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Elijah is Coming
Malachi 4 v. 5 states: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." Even now as we see atrocity ravaging Bosnia-Herzogovena, Rwanda, and countless other hot spots throughout the world, there is a solitary figure lingering in the wilderness awaiting God's moment to arrive. Yes, the Prophet Elijah is about to appear upon the world stage before God's great judgment falls. Though there was a partial fulfillment of this prophecy in John the Baptist's ministry, there is a greater fulfillment of this prophecy coming before Christ's second coming. John the Baptist appeared before the revelation of the age of grace, not "before the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord." Notice that when Jesus began His ministry, He quoted from Isaiah (61, v. 2) but stopped before the words "and the day of vengeance of our God." This was because Christ's First Advent was to bring the Gospel of Reconciliation and Grace; but at His Second Coming, Christ returns as Judge -- Lord of Lords and King of Kings -- with a sharp two-edged sword proceeding forth from His mouth to judge all those who believe not His Gospel. As we know from the scriptures, "he who believes not is judged already."
The death sentence issued by the Law of God's righteousness is upon each of us till we place the blood of the Lamb (Jesus) over our lives; then the death angel passes over (Passover). Elijah the Prophet though must come first to announce this day of judgment.
Now in the book of Kings the first Elijah battled not only the false religious cults of his day (represented by the Prophets of Baal) but he also battled Ahab and Jezebel and their followers (representing the backslidden apostate people of God). Oh, yes, people, God is looking down at the worldwide Laodicean church today -- laden down with gold and silver - substituting bake sales, psychology seminars, evangelistic committees, etc., etc. for the Holy Spirit -- substituting the ordination of man for the ordination of God, and He's getting ready to spew this mess right out of His mouth (Rev. 3, v. 16). These "Elmer Gantry's" who entered the ministry because it was a stable profession, a recession-proof business, a great humanitarian endeavor, are in for a rude awakening. God and the world have had enough of the Gospel show - Hollywood Christianity has got to go! These squeaky clean, self-righteous, white-washed tombs, parading their sanctimonious lifestyles, while fleecing God's people for cash, will receive a greater judgment, and Elijah is coming to do it -- before his eyes the tares will no longer hide among the wheat.
Now, notice both the Elijah ministries took place in the wilderness, not in the established religious circles of their day: John the Baptist preached outside the walls of Jerusalem and Elijah the Tishbite fought his great battles by Mount Carmel in the wilderness. God is going to pull down the idols the devil sowed into the Church from the outside. Today, many ministries that started right have gone the way of Baalam, compromising their message for material gain. They used Christ as the next get-rich scheme and His Church as the vehicle for their prosperity. They censored their messages so no one would be offended - watering down the truth till their sermons reeked of tithing and prosperity through faith. It makes me wonder what the state of the world would have been if Luther, Calvin, Knox and countless others had decided to remain silent and not rock the
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