Who Was Elijah? Yes: Who was Elijah? Why is he important to you and me? We need to know this so we can understand a pivotal prophecy for today! Was his message only for the nation of Israel, (of the Old Testament), or, does it have something to do with what is taking place today as well? Your life may depend on knowing who he is, and what his message was. Let’s see what is mentioned about Elijah! The first we hear of him is in 2 Kings. He comes on the seen in the time of Ahab, the King of Israel. It mentions that Ahab did evil in the sight of God, that he reared up alters for Ba’-al and sacrificed to him, (1 Kings 16). Then along comes Elijah, to prophesy that the nation would not receive rain till God allows it to come again, (Chapt. 17). The next chapter then shows us that Elijah makes the nation to decide who they would worship, God, or Ba-al! At which time, after God devour the sacrifice of Elijah’s, he had all the prophets of Ba-al destroyed. The New King James study Bible tells us this of the name of Elijah, that, “No prophet had arisen since Moses like Elijah; His name means ‘The Lord is my God.’ Elijah would speak for God fearlessly in the midst of the spiritual vacuum that gripped the northern kingdom.” Thus we see that Elijah was a man that followed and spoke for God. There would be two other individual’s that would come in that office, we find that mentioned in Matthew 17:10-12, where it shows that John the Baptist had come in the office of Elijah, and that there would be yet another that would come to restore God’s truth close to the end of the age of man. This Elijah would also turn the hearts of the “fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers,” Malachi 4: 5-6. To recognize this end time Elijah, we need to understand why he would have to come to restore “all things.” During the times of John, Jude and the other Apostles, in the first century, we see that many of the first Christians were turning to what was called another Gospel. (See 111 John, Jude, and Galatians 1:6). After the first century was over, there were many conflicting doctrines going about, to the extent that during the reign of Constantine he convened what was called the Nicene council. Though he confessed that he was a Christian, he, nonetheless, made judgment at the council as the ruler of Rome. Nor was he ever mentioned as the head of the church. So the decree’s made by that council, are not binding on Christians. Yet man has followed those decrees as if they were from God. One of those decrees was of the gospel of the church, whether they should preach the gospel of the trinity, (that is, that God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are of one being compose of three individuals, and not that God and Christ are separate beings); another was that of the observance of Easter, or the Passover! Over the years since Christ came upon the Earth, the message Christ gave continued to change as different church leaders lost knowledge of God’s truth. This can be seen in Revelation chapters 2 & 3 where a prophecy of the different Church Eras, are listed. Though the basic truth of God’s Sabbath remained in the church, many of the doctrines of God’s were watered down or lost. So there had to come a person in the office of Elijah to restore those truths to the church. Why was this person in “the office of Elijah”? It is because that in restoring God’s truths, he was declaring “my God is God!” Many of those doctrines were: • Who and What is God, • The Holy Days of God, • The Family of God, (today compose of the Father and Son, [Christ]), • The Government of God, • Who the nations of Israel are today, • The truth about Angels, • The Truth about Satan and demons, • The Mystery of Man, • The name of God’s church as found in his word. All told there were 18 truths that was restored to God’s Church, these are just a minor list of the doctrines of “The Church of God” (To learn more about the truths of God, write for your copy of Mystery of the Ages, by Mr. Herbert W Armstrong). In the 1930’s a man came upon the scene that was to bring about the restoration of the doctrines of the Church of God. That person, who was brought to humility, through the lost of two businesses, through no fault of his own, would start a day and night study of the Bible. Why? Because of the twin challenges of his wife and sister-in-law, one challenge was on which day of the week was to be kept as the Sabbath, and the other, was on evolution. Before the end of a six month day and night study in the locale library, this person had prove to himself the existence of God and why man was put on the Earth in the first place! In another way of saying it, “Why was man created?” That man was Herbert W Armstrong! One shouldn’t think that his life was all easy going. When he lost his businesses’ he was making, in what is in today’s figures, around $300,000 a year. (Mr. Armstrong mentioned the amount of $200,000 a year in his article. Yet that was in the 1980’s, that amount has increased since then, so we have increased it a bit more). Also during this time, after he finally saw what God was showing him, he still struggled for more then 19 years in doing the work of God! It was only after he learned the lessons of faith, and reliance upon God, that things began to change for him, and the work. By no means did he choose this profession, for he continued to, at first, go into his profession of choice. He began his career as an advertising professional, and tried, unsuccessfully to continue in that field. Yet after he turned his life over to God, in heart rendering repentance, he found a peace that he never had before. And at that time he turned his life over to God, not thinking that it was worth anything, for he saw himself as God saw him! From that day forward, he continued his study of the bible, till the day he died. But don’t think that he learned those 18 truths over night. It took time for him to learn them, but when he was shown that he was wrong on something, he changed. This is how we should be in our life as well. Mr. Armstrong worked for God till the day he died. There was no retirement for him, for he was in the service of God! His commission was to preach the message of God to the world, (Matt. 24:14), and in 1986 that commission ended, after over 50 years of warning. He was the Elijah to come mentioned in Matthew 17: 10-11. What of that work today? Can it still be found? Yes it can, but under a different leader and organization. After the death of Mr. Armstrong there was a great falling away in the church. And the son of perdition, spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2, came on the scene and deceived many. But there is a group who keeps to the Elijah message and follows the word of God today. These are they who “have a little strength, and have kept my word, and have not denied my name,” (Rev. 3: 8). In not denying God’s name, they keep to the government of God, following Jesus Christ as the head of the church, and His leader that he himself has chosen. These are those Philadelphians who follow the teachings of God, given to us through Mr. Armstrong. How then are we to know who that leader is today? By looking to the fruits of those who leads God’s church as mentioned in Matt. 7:16. Let’s look at one who was given the authority over God’s church after Mr. Armstrong died: This person, when under Mr. Armstrong was humble and respected God’s authority. Then upon finding himself over a large income, and possessions, he started changing things to where God’s truth was suppressed, he felt that he had need of nothing. He fulfilled the verse in Revelation 3:17! He also became the son of perdition found in 2 Thessalonians 2. The fruits that he produced were rotten, yet many followed him in that deception. Another person that we could look at is King Saul. We see this in 1 Samuel; here King Saul was anointed by God to be King over Israel. But why did Israel need a king? The answer to that is found mentioned in 1 Samuel 8:7, where the people didn’t want God to rule over them. (A side light here is that today the United States is saying the same thing at this time through the passage of laws that are contrary to God’s Laws). These people rejected God and wanted to be like the nations around them. Then in 1 Samuel 12:13, Samuel says to the children of Israel, “now therefore behold the king whom you have chosen, and whom you have desired.” The nation had desired this king in the place of God. Today, those of the Laodicean churches have desired to have those they like over them, not the man that God has ordained to be over the church. What was the end result of Saul’s rule? Because he saw that he had much goods, he rebelled against God in the end, and God took the kingdom away from him. He gave it to David, a man after his own heart, (Acts 13:22). So God would raise up one to take Mr. Armstrong’s place, that would follow what Mr. Armstrong restored to the church. Today you can find that group in the Philadelphia Church of God! These are God’s Philadelphians
Posted on: Fri, 16 Aug 2013 18:48:47 +0000
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