THE "ELIJAH" FACTOR - Andrew Strom
Posted by: prophetic <prophetic@...>
The "ELIJAH" FACTOR
-by Andrew Strom.
Over the years I have often heard this kind of thing asked:
QUESTION: "Can anyone cite for me New Testament proofs
of the coming revival being spoken of? I, and many others, do
not see revival coming...."
MY REPLY:
To be honest, my experience with such questions is that those
asking them often do not really want to consider even a
reasoned reply. Their minds are already made up. But please
try to keep an open mind. I believe there is plenty of Scriptural
proof for a great Revival just before the end. This is not to say
that there won't be a great Falling Away and Apostasy also.
In fact, I believe this is already underway. I don't believe there has
ever been a time when the seeds of deception have been more
prevalent in the church than right now.
But let us look at the evidence for a coming great move of God:
Jesus said in Mt 13:39 that, "The harvest is the end of the age".
He was speaking here of the "harvesting" of the good and the bad -
the wheat and the tares at the end of the age. Jesus said in
Mt 24:14, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in
ALL THE WORLD for a witness unto all nations; and then shall
the end come."
The apostle Peter proclaimed on the Day of Pentecost: "And it
shall come to pass in the LAST DAYS, saith God, I will pour out
my Spirit UPON ALL FLESH: and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your
old men shall dream dreams... And I will show wonders in heaven
above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood and fire and pillars of
smoke..." (Acts 2:16-20).
Now, it is clear that Pentecost was not a COMPLETE fulfillment
of this prophecy, because it was not an outpouring upon "all
flesh" and the full "blood and fire" judgments in the prophecy
did not come to pass at that time. We are truly in the VERY last
days now, and we can obviously expect the absolute FULNESS of
this prophecy to come to pass.
Another interesting Scripture in Acts says that Heaven must receive
Jesus until the time of the "RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS,
which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since
the world began" (Acts 3:21). This "restoration of all things"
according to Scripture (both OT and NT) actually involves a certain
type of ministry: The "Elijahs" of God. A true Elijah has this calling
of 'Restoration' upon him - to restore and bring back the original
thing. To take back that which was lost. Without 'Elijahs' I do
not believe this process can begin. This is a repeated pattern
down through history - and an important principle for us to grasp.
I believe that one day there will be true Elijahs in the earth again.
In fact, this seems to be the key pattern that a lot of people miss
when they search the Scriptures for a 'Last Days Revival'. They
forget the "Elijah Factor".
Remember, there have been at least THREE men of God who
have already walked under this full 'Elijah' anointing - Elijah
himself, Elisha, and John the Baptist. Jesus said, "Elijah truly
shall first come, and RESTORE ALL THINGS" (Mt 17:11). -Note
that he speaks of this as being the 'expected' role of an Elijah,
and a kind of "pattern" of what they do. In Jesus' day, of course,
it was John the Baptist who fulfilled this role. But in the Last
Days it is clear that there must again come this anointing upon
a man, or a company, to "prepare the way of the Lord" before
His return, just as we are told in the final passage of the Old
Testament: "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." (Mal 4:5-6).
The most recent 'Elijah' that we read about in Scripture is John
the Baptist. And he has much to teach us. The pattern we see
is that a great move of REPENTANCE should be expected, and
that it should begin with GOD'S OWN PEOPLE first. It seems
clear that in our day it is the CHURCH who must first repent.
Just before Jesus came the first time, a great Revival of
Repentance swept the region. I expect the exact same pattern
today. For the state of things is almost exactly the same. And
the promise of a similar kind of 'Elijah' in the last days is very clear.
Is it possible that there will be a large number of these types of
ministries this time, rather than just one man? Yes - this is entirely
possible. And most likely these ministries will not claim to be
'Elijahs', either. Remember, John the Baptist was asked if he was
Elijah and he denied it. -He did not think of himself in those terms.
There was nothing 'grandiose' or self-promoting about him at all.
But Jesus was the one who proclaimed it.
History shows that there is great danger whenever a preacher
starts to think of themselves as 'Elijah'. Both William Branham
and Alexander Dowie (-who had an incredible healing ministry)
went onto the rocks of serious error when they started to think
of themselves in these terms. Their ministries were utterly
destroyed and they ruined many lives. Beware of anyone
who claims to be an 'Elijah'. No-one ought to ever make such
claims of themselves.
But what I believe is essential - if we are truly in the last days -
is that we need to pray and pray for ministries to arise that
preach 'Repentance' like John-the-Baptist would preach it. -To
be 'Restorers' like Elijah. We need to pray-for and encourage
this piercing kind of preaching, for it has almost been lost to the
church. And one day, the true 'Elijahs' will arise once more. Prayer
and expectation for this are vital.
That is one reason why I have felt so right about holding the
"John the Baptist" Conference at this time. There must be more
expectancy. There must be more prayer to see such ministries
arise. Even true 'Repentance' preaching is at a low ebb today.
We must encourage those amongst us who have this kind of
calling on their lives. We must welcome and embrace them and
urge them onwards.
And one day hopefully we will see the fullness of this type of
ministry arise again. How needed it is! And what a "shaking" it
will bring!
I hope you can see, my friends, that without "Elijahs" there
literally IS NO LAST DAYS as we see it in Scripture. These
ministries MUST arise and usher in a great move of God before
the end. It is absolutely essential.
God bless you all!
Kindest regards in Christ,
Andrew Strom.