“Elisha prayed and said, ‘Lord, I pray Thee, open his eyes that he may see,’ and the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw and behold the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” (II Kings 6:17).

There is a space to which access is available by the Holy Spirit, but few there are who enter therein. The Prophet Elisha was one of those few who lived in a dimension of the Spirit that made every day a day of calm assurance of the Presence of the living God regardless of circumstance, dangers or attacks of his enemies.

At the moment of his prayer for the eyes of the young man to be opened Elisha was staying in Dothan. The army of the King of Syria surrounded the city by night. The young man upon rising in the morning went out and “behold an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. The servant said to Elisha, ‘Alas, my master! how shall we do?'” (II Kings 6:15). Whereupon Elisha made his prayer for the young man’s eyes to be opened.

This entering in the space where angels dwell is a special place for us to dwell while still inhabiting a temporal place in time and space in the earth realm. We live in mortal bodies, and inhabit material homes. Elisha was dwelling in Dothan in a house, but occupying a spiritual dimension where chariots of fire are seen.

Elisha was the only one among the prophets in his day who witnessed the departing of Elijah, though all were watching from a distance from the surrounding hills (cf. II Kings 2:7).

It was at that time that Elisha asked Elijah for a double portion of his spirit. Elijah responded:

“‘You have asked a hard thing; nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so unto you; 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 cried, ‘My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.’ And he saw Elijah no more; and Elisha 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 the Jordan” (II Kings 2:10-13).

Elisha was the only one who saw the chariots of fire and the horseman thereof, though many of the prophets were observing them walk along the way. Elisha saw them because he occupied the space where angels dwell.

Others have lived in this space: Abraham, Jacob, Daniel, Ezekiel, are a few who come to mind. Whether “caught up into heaven” (cf. II Corinthians 12:2), or observing them from earth the space where angels dwell is open. In describing this special place in his book on Elijah, the great writer, F. B. Meyer writes concerning Elisha:

“To see the transactions of the spirit world requires a spirit of no ordinary purity, and of no ordinary faith. No mere mortal eye could have beheld that fiery cortege. To senses dulled with passion, or blinded by materialsim, the space occupied by the flaming seraphim would have seemed devoid of any special interest and bare as the rest of the surrounding scenery. Perhaps there was not another individual in all Israel with heart pure enough, or spiritual nature keen enough, to have been sensible of that glorious visitation. Had we been there, we should probably have been unconscious of anything, save the sudden disappearance of the prophet. But since Elisha saw it all, it is clear that his passions were under control; his temper refined; his spiritual life in healthy exercise; and his whole being of such an order as to admit him into the foremost rank of the spiritual world without risk. Such must we be, by the grace of God, before we can aspire to possess or wield similar powers. Our reception of the Spirit will be in exact proportion to the subjection of the flesh and the consequent vigor of our inner life.” (F. B. Meyer “Elijah”, p.173).

The space where angels dwell is open. Has your inner life been piqued? Has your heart been pricked to open to the realm of the spirit? This place was prepared for us by the Savior (cf. John 14:2). It has been there all the while you lived on earth. Let’s go!

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