THE ELIJAH CHURCH - A LAST DAY CHURCH
We are commencing a series on the Prophet Elijah as a type of the Last Day Church. The prophet Malachi likens Elijah as one who will come before the Day of the Lord.
Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
In Luke 1:17 we read about John the Baptist a forerunner of Jesus “He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” From this we see a type of one who prepares the way of the Lord for scripture also records the words of Jesus in Luke 7:24-27 When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? “But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. “This is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’ The context was from Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 40:3-5 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
From these scriptures we can assume that the “spirit and power of Elijah” is a picture of those who prepare the way for the Lord. We know that the Lord is coming again, that is not an issue, but what of the Last Day Church? Should they not function as John did in the spirit and power of Elijah preparing a way for the King to come again? With this revelation in mind the life of Elijah becomes a very practical demonstration of the characteristics of this forerunner church.
Elijah means my God is Jah or Jehovah is God – his name is mentioned 30 times in the N.T. which is the number of Priesthood denoting the throne of God, authority and maturity – Elijah’s contest with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel is a prophetic panorama of end time spiritual warfare. Johns name means Jehovah favored.
Here are eight comparisons that we can see in the lives of Elijah and John from which we can draw parallels of the Last Day Church
1. The True Church Revealed
1 Kings 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” Sudden mention – unexpected – the true church exists today but certainly has not been seen from the standpoint of the world
2. The Church that Comes from the Wilderness
A people that are prepared in the wilderness, we all are destined for wilderness seasons. This is a Biblical principle: here are some truths about the wilderness -
a. The Wilderness God’s Will
Jesus was led by The Holy Spirit into the wilderness as were God’s people after the exodus. The wilderness season had a determined time, the wilderness period when God’s covenant people left Canaan and went to Egypt was 400 years. However, God had promised a release. God’s covenant people wandered in the wilderness 40 years.
b. The Place of Teaching
The wilderness is likened to our word for desert, which comes from the Hebrew word dabar, meaning to teach or to be taught. Deuteronomy 8:2,3 “And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. “So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
c. The Place of Divine Provision
In the wilderness God provided for His children Israel
d. The escape from enslavement to expectation and advancement towards your promise
Wilderness wanderings are complex. Many times people cannot understand what you are going through. However, if you will think of the wilderness as a "departure from enslavement" and advancement towards your promise, you will stay focused to get to your next place.
e. The Place of learning God’s Ways
There are usually several routes through your wilderness; the decision of the route determines the amount of warfare you will experience. Sometimes the best route is not what seems to our mind as the "best" or shortest route (Ex. 13:17).
f. The Place of becoming an Overcomer
Wilderness teaches us how to war - Jesus is our best example of overcoming wilderness wanderings. How we submit ourselves to God in the wilderness many times determines how long we will wander. In the Old Testament, sins would be transferred to a scapegoat which was released into the wilderness. This is why Jesus had to enter into the wilderness to once and for all withstand all of our temptations. When He entered into the wilderness He immediately submitted Himself to God. From this place of submission He was able to resist the enemy. He resisted presumption. He resisted pride. He resisted the lust of the eyes. He resisted the promise of grandeur. Because of His resistance, He was able to withstand His wilderness time in 40 days.
g. The Place where Power is imparted
There is about to be a release of God’s Spirit on the earth, and those who are willing to receive will receive power. When power is properly processed by faith, we see authority demonstrated. Even though you might now feel weak, get ready to receive power. Let your wilderness time develop a new strength and power within you. He gives us power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. Luke 4:13-15 "Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all."
Power is the ability to act or produce an effect. Power also signifies the possession of authority that an individual has over others. God revealed His act during creation. We are about to see new creative acts of God occur.
Song of Solomon 3 "Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness? ...
3. A Counter Culture Church instead of a Sub Culture Church
Separation to God - Mark 1:6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. John’s clothing exemplifies “separation” in a very dramatic way. Now we are not all called to wear a hairy garment, nor are we required to live in the desert and eat locusts and wild honey. But we are all called to be a unique people, to be distinct from the world. John is a man who knew how to stand alone, something most of us know too little about. Matthew links John the Baptist with Elijah, especially in relation to his appearance.
2 Kings 1:5-8 Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, had fallen through a lattice and had been injured. He wanted to know if he would recover, and so he sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub. Elijah intercepted these messengers and sent them back to Ahaziah with a word of rebuke. The king asked them, “Describe the appearance of this man who came up to meet you and told you these things.” They said to him, “He was a hairy man and had a. leather belt tied around his waist.” The king said, “He is Elijah the Tishbite”
His dress was symbolic and stood for:
a His chosen poverty and priorities--material things were not on his priority list.
b. His separation and denouncement of the world--he was not controlled by the lifestyle of the world. He was separated to the Lord as God’s servant.
c. His official office and purpose in life--he was a proclaimer of the Word of Yahweh. He knew who he was (God’s representative), where he was (in a sinful world that stood opposed to the purposes of God) and why he was there (to give out God’s message of light to people in darkness).
4. A Transitioning Church
Zachariah – John - Jesus three transitions from O.T. Priesthood and temple to Wilderness and Repentance to Jesus and Gospel - John’s message was transitional and preparatory. If we are to understand John’s message, we must first recognize the unique time period in which John lived, and thus the unique role which John played, straddling the gap, as it were, between the Old Covenant and the New. John’s preaching was the “beginning of the gospel.”
5. A Church with a Prophetic Message
John’s message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 3:2) John’s message was an announcement that the kingdom of heaven was near at hand. This meant that the King was soon to appear. John was careful to contrast his ministry with that of the Messiah. John was merely a voice, crying in the wilderness; the Messiah was much greater. John did not even consider himself to be worthy to carry His sandals (3:11). John baptized with water, but the Messiah’s baptism was far greater.
