Elijah

This transcript was generated automatically. Its accuracy may vary

Short Summary
The discourse explores the biblical figure Elijah as a symbol of the spiritual Israel or the true church throughout various historical and prophetic periods, particularly during times of persecution under Papal dominance. It connects Elijah’s experiences—such as the drought, his time in exile, and confrontations with false prophets—to phases of church history, including the Dark Ages, the Reformation, and the present era of increased spiritual understanding and anticipation of Christ’s return. The lecture emphasizes faith, prophetic timelines, and the future role of the church and its leaders in God’s kingdom.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse on Elijah and Spiritual Israel

Context and Introduction
– The discourse follows a study of First Kings, focusing on Elijah (introduced in 1 Kings 17:1).
– Elijah the Tishbite, from Gilead east of the Jordan River, proclaims to King Ahab, “The Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall be no dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” (1 Kings 17:1).
– The speaker contrasts natural Israel (discussed previously) with spiritual Israel, represented by the church throughout the Gospel Age. Elijah symbolizes this spiritual Israel enduring trials.

Historical and Prophetic Symbolism
– Elijah’s time corresponds to a three and a half years drought (symbolic 1260 years) representing the Dark Ages when the Roman Catholic Church (Papacy) dominated Christianity.
– Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, symbolizes the corrupting influence of Papacy, also referenced in Revelation by name alongside Babylon.
– The 1260-year period is drawn from prophetic interpretation: not explicitly stated in Kings but referenced in Luke 4:25 and James 5:17.
– Geographic locations: Elijah’s origin, Tishbe (east of Jordan), symbolizes a spiritual position on the outskirts of nominal Israel/Christianity. Similarly, Zarephath (north of Israel, outside the Promised Land) where Elijah is later sent, symbolizes the faithful church existing on the margins during papal dominance.

Spiritual Interpretation of Locations and Tribes
– The eastern side of the Jordan is linked symbolically to spiritual Israel. The two and a half tribes historically settled there are interpreted as representing church classes: Reuben (the church), Gad (the great company), half of Ephraim (ancient worthies).
– Elijah’s wilderness stay by the brook Cherith (1 Kings 17:2-7) reflects the church’s separation and sustenance by God during persecution. The brook eventually dries up, symbolizing a shift or intensification of trials.

Persecution and Church History
– Papal persecution allegedly caused the deaths of up to 50 million Christians during the Dark Ages, illustrating the severity of the drought period.
– The true church was often outside mainstream Christendom, frequently persecuted or marginalized.
– Elijah’s declaration of no rain/dew is a remarkable expression of faith, reflecting the church’s faithful endurance despite hardship.

Seven Church Periods and Elijah’s Role
– The seven periods of the church, as per Revelation, are outlined:
1. Pentecost (Church 1)
2. [unspecified]
3. [unspecified]
4. Thyatira (the darkest period, linked to Papacy and Jezebel)
5. Sardis (Reformation period, requiring repentance and reform)
6. Philadelphia (promised coming quickly)
7. Laodicea (present day, Jesus “standing at the door” and knocking).
– The Reformation begins around 1517 (Martin Luther) and is seen as a revival of true doctrine, notably restoring the ransom doctrine (Jesus’ once-for-all redemption).
– The “many days” or “a full year” (1 Kings 17:15 margin) at Zarephath is interpreted prophetically as 360 years, possibly from 1157 (Peter Waldo) to 1517 (Reformation).

Elijah’s Miracles at Zarephath
– Elijah is commanded to go to Zarephath, outside Israel (1 Kings 17:8-16), where a widow miraculously provides food that does not run out during the drought, symbolizing God’s spiritual provision to the faithful church during the Dark Ages.
– The widow’s son dies and Elijah revives him (1 Kings 17:17-24). Elijah laying on the child with arms spread is seen as a representation of the cross and the restoration of the ransom doctrine during the Reformation.

Confrontation with Baal’s Prophets
– In 1 Kings 18, Elijah challenges 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. The Baal prophets fail to call down fire; Elijah prays and God sends fire, demonstrating divine favor and the power of true worship.
– The bullock on the altar represents Jesus and his sacrifice. The narrative’s time references (morning, noon, evening sacrifice) correspond to events in Jesus’ crucifixion (Luke 23:44-46).
– After the miracle, rain returns, ending the drought (1 Kings 18:41-45), symbolic of spiritual revival after papal oppression (approx. 1799).

Elijah’s Flight and Divine Provision
– Jezebel threatens Elijah’s life (1 Kings 19:1-3), causing him to flee to Beersheba and then into the wilderness.
– An angel feeds him miraculous food twice, enabling a 40-day journey (1 Kings 19:4-8). This feeding is interpreted as representing the church’s spiritual nourishment post-Reformation (starting 1829, after the 1290 days of Daniel) and the further restoration of truth leading up to the second advent (1335 days).
– The 40 days may symbolize 40 years (1874-1914) leading up to the time of judgment.

Mount Horeb and the Still Small Voice
– Elijah experiences a wind, earthquake, and fire on Mount Horeb but God is in the “still small voice” afterward (1 Kings 19:11-12).
– The wind represents the world wars (1914 and WWII), the earthquake the collapse of empires post-WWII (notably the Soviet Union in 1989), and the fire the current period of increasing difficulties before the Kingdom.
– The still small voice symbolizes the coming Kingdom and blessings.

Elijah Taken Up and Elisha’s Ministry
– Elijah is taken up in a whirlwind with chariots and horses (2 Kings 2), representing the church’s translation at the close of the harvest.
– Elisha succeeds Elijah, representing the “great company” class that will serve as God’s representatives on earth during the Kingdom.
– Elisha heals the waters of Jericho by putting salt in them (2 Kings 2:19-22), symbolizing the saints’ role in restoring and blessing mankind (“salt of the earth”).
– The mocking youths (2 Kings 2:23-25) who are mauled by bears are interpreted as representing initial resistance to the Kingdom blessings, possibly linked to the 42 months of papal persecution.

Symbolism of Abraham’s Journey and Church Ages
– Abraham’s journey from Ur (patriarchal age) to Haran (Jewish age), then Shechem (Gospel age, first redemption altar), Bethel (second redemption age), Mount Carmel (Elijah’s confrontation), and Samaria (capital of Israel) symbolizes the progress of God’s plan through different dispensations and the leadership of ancient worthies in the Kingdom.

Concluding Thoughts
– Elijah represents each believer and the church during the Gospel Age, undergoing severe trials.
– The journey of Elijah through drought, persecution, revival, and eventual translation parallels the spiritual history of the church and its hopeful future in the Kingdom.

Key Bible Verses Referenced:
– 1 Kings 17:1: Elijah’s drought proclamation to Ahab
– Luke 4:25: Jesus referencing the drought period
– James 5:17: Elijah’s prayer and drought
– 1 Kings 17:2-7: Elijah by the brook Cherith
– 1 Kings 17:8-16: Elijah at Zarephath, widow’s provision
– 1 Kings 17:17-24: Resurrection of the widow’s son
– Revelation 2:18-29 (Thyatira) and 3:1-11 (Sardis): Messages to church periods
– 1 Kings 18:20-40: Elijah’s confrontation with Baal’s prophets
– 1 Kings 19:1-8: Elijah flees and is fed by angel
– 1 Kings 19:11-12: Wind, earthquake, fire, and still small voice
– 2 Kings 2:1-12: Elijah taken up; Elisha succeeds him
– 2 Kings 2:19-25: Elisha heals waters and curses mocking youths

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This summary captures the discourse’s major themes, prophetic interpretations, historical context, symbolism, and scriptural references, totaling approximately 500 words.

Transcript

We’re going to talk about Elijah today. Yesterday we talked about natural Israel. Today we’re going to talk about spiritual Israel. We’ve been studying First Kings. That’s why this is on our mind.

Elijah, of course, was somebody not introduced to us until the 17th chapter of First Kings, and then suddenly we see the name First Kings 17, verse 1. Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, that was the king of Israel, the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand. There shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. So in verse two, the word of the Lord came unto him saying, and then he is going to tell Elijah where to go and what to do for his own preservation.

Well, I think all the brethren recognize that Elijah is a picture of the church, spiritual Israel, and it’s a picture of the church through the Gospel age that has undergone some very difficult and challenging experiences. Now, during this time, Ahab was married to Jezebel. There’s only one woman whose name I remember is in Revelation. Okay, no, there’s actually two. One is named Babylon, but the other by name is Jezebel.

It’s in the fourth period of the Church, and that, of course, represents Papacy, and then later in chapter 17, you see that woman with the name Babylon on her? Well, that’s papacy as well. So this is in a difficult period of the Church.

And there’s going to be, as you know, three and a half years of drought that is to be consumed in Elijah’s time. Well, that represents the 12, 60 years that the church that it was going to be a difficult time because the Roman Catholic Church would be allowed to dominate the Christian world. Now, you see on the map in front of you that it says, it shows you where Tishbe is and where Zarephath is. Now, those are the two areas that Elijah is going to be active in during this three and a half years of drought. Now, by the way, we mentioned three and a half years because you all know how long the drought was.

But if you read in First Kings, you’ll never find that number ever. It’s just not there. The only reason we know that is because In Luke the fourth chapter, verse 25, Jesus mentions that period of time. Jesus is never wrong, so I’m sure he’s right. But in James 5:17, you’re going to see it again.

So this is interesting to me that there are some things that were well known in the New Testament times that are not actually in the Bible record, and in this case it’s important because it’s meaningful. This represents the 1260 years during which papal influence would be supreme in the Christian world. Now it’s noticeable that since he was from Tishbe, he was not a person that lived in in the center of Israel. He was on the outskirts.

As a matter of fact, he was really east of the river Jordan. Now sometimes the eastern part of the River Jordan has been known to represent things spiritual. Now I give you an example, not something of my interpretation, but something I learned from other brethren, and that is when the tribes of Israel came into the land of promise, two and a half of those tribes were on the east side of the river Jordan. Now maybe you rec.

We didn’t talk about the land of Israel yesterday. We had it in our notes, but no time. But if you look In Ezekiel, the 48th chapter about the land of Israel for the kingdom period, there is no two and a half tribes on the east side of the Jordan. Only in the days of Moses and Joshua and those times forward were the two and a half tribes there, and I heard the analysis that Reuben might be a picture of the church and that Gad might be a picture of the great company and the half tribe of Ephraim on both sides might be the ancient worthies.

I think that’s right. I think that’s true. But that suggests the eastern part has something to do with the spiritual. If that’s right, then the fact that he was Elijah the Tishbite from Tishbe and that’s east of the River Jordan would suggest a spiritual connection. But then later he’s going to go to Zarephath and we’ll talk about that in just a moment.

But Zarephath also is north of Israel. So I think this is telling us that the true church, even through the Dark ages, was really on the outskirts of Christendom. They weren’t part of the main body of Christendom. They were kind of separate, and there were a lot of religious groups in Christianity during the reign of papacy that were on the outskirts.

Even sometimes the Pope sent armies from governments in to rid themselves of these people. Now I’ve read in volume two something about maybe 50 million people lost their lives during the reign of papacy. That sounds like a big, big number to me compared to the population that presently exists that would have existed. So I checked that on the Internet. I said, surely this is too big.

And on the Internet I found the same thing. So I gave a talk on that explaining 50 million people. I said, it sounded like a big number to me. Jim Parkinson suggested that maybe in fact that was the Roman Catholic Church’s early boasting of what they had done. I don’t think today the Roman Catholic Church would boast about that number as we’re in a wrong period of time.

So maybe the number is extreme and it was from their boasting. But the point is there was a large persecution of the church, and that’s what this period of Elijah and the 1260 days is all about. So maybe that’s why Tishbeh and Zarephath, where he’s going to be during this three and a half years of drought, maybe that’s why it’s not in the center of Israel, because the true Christians were not really fundamentally part of that body of papacy.

Okay, so there’s verse one. There shall not be dew or rain according to my word. Now, this is Elijah speaking to Ahab, saying this to the king. This is a remarkable expression of faith. Now, later, you know what’s going to happen in the Elijah picture.

He’s going to challenge the priests to BAAL and he’s going to say, when I say there’s going to be fire from above to consume the sacrifice, there will be you BAAL people, you try it first, see how that works for you. You know the story. It didn’t work for them, and as soon as Elijah went into the picture, he prayed for fire from heaven, and just like that, this is showing a great deal of faith now.

Now, I don’t know how it is that God communicated to Elijah these circumstances. Clearly he must have done it very direct and open way. But you had to have a lot of faith for this, and we need to have faith too. But I would never predict a certain judgment at a certain point in a certain situation. We know prophetically there’s going to be judgments and we interpretively assign those.

But I just think it’s a remarkable testimony of faith for this person. That said, until I say so again, there’ll be no rain or dew. I might wake up the next morning and wonder if I was right. But that’s a testimony of deep faith, and that does picture the Church in the dark ages of deep faith.

Now, I want to just mention that if you go to the Book of Revelation and you find the deepest part of the church, that would be Thyatira. That would be period number four. We’ll talk about the seven periods of the Church a little later today. But to that period, Jesus says in his message to that church, you’ve been suffering a lot, and I’m not going to put any other burden upon you except this one thing.

Whatever you’ve still got, just hold on until I come. That’s it. Now to church number five, he said, I’m expecting more of you. You have to repent. You have to reform.

Now, my opinion is that is the time of the Reformation. There are different opinions on this. We’ll talk about that later, too. But that’s when Martin Luther stepped forward and there was a vibrant effort to change the Christian faith and community, and it was very successful.

That’s the Reformation, and to that period of the church, he says, I do require more of you, and if you don’t do that, then when I come, it’s going to be like a thief in the night. You won’t be prepared. Then to church period number six, he says, philadelphia, I’m coming quickly.

That means that’s right at hand, and then to church period number seven. That would be to us today. He no longer says, I’m coming. He says, I’m standing at the door and I’m knocking.

If you hear my voice, open up and I’m going to give you a feast of truth like you’ve never had before. We have more truth today than the apostles had because it wasn’t timely for them to understand some of the prophetic things that we have today. We’re feasting wonderfully today. Okay, now, the three and a half times, three and a half years, prophetically, almost all the brethren recognized represents the period of 1260 years from 539 to 1799 when there was a dearth in the Christian world. Now, because the Reformation, it wasn’t as bad after the Reformation as it was before that, but still, the person dominating the Christian world and in league with the kings of the earth and with the powers that be, was the Roman Catholic Church.

Now, you know, years ago I studied this and I was interested. How can we really demonstrate 539? And I read a book that talked about the history of this time, and I believe the conclusion that most brethren have is right. But what really happened, you’ll find this in volume three, is that in 533 there was a decree made by Justinian that the Bishop of Rome is going to be recognized as the head of the of all Christianity in the Roman world.

That was in 530, but in 533, the problem is that Bishop of Rome was not really in control of Italy or even of Rome. So it took six years after that before finally Italy and the central city of Italy, the capital city, which was Ravenna, not Rome at that time, fell, and now finally the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, is finally in control. So that’s where we started 539 with the fall of Ravenna. 538 is when Rome became freed from the oppressors.

Well, they weren’t that oppressive. Those oppressors were people like us, people of Arian faith, but not like us. They bored and we don’t. Okay, that was quite different. So that takes you to 12, 60 years later, to 1799, when finally the Pope died in France as a prisoner and the authority of papacy was broken.

Okay, so that’s then in 1829, the end of 1290, that’s when understanding of the deeper things of the truth came back to the church. About three Herald articles ago, three Herald issues ago, Brother Owen Kindig wrote an article about 1829 and about all the things that in England, Christians began to understand. Very nice article, and I think it really supports the 1829 date, and finally, at the end of 1335 days, that would be the time when Jesus would appear and that would be the second advent.

And so this 1260 days of the time of drought does represent this prophetic period of time.

Okay, I’m going to forward a little bit more now. I know that when we talk about the seven church periods, everybody pretty much agrees that the first church period began with Pentecost and that the last seventh church period began with Laodicea. When you go in between there, you’re going to find a variety of dates. Now, I happen to be involved in, in listening to a study on Revelation on Sunday evening. Sunday afternoon, I should say.

That’s held by, oh, maybe half a dozen to a dozen brethren. I contribute, but I don’t lead, and they have a variety of different opinions about exactly when these periods of time would be. But you notice that red one in the middle? Thyatira360.

Now, I got this thought from Brother Frank Shalou in his Revelation book. But recently, when we were studying first kings, chapter 17, something came to our attention that I had never been aware of. Look, in First Kings 17, verse number 15, it says, and she went and did, according to the sayings of Elijah. We’ll talk about who that is in a moment, and she and he and her house did eat.

Many days. Many days. How many days was that? Well, I never noticed before that in the margin it says, or a full year. Is that a prophetic year?

Well, if it is, maybe Brother Frank Shalhou is right, that there were 360 years before the Reformation, which was a period of Church history that started in 1157 with Peter Waldo. I think he’s right. Now, he doesn’t agree with all of the things I have on the screen. I don’t want to suggest he does, but that’s where I get the date. 1157, Thyatira, going back 360 years from the Reformation in 1517.

So when you do that and you look at all these numbers, you know, I like numbers, but only when they make sense symbolically. I think these do make sense symbolically. So I think this is telling us again that Thyatira, the darkest period of Church history was the time when Elijah was, well, in difficulty, but at that time he would have been in Zarephath. So we’re going to read some of these scriptures now in First Kings, chapter 17, and let’s see, we’re going to start with verses two.

We read verse one, two through seven, and the word of the Lord came unto Elijah saying, get you hence and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook, Cherith, which is before Jordan, and it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook. I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according to the word of the Lord.

For he went and dwelt by the brook, Cherith, which is before Jordan, and the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook, and it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up because they had no rain by the land. So this is the first period of Elijah in the wilderness.

Now, I would like to know where Cherith is. I looked in my Bible for a map that would tell me where it was, and I don’t really know exactly, except that apparently it’s what they call before Jordan. Does that mean the east side or the west side of Jordan? I’m not entirely sure. Wish I had it on the map here.

But it was still removed from where the body of Israel was, showing that the church during these dark periods was not really integrated well into the nominal church. Now, maybe many of them were, maybe many of them were inside the nominal church and there were different people at different times. Even Martin Luther before the Reformation was a member of that church. So I don’t say they weren’t all there, but I think a lot of them were on the outskirts. Now, Brother Tim Krupa went to Europe a couple of years ago.

He came back home, gave a talk in Los Angeles about his findings from some of the museums in England. Not England, in Europe. Excuse me, where it talked about the martyrdom of so many saints in so many different European cities. Those were martyrdoms that were occasioned because they weren’t really supporting and part of the Catholic Church, and therefore there would have been, like, Elijah kind of on the outskirts, a lot of Christians on the outskirts, and the history of them, probably in most cases we don’t have good information on.

Okay, so this was for a time. Now I’m suggesting that maybe when he has to leave there and go to Zarephath, things are changing. Maybe even the period of the church is changing. So possibly it is, if we go to that period of the churches again, that in the third period of the Church, that’s where Papacy would have arisen and would have become dominant, and that then things got worse and worse and they had to move.

And, and so in Thyatira is worse, and I think that may be where Elijah had to go to Zarephath. So let’s read about the circumstances there. This would be first.

Kings 17, verse number 8 through 16. The word of the Lord came to him saying, arise, get to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon. Now, that’s not part of Israel. That’s not even part of the Promised Land. Not that they just didn’t have it.

It wasn’t even designated as part of the Promised Land. So I’ve commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath, and she found the woman, and he said, bring me a morsel of bread.

And she said, you know, I don’t have much. I have a cake and a handful of meal and a barrel and a little oil, and he said, just give me what you’ve got and we’ll see what happens. Verse 13. Elijah said unto her, don’t fear.

Go and do as thou hast said. Make me there of a little cake first. Bring it unto me, and make for thee and thy son afterward. For thus saith the Lord of God of Israel. The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the crucifoil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.

So she went and did according to what Elijah said, and they ate there many days. That is, God provided that this woman, who had barely enough meal and oil left for herself and her son for a day or two, would continue be nourishing them for the rest of the time that he was there. I think that’s the fourth period of the church, and I think it suggests to us that God overruled for the church to have as much spiritual nourishment as required to, to sustain their spiritual life during this time.

Well, now, something happens then, starting with verse 17. Now, I won’t read all the narrative, but you probably remember what happened. The young lady came and says, you know, my son is sick, and then her son died, and so she wonders if Elijah can help.

So Elijah goes up and he lays himself on the child, and some of the brethren in San Diego, when we were studying this, suggested that what he laid on the child, he was face down on the child and he had his arms spread out. What does that look like? A cross? Now that was new information to me.

I’m glad I studied with the brethren who brought this to my attention. I kind of think that that’s the point, that this is a time in the church when the ransom doctrine began to come back to the church. When was that? That was the Reformation, when Martin Luther. The foundation of his Reformation was that the Mass is wrong and the redemption that Jesus once and all gave is right.

And you don’t pay your priest to pay for your sin. Jesus has already paid for that. So Martin Luther, I think, is really started the whole effort of restoring the ransom, and I think that was finished in 1916 with brother Russell’s ministry of explaining all the benefits of the ransom. So I think this is the Reformation period.

Now, if you look in revelation into the fifth period of the church, this is Revelation 3, verse 1. This is what Jesus says to the fifth period of the church, I think the Reformation, about their spiritual life. Now, remember, this boy died and he’s brought back to life. But we’re still in the period of drought, the360, the 1260 years. So this isn’t at the end of the age.

This is still during the age. Revelation 3:1. He said unto the angel of the church in Sardis, write these things, saith he that have the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. Okay, let’s hear the message. I know your works, that thou hast a name, that you live and are dead.

Now, I don’t know of any other church in which he says, you’re basically dead, but they’re going to come to life because of the Reformation movement and start living spiritually again. I think that’s what’s suggested here in the Elijah picture, by Elijah laying out like a cross, and then three times it took to revive this person. Three is the number for the atonement and then finally, the child began to breathe again. Okay, let’s see.

Verse 24, and the woman said to Elijah, now, by this I know because you’ve rescued my child, that you are a man of God, and that the word of God, of the Lord is in thy mouth, his truth. Okay, let’s see. Let’s go forward a little.

Okay, now this is taking us to the next chapter. First Kings, chapter 19. Let’s see. I think I’m too far. Yeah.

Excuse me. That’s where I intended to be. Second Kings.

Okay, I’m sorry, That’s.

That’s not where I intended to be either. Let’s see.

That’s where I intended to be. Okay. It’s just the same picture. Okay, now you see on the right hand side, the picture of Elijah, and he’s confronting the priests of baal. You know the narrative, and you know that they took two bullocks, and each one of them put their bullock on the wood, and the priests of BAAL cried until the evening time, and their God didn’t hear them.

And then Elijah went into effect, and God heard him and consumed the animal. Okay, I’d like to look first at First Kings. Now this is First Kings, chapter 18. The whole chapter is about this narrative of Elijah coming back to Ahab, coming to find a priest named Obadiah. That was somebody that could talk to King Ahab.

And he said, go tell King Ahab that I’m back and I’d like to talk to him, and we’re at a time when perhaps this drought can end. So that would take us to 1799, approximately. So Obadiah is fearful of doing that. He says, you know, we never can find you when we want to find you.

So if I go tell Ahab you’re here and you disappear, my life is in jeopardy. Elijah says, no, no, no, I’m going to be here. So the whole narrative of the confrontation with the priests of Baal starts about this time. Now, it says in First Kings 18, verse 26, they, that is, the 450 false prophets of Baal took the bullock which was given them. They dressed it.

They called upon BAAL from morning until noon. Now, a little bit later in verse 29, it came to pass when midday was passed, and they prophesied till the time of the evening sacrifice. Now, this is engaging to me. The bullock would represent our Lord Jesus. That would represent the doctrine of the ransom.

And so there’s two opinions. Either the Catholic Church has their opinion about how they worship and how you have to pay priests and get forgiven and how it would only operate for redemption if the priest, if you are harmony with the priest or the true view, and that is that Jesus died once for all, for everybody, and whoever exercises faith will receive the value of that offering. So this is all about the offering of Jesus. So you notice that Jesus was put on the cross in the morning at nine o’ clock in the morning.

And then at noon there was darkness, and then midday, about three in the afternoon is when he died. All three of those date points of those time points are in the narrative. They started in the morning at noon, verse 27, another notification, and then in verse 29, when midday was past and they prophesied to the time of the evening sacrifice. Now if you look in the narrative of this episode, that has to be the middle of the afternoon, it can’t be nighttime because so many things are going to unleash after this.

It still has to be daytime for all of those other activities. So what you see in this narrative is all three time points that are effective when it comes to Jesus on the cross at mid morning noon and then when he died in the middle of the afternoon. Okay, now we’re going to go on because there’s more to say and our time is diminishing. We’re going to go on from this narrative. We’ll see in verse 42, after Elijah is successful and God brings down fire, that Ahab, that Elijah is going to think he’s triumphant and the things are going to turn better.

So see if we look into verse 41, chapter 1841, Elijah said unto Ahab, get up and eat and drink, for there’s a sound of abundance of rain. So Elijah went up to eat and drink and Elijah went to the top of Carmel. We’re going to see that name again perhaps, if we have time for it. He cast himself down upon the earth and he prayed. He prayed several times.

And then fire came down and everything’s. Excuse me, not the fire came down, the rain came down, and finally the drought is over. Now in chapter 19, chapter 19, Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, how that he had slain the prophets with the sword. Jezebel was not happy.

So she said, I’m going to threaten Elijah’s life. So Elijah, at the pinnacle of his success, begins to be very fearful, and in chapter 19, he’s going to run to another destination. Chapter 19, verse 9, verse 2, Jezebel said, Let the gods do so unto me, and more so, if I may not make thy life as the life of one of these prophets of BAAL by tomorrow about this time. So verse three, a little surprising when he saw that he arose and went for his life and came to Beersheba.

Beersheba is a place called the well of the oath. That well of the oath goes way back to Abraham’s day, perhaps suggesting that at this period of time, Papacy is not yet again finished with their work against the Church. It’s no longer in the 1260 years where they had the authority to kill, but it is still in a period of time where Papacy is going to resume some authority and have some authority to dominate the Christian world, at least in Europe. So Elijah flees in verse four, he went a day’s journey into the wilderness and sat down onto a juniper tree and just said, you know, take my life, I’m okay. Verse number five, as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, there an angel touched him and said, arise and eat.

And he looked, and there was a cake of bacon on the coals and a crus of water. He did eat, and he drank and he laid down again. Now, this is the first time of two times that God’s going to provide a miracle food for him, and this first time, I think, represents the feeding of the Church at the end of the 1290 years. That would be 1829 and forward.

When you read that article in the Herald by brother Owen Kindig, he lists seven items in which the Church began to understand again things about what is coming in God’s plan. It’s very complete and very nice. Even talked about the blessing of mankind in the kingdom. So this is when things began to come back to the Church. But Elijah’s not finished.

In verse seven, verse number six, he ate and drank and laid himself down again, verse seven, the angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him and said, arise and eat. The journey is too great for you. So he arose indeed. Eat and drink, and went in the strength of that food for 40 days. Is this a day, for a year?

Is this second feeding of the church, perhaps the 1335 years. You remember the three prophecies of Daniel 1260 is the affliction of the Church by severe punishment by papacy. Then the 1290, the first new feeding of the church, and then the 1335, the return of Christ at the end of the age, the opening of the harvest, and the understanding of the truth as we have it today, that takes you 40 days until finally you get to a time of judgment. 40 years. That would be 1874 to 1914.

So now we’re going to find judgments that start in 1914. There’s a wind, the earthquake and the fire that Elijah sees at Mount Horeb. Well, that wind, I think, represents the winds of World War. That was World War I and World War II, once the Second World War was ended, that none of the brethren anticipated would even exist. In 1914, they saw the world War start and they thought, this has got to be the end.

But it wasn’t. Years went by and another world war started. So we’re suggesting this wind represents the period of both of those wars. When you go to Daniel the seventh chapter, four winds drive upon the sea and four dominions come out of it. Those winds represent wars which produce the old empires of the earth.

These winds, I believe, also represent the winds of war. In this case, it’s breaking apart the old powers, and then after that, the earthquake, everything’s shaking up. Well, you know, after World War II, that’s what happened. England had an empire and they had all kinds of colonies everywhere.

And it all began to break up. We’ll suggest to you that this might take us to 1989, when with the last big empire that we know of began to break up. That was the Soviet Union. Now, I’m a little surprised how things have turned out from that time forward, but I think perhaps that takes us to that point, and thirdly, the fire phase.

