I was in prayer when I heard the Lord say.
“I am coming. Ask for the mantle of Elijah to rest on you and this generation.”
“What did Elijah do?”
He confronted the prophets of baal.
“Who is baal?”
“Baal won his dominance by defeating the other deities, including the god of the sea, the god of storms (also of rain, thunder, and lightning), and the god of death. Baal’s victory over death was thought to be repeated each year when he returned from the land of death (underworld), bringing rain to renew the earth’s fertility. Hebrew culture viewed the sea as evil and destructive, so Baal?s promise to prevent storms and control the sea, as well as his ability to produce abundant harvests, made him attractive to the Israelites. It’s hard to know why Yahweh’s people failed to see that he alone had power over these things. Possibly, their desert origins led them to question God’s sovereignty over fertile land. Or maybe it was simply the sinful pagan practices that attracted them to Baal.”
That The World May Know: Fertility Cults Of Canaan
“At times of crisis, Baal’s followers sacrificed their children, apparently the firstborn of the community, to gain personal prosperity. The Bible called this practice “detestable” (Deut. 12:31, 18:9-10).”
“Asherah was worshiped in various ways, including through ritual sex. Although she was believed to be Baal’s mother, she was also his mistress. Pagans practiced “sympathetic magic”, that is, they believed they could influence the gods’ actions by performing the behavior they wished the gods to demonstrate. Believing the sexual union of Baal and Asherah produced fertility, their worshipers engaged in immoral sex to cause the gods to join together, ensuring good harvests. This practice became the basis for religious prostitution (1 Kings 14:23-24). The priest or a male member of the community represented Baal. The priestess or a female members of the community represented Asherah. In this way, God’s incredible gift of sexuality was perverted to the most obscene public prostitution. No wonder God’s anger burned against his people and their leaders.”
That The World May Know: Fertility Cults Of Canaan
These evil spirits behind this worship have deceived many into unknowingly worshiping them by performing the same rituals through abortion, fornication (sex outside of marriage), sexual immorality, and perversion.
“When Baal was unable to possess one generation of Israelites, he would focus on the next—the nation’s children. Since children represent the future, if he could take hold of America’s children, he could take hold of America. So by removing prayer and the Word from the education of America’s children, he was weakening the transmission of faith to the next generation. He could then separate the entire nation from prayer, from the Word, and from faith. By causing God’s ways to become alien to the nation’s children, he could cause the alienation of America from God.“
“Baal’s American agenda was not limited to its school system. It would permeate every sphere of American culture. Its major newspapers would no longer publish summations of the past Sundays’ sermons, its leading magazines would no longer endorse Christian values, its entertainment would no longer uphold biblical morality, its politicians would speak less openly of Christian values, and its television stations would no longer promote prayer or present the ways of God in a positive light but would now war against them. Praying to God or mentioning the name of Jesus in the public square would be increasingly viewed with hostility.“
The Return Of The Gods by Johnathon Cahn
Jezebel killed many of God’s prophets. Prophets were sent to speak God’s word and warn the people. Jezebel took the word of the Lord from the people by killing the prophets of God so that they would continue to worship the gods she worshiped.
Since the Israelites disobeyed God and took in the practices of the Canaanites, a famine came to the land.
“1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead,a said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD lives—the God of Israel before whom I stand—there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”
1 Kings 17:1
First, the Lord confronted Baal by stopping all rain and dew. Because baal was believed to be the God of fertility, they believed he gave rain and dew to the land so they could have abundant crops. Incredibly, the Lord stopped the dew, which forms because of temperature changes, and wouldn’t help crops grow if he stopped it. He was showing his name great again; he created everything and could even prevent the dew. He showed the people that Baal did not control rain or dew. Initially, Ahab the king was not phased because they thought their God would defeat the Lord and give them rain and dew.
This drought that caused a famine lasted three years. There have been many prophetic words about a coming famine and 3 years of darkness. However, this famine is coming about, and he is allowing it so people will repent and return to him and his ways. He is allowing the shaking to wake up to how far we have left his ways and accepted the sins of the world’s culture.
Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”
18And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. 19Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. 22Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. 24Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.”
So all the people answered and said,“It is well spoken.”
25Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”
26So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they [g]leaped about the altar which they had made.
27And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.
30Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. 31And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” 34Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.
36And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”
38Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”
40And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.
41Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.”
