August 19, 2011
W
ith
this dramatic escalation of sin as background, as made known in the
previous chapters, it becomes easy to see why God would choose to
raise up the Elijah to begin giving the final 
warnings to the house
of Israel before their demise as nations, then horrible excruciating
painful deaths for millions taken into captivity, and harsh bondage
for the survivors!
The people of this generation relish their newfound freedom apart from the laws of God and all decency just as mankind did in Sodom and Gomorrah not fearing any consequences.
They neglect the example and lesson God intended from destroying Sodom and Gomorrah who experienced horrible burning deaths as the result of God bringing brimstone and fire from out of the heavens on them because of their abominable sins (Genesis 19:13, 19; II Peter 2:6-8; Jude 7).
There were not even 10 righteous people living in those cities otherwise God would not have destroyed them (Genesis 18:32). The evil had absorbed them.
The pre-Flood world also perished due to their refusal to heed Noah’s preaching despite seeing the precursor of their coming deaths by drowning by seeing the Ark being built over a period of 120 years. (Genesis 6:3, 9; Hebrews 11:7; II Peter 2:5).
T
here
are those in leadership positions, along with a few in the News
Media, who see the grave problems of this nation and give it no more
than 2 to 5 years before its fall; and they speak and write
about it! But just as did the pre-Flood world, they refuse to
heed the warnings from
these respectable and discerning men.
Among these leaders was former President Ronald Reagan who wondered whether we were living in the time of Armageddon.
Jesus Christ, knowing the end from the beginning, made known this terrible time would take place in this end-time (Isaiah 46:10; Matthew 24:12). That is why He chose to raise up the third Elijah in the beginning of this escalation of sin and used his ministry to continue to warn the House of Joseph every step of the way of the consequences of their progression into the depths of depravity for better than 50 years – until his death in 1986.
Through all those years God used this man to CRY ALOUD WARNING AFTER WARNING to the nations of Israel (Isaiah 58:1), and the world of their rendezvous with the Great Tribulation and Armageddon; unless there should be repentance!
And when we track the years of his ministry, and compare it to where society is today, we see a civilization that has become so eroded with evil it appears beyond redemption!
As the result, we are presently witnessing a door flung wide open in full view of the whole society of Israel to the exposure of these abominable and horrifying sins that are comparable to the time of Elijah in ancient Israel! They do not hide them (Isaiah 3:9)!
This is why God sent this man who would be in the same spirit and power of the real-life Elijah to present-day Israel. Though he is referred to in Scripture as Elijah he would not be known by that name any more than was John the Baptizer (Luke 1:13, 17). His true identity would be recognized only by the Scriptures that would reveal the time of his coming, along with his mission, and the fruits from it.
With all of this in mind we should better understand why the missions of the original Elijah and the Elijah of today were so vitally important to God! Had their missions to Israel not been sufficiently successful all of mankind would have been on the very brink of total destruction (Malachi 4:6).
Both of these men were each to go to Israel at the time appointed with the effort of restoring the identity of the true God along with His holy and righteous laws; for they had cast aside the true God to worship Baal!
The Teaching of Evolution
O
n
the other hand many of those who are not involved in the worship of
Baal in modern Israel have rejected God as the Creator
while accepting the erroneous teaching of evolution as taught
in the schools of higher learning!
This evolutionary teaching also fitted perfectly in Satan’s plan for the destruction of Israel just as does the worship of Baal! If there is no God then there are no laws! If there is no law there is no sin (Romans 3:20; 4:15).
And this was in reality what was behind the beginning and development of the godless teaching of evolution! And Satan knew this evolutionary teaching and belief in it would also lead them into such great sin God would destroy them and all of mankind just as He did the pre-Flood world.
The failure to recognize the true identity of God was not the same overall problem with the Jewish people in John’s time for they were knowledgeable after a fashion about God and His laws. However, they were not living up to the limited knowledge they had of Him and His commandments due to their own reasoning that led to their own traditions that largely replaced God’s laws.
It is as Jesus said to the religious leaders of the Jewish people at that time, “. . . Full well you REJECT the commandments of God that you may keep your traditions. . . .” (Mark 7:1-13).
Skipping over the many years from the time of Elijah to the time of John and his connection with the end-time Elijah, it is necessary that we now consider the major part of the overall mission of these two men who followed Elijah the prophet.
Both were to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as well as to cry out a warning of what is to befall mankind due to their rejection of Him (Mathew 3:1-12; Luke 3:2-18).
J
ohn’s
mission was to prepare the way for the promised Messiah, as
the true Lamb of God who was to take away the sins of the world (John
1:29)!
And the Messiah was expected by the Jewish people at that particular point in time due to an expected timed fulfillment of a prophecy given to the prophet Daniel by an angelic messenger from God many years before (Daniel 9:24-27).
This was all the more reason why the Jewish people should have listened to John, including the Pharisees and Sadducees; but they didn’t!
While preaching and baptizing some of the Jewish people at the Jordan River, the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, did appear to John and was baptized by him in the presence of those who were there at the time (Matthew 3:13-17).
T
he
end-time Elijah was to also prepare the way for the return of
Jesus Christ. And unlike His coming the first time as God in the
human flesh, His second coming is to be in awesome power and glory
with all the holy angels accompanying Him (Matthew 24:29-31).
When we really consider where we are in time, and the critical national and world problems at hand that could mean the finality of mankind, all of Christianity should realize we are very close to the end of this age and the return of Jesus Christ.
