Reading about all of the discrepancies in the message on the internet, caused me to contemplate what I believed. I was raised in the message, so most of my beliefs were a result from acts of obedience and trust rather than true Biblical study. I never had a reason to question whether it was correct or not.
I started with what I felt was the most basic of principals and worked my way through.
- Why do we believe in an “Elijah Ministry?”
- What is a prophet?
- How do you know a prophet is a prophet?
By the time I arrived at my third question, I was completely shaken. A flood of human emotions threatened to overtake me. A line had been drawn between sides and I had to choose which way to cross.
Fear of “rejecting the word for my day” loomed over me taunting, “You’ll be lost, you’ll go to hell. You are rejecting truth and will walk in spiritual blindness. You just need more revelation.”
“For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” – 1 Corinthians 3
When God gives an answer, it will line right up with the Word. He writes His word in your heart and His answer will drive out all of your fear and the clouds of confusion will vanish. God’s answer not only brings peace, but also the necessary boldness to walk in the light He gave.
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”
I would like to tell you I am the same person I once was, I just believe differently now. But that isn’t true. Old things have passed away, and I will never be the same again.
“The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17
My next few posts will follow the questions I asked. I will share the scriptures that brought my peace and drove my fear and confusion away. His word is Truth and in it is Life, that Life is Light, and the Light pushes the darkness away. Peace, Courage, Hope, and Understanding be to you.
Psalm 119
Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!
Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways!
You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments. I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous rules. I will keep your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!
How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
The Bitter Belly 
ELIJAH APPEARS TO ISRAEL ALONE
By John Bannon
The Scriptures are without equivocation…
Mal 1:1
1:1 The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
The burden or the prophecy of Malachi concerning Israel in the Land pointing to a future Elijah BEFORE the Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord which will impact Jacob in the last days of this era. It is the time of the redemption and restoration of Israel as saith the Hebrew prophets. It concerns Israel in their national life as a corporate entity. This is not to say “all” of Israel according to the flesh will be alerted and saved but only the “remnant,” those who are restored by the Word of the Lord and Elijah who will again point them (as John the Baptist) to the Lamb of God who (now) has taken away the sin of the world. John the Baptist was clearly the forerunner according to Luke 1: 13-17:
Luke 1:13-17
13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers (previous generations) to the children (disciples), and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
The preparation for the Lord was the message of John the Baptist. He preached repentance and the nearness of the Kingdom of God pointing to the Saviour as the ONLY acceptable Offering for Sin. The Lamb of God indicates the sacrificial nature of John’s preaching whether or not he fully understood the moving of the Holy Spirit within him resident from his birth. He did not cite the law but the means of deliverance and forgiveness of sin. He preached Yeshua as the turning of the hearts of the fathers to the new found faith of the children (the elect) in their reception of Yeshua as Messiah. This will occur again under the ministry of Elijah to Israel when they are finally delivered and turn to Him whom they crucified.
When the “fathers” are cited in Scripture it always indicate the Hebrew fathers such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the Patriarchs. It never references Post Apostolic “church fathers,” that is a posit of historians not apostles and prophets. The ministry of Elijah as revealed in Malachi concerns the Israelites in the Land exclusively. No reference is made nor alluded to any of the gentile nations or sects, cults or personages outside the Land of Jacob wherein the Holy Spirit has promised to send this messenger. It is the “burden of the Word of the Lord to ISRAEL,” not to Babylon or Persia, or other gentile nations.
The misunderstanding of a few among the gentile church that “an” Elijah is promised to appear to restore doctrine, gifts, apostles, prophets, is not to be found in Holy Writ. It has been the work of gentile sectarians and cultists who have derived this teaching from the Truth of Scripture promised to Israel but transferring to themselves the exclusive promise to Jacob..
One of the factors of the Elijah Ministry to Israel is one of RESTORATION. Since no gentile exegete, pastor, evangelist or prophet has restored all things as spoken by all the Holy Prophets since the world began, it is clear that none of the, “elijahs” of the age of the Covenant of GRACE can qualify as this personage. This ministry will initiate a work of leading them to the faith of the Fathers in the reception (finally) of Yeshua as Messiah, Lord and King.
