ELIJAH COMES
FIRST
INTRODUCTION
It
was prophesied of John the Baptist before his birth that
he would go before the Lord "in the spirit and power of
Elijah” (Lk. 1:17). Yet, when John began his ministry of
preaching, he was asked point-blank by priests,
"Are you Elijah?" John answered just
as pointedly, "I am NOT" (see John 1:21). The fact that
John refused to claim that he was some great one out of
the past, a prophet who had lived before, should be an
example and warning to us. Any individual person who
claims he is
ELIJAH, or someone else out of the past, is surely
FALSE! Those who are truly called of God do not make
presumptuous claims. However, we will see in this study
that John the Baptist did fulfill the "Elijah"
prophecies for his day, and that there is to be a
fulfillment of those same "Elijah" prophecies for our
day, not by some man who claims he is Elijah come back,
but by a preparatory move of the Spirit of
God.
John
the Baptist was to PREPARE THE WAY of the Lord as
follows: "And many of the children of Israel shall he
TURN to the Lord their God. . . 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" (Lk. 1:16-16). To prepare THE WAY is to
prepare a PEOPLE who will TURN from their ways to GOD'S
WAY. This calls for a REPENTANCE (a TURNing) and a
RESTORATION (of the WAY). This people (a "firstfruits
remnant") who will turn wholeheartedly to be established
in HIS WAY, shall then become THE WAY to
multitudes during the time of great harvest that is
coming.
In order to understand
more aspects of these truths not covered in this
study, order the booklet, "The Voice of the
Bridegroom" by the same author. A study of
that booklet will be helpful in getting the completed
picture of an Elijah-John the Baptist ministry preparing
the way of the Lord in these days and in the days that
are ahead. John's ministry as the “friend of the
Bridegroom" to prepare the Bride is presented in
detail.
ELIJAH
IS HERE
God's prophet. "Behold, Elijah
is here!” These are the startling words that were to be
conveyed to Ahab the King of Israel by Obadiah, the
governor of his house (I Kings 18:7-8). Elijah had been
hiding away at the command of God during the time of
drought which had come as a judgment on the nation,
because of the wickedness of the king and his
foreign wife, Jezebel. But the time had come for
the drought to end, and God was once again going to send
rain on the land.
Elijah therefore had to emerge to get the people ready
for what was coming,
A living drama. What takes
place in the story of Elijah as recorded in the 17th
& 18th chapters of I Kings is extremely
significant for the day in which we are
living. God has wrought a
"living drama" for us that we might learn by the things
that are written aforehand for our admonition (I Cor.
10:11). This story takes on special significance in
light of that which is spoken by Malachi the prophet:
"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 their fathers, lest I come
and smite the earth with a curse" (4:5-6). Signs
indicate that the great "day" of the Lord's judgments on this earth and His return in
power and great glory (Mt. 24:30) are near at hand.
Therefore the prophecy of Malachi must be fulfilled
before He comes.
Preliminary fulfillment. Many prophecies in the Bible have both
a preliminary and a final fulfillment. Sometimes there
is even more than one preliminary fulfillment before the
prophecy finds its final and complete fulfillment. God's
Word is rich and many-sided, having many facets of
application, like the many sides of a beautiful jewel,
each reflecting the light in its own way, and adding to
the symmetry of the whole. Paul speaks of the "manifold
(many-sided) wisdom of God" (Eph. 3:10), and certainly
this is incorporated into His Word, as history (His
story) unfolds in harmony with the predictive words of
the prophets, pulsating in rhythmic fulfillments, both
preliminary and final, but conforming to the basic
pattern of each prophetic
declaration.
John the
Baptist. The
disciples asked Jesus a question. "Why do the scribes
say that first Elijah must come?" Jesus replied, "Elijah
does come and will get everything restored and ready;
but I tell you that Elijah has come already, and they
did not know or recognize him, but did to him as they
liked. Then the disciples understood that He spoke to
them about John the Baptist" (Mt. 17:10-13
Amplified). The scribes knew the law, and were familiar
with the prophecy of Malachi that Elijah was to be
sent before the day of the Lord's appearing, but because
they were blinded by their own traditions, these
religious leaders did not recognize the fulfillment
of the prophecy before their very eyes. But Jesus said
John the Baptist was the fulfillment of the Elijah
prophecy for His day.
Warning.
The above should be a warning to us. Unless we
have "eyes to see and ears to hear" (Mt. 13:16), it is
possible for important prophetic events to be taking
place around us and not even be aware of it. Jesus said
"The kingdom of God comes
not with observation (with outward show and display so
that everyone is aware of it): neither shall they say,
Lo here! or, lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God
is within you (or, in your midst)" (Lk. 17:20-21). God's
kingdom workings and progressive fulfillment can be
taking place right in the midst of even religious
people, and yet they may not be aware of it, or its
spiritual significance in relation to God's unfolding
purposes. Concerning John the Baptist, Jesus spoke
on another occasion, "All the prophets and the law
prophesied until John. And if you will receive it, this is
Elijah who was to come. He that has ears to hear, let him hear"
(Mt. 11:14-15). Ah, dear friend, pray for spiritual
perception and attunement to the divine Word and
its fulfillment even in this day, that you may have grace to receive
what shall be unfolded herein.
Preliminary
and partial. To show how a prophetic scripture may
be fulfilled in part but not fully in a particular
historical setting, let us take a look at Isa. 40:3-5:
"The voice of him that cries
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
shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made
straight, and the rough places plain: and the glory of
the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it
together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it." This passage is
quoted in Mt. 3:3 & Lk. 3:4-6 as being fulfilled in
the ministry of John the Baptist, as he prepared the way
for the coming of Jesus and pointed the people to Him.
Although many did see the "glory" of the Lord in the
person of Jesus (John 1:14), it can hardly be said that
"ALL FLESH shall see it together" has been fulfilled.
Also, the scriptures are clear that the full GLORY of
the Lord is not to manifest until He appears a second
time (Lk. 21:27).
Patterns by
the prophets. Before we look further at the Elijah
ministry for our day, let us examine the story of Elijah
in the 17th & 18th chapters of I Kings and behold
the prophetic drama. God makes clear His manner of
speaking through the prophets in Hos. 12:10: "I have
also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied
visions, and have used similitudes (patterns) by the
ministry of the prophets." The last statement means that
God had the prophets act out "symbolic dramas" by things
which He required them to DO. And through such "living
parables" God SPEAKS to His people.
Let's use this KEY then in unlocking the meaning
of that which God told Elijah to do.
PART I
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