Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
The great prophet is here! God promised to send Elijah "before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5, 6). But don't look for a solemn white-haired old man with a beard down to his toes, pronouncing woes upon us.
Jesus said that Elijah had already come in His day, but the disciples had missed him, even though Jesus' day was not the "great and dreadful day of the Lord." "Elijah" is not necessarily or only a physical person; "he" is a message that God sends.
What happened in Jesus' day? The message of John the Baptist fulfilled the promise of God. So, in our last days, there's a message that God is sending just as startling as was Elijah's declaration that no dew nor rain would fall on the land of Israel until he, Elijah, gave permission (cf. 1 Kings 17:1).
John the Baptist's message startled the people in Jesus' day, and God sends a special message that startles the Christian world today--that of three angels in Revelation 14.
The first angel says, The hour of God's judgment is here right now (vss. 6, 7). Not only that God is judging us; He has submitted Himself to judgment--is His administration of the government of the universe upright and fair? He is facing the cosmic rebellion of Lucifer (who became Satan, 12:1-4, 7-9).
The second angel says, Get out of Babylon (14:8), which means confusion. The same message came to Abraham--get out of the great city of "Ur of the Chaldees," out of your father's family; nothing must hold you back from following the Lord (Gen. 11:28; 12:1). That's what Elijah says today (he says it in love).
A great falling away from the truth has happened to the Christian church in general (cf. 2 Thess. 2:3-7). Daniel predicted it (7:7-25); the second angel's message tells the Christian world what to do.
Elijah, standing alone on Mount Carmel before King Ahab and Israel, faced down the prophets of Baal, defeated them and brought the nation to its knees in repentance (1 Kings 18). This massive realignment of human souls worldwide is what "Elijah" is doing today.
"Baal" was the common word for "lord" in Elijah's day; but it was a false christ for that day. Baal worship today? It's the worship of self disguised as the worship of Christ. "The hour of God's judgment" goes deep in penetrating our motives.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 27, 2008.
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