THE SPIRIT OF ELIJAH

By

Simon Ekwenye
@2014
Introduction
Elijah the prophet of the living God was a man of unwavering faith and
always executing the command of his master to the letter. He lived in the
days of that wicked woman Jezebel. Jezebel was a daughter of a king who
was a murderer. he wasn!t an "sraelite and for this reason was not to have
been married to an "sraelite. God had forbidden His children from taking
unto themselves wives who weren!t of their own race.
He wanted to preserve His royal people# a chosen race by which He shows us
how He deals with us in this era. o# the prophet of God had to deal with the
spirit of idolatry which had started to take form in "srael. $his practiced
thrived in the days of %hab courtesy of his marriage to Jezebel. he
composed a group of four hundred prophets of &aal who helped to draw the
children of "srael away from the true worship of one God.
$hough %hab was the king of "srael at the time# it was actually Jezebel his
wife who welded much power and was ruling behind the scenes. % case in
point is when %hab coveted 'aboth!s piece of land which land he was denied
access by the true own because one could not give away an inheritance. $he
failure to get access to 'aboth!s land made %hab sad to the extent that he
refused to take his meals. (hen the issue became known to Jezebel# she
immediately formulated a plan that saw 'aboth executed with subse)uent
effect of %hab taking possession of his land.
"t was a time of a woman!s headship. $his thing displeased God that the
word of God came unto Elijah who cursed %hab and Jezebel. Jezebel was
cursed because of planning and effecting the execution of 'aboth and %hab
because of allowing Jezebel to take over leadership. % woman!s leadership
was not acceptable as is vindicated by the spirit of God in *aul saying# +I
suffer not a woman to teach or to usurp authority over a man but to be
silent,.
The killing of four hundred prophets of Baal
(hen the vice of worship idols of &aal escalated it reached a time when a
showdown was called for to determine who between &aal and God of Elijah
was powerful. Elijah assembled all the people of "srael and called for a
showdown between idols and a living God. "t was agreed that the deity that
would respond by sending fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice was to
be worshipped as God. He laid the alter and called for the prophets of &aal
to follow suit. $hey agreed to implement the plan to the letter.
$heir folly was made manifest when they failed to convince their god to
answer by sending fire to consume the sacrifice laid over the altar. (hen
Elijah called upon his God# the God of %braham# "saac and Jacob responded
by raining fire out of heaven which devoured the sacrifice placed on the altar.
(hen that happened Elijah fearlessly commanded that the four hundred
prophets of &aal be killed for they were false prophets. $he outcome of this
act welcomed hatred against Elijah from Jezebel who vowed to kill him.
The spirit of Elijah upon Elisha
Elijah fled from the face of Jezebel upon learning of her plot to execute him.
%nd when God was done with him# he found a man by name of Elisha who
was zealous to receive the same potion of the spirit that was upon Elijah.
-pon hearing his re)uest# Elijah disclosed unto him that when he sees him
being taken away into the clouds# he would receive his re)uest.
%lthough this was a daunting task# Elisha was determined to receive this
immense power that was upon Elijah. He watched and followed him closely
least this power elude him. Eventually when Elijah!s time of departure
arrived# Elisha saw chariots of fire come down and separate him and Elijah
who was subse)uently taken up to heaven. (hen that happened# Elijah!s
mantle fell down and was picked by Elisha. He received a double portion of
his power.
Elishas contention with the school of prophets
% time came when he visited the school of prophets to discuss issues
pertaining to the word of God. $he school of prophet!s had deviated from the
word of God and were teaching the commandments of men. $his is so
because there arose a dispute in the word of God and things weren!t going
well with the school of prophet!s. $hey claimed that during the visitation of
Elisha# the discussion was heated up as major doctrines of the word were
being expounded by Elisha.
(hen they failed to agree on the fundamental aspects of the teachings# they
besought him to leave their camp. $his shows that often times when man
begins to think of injecting his opinion to and concerning the word of God#
he fails miserably. $his school of prophets had gone off the bitten path of the
word of God and Elisha attempt to bring them back didn!t work instead it
only earned him rejection and re)uest to vacate that camp.
