Days of Elijah – Part 1

What are the Days of Elijah? To understand this, we need to study the ministry of Elijah which we will do in Part 2. But first we’ll start with a prophesy about Elijah.

Mal 4:5-6
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
6 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.
KJV

What does it mean “Turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers?” Does this mean kids will love their daddies more? No. Does this mean that kids will love their Daddy more? Not on the surface; it’s a reference back to the forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who received the promises of God. How does scripture sum up their life?

Gen 26:5
5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
KJV

Let’s back up a verse in Mal 4.

Mal 4:4
4 Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
(N)KJV

What else does this theme remind us of?

Deut 30:1-16
30:1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and you will call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
2 And will return unto the LORD your God, and will obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul;
3 That then the LORD your God will turn your captivity, and have compassion upon you, and will return and gather you from all the nations, where the LORD your God has scattered you.
4 If any of you be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from there will the LORD your God gather you, and from there will he fetch you:
5 And the LORD your God will bring you into the land which you fathers possessed, and you will possess it; and he will do you good, and multiply you above your fathers.
6 And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.
7 And the LORD your God will put all these curses upon your enemies, and on them that hate you, which persecuted you.
8 And you will return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command you this day.
9 And the LORD your God will make you plenteous in every work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers:
10 If you will hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul.
11 For this commandment which I command you this day, it is not hidden from you, neither is it far off.
12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who will go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou should say, Who will go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may do it.
15 See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil;
16 In that I command you this day to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that you may live and multiply: and the LORD thy God will bless you in the land where you go to possess it.
(N)KJV

These verses cover a lot. But what are the common threads in all scriptures we’ve gone over so far?

• fathers
• commandments, statues and laws (literally instruction – the reason Torah is interpreted as ‘law’ is because ‘nomos’ in Greek means ‘instruction’ but when translated from Greek to English means ‘law’)
• blessings and curses
• captivity (described in the context around the verses)

Let’s sew with some of these threads for a bit.

Abraham is the father of our faith. He is also a picture of the Father. Isaac is a picture of the Son. And Jacob is a picture of the Bride. (All this requires another article to explain.) With them the covenants were made and the promises given (Gen 15, 17, 22:15-18, 26:3-5, 28:11-15, 35:9-13, 46:2-5, 48:3-4). Turning our hearts towards them doesn’t simply mean we love them but desire to be like them and do what they do. Them turning their hearts toward us means they desire to instruct us in the ways of life so that we might live. That is where the commandments, statues and laws come in.

Most people resist the commandments, statues and laws of God because they don’t understand them. They don’t understand them because of what they have been taught about them. I want to spend some time putting these things into perspective. It’s taken me a long time to understand these things myself and change my perspective and ultimately my attitude towards them.

We have been taught that the Law of Moses was given for salvation in the Old Testament and that Jesus came bearing grace and put away the Law of Moses. This perspective comes from several sources.

• During Jesus time and even now Judaism teaches salvation by works.
• Paul dealt with and addressed these same people in his letters.
• It is a doctrine held by the Catholic Church (spawned out of anti-Semitism) that has been passed down and permeates every denomination that I know of.

What is the problem with this teaching? It simply isn’t true. Jesus himself states:

Matt 5:17-19
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
KJV

Salvation has always been about relationship. This is what Jesus, Paul and the other writers of the New Testament often address. Remember, Abraham believed (faith in Hebrew) God and it was accounted to him for righteousness (Gen15:6). Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD and was saved from the judgment that came to the world (Gen 6:8). Moses intercedes on Israel’s behalf appealing to God’s grace and God grants it because he “knew Moses” (relationship) (Ex 33:12-17). Salvation has always and always and always been and is about relationship.

So what is the purpose of the commandments? Love. The two greatest commandments upon which all the others are based are commandments to love.

Deut 6:5
5 And you will love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
(N)KJV

Lev 19:18
18 You will not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you will love your neighbour as yourself: I am the LORD.
(N)KJV

Matt 22:40
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
KJV

Jesus admonishes us:

John 14:15
15 If you love me, keep my commandments.
(N)KJV

John 15:8-17
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so will you be my disciples.
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you: continue in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That you love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 You are my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his lord does: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
16 You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
(N)KJV

And they are about life (primarily physical) and blessings.

Deut 30:16
16 In that I command you this day to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that you may live and multiply: and the LORD your God will bless you in the land whither you go to possess it.
(N)KJV

Deut 32:45-47
45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:
46 And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which you will command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.
47 For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing you will prolong your days in the land, wherever you go over Jordan to possess it.
(N)KJV

Deut 28:1-13
28:1 And it will come to pass, if you will hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD your God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that the LORD your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth:
2 And all these blessings will come on you, and overtake you, if you will hearken unto the voice of the LORD your God.
3 Blessed will you be in the city, and blessed will you be in the field.
4 Blessed will be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your oxen, and the flocks of your sheep.
5 Blessed will be your basket and your store.
6 Blessed will you be when you come in, and blessed will you be when you go out.
7 The LORD will cause your enemies that rise up against you to be smitten before your face: they will come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways.
8 The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your storehouses, and in all that you set your hand unto; and he will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.
9 The LORD will establish you a holy people unto himself, as he has sworn unto you, if you will keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and walk in his ways.
10 And all people of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD; and they will be afraid of you.
11 And the LORD will make you plenteous in goods, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your cattle, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give you.
12 The LORD will open unto you his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto your land in his season, and to bless all the work of your hand: and you will lend unto many nations, and you will not borrow.
13 And the LORD will make you the head, and not the tail; and you will be above only, and you will not be beneath; if that you hearken unto the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day, to observe and to do them:
(N)KJV

If you would like to know more about the physics of the commandments of God, please read my article on “The Physics and Definition of Sin, Repentance and Forgiveness“.

They are also the purpose of life, what we are supposed to do.

Eccl 12:13-14
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and guard his commandments: for this is the purpose of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
(N)KJV

In Hebrew, purpose is ‘kol’ (כל) which is all, whole, everything, sum. Guard is ‘shomer’ (שמר) which is to keep, protect, guard with your every breath of life.

It is also said that the commandments are divided into moral, civil and ceremonial laws and only the moral and civil ones are to be obeyed. There is no such division in scripture. Morals, by its very definition, are agreed upon instructions of men, commandments are instructions of God. (I may explain this more later.)

Some say only the commandments that Jesus repeated in the New Testament need to be followed. I cannot comprehend how that makes any sense being Jesus is from the beginning with God as God who gave the commandments to begin with. If Jesus added to, took away from, changed, or did not obey any of the commandments in Torah, he would not have been sinless and could not have been the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the World (Deut 12:32, John 1:29, Luke 23:13-15).

The reason God ends Malachi 4 with, “Lest I smite the earth with a curse” is because of the physical repercussions of not obeying the commandments of God which are the instructions for life.

In life, we have two perspectives, God’s and men. When things are done that men cannot comprehend or understand, they attribute it to God or a god and often spiritualize it (hence why people think that scientific understanding somehow disproves God). Everything is made up of frequency (energy). (I hope I don’t lose you here). God spoke (frequency) everything into existence. It is the Word of God that holds everything together. Debar (דבר) is Hebrew for both ‘word’ and ‘thing’ (try and wrap the two concepts together in your head). P’al, (פעל) is Hebrew for ‘energy’ and is the base pronunciation for Hebrew verbs.

Evil, ra (רע) means to take something that was created for a purpose and destroy it. For example, you are mixing up bread in a bowl. In the process, someone takes it from you and throws it on the ground smashing it into a million pieces. The bowl and dough can no longer be used for anything.

When people sin, they are taking the things that God created and doing likewise. They are breaking it, smashing it, destroying it and making it of no use. Hence why the world is falling apart and there are earthquakes and floods and volcanoes and sickness and disease. Hence why, in the last days, these things will be commonplace. Hence why Jesus, when he returns, must restore the earth. This is why there is a curse. And this is why Israel, we, ended up in captivity. And this is why Elijah must come first to turn our hearts back to the fathers (which is happening today). And this is why it isn’t until we repent and return back to the commandments of God that He will restore us and gather us from all the nations (Deut. 30).

Again, I want to emphasize, obeying the commandments of God has nothing to do with salvation.

The next part may be difficult to read.  Take your time.