I think perhaps that’s where we’re in today. Things are going to get more difficult as time goes by and finally lead us to the kingdom itself. So I’d like to read 1st Kings 19:12 after the earthquake of fire, the Lord was not in fire, and after the fire, a still small voice that will be the still small voice of the kingdom and of the blessings that are going to come. Now, our time is so limited that we’re going to just tell you what next might happen.

You all know that as we flip over to Second Kings, that we’re going to see the taking of Elijah in a whirlwind, and you see there’s chariots and horses and a whirlwind, and most of the brethren say that represents the taking of the church beyond the veil at the close of the harvest. I think that that’s true. I think the cities they went to one by one before they ended up with that final experience probably represent the experiences of the church through the harvest of the age and finally to the taking of the church at the end of the age.

Now, after this, we can get into Second Kings, chapter two, starting with verse 16 through 25. That’s as far as we’re going to go today. But this is after Elijah is gone. He’s taken in the whirlwind, and the person left is Elisha, and Elisha, I believe after he crosses the Jordan a second time, is going to represent the great company class that’s going to be God’s representatives here on earth for the kingdom.

And as we look at what happened in these verses 16 through 25, we’re going to find that Elisha is doing things that represent the blessing of mankind in the kingdom. Now we’ll Skip to verse 19. To begin with, the men of the city said unto Elisha, behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, but the ground is barren. In verse 20, he said, Bring me a new cruse and put the salt therein. So they brought it to him, he took the salt and he put it in the waters.

He says, I have healed these waters and there shall not from thence be any more death or barren land. Well, what is that salt that he put into the water and during the kingdom to help the blessings for mankind from that time forward? Well, I think that’s, you know, you not that you are the salt of the earth, and I think that salt of the earth is the administration of the saints beyond the veil that is going to cleanse and heal the waters so that mankind can have everything life giving and refreshing, and then in verse 23, he went up from thence unto Bethel.

And as he was getting up, by the way, there came forth little children out of the city and mocked him and said, go up thou old bald head, and he turned back and looked on them and cursed them in the name of the Lord, and there came out two she bears out of the wood and tear 40 and two children of them. Now in our study, it seemed to like most of the comments that came our way was that these children were not this tall, but this tall. They were young adults and they were youths.

And he went from Mount Carmel to Samaria. What are those 42 youths that are mocking Elijah, Elisha? Well, I don’t think the ancient worthies when they come back are going to be accepted by everybody. Just instantly Israel is going to receive them because they’re going to recognize them and they’re going to have some period of harmony and of instruction together. But outside the rest of the world, I don’t think they’re immediately going to accept this 42 youths.

Does that remind you of the 42 months when Papacy struck the church, you know, through the age? I think so. I think this is showing that even then there’s going to be some immediate reticence to accept the blessings of the Kingdom. Okay, verse 25, our last verse, and he went thence to Mount Carmel and then returned to Samaria.

Well, let’s see. Where is he starting from? Bethel. Now I have one more slide I think I’d like to show you if I can. There it is.

That’s a description of the area in which Abraham left and came back to finally the land that God had promised them. He left Ur of the Chaldees. I would suggest the patriarchal age. Next was the Jewish age pictured by Haran, and then when his father was dead, he came into Shechem.

And for the first time in Abraham’s experience, first time in the narrative that we read, he actually made an altar. I think that’s a picture of the gospel age, the first age of redemption. Then he went from there to Bethel, and I think Bethel is the second age of redemption. He built another altar there.

Two ages of redemption, and I think Bethel is the kingdom, and therefore, I think when he went from Bethel, he’s at the kingdom. He goes to Mount Carmel, where he had disputed with the priests of baal, and finally he goes to Samaria, which was the capital of Israel.

That shows the ancient worthies really taking effect as the leaders of the new world. Now our time is up. The chairman is very patient. He’s been patient with me for 60 years, so he can be a little more so. Thank you.

In this picture, the point is, Elijah is you. I hope me. Elijah is being developed during the gospel age with sometimes very severe experiences. We’re almost to the end. We’re almost to the time when Elijah is going to be taken in a whirlwind.

We’ll see what that experience will be, and after that, then the blessings of the kingdom. Thank you.

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