11. The last astounding feat reported of this miraculous prophet was that of ascending to heaven in a chariot of fire, with horses made of the same material. Rather a hazardous mode of traveling. This story is contradicted both by the laws of nature, and the express declaration of the Bible itself. The former teaches us that the fire would have been extinguished for want of oxygen before he had ascended many miles from the earth; and the latter declares, "Flesh and blood can not enter the kingdom of heaven;" and also that "no man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven,"--Christ Jesus (John iii. 13). There are several circumstances which render these marvelous achievements of Elijah wholly incredible, in addition to their setting aside the laws of nature. We can not learn that any good was accomplished by it. It does not appear that anybody was converted to a life of practical righteousness; while we must assume that God must have had some great purpose in view to cause him to thus set aside and trample under foot his own laws. On the other hand, a great deal of bad feeling was engendered, and a great many lives destroyed. And then there is no allusion whatever to these astonishing miracles in any other history. All these circumstances and considerations warrant us in discarding the whole affair, though Christian writers attach great importance to it. THE FEATS OR ELISHA. The marvelous deeds of Elisha appear to be, to a considerable extent, a mere repetition of those of Elijah. Like his predecessor, he raised a dead child to life, increased the supply of oil for a widow after it had run short, and also increased the quantity of good water for the people by a supernatural process, though not by a shower of rain, as Elijah did, after a three years drought. There is evidently a disposition to imitate and outdo his predecessor: hence he brings water without the process of rain. There are two or three incidents in his history worthy of notice:-- 1. When Elijah took his perilous flight heavenward, and left him alone, we are told he rent his garments. This act, although customary among "the Lord's holy people," was rather an insane way of manifesting his grief. A man in this age doing so would be taken to the insane asylum. 2. The second performance of Elisha, deserving particular notice, was an act of malignant revenge upon some frolicsome boys reminding him that he was bald-headed. For this simple, childish, though rude, act of calling him "bald-head," we are told he caused "two bears to come out of the woods, and tear forty-two of them to pieces." Why the other children escaped this fate, we are not told. This conduct on the part of the prophet evinces a morose, cruel, and revengeful disposition, instead of a philanthropic and benevolent one, as we should have expected the Lord's chosen prophet to manifest. If the story were a credible one, it would be a stigma upon his character while it stands on the page of history.