Who Are the 4 Elijahs?

The Four Elijahs.

How many people in the Bible are described as coming in the spirit of Elijah? There are four. There is Elijah. Obviously Elijah himself came in the spirit of Elijah. His successor, Elisha, came in the spirit of Elijah. In fact, Elisha had a double portion of Elijah's spirit. (2 Kings 2) John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah. Elijah is referred to in the New Testament as Elias.

"And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?" (Matthew 17:10).

Christ gave two answers. One was present tense (present tense for them, past tense for us). "...Elias is come already..." (Matthew 17:12).

What did the disciples conclude from Christ's answer?

"Then the disciples understood that he spoke unto them of John the Baptist" (Matthew 17:13).

The other answer Christ gave was future tense. "...Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things" (Matthew 17:11).

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 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" (Malachi 4:5-6).

What will the fourth Elijah be like?

There has never been a time in human history when it has been more necessary to link fathers to their children especially in the western world. Children are murdering people for fun. Children are committing crimes and getting by with it because they are part of a permissive family (in many cases a family run by a mother who refuses to discipline her children or a cowardly father who doesn't know how to take charge of his family). The father may be missing from the family. Or the father may be unwilling to govern his family and equally unwilling to discipline his children. The end time Elijah will be viewed by society as a controversial person. He will have the revolutionary idea of parents loving and controlling their children and the revolutionary idea of putting men back in charge of their families! This will anger the liberal lawyers, politicians, priests, psychologists, bureaucrats, and opinion shapers (media controllers) who have benefited and profited from the breakup of families in the modern world.

Generally prophets do not find the majority of people welcoming them with open arms. Elijah will be no exception! Judging from the conduct and personality of the first three Elijahs, he will gladly be opposing the establishment. This Elijah will be restoring all things (Matthew 17:11).

Is it likely this fourth Elijah would be silent over the issue of the President of the United States (or any World leader) engaging in adultery? Based on the behavior of the third Elijah (Mark 6:18) the answer is "no." The majority of ministers in the United States will keep themselves out of issues like this. They will be amazingly silent. Having and keeping a congregation will be their top priority. Elijah will not engage in this kind of cowardice. Elijah will be the object of hate for the majority of the population of this world. The majority of people do not want to acknowledge the Lord as God. The original Elijah was a multi-gifted individual. God used him to stop the rain (1 Kings 17:1), to heal the sick (1 Kings 17:18-24), to anoint new kings (1 Kings 19:15-16), and to challenge false religion (1 Kings 18:19-40). We can certainly expect the end time Elijah to be multi-gifted as well.

You can expect the Antichrist to be, in many ways, the opposite of Elijah. He will be in favor of the breakup of the family. Remember he will be the ultimate undisciplined adult having the ultimate tantrum. His trademark will be blasphemy. The undisciplined children (especially teenagers) will identify themselves with the Antichrist. He will be more popular than the most profane rapper (singer of rap music). Extremely undisciplined children are noted for their verbal aggression (cursing, name calling, threatening, profanity). They will identify with the Antichrist whose blasphemy will be keyed into their willingness to be as profane as their imagination will allow them to be. These children will not want to retain God in their knowledge except as an object of blasphemy. When cursing and profanity no longer produce an emotional kick the next logical step is blasphemy.

The fourth Elijah will be one of the few who confront the Antichrist. The modern Elijah will force people to realize that the Lord is God, as his name suggests. This is the same thing the first Elijah did. After people realize the Lord is God, they will need to make a series of choices. For many this will result in turning the hearts of the children to the fathers.

-- wilyelder Bible-Questions

.

Questions? Send them to 8v@8v.com