Elijah Coming---- Before Christ!!
by W.H.Vobes
From "Thy Kingdom Come" - March 2014 - a publication of the Association of the Covenant People, Burnaby, B.C. Canada.
"I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4:5-6)
Why has this Vital Prophecy of Malachi, the greatest of Prophecies, second only of importance to the Return of Jesus Christ, been so neglected, so little spoken of or written about?
(One very good reason is what Jesus said about the end time coming of the Elijah in Matthew 17:9-13. Jesus said the Elijah had come, in verse 13 the disciples understood Jesus as meaning John the Baptist. But notice verse 11. Jesus knew the prophecy was dual; it also had an end of this age meaning. And the Elijah would "restore all things." You do not hear about this prophecy because 99.9 percent of Christians do not think there is any need to "restore all things." They think everything is just fine, with their theology, and everyone "gets to heaven" in different ways - Keith Hunt)
Surely these words are plain enough for the most simple mind to understand, yet there are many Christians in the world …. today that believe and teach that this prophecy was fulfilled in John the Baptist,
(in the Spirit and Power of Elijah).
(Yes they think it is a prophecy already fulfilled, and will not be for the end times as clearly shown by Malachi - before the coming of the "great and dreadful day of the Lord." It is simple to understand, IF you have the mind of a child. Remember Jesus saying that unless you become as little children you cannot enter the Kingdom of God - Keith Hunt)
John the Baptist was indeed the Forerunner and Herald of Christ's First Coming, our Saviour who laid down His life for the Redemption of Israel. But Elijah the Prophet is to come as Christ's Herald at His Second Coming, as The King of Glory. Furthermore the missions of John and Elijah are entirely different, John was to pave the way for Christ's short ministry among His Own People, and the road to Calvary for the Suffering Messiah. Elijah's mission prior to Our Lord's Second Advent is to lead Israel, God's Servant Nation, back to God, to prepare a People to meet their King. Elijah's mission can be said to be twofold, first as Leader of the Nation, and secondly as Administrator to proclaim the Law of the Lord to the people, as Malachi puts it, "the turning of the hearts of the fathers and the children."
(Nope....the Elijah to come will NOT be the leader of any nation, just as John the Baptist was not, and just as the original Elijah was not. His coming per se has nothing to do with leading "Israel" back to God. It is all about exactly what the original Elijah and John the Baptist did.... teaching the truths of God's word and calling people to REPENT of sin and finding the way to true Salvation - Keith Hunt)
Let us reason together and use our own common sense that God has given us. Is there a mortal man in the whole House of Israel that could accomplish the stupendous task that had fallen upon Elijah? A man after God's own heart. Can you think of any leader in the western Christian nations, or any noted theologian for that matter, qualified to take complete control of an Israel nation during the Period of Transition, from the abolition of the old order of things to the restoration of a New Order? Not exactly a New Order, God's Laws are eternal. They existed before the World began and exist today but we do not obey them. Therefore we and the whole of Mankind suffer.
(TRUE there is no leader of any nation, that will fulfill this prophecy. It is not some "statesman" to look for. And it is not any man within 99.9 percent of popular Christianity either - Keith Hunt)
When we do turn to the Lord and obey His laws we shall experience a prosperity beyond our wildest dreams, and who would know more about the Laws of God than Elijah, who was schooled by the Spirit in the days of Ancient Israel. Let us give God's Word our profound thought and study. ■
YES YOU NEED TO GIVE SERIOUS THOUGHT TO THIS PROPHECY, FOR THE END TIME ELIJAH WILL NOT BE LIKED BY 99.9 PERCENT OF CHRISTIANITY. HE WILL BE RESTORING ALL THE TRUTHS OF GOD; HE WILL BE PROCLAIMING IT LOUD AND CLEAR, AS JOHN THE BAPTIST DID, AND WAS DISLIKED AND HATED BY THE POPULAR RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR PEOPLE OF HIS DAY.
AND ONE LAST THING ABOUT THIS END TIME PROPHECY, 99.9 PERCENT OF PEOPLE WILL NOT RECOGNIZE WHO THE END TIME ELIJAH IS, JUST AS THEY DID NOT RECOGNIZE JOHN THE BAPTIST FULFILLING THIS PROPHECY. EVEN JESUS HAD TO MAKE IT CLEAR TO HIS FOLLOWERS AS SHOWN IN MAT.17:13.
