1/13/25/120
Dear Friends,
This is the New Moon of the 13th month of the 25th year. It is the last month of the year and the preparation period for the New Year and the Passover. I have mentioned many times that we are to discern the body of Christ, which is the Church and keep the Passover with that body. It is the responsibility of every individual in the body of Christ to identify the true Church and keep the Passover with that Church.
What constitutes the true Church of God? Unlike the Roman Church we do not place our reliance in a succession of apostles from some mythical date that long ago ceased to be of the faith and were apostate. It can be truly said that the church in Rome ceased to be of the faith at the time of the Quartodeciman disputes in 154-192 CE (see the paper The Quartodeciman Disputes (No. 277)). Like the silversmiths of Ephesus who joined the Church and became bishops in Asia Minor to further their own interests, these people were never of us. Our lineage comes from the baptism of the members of the Church and the leaders placed in charge of them to execute the sacraments of the Church of which there are only two sacraments (see the paper Sacraments of the Church (No. 150). It is this factor that is the strength of the Church and why the Church can never die while two of us are left alive on the planet. This is what Christ meant when he said that the gates of death would never prevail against us.
It is the fact that we are allowed to make errors in the Church and factions are allowed in order to show whom among us is approved by God. The hallmark of the Church of God is obedience to His word and the structure of worship as laid out in the Bible. This obedience and order is the seal of God and the indication of the lamp-stand of the Church when it is moved. Christ does not remain where error and sin abound. The Church is a powerful force on the world, which is concerned with the struggle for spiritual strength and supremacy. God allowed the disintegration of the Churches of God in the last days because they were impure and were embracing error and sin and so had to be dispersed.
Thus baptism is the key cement that binds us tighter together and to God, and obedience qualifies us in the faith. That does not mean that God leaves us leaderless in these transitions. Much has been made of the story of Elijah and the qualifications for that prophet in the last days. Much also has been made of the Elijah/Elisha transition. This also is misunderstood.
Elijah was one of the greatest prophets in the Bible Narrative. God promised
to send him to us in the last days. Malachi ends the Pre-Messianic narrative
with the injunction:
“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 hearts of the fathers to the
children and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite
the earth with a curse (Mal. 4:5-6).”
Christ said what appeared to be contradictory statements when he said:
“All the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you will receive
it this is Elias, which was to come. He that hath ears let him hear (Mat. 11:13-15).”
Thus he was indicating that John was Elijah but he said later that Elijah must
first come and restore all things.
“And his disciples asked him saying, ‘Why then say the scribes that Elias must
first come?’ And Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘Elias truly shall first
come and restore all things. But I say unto you that Elias is come already,
and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they wanted. Likewise
shall also the son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that
he spake unto them of John the Baptist (Mat. 17:10-13).
Yet John himself denied that he was Elijah or Messiah (Jn. 1:25-27).
Let us look now at what is being conveyed here in the discussion regarding Elijah.
2Kings 2:1-25 Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a
whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 And Elijah said
to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” But
Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave
you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 And the sons of the prophets who were in
Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the LORD
will take away your master from over you?” And he said, “Yes, I know it; keep
quiet.” 4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the LORD has sent
me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I
will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5The sons of the prophets who
were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today
the LORD will take away your master from over you?” And he answered, “Yes, I
know it; keep quiet.”
6 Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the LORD has sent me to the
Jordan.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not
leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets
also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by
the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water,
vand the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of
them could go over on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you,
before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double
portion of your spirit on me.” 10 And he said, “You have asked a hard thing;
yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but
if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” 11 And as they still went on and
talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them.
And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it and he cried,
“My father, my father! xThe chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw
him no more.
Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. 13 And he
took up the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood
on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen
from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?”
And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to
the other, and Elisha went over.
Elisha Succeeds Elijah
15 Now when the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him opposite them,
they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” And they came to meet him
and bowed to the ground before him. 16 And they said to him, “Behold now, there
are with your servants fifty strong men. Please let them go and seek your master.
