Humbly, Elijah left the answer in Jehovah’s hands. If Jehovah allowed Elisha to see Elijah as God took the older prophet away, then God’s answer to Elisha’s request was yes. And before long, as the two longtime friends were walking along, “speaking as they walked,” something wonderful happened!​—2 Kings 2:​10, 11.

A strange glow lit up the sky and loomed nearer and nearer. We may imagine a roaring, whooshing sound as a windstorm suddenly arose, accompanying a bright object that was hurtling toward the two men, forcing them to part, perhaps to stagger back in awe. What they saw was a vehicle, a chariot, gleaming as if made of fire. Elijah knew that his time had come. Did he climb aboard? The account does not say. In any case, he felt himself being lifted up, up, high in the air, carried off in the windstorm!

Where did Elijah go next? Some religions teach that he was taken up to heaven to be with God. But that is impossible. Centuries later, Jesus Christ stated that no one had ascended to heaven prior to his own time. (John 3:​13) So when we read that “Elijah ascended to the heavens in the windstorm,” we must ask, What heavens? (2 Kings 2:​11) The Bible uses “heavens” to refer not only to the place where Jehovah lives but also to the atmospheric heavens of our earth, where clouds float and birds fly. (Psalm 147:8) To those heavens​—the sky​—Elijah ascended. And then what?

Jehovah simply transferred the beloved prophet to a new assignment, this time in the neighboring kingdom of Judah. The Bible record shows Elijah still at work there, perhaps over seven years later. Ruling Judah at the time was wicked King Jehoram. He had married the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, so their evil influence was still at work. Jehovah commissioned Elijah to write a letter pronouncing judgment on Jehoram. As foretold, Jehoram died a horrible death. Worse, the account concludes: “No one regretted it when he died.”​—2 Chronicles 21:12-​20.