What Are Mantles? How to Recognize the Transfer of God’s Anointing

What is a mantle, and what is contained in it?

A mantle is a supernatural “cloak” that God places on a person of His choosing to accomplish a task of significant importance and that normally flows generationally. A mantle resides in the realm of the Spirit and rests on that individual as a lifetime assignment in order to execute an essential part of God’s plan.

When that person’s time on earth is over, a divine transfer of assignment often takes place. When that happens, it becomes evident to those who are observant that what was upon one person now rests upon another of a new generation.

First, let’s look at a dictionary definition for a literal mantle. A mantle is defined as a loose, sleeveless garment, cloak, or shawl, similar to a cape or a wrap, that a person wears to protect from the outside elements.

We see in the account of Elijah and Elisha that the mantle is referred to as a garment that came from Elijah (see 1 Kings 19:19; 2 Kings 2:13). It was a piece of Elijah’s clothing, most likely his outer garment that he wore for warmth and for protection from the elements.

In military terms, a chain mantle might also be worn on a soldier’s chest as a form of plated armor for protection.

The word mantle can also refer to an important role, responsibility, function, position, capacity, task, or job that passes from one person to another. The verb form of the word mantle means to be clothed, cloaked, or enveloped in.

In Reinhard Bonnke’s case, he didn’t leave with a piece of George Jeffreys’ physical clothing. So if the actual cloth was required for the transfer of Jeffreys’ mantle to take place, then Bonnke missed it. After Jeffreys prayed for him, the younger man should have grabbed the older minister’s coat and taken it with him!

But Reinhard Bonnke didn’t miss it. The transfer of Jeffreys’ mantle took place in the spiritual realm — and on the other side of that divinely orchestrated encounter, Bonnke knew he was a different man.

We’re not talking about the transfer of a physical cloth here. The passing of Elijah’s mantle to Elisha was simply a natural manifestation of a spiritual reality. A transition took place as a generational prophetic assignment was transferred from the elder prophet to the younger.

So what is a spiritual mantle comprised of? It is actually a multifaceted function, an invisible “cloth” made up of different threads. Those threads represent a combination of several dimensions, interwoven to supernaturally work together within a mantle as a “full-package deal.”

One of those threads is the job description, or the calling, of the person ordained to receive the mantle. That job description involves not only the calling of the one who carries the mantle in the present generation, but also a blending of the callings of those who carried that mantle in past generations. The call attached to a mantle is a duty that the possessor of the mantle is sent to accomplish in the earth.

Other threads woven into the mantle are divine mandates, or assignments, that the one carrying the mantle is sent by God to fulfill. The threads of a mantle also include giftings, such as the nine gifts of the Spirit, anointings, and impartations that the mantle carrier must be equipped with and operate in to fulfill that call.

Can A Mantle Be Divided?

In most cases, we see a mantle passed on to a single individual. However, sometimes it is difficult for one person to carry all that is encompassed in a particular mantle, so it’s possible that more than one might carry different aspects. It’s not that there are two or three mantles on a person’s life; there is one. But in rare instances, one mantle may be divided between two to carry the full scope of its assignment.

Take George Jeffreys’ mighty call, for example. His ministry included both great healing evangelism and church planting, so his mantle was one that had a multifaceted function.

But Bonnke never pioneered a church. The part of Jeffreys’ mantle that Reinhard Bonnke received was the healing evangelism function. All that Bonnke’s ministry accomplished over the decades that followed with the huge crusades and the mass healings represented an increasing of the healing mantle that rested on the man named George Jeffreys.

This was in line with Kingdom principles, for God always moves from glory to glory (see 2 Cor. 3:18). Likewise, when a mantle transference takes place, it shouldn’t diminish in the next generation but only expand in power and influence.

So what about the church-planting function of Jeffreys’ mantle? Well, as a church historian who has studied the outworking of mantle operations over the years, I’ve come to a conclusion that’s relevant in this case. I believe it’s possible at times for a mantle that has rested on a person to be transferred to a corporate body of believers, rather than on one individual, when the mantle carrier passes away.

In the case of Jeffreys, Bonnke received the powerful healing evangelism side of Jeffreys’ mantle. But I believe the church-planting, ministry-birthing function of his mantle actually fell upon the last church he preached at — Kensington Temple.

At one time, the large majority of full-Gospel churches in London had a relationship with Kensington Temple. It was a mantle with that kind of significance. Every leader of that church to the present, along with their congregations, has worked in the power of that mantle and helped plant more than 150 churches throughout the surrounding region.

I’ll conclude this brief discussion on the definition and nature of a mantle with an important point to remember as we explore this subject further: Mantles aren’t as broadly distributed as many think. I do believe that relatively few people in the Body of Christ carry a mantle, and as you read on, you’ll see why I say that. Yet everyone needs to understand what a mantle is so they can recognize its operation on the earth and receive blessing from it.