don't let it go to waste