PROPHETIC RESTORATION (1)

“Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will RESTORE ALL THINGS” – Matthew 17:11b

Elijah’s prophetic ministry, not only manifested Preservation, but also stood for PROPHETIC RESTORATION: “Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will RESTORE ALL THINGS” (Matt.17:11). The Old Testament ends with the prophecy that the Lord will send the prophet Elijah, before the Day of the Lord: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse” (Mal.4: 5-6). Here in Matthew 17, Jesus confirmed this prophecy, following the supernatural appearance of Moses and Elijah on the Mountain, as Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John (vv.1-4).

The Lord added: “But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished” (v.12a). These words imply that Elijah had come, but they also mean that he is going to come. In essence, Elijah’s coming must be seen in several persons and phases. Elijah came back through Elisha continuing his life’s work in the spirit of Elijah (2 Kgs.2:15). Elijah came back through John the Baptist, who went before Jesus “in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Lk.1:17). Elijah returns through Intercessors who pray as Elijah prayed. Elijah can come back all over the world in the Church through Believers who pray earnestly, effectively and fervently (Jam.5: 17-18).

Indeed, the Jews have a strong expectation of Elijah. Every year when they celebrate the Passover in their homes, they place an empty chair, ‘Elijah’s chair’, ready at the table, in case Elijah should suddenly appear as a guest in their home. There is a great need for many to serve the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to fill those empty chairs. In the here and now, the Lord has called out and is yet calling out His Church for a special mission for the end of this present age. I have the witness of the Holy Spirit that the Bride-Church will also be the Prophetic Church, characterized by Elijah’s prophetic ministry of Restoration and Preparation, prior to the Second Coming of the Lord.

God’s Spirit thirsts after the Redeemed who will stand in the gap with responsibility for the land: “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found no one” (Eze.22:30). His Spirit longs for individuals and groups of His people who will take on prophetic service in the End Time with unique Kingdom responsibilities.