It may be that the Spirit of the LORD has caught him up and cast him upon some
mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send.” 17 But when
they urged him atill he was ashamed, he said, “Send.” They sent therefore fifty
men. And for three days they sought him but did not find him. 18 And they came
back to him while he was staying at Jericho, and he said to them, “Did I not
say to you, ‘Do not go’?”
19 Now the men of the city said to Elisha, “Behold, the situation of this city
is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the land is unfruitful.”
20 He said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to
him. 21 Then he went to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, “Thus
says the LORD, I have healed this water; from now on neither death nor miscarriage
shall come from it.” 22 So the water has been healed to this day, according
to the word that Elisha spoke.
23 He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some
small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead!
Go up, you baldhead!” 24 And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed
them in the name of the LORD. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore
forty-two of the boys. 25 From there he went on to Mount Carmel, and from there
he returned to Samaria.
God established Elijah as prophet in Israel and he dealt with Ahab and the prophets of Baal. However he was not the only prophet in Israel. Also God determines who will lead Israel as prophet and it is not for men to decide the gift of prophecy. When God decided to remove Elijah and replace him the prophets knew. Moreover they watched to see who would replace him and where he was. Their words were that God would remove Elijah from over Elisha. In other words the authority that Elijah possessed would be removed and Elisha would have no prophet above him or between him and God.
Elijah also demonstrated by miracle his power by parting the Jordan as had been done by Joshua in the entry. This was done with his mantle, which was the symbol of the power of the spirit placed upon him. This meant also that the promise would be extended beyond the Jordan to the nations in the spirit of prophecy in the time to come. Three times Elisha declined to remain behind and went with Elijah. Also fifty sons of the prophets followed them at a distance observing what was to become of them and particularly Elijah.
Elijah asked what he would do for Elisha before the Lord took him and he asked for a double portion of his spirit to be rested on him. Elijah decided that what he asked was presumptuous but he said that if he saw him being taken then it will be so but if not it would not be so. Nevertheless when the chariot of fire drawn by horses of fire appeared and took Elijah then Elisha saw them and so knew that God had honoured his request and given him the power of the Holy Spirit as had been possessed by Elijah and more so if that were possible. Elijah was taken away to do another task and we have dealt with that aspect in the paper The Witnesses (No. 135).
The lessons to be learnt here are that prophecy is given to God’s servants as He wills and directs.
The mantle fell and was picked up by Elisha. He knew that God had given him authority as prophet in Israel. This understanding is often a key criterion and also a cause of much confusion because of the usurpation of the role by unstable minds. In these last days we see hundreds of such people.
Elisha also then performed his first miracle using the mantle as Elijah had done only a short while previously. When the sons of the prophets, who had been told to view from Jericho, saw it they knew that Elisha was the Lord’s anointed and acknowledged him. They bowed down before him.
In the same way the servants of God know the power of God and know the Lord’s voice and his servants the prophets. This process was established in the elect people for the next three thousand years.
The lesser prophets were of little faith. They demanded that Elisha allow them to go and search for the body of Elijah because he may have been cast down on some mountain. He at first refused but gave in on their instance. They went and searched for three days but did not find him and Elisha said: Did not I tell you not to go?
They then turned to Elisha and asked him to perform a miracle for them as their spiritual leader.
The symbol of the three days was that for three thousand years the Spirit would act in the elect of God. The first day of one thousand years was as the Nation of Israel under the prophets to John the Baptist, and in the last two days of two thousand years as the Church of God as directed by God. God would make it plain who his people were and who by their own fruits would lead God’s people. By simple observation and viewing of the fruits of the Holy Spirit God’s people would know where the mantle of Elijah would be.
This also told us a number of things. The first thing is that the power of God transferred from person to person as determined by the Holy Spirit and these prophets and leaders are raised up as required in the transition of the power of God through the Holy Spirit. No group of men can seize power of the Holy Spirit or of the power and rule of God as the Pharisees later tried to do.
