THE ELIJAH MESSAGE
“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Yahweh of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith Yahweh of hosts. Remember ye the Law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Yahweh: 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
Surely this is a very familiar passage to everyone reading this magazine. A topic of much discussion in recent years has been who is this Elijah? And when will he come? Some believe that this passage was fulfilled in the life and ministry of John the Baptist. Yahshua suggests as much in Matthew 17:10-13. John himself, however, makes no such claim (John 1:19-21) and we can see from passages such as Matthew 11:12-14 that because John was not fully accepted by the people he was not able to fulfill the complete role of the prophet spoken of in Malachi 4. In addition, the broader context of our introductory passage certainly suggests a setting of the end times. As with other passages of scripture this prophecy of Elijah’s coming will have dual fulfillment. Yes, John did come in the spirit and power of Elijah but yet; Yes, Elijah is still to come.
So who is this Elijah? Many individuals and groups have claimed to be the final fulfillment of this prophecy, especially in the last hundred years, only to be proven fraudulent. Will the two witnesses spoken of in Revelation 11 come in the spirit and power of Elijah? Let me be honest with you brethren, I DON’T KNOW! I contend that the first question in our minds should not be “who is Elijah?” but “what is his message?” Again, there are many ideas and theories. Is it the Law? Certainly the passage in Malachi seems to suggest this when it says “Remember ye the law of Moses my servant …” Or, as I guess you’re all shouting right now: Is it the Sacred Name? Undoubtedly the Name is instrumental in this passage as the name EliYah actually means “My Mighty One is Yahweh!” Yes, brethren, the Law and Yahweh’s great Name are a part of this end time message. But what does the passage itself say? “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Yahweh: 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.” FAMILY RECONCILIATION – that, more than anything else will be the message of this final end time Elijah the Prophet!
Brethren, the world today (and America especially) needs a better understanding of Yahweh’s Law. It needs the knowledge of Yahweh’s Holy Name and the closer relationship with Him that it brings. But again, my contention is that even more than these it desperately needs family healing and restoration. In fact, I believe that without a healing of our families in this country the Torah Observant Lifestyle and Sacred Name Message will continue to fall on deaf ears. I’m sure we’ve all heard the statistics: approximately 1/2 of all marriages end in divorce, 1/3 of all births in this country are to unmarried women, 1/4 of all pregnancies end in abortion (it’s actually much higher
in some countries like Russia for example). Our families are in shambles and it’s ripping this country and the entire western world apart at the seams!
I firmly believe that Almighty Yahweh has given mankind two great teaching tools to help us learn of His character and what He expects from us. The first, of course, is His inspired word. The second and, I believe, equally important is our own family. How can we understand Yahweh’s sacrifice in giving His only begotten Son for us if we have chosen to forego the “inconvenience” of children through habitual use of “the pill” or even abortion. How can we see Yahweh as our personal and loving Heavenly Father if we didn’t grow up with a loving earthly father? How can we see Yahshua as our soon coming bridegroom when we have given up on our first love or been abandoned by the mate of our choice?
Those of us who cling to the Sacred Name and strive to keep His Law should be at the forefront in bringing this message to the world. Many of you see yourself as part of the end time EliYah message. I do as well! Let us preach the full and complete message, not just a portion. Let us walk the walk and talk the talk! Each of us should feel the responsibility to first of all: establish and maintain strong families in our own homes but also to take this message of family reconciliation to the world around us through the examples that we set and the words that we speak.
I’ve chosen to list four principles which I believe are grounded in scripture and have proven themselves out in my own family. These are actions which if applied diligently will lead to strong families. The world does not teach these things brethren! Quite the contrary, it will seek every opportunity to destroy what we as parents and grandparents have labored so hard to build.