1 Kings 18
I love how the Lord proves to the people that the gods they worship are worthless. I think the prophets of Baal and Ashera thought they failed in their attempts. I can imagine they were happy to put water all over Elijah’s sacrifice and felt convinced he would fail now, too. The Lord licked up not only the soaked altar with the sacrifice but also the trench, stones, wood, and dust. He showed them that the very materials they made their gods from were no match for him. He was the creator of all, including the dust of the earth that yielded their crops.
Jesus said that John the Baptist was Elijah to come. Elijah confronted the idols that caused the people to sin and paved the way for the Lord to confirm his word, mightily turning them back to himself and his ways and setting them free from wicked idol worship. In the same way, John prepared people’s hearts through repentance of sins. Jesus came as John prophesied; he moved in power, speaking the truth, healing the sick, and driving out the demons, setting the captives free. He established his kingdom on earth.
Elijah prepared the way for the Lord; John prepared the way for the Lord.
I felt like something was unfinished in this message, that the Lord had something else to say about it. I decided to read the context around the mountain of Transfiguration, where Elijah and Mosses appear talking to Jesus. Jesus and the three disciples come down from the mountain, and a man approaches Jesus in desperation to command a demon out of his son who was trying to kill his son. He explains that Jesus’ followers couldn’t do it even though he had given them the power to drive out demons in his name. The verse gave me immediate revelation, but I noticed it was worded differently. I noticed it was in a translation I don’t use on my bible app. Comparing it to other translations, it didn’t give me the same meaning as this one. I didn’t put too much stake in it but I noted it. The Lord is faithful to confirm his word whenever he speaks to me, and he confirmed the revelation this translation of the verse gave.
“Jesus responded, “You are an unbelieving people with no faith! You twist your lives with lies that have turned you away from doing the right things. How much longer should I remain here, offering you hope?” Then he said to the man, “Bring your son to me.”
Luke 9:41 TPT
A couple of days later, in school, we were reading When Heaven Invades Earth: A Practical Guide To A Life Of Miracles by Bill Johnson when I came across something that stood out.
Repentance is often defined as doing an about-face. It implies that I was pursuing one direction in life and I change to pursue another. Scripture illustrates it like this, “Repentance from dead works…faith toward God.”2 Faith then is both the crown and the enabler of repentance. This command has been preached strongly in recent years. The message is greatly needed. Hidden sin is the Achilles’ heel of the Church in this hour. It has kept us from the purity that breeds boldness and great faith. But as noble as that target is, the message has fallen short. God wants to do more than just getting us out of the red. He wants to get us into the black! Repentance is not complete until it envisions his kingdom.
WHen heaven invades earth: a practical guide to a life of miracles by bill johnson
One translation says you unbelieving and perverse generation, and another says faithless and twisted.
I believe there is a key to this verse about faith. Jesus performed many miracles in front of these people. On top of that, he gave power to his followers to cast out devils. The problem with their faith was that they were perverted. They were mixed with the world, believing in their other gods and following the world’s sins. It was this perversion that caused them to doubt God, who gave them many reasons to believe.
Before this, Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do people say I am.” Then he asks them, “Who do you say I am.” (Luke 9:18-20) He follows this by telling them of his coming death, and if they are to follow him, they must deny themselves just as he is about to do and take up their cross and follow him. He then takes Peter, James, and John to the mountain to reveal himself to them in his Glory. He shows them he is the one true God. Faith takes trust in our God, and trust is built from knowing someone.
Who do we say God is? Do we trust him? If we are twisted by the world’s ideologies, we might say Christ is my savior, but he is not my provider. Christ is my savior, but he is angry with me, and I have to figure this life out on my own. Elijah had great faith in God, but when Jezebel confronted him, he shrunk back. Who was his faith in? He journeyed through the wilderness for 40 days and nights. The wilderness is marked with the number 40 in the bible, and he will use the wilderness to teach us to trust him in the areas we do not and dismantle the lies of the enemy. The Lord showed Elijah his greatness once again and purged his fear (faith in Jezebel) by asking him why he was there. He soon settled his concerns and lies of the enemy with the truth and his divine plan that would not fail. The fear of Jezebel was an idol, and the Lord uprooted that fear out of Elijah’s heart. ( 1 Kings 19)
Three dark years. Wilderness. Did you know that if you take 40 and divide it by 12, it is 3.33? After three years, the Lord sent Elijah and gave him the strategy to confront the gods and end the famine.
The Lord is purging us from the world’s sins. He is causing us to walk holy as he is holy. He is removing the mixture so we can move in great faith and trust in our God.