YES THERE IS VERY MUCH IN POPULAR CHRISTIANITY THAT IS JUST NOT BIBLICAL—— LOTS OF MAN MADE TRADITIONS AND IDEAS OF THEOLOGY, THAT CANNOT STAND UP AGAINST THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD IN HIS HOLY BIBLE. TRULY A RESTORING MUST TAKE PLACE BEFORE JESUS WILL RETURN.
HERE IS MY FULL EXPOUNDING OF THIS END TIME PROPHECY-----
THE ELIJAH TO COME
Is there a prophet - preacher - yet to come in the power of Elijah?
by
Keith Hunt
At the transfiguration of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 17 it
is written that there appeared with Him, Moses and Elijah. Peter
wanted to build three tabernacles, one for Jesus and one each for
Elijah and Moses. Coming down from the mountain Jesus tells them
to tell no one about the "vision" until after His resurrection
from the dead. The disciples were puzzled at this for they knew
that the scribes had been and were still teaching that before the
Messiah should come Elijah would once more be manifested
(Mat.17:1-10).
We shall see in a moment where the scribes got this teaching
from. It only appears once in the entire Old Testament,
concerning Elijah AGAIN to appear around the same time that the
Lord or Messiah was to appear on earth. It may only appear once
as a prophecy in the OT but coming from God, once is really quite
enough. The scribes knew it was enough, they believed it, and
taught that Elijah would again come at the time of the
appearing of the Messiah. So, you can see the excitement of the
disciples when they thought they had seen the actual fulfilment
of this prophecy right before their eyes, and they wanted to tell
everyone about it and have it memorialized for history by
building three tabernacles. Can you imagine what a pilgrim shrine
area that would be today if such had been allowed by Jesus and if
such had been preserved by the hand of God down to the present
time?
Well Christ did not want such a shrine set up or built, but
notice what He did go on to say in verse 12, "....I say unto you,
That Elijah IS COME ALREADY, and they KNEW HIM NOT,
but have done unto him whatsoever they liked......"
Two things Jesus makes clear here. The prophecy was correct
and true, Elijah had come before and at the time of the appearing
of the Messiah. Elijah HAD COME already. Then, another important
point I want you to remember for I shall come back to this again
at the close of this study. The second important point is that
Jesus said, "and THEY(the people and religious leaders) KNEW HIM
NOT." It was all done right before their eyes, in the open,
plain for all to see, the prophecy taking place under their nose
so to speak, but just about no one could SEE who the man was that
was fulfilling this important OT prophecy.
After Jesus had spoken the words to them that are recorded
for us in verse 12, we have written these words in verse 13,
"THEN, the disciples UNDERSTOOD that He spoke unto them of JOHN
THE BAPTIST."
Ah, the OT prophecy was true, it meant what it said and said
what it meant. Jesus backed up the prophecy by telling them who,
what man, was the literal fulfilment of a literal prophecy. It
was not to be "spiritualized" away as meaning something different
from what it clearly said. It was not to be understood as having
some kind of fulfilment through a group of people, or a "church"
of people doing some part of the work of God. It was going to
have fulfilment through one single man, just like the prophet
Elijah of old was one single man. Sure Elijah of old had
disciples with him, so also did John the baptist, but they were
both single flesh and blood individuals also. Jesus clearly
showed to His disciples that John the baptist was the fulfilment
of the Elijah that was to come before and at the appearing of the
Lord Messiah.
THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY OF ELIJAH TO COME
The scribes taught that Elijah was to come just before and
at the coming of the Messiah. They got this teaching from the
word of the Lord. Where in the word of God is it found?
It is found in the last few verses of the last chapter of
the last book of the Old Testament as arranged in the KJV Bible.
And those last verses read, as given in the KJV this way:
"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of
the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the
heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the
children to the fathers, lest I come and smight the earth with a
curse."
Now, reading those verses in the KJV, especially the last
one, it may appear that this man person would be a veritable 20th
century James Dobson of "Focus on the Family" fame. Someone who
would have a huge work getting families back to serving, loving,
and one big happy family once more, a kind of religious social
family worker. Well, before we jump off and start sailing on that
ocean liner of "restored family love" and start claiming James
Dobson is the fulfilment of this prophecy, we better remember
that for a START this fulfilment was, according to Jesus, first
done with John the baptist. Was John the baptist a James Dobson
of his time? Did John concentrate mainly on getting
father/son/daughter relationships on a happy workable platform
because the family structure was falling apart in Judah during
his life and ministry? Oh, he certainly may have had something
to say about such matters to people IF and WHEN they asked him
about such family matters, but from the record of the New
Testament writers, especially the Gospel writers, it would seem
that was NOT the main focal point at all in John's teaching and
preaching.
Let's now go to the Gospels and see what is written about
the life and teaching ministry of John the baptist, who for his
day, was the Elijah to come.
Luke gives us the most detail about the birth of John the
baptist. Zacharias, John's father was a priest in Israel. It was
while executing his duties as priest in his course of appointed
work that an angel was sent to announce to him that he and his
wife would have a child. His name was to be called John, and he
would have a very special commission towards Israel. The angel
told Zacharias certain physical and spiritual character traits
about the son he would have. This child John would drink no wine
or strong drink. He would be filled with the Holy Spirit even
from the womb (see Luke 1:5-15). Then notice carefully what else
the angel said concerning John.
"And MANY of the children of Israel he shall turn to the
Lord their God (a great spiritual ministry of turning people
to seek and worship the true God and His true ways). And he
shall go before Him(the Messiah) IN THE SPIRIT AND POWER
of Elijah....."
We need to mediate on this for a moment. John was to have a
first and main ministry of bringing people to the understanding
of the true God, wanting to live the way of the God of Israel.
We need to remember it is written elsewhere in the NT that John
"did no miracle" so coming in the "power" of Elijah did not and
does not mean that John was to be a great miracle worker as the
OT Elijah was. The phrase "spirit and power of Elijah" obviously
has other meanings than working miracles.
The old Elijah was in spirit very close to God, very
dedicated to truth and to preaching it boldly and mightily. John
the baptist was also in his preaching ministry very up front,
bold, and had that spirit of mind that was filled with the Spirit
of God, as he taught and preached the word and ways of the Lord.
All that we shall clearly see later.
John came in the "power" of Elijah by the work and IMPACT he
had on the people of Israel and others that came into contact
with him. John did a very POWERFUL, turning the immediate world
around him upside down, and inside out, WORK, that not only got
to the religious leaders of the sects of Judah, getting them
angry at him, but also got to some of the leading rulers of the
civil governments of the area, one of them finally having to take
off John's head, because of the wish of a woman, when the ruler
promised her anything she wanted.
Yes, indeed John the baptist came with the correct Godly
spirit of mind, and came with much power of conviction in his
teaching and preaching. He did come in the "spirit and power of
Elijah."
Now, to continue with the angel's message about this man
John yet to be born and grow and be a great one in the sight of
the Lord.
".....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" (verse 17).
Ah, the prophecy of Malachi takes on a different meaning and
understand after all, according to how the angel from God
understood it and translated it shall we say into modern language
for Zacharias (there was about 400 years from the book of Malachi
to the beginning of this account in the Gospel of Luke).
The whole main thrust of the last verse of Malachi was not
talking about a James Dobson type of "focus on the family" work
at all. The main meaning of that verse was as the angel
interpreted it for us, to bring people the knowledge of the
truths of the true God, to bring disobedient people to the true
wisdom that leads to being just or justified or forgiven their
sins, to bring people to real repentance, true conversion, to
bring individuals to where they will humbly walk with their God.
And in so doing all of this, John would "MAKE READY A PEOPLE
PREPARED FOR THE LORD."
In the process of time, John is born (verse 57) and his
father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit and started to
give forth prophecies. We begin to read those prophecies starting
in verse 68. Notice what is specifically said about the work
that John was to do for the Lord:
"And you child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest;
for you shall go before the face of the Lord to PREPARE His
ways.
To give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the
remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our
God; whereby the sunrising from on high has visited us, to
give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of
death, to guide our feet into the way of peace" (Luke
1:76-79).
Yes, John was to be a bringer and restorer of the true ways
of the Lord and the giver of the knowledge of salvation unto the
people through repentance and the mercy of God. He was to give
light unto them that sat in darkness and spiritual deception.
Now it is time to move on and see HOW and WHAT John taught
and preached unto those that came to hear him.
JOHN IN THE SPIRIT AND POWER OF ELIJAH
We shall stay for the moment with Luke and read what he
recorded about the preaching of John, the one who first fulfilled
the prophecy of the Elijah to come. We pick it up in Luke chapter
3 and with verse 3.
"And he(John) came into all the country about Jordan,
preaching the BAPTISM OF REPENTANCE for the remission
of sins.; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah
the prophet saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Prepare you the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill
shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made
straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all
flesh shall see the salvation of God" (verses 3-6).
It is written John did no miracle, so this is not talking
about the physical hills and mountains being removed or the
physical rough spots being made smooth, but it is talking
about John bringing the lofty ones in attitude down to humble
repentance, bringing the lowly ones, the poor and weak ones in
the eyes of the mighty and rich of the world, to heights of the
knowledge of the Lord and salvation. It is talking about John
restoring the truth of the Lord from the crooked false man made
religion of the Jewish sects and religious leaders of the day.
Continuing:
"Then said he to the multitudes that came to be baptized of
him, O generation of VIPERS, who has warned you to flee from
the wrath to come? BRING FORTH THEREFORE FRUITS
WORTHY OF REPENTANCE, and begin not to say within yourselves,
we have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able
of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now
also the axe is laid unto the root of the tree: every tree
therefore which brings forth not good fruit is
hewn down, and cast into the fire" (verses 7-9).
Ah, do you begin to see the POWER and the SPIRIT that John
spoke with to those who came to listen to him?
The average person asked of him what they should do and he
told them to give and serve each other in daily living (verses
10-11).
He told the publicans or tax collectors to be just and fair
and honest in their work(verses 12,13).
John told the soldiers to do no violence to anyone, neither
to abuse their power and accuse falsely, and to be content with
their wages (verse 14).
As the people wondered as to whether he John was the Christ,
he told them he was not, but another would come who would have
the power and authority to gather the wheat into His barn and
destroy the chaff with unquenchable fire (verses 15-17).
It was with MANY other such things that John exhorted the
people. He came indeed in the mighty power and spirit of Elijah
the prophet (verse 18).
Going over to the Gospel of the apostle John, in the first
chapter, we also read how John the baptist bear record that he
was not the Christ, but only one that cried in the wilderness, to
prepare the way before the Messiah. We read how John the baptist
saw the Spirit of God descending from heaven like a dove and
resting upon Christ the Lord, and so he testified that this was
the man who was the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the
world (John 1:19-36).
The Gospel of Mark declares:
"As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my
messenger BEFORE your face, which shall PREPARE your way
before you. The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Prepare you the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.
John did baptize in the wilderness, and preached the baptism
of REPENTANCE for the remission of sins" (chapter 1:2-4).
All the land of Judea and Jerusalem went out unto John and
were baptized by him, "confessing their sins" (verse 5).
It is the Gospel of Matthew that tells us of the mighty
spirit power that John preached to the false deceptive religious
leaders of his day.
"In those days came John the baptist, preaching in the
wilderness of Judea, and saying, REPENT you: for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand......Then went out to him Jerusalem,
and all Judea.......But when he saw many of the Pharisees
and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O
GENERATION OF VIPERS, who has warned you to flee from the
wrath to come? Bring forth therefore FRUITS fitting for
REPENTANCE......" (Mat.3:1-8).
Words that follow we have already seen from the other Gospel
accounts. So the preaching about not claiming Abraham as father
for some spiritual vanity, words about the axe being laid to the
root of the tree, being hewn down if good fruit isn't forth
coming, and cast into the fire. Words that the one to come would
baptize with the Spirit and with fire, gathering the wheat and
burning up the chaff with fire that no man could put out, was
directed in the main to the proud, deceptive, wolves in sheep
clothing, religious leaders of the two predominant religions of
Judaism.....towards the sects of the Pharisees and the
Sadducees.
John the baptist came in the name of the Lord. He came with
the same spirit power as did the Elijah of old. He came
preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of heaven as did Jesus the
Christ. He taught people the ways of the Lord, the truths of God.
He taught people the way of SALVATION, the way of REPENTANCE,
what SIN is, and to turn from the wrong way of living to bring
forth fruits unto repentance. He taught people in different walks
of life, in different jobs and trades and occupations, how to
live within their life's situation according to the will and the
laws and the ways of the Lord. And he also exposed the false
doctrines, practices, attitudes of the religious leaders of the
people. He went as far as being willing to expose the sins of
civil authorities and leaders of the land, which finally in so
doing got him executed and put to death.
John the baptist was a RESTORER of the true doctrines,
commandments, ways, and truths of the Eternal God of heaven. He
was a preacher of REPENTANCE and SALVATION. He was a preachers
that PREPARED the hearts of the people to accept the ONE greater
than he, the LAMB of God, the Christ, the Messiah, that takes
away the sins of the world.
John the baptist was the FIRST fulfilment of the prophecy of
the last verses of the last chapter of the last book in the Old
Testament. But now we must look at the CONTEXT of those verses
once more and we shall see a truth that most have not seen
or are not willing to see. The truth that another individual
person much like John the baptist, is yet to come just before the
coming of the dreadful day of the Lord and the appearing again of
the Messiah, this time in glory to establish the Kingdom of
heaven upon and over the kingdoms of this world.
THE CONTEXT OF MALACHI CHAPTER FOUR
The very first verse of Malachi starts out with: "For,
behold the day comes, that shall BURN AS AN OVEN; and all the
proud, yes, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the
day that comes shall BURN them up. says the Lord of hosts, that
it shall leave them neither root nor branch."
Now, compare this to what you read in 2 Thessalonians
chapter one and verses seven to ten, "And to you who are troubled
REST with US when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
with His mighty angels (see 1 Thes.4:13-18 and 1 Cor.15:50-54).
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God and
that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who shall be
punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the
Lord, and from the glory of His power; WHEN He shall COME to be
GLORIFIED in His saints, and to be admired in all them that
believe....in THAT DAY."
Here Paul is talking about the SECOND COMING of the Messiah
Jesus in GLORY, when the SAINTS will be with Him, when they shall
be at REST in the glorified resurrection at the last trumpet
call. At that same time MANY of the wicked will be punished with
destruction in FLAMING FIRE. It is the same time as spoken about
in Malachi chapter 4. Going back there we also see from
continuing in verse 2 that the saints, those that fear God's name
will the Sun of righteousness ARISE and HEAL them (from death and
the grave in a resurrection) and they shall again go forth. They
shall tread down the wicked under their feet. This is the same
time as spoken about in Daniel chapter 12 and verses 2 and 3 .
The MAIN context of Malachi chapter 4 is the coming of the
Messiah in glory, the resurrection of the saints, a destruction
of many of the wicked, the Messiah and the saints being
triumphant over their enemies. It all is talking about the same
time as further detailed in Zechariah chapter 14.
And because this prophecy WILL come to pass, God exhorts
those who will listen and harken to His words, to REMEMBER the
"law of Moses......for all Israel, with the statutes and
judgments" (verse 4).
It's another way of saying as was previously stated in the
law of Moses and repeated by Jesus in the New Testament age,
"man is not to live by bread alone but by every word that
proceeds from out of the mouth of God" (Mat.4:4).
Then after setting the scene, putting us in the context of
the last days just before the coming of the Messiah in power and
glory to punish sinners and reward the saints, God tells us that
once MORE He will send Elijah the prophet BEFORE the coming of
this GREAT and DREADFUL DAY OF THE LORD!
This is the same DAY OF THE LORD that is spoken about in
over 30 OT prophecies, and always in its FULL and FINAL
fulfilment, is speaking about the last few years at the end of
this age, just before the Lord Jesus returns to usher in the age
that is to come, spoken about by all the holy prophets since the
world began.
Just before the day of the Lord, which comes AFTER the great
tribulation (spoken about in Mat.24:21; Jer.30:7; and Dan.12:1)
and the heavenly signs (see Joel 2:30-32 and Rev.6:9-17), just
before the day of God's wrath and punishment on the sinners of
this world, God will send a man who will come in the spirit and
power of Elijah (as did John the baptist) and who will teach and
preach as did Elijah and John the baptist, with conviction and
with might to turn people to the Lord, to prepare them for the
coming of the Mighty God in the form of Jesus Christ the Messiah.
His preaching will also contain another VERY IMPORTANT element,
one that Jesus told us about, but most skip right over it, never
even noticing that Christ told us this man would YET come and
that he would, for those willing to see, effect an important
theological revolution in the world during those last years of
this present age.
For all that we must again return to the words of Jesus as
found in the account of His transfiguration, as recorded in the
Gospel of Matthew.
THE ELIJAH YET TO COME
AND
AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF HIS WORK
Turn again to Mat.17. The disciples wanted to build three
tabernacles to commemorate seeing in vision with Jesus, Moses and
Elijah. Christ prevented them from so doing. And His disciples
then asked Him, "Why then say the scribes that Elijah must
first come?"
Now notice the answer Jesus gave. We skipped over this verse
before, but now notice verse 11.
"And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elijah TRULY SHALL
FIRST COME......."
Then in verse 12 Jesus told them that Elijah "IS COME
ALREADY." And after He had said some more words the disciples
knew He was talking about John the baptist as the Elijah that "is
come already." Yet, in verse 11 Jesus spoke in the FUTURE tense,
an Elijah "shall first come." Christ knew the prophecy. He knew
what Malachi chapter four stated. He knew the time setting of
that prophecy, that in the book of Malachi the time setting was
clearly just BEFORE the great and terrible day of the Lord, when
God would send someone who would come in the spirit and the power
of Elijah, to Israel, and who would teach and preach the ways of
the Lord as did the Elijah of old to Israel.
Please take note of the last words of verse 11.
".....and RESTORE ALL THINGS."
The Elijah of old came to Israel in a time when false, and
deceptive religion was everywhere abounding. The ministers and
prophets of Baal were many hundreds. Israel's society was full of
wrong theological teachings, and rampant with false pagan ideas
and practices. Remember how Elijah challenged the prophets of
Baal to see who was the true God as recorded in 1 Kings 18, one
of the greatest inspirational passages in the word of God.
The situation regarding the health of true religion and the
knowledge of the true ways of God, even to the understanding of
WHO was the true God, was so depleted and trodden to the ground
in Israel at the time, that Elijah thought he and he alone was
the only one left in Israel that knew the true God and His ways.
He stated as much to the Lord on one occasion, and the Almighty
revealed to him that, no, he was not alone in knowing the true
God, for there were 7 thousand others that had not bowed the knee
to Baal. They were probably scattered in the hills and the
valleys, in the deserts and the forests, but there was a remnant
of people that no doubt knew of Elijah and his preaching and
teaching, and knew he spoke the truths of the Lord, and in them
was also a heart that had been prepared to meet their God. Those
people knew Elijah was in effect by his teachings RESTORING ALL
THINGS, PREACHING THE TRUTHS OF THE WORD OF THE
LORD, and in so doing the truths that had been cast to the ground,
perverted, twisted, and even abolished and replaced by lies, falsehoods,
errors, and out and out paganism, was being RESTORED.
So it will be by the time the day of the Lord arrives on
this earth, just a few years before the return of Jesus the
Messiah. The world and the peoples of Israel will be so
enmeshed, submerged, drenched, absorbed, and caught up in, the
falsehoods of a deceived and deceptive Christianity, one that
will have turned the truths of God into a lie, one that will have
turned the grace of God into a license to sin, a Christianity
that will have turned its ear from listening to and wanting
truth, to those who will teach and preach smooth things unto
them, that few indeed will be having their hearts prepared to
meet their God, when Jesus comes in glory and power.
The world today, is overflowing with a false Christianity,
and the book of Revelation together with what Christ said in
Matthew 24, tells us plainly that MANY in the last days
will come in the name of Jesus, telling you that Jesus is Jesus,
claiming to represent Him, claiming to speak the words of the
Bible, but will deceive and lead astray the MANY, not the few,
but the great HUGE MANY!
The book of Revelation tells us there will arise ONE single
man called "the false prophet" who will work his work through the
working of Satan the Devil, and will gather MOST of the
"western" world at least, under his wings and influence and
banner. He and his religious empire will rule and dominate much
of the world during the last 42 months or three and one half
years of this present age before Christ comes again.
It is into this world scene that the Elijah to come will
make his appearing and his preaching and teaching of the truths
of God KNOWN to the nations of Israel. He will be busy RESTORING
ALL THINGS to those in Israel that will listen. A people will be
PREPARED in their hearts to receive the very Spirit of God. many
of them will be sealed with God's Spirit just before the day and
wrath of God begins to be poured out on this earth, as we see
from Revelation chapter 7.
God will have TWO witnesses living in the city of Jerusalem
during this last three and one half years as Revelation 12 shows
us. They will be a witness to the seat and headquarters of the
Beast power, and to the "false prophet" of Satan's work. No doubt
their fame and testimony will be broadcast to the whole world at
the time, via world TV coverage, but there will also be a single
man sent to the peoples of Israel (he may indeed have his
disciples also as did John the baptist) to restore to them the
truths of God, and to preach the law of Moses with the
commandments and the statutes and the judgments, as foretold in
the 4th chapter of Malachi. He will be the Elijah that shall
first come.
Do things even in the Church of God today need RESTORING?
Oh, indeed they do! What has happened and taken place within a
large branch of the Church and body of Christ over the last 50
years could fill many a book. A few books have been written by
some on the whole sordid and shameful and cancerous mess, that
turned a large part of the body of Christ into a veritable den
of false teachings and dictatorial authority rule over the lives
of tens of thousands of people. Much perversion of truths became
passed off as "the" correct way of the Lord. Many false doctrines
and ideas were passed off as the word of the Lord. Much secular
"politicking" went on among men who stroked each other, in order
to gain "positions" of authority in the organization. In all of
this religious cancer the truths of God were cast down to the
ground, trampled on, ignored, put to one side, shunned, and put
on the back burner, by far too many, all under the teaching of
"we must love one another and stay unified." Few were seeking for
truth, and most would not teach or preach it when they did find
it for the fear of upsetting the status quo. Freedom of thought
was forbidden, and if you did say what you thought you were
looked upon as a threat and were soon cast out as a dirty old
cloth ready for the garbage bin.
Many through all this just walked away not only from the
Church of God but from God Himself, and went back into the world,
from the frying pan into the fire. Many others to this day
(writing this in the year 2000) are so mixed up emotionally and
theologically, that it may well take them a few decades to get
their head straight as they say. Oh, indeed MUCH restoring of all
things needs to be done within the Church of God and among the
people who call themselves the children of God. That restoring is
beginning to take place today, but much confusion still remains.
It will no doubt take the coming of the Elijah to come, to
finally and fully put to rest the "restoring of all things."
WILL YOU RECOGNIZE THE ELIJAH TO COME?
Like John the baptist, the Elijah to come will never
announce or claim that he is the "Elijah to come." He will even
deny it if so asked, as did John the baptist. Some of Jesus'
disciples were the disciples of John before they became the
disciples of Jesus. We cannot find anywhere in the Gospels that
any of John's disciples acknowledged him as the "Elijah to come."
We can find evidence to support the fact that it may have been
the very opposite. That none of John's disciples who became
Jesus' disciples understood that John was the "Elijah to come."
This we can see from Matthew 17:13.
It was only after Jesus had related to them that Elijah had
come in the form of John the baptist that the disciples
understood John was indeed the Elijah to come spoken about in the
prophecy of Malachi that the scribes knew must come to pass
before the Messiah would appear.
The world will not recognize the Elijah to come before the
day of the Lord. Popular Christianity at that time will not
recognize this Elijah. Most of the Sabbath keeping Churches of
God will not recognize this Elijah at the end times, they will be
in the main asleep at the wheel. He probably like John before
him, will do no miracle. He will simply teach and preach in the
spirit and power of Elijah the truth of the matter concerning the
word and doctrines of the Eternal God, and so in so doing he will
"restore all things."
Some will search the Scriptures daily, and they will believe
in the word of the Lord. They will acknowledge the truth as
preached to them by this Elijah, they will repent and change
their lives to prepare their heart before the Lord, and so they
and all the saints that went before them, shall rise in the
resurrection at the coming of the Messiah,
Only by keeping your nose in the Bible, by reading and
searching and studying it on a daily basis, by loving the truth,
by asking the Spirit to guide you into all truth (as Jesus
promised it would) will you find the truth, and in so doing if
you should live to the coming of the Elijah to come, you will
know who he is, and your heart will be prepared to meet your God
at His return in power and glory and He will say to you, "Well
done you good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your
Lord."
........................
Written February 2000
All articles and studies by Keith Hunt may be copied, published,
e-mailed, and distributed as led by the Spirit. Mr.Hunt trusts
nothing with be changed (except for spelling and punctuation
errors) without his consent.
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