%s seen from the behavior of these two men. they were always zealous to
take people back to the word of God. $hey were also not afraid of
challenging the established order of their days. $he /ord worked mightily
through their ministry.
The same spirit upon John the Baptist
His ministry was spoken by prophet "saiah saying# +the voice of the man
speaking from the wilderness saying prepare ye the way of the lord!,. (e
are certain that "saiah spoke of John the &aptist because when the man was
actually going about his ministry he was asked to identify himself. He
answered them by telling them his work. repeating what "saiah had
prophesied.
$his revelation had even eluded the disciples of our lord Jesus 0hrist. (hen
the )uestion arose on when the world will come to an end and that before
those things happen Elisha should first come# He responded saying# +He is
surely come and they have done unto him what they listed and if ye can
receive it, he is Elias,. $hen they perceived that he was speaking about John
the &aptist. 'otice the reference of Elias here. it gives the implication of the
spirit of Elijah manifesting itself in the life and ministry of John the &aptist.
(e are told that at the age of nine years John the &aptist went into the
wilderness instead of going according to the tradition of his fathers. He was
the messenger spoken of in 1alachi chapter three who went before our lord
Jesus 0hrist. He blasted out against the established order of his day and
even went on record of calling the *harisees that they are the generation of
vipers and that who warned them to flee the coming judgment. He told them
that an axe is laid at the root of every tree to cut it down and be thrown into
fire if it does not yield fruits.
His notable encounter occurred when he rebuked the king Herod saying# +It
is not lawful for you to take her,. Herod had taken upon himself Herodias#
*hilip!s wife. 'otice# he wasn!t mindful of the status of the king but was
conscious to fulfill his mandate according to his call. "t is this rebuke that
later on caused his death. Herodias beheaded him. Her daughter danced to
the extent that it pleased his father to give her whatever she wanted. -pon
consulting her mother# she asked for the head of John the &aptist in a plate.
His ministry besides introducing the 1essiah was to prepare the fathers 2his
and the /ords disciples3 to receive the children 2the later day believers3. $his
ministry is spoken of in 1alachi chapter four verses five. peaking of the
1essiah when he was coming to be baptized# he pronounced# +Behold the
lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world,. He was given a sign that
enabled him identify 0hrist for it is he that was to introduce Him.
The spirit of Elijah of Malachi chapter four verses five b
$he ministry of this man was vindicated by God himself with supernatural
sign of pillar of fire manifesting before his congregation. $his pillar of fire
showed openly and was photographed and it kept in the library of
)uestionable document in (ashington dc. $his messenger was strait to the
word and he preached just the same as *aul preached. He was regarded by
many as a woman hater simply because he placed them to their position
courtesy of the (ord of God.
He was visited of angels and given a command to go to $ucson where he
would be given the revelation of the seven seals. He# like John the &aptist
introduced the 1essiah to the people. (hile baptizing at river 4hio their
appeared a pillar of fire and a voice spoke saying# +Just as John the Baptist
foreran the first coming of hrist your message shall forerun His second
coming,. $hat was a vindication of his ministry.
It will operate again after the rapture of the church
He shall appear again in revelation chapter eleven as one of the two candle
sticks. He shall shut the heaven that it may not rain during his ministry. (e
know that he is Elijah because this very act he performed during the time of
5ing %hab. $his will be a time of great tribulation and the church shall be
gone in the rapture. He alongside 1oses shall be calling the one hundred and
forty four thousand children of "srael# twelve thousand from each tribe.
%fter his ministry he shall be killed but in the third day he shall hear a voice
call from heaven and he shall resurrect and be taken up unto heaven.
Conclusion
"t pleased God to use the spirit of Elijah five times. "t has so far been in use
four times and we are looking for the rapture of the church before the very
spirit of Elijah be manifested again the fifth time. /et us therefore make
ready our garments for the rapture of the church.