John’s preaching was not only the warning of impending judgment, it was a call to action. John called upon men to repent and to be baptized. What does John mean by the term “repent”? It means to have a change of mind, to turn around. By repentance John means much more than just a change of one’s thinking. It includes this, but it also involves more. Repentance is a change of heart and mind that results in a change of course, a change in lifestyle. Matthew does not have our Lord go into detail as to how one’s life should change as a result of true repentance. In Matthew, Jesus merely lays down the general requirement: “Therefore produce fruit that proves your repentance” (3:8). John is not merely requiring that men repent of individual sins. John is calling upon his audience to repent by renouncing and forsaking any human systems other than faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life.
John is not suggesting that the coming of the kingdom is dependent upon man’s actions. Men are not to repent so that the kingdom of heaven will come; rather, men are to repent because the kingdom of heaven is coming:
The outward symbol of repentance was baptism. The only baptism the Jews of that day knew about was proselyte baptism. In such baptisms, the believer would baptize himself and then (if it was a male) he would be circumcised. The self-baptized and circumcised Gentile thus embraced Judaism and placed himself under the Old Testament Law. The inference was clear: if the Jew had to repent in anticipation of the Messiah’s coming, he must thereby confess the inadequacy of Judaism to save him from his sins. And by embracing baptism he likewise placed himself on the same (lower) level as a Gentile. Both Jews and Gentiles alike were required to prepare for Messiah’s appearance in the same manner:
(1) repent of the false system in which they had formerly trusted;
(2) confess their sins; and,
(3) be baptized, like the Gentiles who became Jewish proselytes.
6. A Church that bears witness to the Gospel
John 1:6-8 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus – he came to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah Jesus – in John we have a type of the last day Church that prepares a way for the Lord to come in His Glory – John was a witness – a pointer to Jesus from this we understand that the last day Church is one that points to Jesus as the answer to all things
John 1:23 He said, I am the voice of one crying aloud in the wilderness [the voice of one shouting in the desert], Prepare the way of the Lord [level, straighten out, the path of the Lord], as the prophet Isaiah said.
Isaiah 40:3-6 A voice of one who cries: Prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord [clear away the obstacles]; make straight and smooth in the desert a highway for our God! Every valley shall be lifted and filled up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked and uneven shall be made straight and level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory (majesty and splendor) of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.
Mark 1:2-9 As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.” The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.’ ”John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. “I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Isaiah 40:3 “In the desert clear a way for the Lord; construct in the wilderness a road for our God” (cited in Matthew 3:3). John’s preaching was truly “prophetic preaching,” John’s message was straight from the Scriptures.
John the Baptist, who is reluctant to elaborate his own role, now more than willingly gives his testimony about Jesus, the emphasis is totally on John the Baptist as a witness to Jesus.
Johns witness is 3-fold: John 1:29-34
Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (1:29)
Jesus is the Only True God who is preexistent (1:30)
Jesus is the One who baptizes with the Holy Spirit (1:33)
The Lamb as the Passover Lamb
The Passover Lamb was not a sacrifice per se. But probably by Jesus’ time the sacrificial context began to merge with the symbol of deliverance which was the Passover (note 1 Cor 5:7, “Christ our Passover has been sacrificed”). “For the Palestinian Jew, all lamb sacrifice, and especially the Passover lamb, was a memorial of the Akedah with its effects of deliverance, forgiveness of sin and messianic salvation.”
(2) Jesus as the pre-existent One who is Creator and Only God (1:30):
Jesus as the Baptizer in the Spirit (32-33):
John says the Spirit came to rest on Jesus. The significance of John is that this term is used to express the permanency of relationship between Father and Son and Son and believer.
`Here the use of the word implies that Jesus permanently possesses the Holy Spirit, and because he does, he will dispense the Holy Spirit to others in baptism.
1:34 the summation of John’s testimony about Jesus “He is the Son of God”
7. The Church that encounters Demonic Opposition
Elijah also ministered during the days when a “pretender” – Ahab -- was on the throne, a man who was not a rightful heir to the throne of David. In John’s day, the “pretender” was Herod, a half-breed (compare Deuteronomy 17:15). As Ahab’s wicked wife Jezebel (the idol-worshipping daughter of a Sidonian king) sought to kill Elijah, so Herod’s wicked and ill-gotten wife Herodias sought to kill John (Matthew 14:1-12). Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, was a very wicked woman, who married Jehoram, king of Judah (2 Kings 8:16-19, 26), and thus contributed to his corruption. The daughter of Herodias was likewise instrumental in the downfall of King Herod and the death of John the Baptist (Matthew 14:1-12). As Elijah stood against the king and queen of Israel, so John the Baptist confronted King Herod and his wife, Herodias. Now the rise of the Anti-Christ and False Prophet.
8. A Church that needs to persevere in its beliefs
Elijah mistakenly perceived that he had failed in his ministry (1 Kings 19), so John the Baptist wrongly questioned whether he had failed in naming Jesus as the Messiah (Matthew 11:2ff.). In Elijah’s case, the fulfillment of his ministry came as he appointed Hazael king over Syria and Jehu king over Israel (1 Kings 19:15-16). Furthermore, Elijah appointed Elisha in his place (1 Kings 19:16). Elisha was to Elijah what Jesus was to John the Baptist. It is not at all surprising that just as John was divinely called to introduce Israel’s true King, he would also denounce the pretender (Herod) who currently occupied the throne.
We face a test of what we preach we may not see the signs, wonders and miracles but we will if we persevere.
We, like John the Baptist, should seek to turn people from their sin to faith in Jesus Christ. This will prepare men for the return of our Lord, a return when the judgment John promised will come:
