In An Elijah Day, I will be delving into the life of the prophet for several reasons: His prophetic mission of preparing the way of the Lord (cf. Malachi 4:5); how he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers (cf. Malachi 4:6); and he was a man subject to like passions as we are (cf. James 5:17).
We will apply those avenues to our personal lives and the day we live.
For us to have a basic and common foundation for this series, Ron Graham offers this simple biblical list about Elijah:[1]
• The acts of Elijah are found in (1 Kings 17-22, and 2 Kings 1-2).
• A prophet in Israel after the kingdom divided.
• Named Elias in the King James New Testament.
• A “Tishbite” (thought to mean that he came from Tishbeh in Gilead).
• Contemporary with the kings of Judah named Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram.
• Contemporary with the kings of Israel named Ahab, Ahaziah, Jehoram.
• Dealt with Israel’s king Ahab and his wife Jezebel.
• Exposed and killed the prophets of Baal.
• Meets with God on Horeb (Mount Sinai).
• Called upon Elisha to follow him.
• Brought death upon Ahaziah, king of Israel (2 Kings 1).
• And upon Jehoram, king of Judah (2 Chronicles 21).
• Like Enoch of old, Elijah did not die as men normally do, but was taken by God into heaven.
• Taken up into heaven in a whirlwind.
• Elijah experienced and performed many miracles.
• Paul uses him as an illustration (Romans 11:1-5).
• James does, too (James 5:16-18).
• John the baptizer likened to him (Malachi 4:5, Matthew 11:12-14, Luke 1:17).
• Appeared when Jesus was transfigured (Matthew 17).
We will expand and apply all these and more in the weeks ahead.
We are all very familiar with the concept of Christians functioning as a “royal priesthood” based on Simon Peter’s pen from his first Epistle. However, in conjunction with being a royal priesthood, Roger Stronstad points out that the Christian community is also a prophethood of all believers.
“…in post-Pentecost Jerusalem, the people of God, initially a small company of prophets, rapidly grows to become the eschatological nation of prophets—the prophethood of all believers. In the events which Luke reports in his narrative of the acts of this prophetic community, Moses’ earnest desire—‘that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them’ (Numbers 11:29)—is being fulfilled.
‘…No longer is the prophetic ministry limited to an individual or to a select group, but it is now the reality of all of God’s people—a veritable nation of prophets. Thus, in the weeks, months, and early years following the pouring out of the Spirit of prophecy on the day of Pentecost, the prophethood of all believers has been inaugurated.”[2]
I am not advocating believers begin pounding their chests and shouting, “I’m a prophet; hear me!” That is the antithesis of what I am saying, and we will see that in the days ahead.
Instead, I am saying this is a function of the Last Days Church, and as such, it behooves us to glean all we can from the life and practice of prophets like Elijah, especially with his unique role in the futurity of the church.
Finally, Abraham Joshua Heschel describes the prophet’s character, and I think it would be a definition we all could embrace.
“The prophet is not a mouthpiece, but a person; not an instrument, but a partner, an associate of God. Emotional detachment would be understandable only if there were a command which required the suppression of emotion, forbidding one to serve God ‘with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might.’ God, we are told, asks not only for ‘works,’ for action, but above all for love, awe, and fear. We are called upon to ‘wash’ our hearts (Jer. 4:14), to remove the ‘foreskin’ of the heart (Jer 4:4), to return with the ‘whole heart’ (Jer. 29:13). The new covenant which the Lord will make with the house of Israel will be written upon their hearts (Jer. 31:31-34).”[3]
Hence, An Elijah Day.