Secondly: In the crossing of the Jordan people would perform their own miracles in baptism and faith and follow the Church as Christ would move in the pillar of fire and cloud.
Thirdly: In the second miracle performed by Elisha when he returned to Israel over the Jordan as his task was to Israel first, he made clean the waters at Jericho, which was the original focus of the gentiles in Israel in the first occupation. This act symbolised that the power of the waters of the Holy Spirit would be made available to the people of God through the salt of the earth, who are the servants of God and Christ, which hold the spirit of prophecy.
Elisha then went forward to Bethel and a number of youths came out and mocked him. These were not children as the KJV says. They were young louts who mocked Elisha and said, “Go up baldy.” This was of the import of “go on with you liar.” In other words he had told so many lies that his hair had fallen out. Now this is a direct affront to the power of God and would not be tolerated. As a result of his rebuke two she bears came out of the woods and ripped forty-two of these louts apart. If he had no power as a prophet then he did not do this action. It was mere misadventure, as they themselves should have had power over the bears. This was a warning to all who would make light of the prophets of God as Elijah had himself demonstrated with the soldiers and their being struck down by lightning from heaven. Also the allusion of the forty-two youths torn at the end is to the forty-two months in the last days when the outer court is trodden under foot. These three and a half years are when the world is struck down by the power of prophecy by the two witnesses. These are the bears let loose on the world.
The lessons we learn are that God determines the elect and raises up their leaders and proves them in the power of the Holy Spirit with the understanding of the word of God. Word by word, line by line, here a little and there a little they explain the powers of the Scriptures and the word of God in prophecy.
They convey the word of God and the Holy Spirit reveals through them the plan of salvation and that is why the angels themselves long to look into what is said as they also do not understand the full plan and have to work by faith as the elect. They can see part of the plan not being in time and space in the same way as the physical creation but nevertheless much is withheld from the Host and revealed through us for the benefit of all.
When a church goes bad and is dispersed and loses its lamp-stand then another is chosen and raised in its stead immediately. It is selected and prepared as Elisha was previously and then takes power when it is required.
No group can partake of the Holy Spirit unless it is being placed in the body of Christ to do the work of the Lord in the Holy Spirit. Thus baptism is a symbolic act which has a powerful spiritual effect and which places the recipient with the laying on of hands into the body of Christ in the name of God in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is at the Passover that we renew the covenant we made with God in Christ at our baptism and dedicated ourselves to the service of God for the next sacred year. If we do not discern the body of Christ and keep it with the body we place ourselves outside of the Temple of God until we wake up and perform.
We are sometimes fascinated with the approaches we get regarding baptism and the Church. We recently had a couple virtually demand to be baptised but refused to be interviewed or tell us anything about themselves. How do people get to that point in their lives where they simply don’t value the rite of baptism and what it is they are doing, or asking for, or wish to receive? Much of that comes from this Pentecostal movement, which holds that it is enough to call on the Lord and once saved always saved. Not so.
The same can be said of the people who think that God will raise up a leader and correct the Church they are in and they simply have to hold tight and wait for their salvation. Neither is that so.
If you did not move with the pillar of fire and cloud then you did not stay within the protected elect nation and did not receive the manna provided daily except on Sabbath. So also is it with the Church of God. Wherever the Churches of God are established and performing in obedience then Christ is working. What they do and teach will show who has the approval of God. The spirit and power of Elijah is in the Church continually and is exercised by its people as they are appointed to perform the work of God. We wait for Elijah but his spirit is already here and has been for nearly three thousand years.
It is your job to prove all things and find them and perform in obedience to the glory of God and the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom of God.
Our job is to prepare for our renewal in the covenant that will take place at the Passover. Prepare now and look forward to being with the people of God.
Our first step is to sanctify the Temple of God, which Temple we are. Prepare now for the New Moon of Abib and Sanctify the Temple of God and through them the simple and erroneous of our people who know no better. In that way you can demonstrate your faith by works and your love of God and your fellow man.
Wade Cox
Coordinator General
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