It is to their credit that some of them do recognize this in part even though they are blinded spiritually.
The way of Christ was prepared during those years and is now in its final stage of preparation by the same end-time Elijah, even though he has been dead for 25 years! This is being accomplished by the use of his recorded works from those earlier life-time years on the Church of God Faithful Flock websites.
While witnessing the pervasive and accelerating evil of this generation, and coupling together what is written in the prophesy of Malachi, and the very testimony of Jesus Christ of the Elijah to come at the end-time, it should be realized by the astute observer that we are now very close to the end of this age that will result in the deaths of billions of mankind!
In view of these warnings signs one would think everyone would have been looking for this messenger who was to prepare the way before Christ, just as the Jews were looking in their time for Him as the Messiah (Malachi 3:1; 4:4-6; Matthew 17:11).
However, it is as the saying goes: “There is none as blind as those who refuse to see!”
While both men, in the same Spirit and power of Elijah, were to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus Christ, it is also noteworthy that they would proclaim basically the same WARNING message from God for the need for repentance because of sin, as can be noted in the following scriptures:
“. . . The word of the LORD came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of REPENTANCE for the remission of sins . . . saying, ‘the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD, make His paths straight . . . Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, ‘Brood of vipers! Who WARNED you to flee from the WRATH to come’” “. . . One mightier than I am coming whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit (the truly repentant), and with fire (ultimately those who would refuse to repent, Malachi 4:1, 3; Revelation 20:14-15)! His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into the barn; but the chaff He will BURN with unquenchable fire.” And with many other exhortations he preached to the people (Luke 3:2-4, 7, 16-18; Revelation 20:15).
It is needful to keep in mind that the loving and caring God always WARNS mankind of any major calamity through His prophets of what He will do before He actually carries it out, as made known through His prophet (Amos 3:7).
The warning is given with the hope of repentance so Jesus Christ will not have to destroy a nation of people or anyone. (See the example of Jonah who was sent to Nineveh, and compare that with the warning message He gave through the Three Elijahs, Jonah 1:2; 3:1-10; 4:11.)
All three Elijahs were different men, and used by God at different times, but yet in the same Spirit and Power, for it was from God. And He used each of them to perform His loving and merciful will!
This very book God has led me to write is also to serve as a warning to all who read it of what is just ahead of us and the need for the preparation for it! And if members do not awaken from their SLEEPY STATE OF MIND, Scripture makes known they will suffer the horrors of the Great Tribulation that is just ahead of us!
T
ragically,
this coming terrible time will swallow them up with such horrors
as to defy the imagination, either in tortuous deaths, or very hard
bondage in slavery!
Members must shake themselves out of their lethargy even though this will require real effort on the part of each individual (Romans 13:11). And at the same time this will require determined purpose coupled with intensive prayer and Bible study along with fasting (James 4:6-10).
One should continue to bear in mind the foregoing chapters to more fully picture the wickedness and evils Israel practiced during the time of Elijah the prophet, and then compare it with the like problems being done today in all the tribes of Israel.
T
his
is necessary in order to understand WHY the Elijah of
the end time would be in the same Spirit and power as
that of the ancient prophet Elijah. Though each was to fulfill his
mission in a time difference of about 2800 years, the terrible
problems in this society today are virtually identical to the
society at that time!
The problems were then and are now so horribly evil they would have led God to destroy Israel and mankind had Christ not sent His very special messengers to them. Thanks to God, each time they were sufficiently successful to keep disaster away from them and us for some few years.
In these writings the focus is on only a few of the enormous evils in the United States of America and in part the United Kingdom (the House of Joseph).
At the same time, rest assured the evils are just as bad, if not worse, in all the nations of Israel. This is also true with the Gentile nations.
God speaks of this world as, “. . . this present evil age,” (Galatians 1:4).
With all this in mind, we will consider the parallel in our society today to that of the time of Elijah! And the very major one is the most heinous and barbaric sin that can be thought of – the unconscionable sacrificing of babies to horrible, excruciating deaths!
Though there are other major reasons as to why the House of Israel as nations are doomed in this age, this is most definitely one of them, and is an exact parallel to that of ancient Israel during the time of Elijah!
Sadly, this horrendous problem affected all levels of society in ancient Israel just as it is affecting all levels in our society today!
This and other major problems make known why God sent Elijah to Israel at that time and it is no different today! It is so utterly sad to see that history is repeating itself in our time due to the same problems existing today as they did then!
These parallels should help us to know why God had prophesied that there would be another Elijah to warn Israel before destruction comes through the Great Tribulation!
Persecution Prophesied for God’s Church
Other parallels will be shown between our society today and that of ancient Israel as we proceed. One of the parallels is that of persecution coming from the highest level of the kingdom of ancient Israel. At the same time God made it possible for the protection of His schools of prophets during the time of Elijah (I Kings 18:4)!
Similar persecution is already beginning to take place in this present-day society from the highest level of government upon God’s true and faithful people. And as He has done before in similar circumstances, Jesus Christ will provide a place of protection for His faithful people in our time when it comes to be needed.
Comparison of Then— and Today
Sorrowfully, it is almost too much to ask for people to consider the time of the prophet Elijah with their many heinous problems, and then to realize the very same problems exist in our society!
And for the very same reasons: the rejection of the true God and His holy and righteous laws!
In the next chapter we will consider the graphically horrible similarity of the two societies in just this one area: the murder of newly-born babies then and the murder of the unborn babies today!
To be continued—
Your servant and friend,
Don Billingsley
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