The Return of Elijah

In the book of Malachi 4:5-6 we are told and promised that before the earth will burn as an oven, God will send Elijah the prophet to do a work of restoration. 

However, the following questions must be asked.

Why didn't He promise to send us a Jeremiah, Hosea or Daniel?

Why will God send us an Elijah?

Could it be that Elijah’s time will be like the last days?

Will it be that God will raise up a prophet similar to Elijah to meet the last day apostasy with equal force?

Will the last days, before the earth is burned as an oven, be the same as Elijah's time? What significance does it hold for God’s remnant people?

What was the time of Elijah like?

We will explore this and many other issues.

We read in 1 Kings 16 how king Omri decided to walk in evil in the eyes of the Lord. When Omri died after his life of wickedness and his son Ahab succeeded the throne and followed his father’s footsteps.

In 1 Kings 16:30-33 Ahab did evil in the sight of the Lord that surpassed all other evil leaders before him; not in the eyes of the people who were spiritually blind sheep but in the sight of God, the true witness. It was an easy and a light thing for Ahab to walk in apostasy, it took nothing for him to commit iniquity as he engaged in an apostate union by taking Jezebel for his wife.

In 1 Kings 21:20-26 it says Ahab, as the leader of God's people, was completely sold out to do evil and wickedness abominably (a word not used often). This shows how deep he took the professed people of God in apostasy. It should also be noted that he served the gods of many other nations and gave their children to be sacrificed to Satan in postnatal abortion. Ahab's wickedness was on another level and behind this unsuccessful leader was a woman called Jezebel, who provoked him and got the best out of him in doing apostasy. Jezebel’s influence promoted Baal-like worship, which included nature worship, sun worship (2 Kings 17:16,17 and 2 Kings 23:5,11), groove worship and spiritualism with magic, witchcraft and communication with spirits.

These times of Elijah should scare us. These practices and sins were of the highest degree of apostasy in the history of God's professed people. When the apostasy was ripe amongst God's professed people, a man called Elijah was chosen to do a work of reformation and to meet the national crisis of Israel. This man was God's representative who came in the power of the Holy Spirit to deliver a message of stern rebuke and of judgment. Elijah met king Ahab in his apostasy with a message of coming doom in consequence of their apostasy. They were told that there would be famine for over three years because there would be no dew no rain in the land. Ahab and Jezebel saw the prophets of God as a threat to national security and as the cause of the climate crisis that they faced. Elijah was called a troubler and he was blamed for the climate crisis of his days, but he met the leader of God’s people with a direct message that they were the problem in Israel because of false worship in forsaking the commandments of Yahweh 1 Kings 18:17-18.

During that time Jezebel hunted and killed God's prophets and promoted and fed those who spoke or sympathized with her apostasy at the royal table of iniquity. She committed all sort of wickedness as Queen, even committing murders through her state power including taking Naboth’s land. Ahab compromised to please Jezebel until it was a light thing for him to do every and any form of wickedness. Ahab and Jezebel even put out a wanted notice for Elijah. The man of God was hunted like a fugitive. Elijah was seen as one of the most wanted criminals and other nations were summoned to deport him and show no form of sympathy or support. The issue went from a national one to an almost global crisis that caused other world leaders to search for this so called most wanted criminal Elijah who was the chief cause of the climate crisis according to King Ahab.

False prophets prevailed in Israel and they outnumbered God’s people. There was a great multitude who occupied prominent positions by the influence of Jezebel. The true prophet was to be exiled or killed from amongst God people. When the apostasy was ripe amongst God's professed people, Elijah was chosen. No dew or no rain was the prophet’s message and it resulted in famine and a short supply of food. The kingdom of Ahab fed those who were in sympathy with them on the supply they had. Elijah was miraculously fed by God through a raven and he was later sent on a faith experience during the famine. God sent him to a widow not of Israel to be fed as God promised. But when he arrived, it was doubtful that he would have food to eat. But his faith never failed because he trusted in the words of God. It was also a test for the widow who acted in faith and was rewarded by God when her son was raised from the dead. But this never happened in Israel though there were many who had died there both physically and spiritually. But why not in Israel? The answer will be given later.

 There was a day when Elijah went to meet king Ahab and both agreed to a showdown on Mount Carmel to see which God was the true God, whether Yahweh or Baal. Elijah asked the people to choose and to take their stand now for Jehovah. ‘Choose you this day who they will serve’ but the people answered him not a word. It’s a shame that in the vast crowd, no one dared stand for Jehovah, no one was willing to show their allegiance and fidelity to God. It was very disappointing to see the condition of God's people, as they were unsure who was the true God. God’s people were in a state of spiritual blindness from gross darkness, they were confused about the true God and true worship.

The false prophets were asked to go first and erect an altar. The God who answered by consuming the sacrifice by fire will be publicly acknowledged as the true God. The false prophets leapt and did all their exciting forms of worship, they abused themselves and they prayed for fire but there was no fire from their Baal god. Elijah mocked, jeered and laughed at them. But why would the man of God do that? In Proverbs 1: 24-26, God mocked or laughed at those whose probation was closed and whose opportunity had passed for being saved because they had set their heart against God and had no remorse for their sin. Oh! how we have hurt and abused the love and kindness of God in spite of evidence and strong convictions.

Elijah took twelve stones and gathered them as one to make an altar to God. He dug a trench around it to remove doubt and the false notion or ideas of magic or spiritualism which has nothing to do God. He got four barrels of water to be poured three times on the sacrifice and into the trench making it a total of twelve barrels of water poured on the altar. Then he prayed in humility for God to vindicate his name and show, for His glory, who is the true God. He wanted Israel to see His kindness to forgive the people and show to them the true prophet of God. At once fire came down and lit up the altar completely with its sacrifice and the people fell on their faces and worshipped Jehovah as the true God, Amen.

The prophets of Baal were slain by Elijah's command and the rain fell after the faith of the man of God and his servants were tested. Remember Elijah will come again and the times of Elijah will be before the great and dreadful day of the second coming. We read in Mathew 11:12-15; 17:10-13 that John the Baptist was the Elijah/Elias fulfillment of the coming of Elijah prophecy in Malachi 4. But it has a dual application. The prophecy will reach it’s complete fulfillment before the close of probation and the second coming of Christ where people will be called back to true worship. Please note that when the prophecy was fulfilled the leaders and people of God didn’t even realize that prophecy was fulfilled and past.

Written by Courtney Tapper 

Edited by D. Dodd

Next Article: Elijah, Apostasy & Climate Change, Part 2

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