Zech 12:8-10
8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Rather than the message of Elijah to Israel being one of a return to the Law of Moses, it will be one of GRACE, forgiveness, acceptance and deliverance. Elijah the Prophet will speak of Messiah, of God’s forgiveness as well as a message of repentance which will occur when God pours out the “spirit of GRACE and supplications” bringing the restoration of the remnant of Israel into favor once again. They will be restored to the Theocratic system as at the first. No gentile evangelist or prophet can effect this ministry but one from among the Jewish nation alone. It is Israel who receives the Elijah of Malachi 4…as promised. All efforts to assume to oneself the ministry of Elijah from among the gentiles has always ended in failure, defeat and delusion. Only when the time has arrived (unknown to mankind) will Elijah appear to Jacob bringing to pass the fruition of the Malachi prophecy. Until that time, the task of the gentile church is to call out from among the people (as many as are ordained) to repentance and Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Even so, It is Written.
ELIJAH APPEARS TO ISRAEL ALONE
By John Bannon
The Scriptures are without equivocation…
Mal 1:1
1:1 The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
The burden or the prophecy of Malachi concerning Israel in the Land pointing to a future Elijah BEFORE the Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord which will impact Jacob in the last days of this era. It is the time of the redemption and restoration of Israel as saith the Hebrew prophets. It concerns Israel in their national life as a corporate entity. This is not to say “all” of Israel according to the flesh will be alerted and saved but only the “remnant,” those who are restored by the Word of the Lord and Elijah who will again point them (as John the Baptist) to the Lamb of God who (now) has taken away the sin of the world. John the Baptist was clearly the forerunner according to Luke 1: 13-17:
Luke 1:13-17
13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers (previous generations) to the children (disciples), and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
The preparation for the Lord was the message of John the Baptist. He preached repentance and the nearness of the Kingdom of God pointing to the Saviour as the ONLY acceptable Offering for Sin. The Lamb of God indicates the sacrificial nature of John’s preaching whether or not he fully understood the moving of the Holy Spirit within him resident from his birth. He did not cite the law but the means of deliverance and forgiveness of sin. He preached Yeshua as the turning of the hearts of the fathers to the new found faith of the children (the elect) in their reception of Yeshua as Messiah. This will occur again under the ministry of Elijah to Israel when they are finally delivered and turn to Him whom they crucified.
When the “fathers” are cited in Scripture it always indicate the Hebrew fathers such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the Patriarchs. It never references Post Apostolic “church fathers,” that is a posit of historians not apostles and prophets. The ministry of Elijah as revealed in Malachi concerns the Israelites in the Land exclusively. No reference is made nor alluded to any of the gentile nations or sects, cults or personages outside the Land of Jacob wherein the Holy Spirit has promised to send this messenger. It is the “burden of the Word of the Lord to ISRAEL,” not to Babylon or Persia, or other gentile nations.
The misunderstanding of a few among the gentile church that “an” Elijah is promised to appear to restore doctrine, gifts, apostles, prophets, is not to be found in Holy Writ. It has been the work of gentile sectarians and cultists who have derived this teaching from the Truth of Scripture promised to Israel but transferring to themselves the exclusive promise to Jacob..
One of the factors of the Elijah Ministry to Israel is one of RESTORATION. Since no gentile exegete, pastor, evangelist or prophet has restored all things as spoken by all the Holy Prophets since the world began, it is clear that none of the, “elijahs” of the age of the Covenant of GRACE can qualify as this personage. This ministry will initiate a work of leading them to the faith of the Fathers in the reception (finally) of Yeshua as Messiah, Lord and King.
Zech 12:8-10
8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Rather than the message of Elijah to Israel being one of a return to the Law of Moses, it will be one of GRACE, forgiveness, acceptance and deliverance. Elijah the Prophet will speak of Messiah, of God’s forgiveness as well as a message of repentance which will occur when God pours out the “spirit of GRACE and supplications” bringing the restoration of the remnant of Israel into favor once again. They will be restored to the Theocratic system as at the first. No gentile evangelist or prophet can effect this ministry but one from among the Jewish nation alone. It is Israel who receives the Elijah of Malachi 4…as promised. All efforts to assume to oneself the ministry of Elijah from among the gentiles has always ended in failure, defeat and delusion. Only when the time has arrived (unknown to mankind) will Elijah appear to Jacob bringing to pass the fruition of the Malachi prophecy. Until that time, the task of the gentile church is to call out from among the people (as many as are ordained) to repentance and Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Even so, It is Written.
Thank you.
This is my favorite part:
I would like to tell you I am the same person I once was, I just believe differently now. But that isn’t true. Old things have passed away, and I will never be the same again.
“The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17
GREAT post!