Support Man’s Leadership in the Home/Assembly (1 Cor. 11:1-10, 1 Cor. 14:34-35, 1 Tim. 2:9-15) Brethren, we live in an enlightened age don’t we (I speak facetiously)? We have overcome the ignorance and backwards practices of many generations including the founding fathers of this country and finally given women equal rights with men! Our government has made it clear (since the 1920’s at least) that man is no longer the head of the family unit. No, man and woman are equals in every respect as the women’s liberation movement so kindly reminds us all. Is it a coincidence, brethren that the start of the disintegration of the family unit seemed to coincide with the rise of the women’s liberation movement in this country? Don’t get me wrong, I believe that men and women are equally precious in Almighty Yahweh’s eyes albeit created with different roles. Every team has a captain or else confusion reigns. And that is what we have in many marriages today, brethren, CONFUSION!
Teach Men to Love/Respect Women (Gen. 2: 21-25, Eph. 5:22-28) It says in Genesis 2 that a man and his wife are to become one flesh. I am continually amazed by the awful things men of this world say of their spouses, sometimes in jest, sometimes not. In my view this is equivalent to insulting one’s own self! The longer I am blessed with the companionship of my beautiful wife the more I see that man is not complete without woman. My wife compliments me in many ways, she is strong where I am weak and is in some ways closer to Almighty Yahweh and more understanding of His ways. Together we are strong in the faith!
My dad is fond of saying that the most important thing any man can do for his children is to LOVE THEIR MOTHER. I think those are wise words! May we all teach our children the meaning of true love through healthy relationships with our wives and husbands! Children cannot be told how to love! They must be shown, every day, their entire lives.
Demand that Children Obey their Parents (Exo. 20:12, Col. 3:18-21) The fifth commandment is often spoken of as the first one with a promise. We are told that “our days will be long upon the land” if we will only honor our father and mother. There is also a curse implicit here as well brethren. If we choose not to love and respect our parents our days will most certainly be few and filled with trouble. The world is doing everything it can to undermine the authority of the parent in their home, most especially through electronic media (TV, Movies and Music). I strongly suggest that all you parents out there follow my advice and throw your TVs out! Do not let Bart Simpson, Caillou and the like destroy your child’s love and admiration for you and the things you hold dear.
Unfortunately, children do not understand this concept until they are no longer children. I try to reason with my children and get them to understand why certain things are wrong and why they must occasionally be punished. This only gets me so far. Quite often it just boils down to “Daddy Said So!” and a swat on the behind. I firmly believe that if we spare the rod we will spoil the child (Prov. 13:24, 22:15). Almighty Yahweh is firm in correcting us; we must be firm (and loving) in correcting our children.
Care for Our Extended Family (Ruth, 1 Tim. 5:1-8) These verses in Timothy are strong words brethren! V8 says: “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” Wow! Failing to provide for one’s family is equivalent to denying the faith! I believe that as with many scriptures there is a physical and a spiritual application to this passage. You men out there, not only must you provide food, shelter and clothing but also spiritual instruction and righteous correction to those placed in your charge. Looking at the context of this passage in 1 Timothy, it’s pretty clear that Paul is not just talking about sons/daughters/wives but also elderly parents, aunts, uncles, etc… Unfortunately, this is another area where the Government has stepped in to destroy the paths of old and traditions of yesteryear. The modern welfare state has done away with the need for multi-generational families to live together. No longer is it common for children to learn at the feet of their grandparents. Cultural and spiritual heritage is no longer passed from generation to generation; we have television for that now! This should not be the case in families of faith. Regardless of minor doctrinal differences we should encourage our children to learn from our relatives, close and distant. They need to know that many of their ancestors have learned from the Scriptures and sought to apply its lessons to their lives.
Brethren, continually applying and reinforcing these four principles in our homes will keep our families strong. And the world will take notice! We will be shining examples in our communities, our schools, the work place and yes even our places of worship.
Brethren, as a father of four let me be the first to tell you that the odds are stacked against us. I often feel overwhelmed when thinking of the mass of forces arrayed against me in my struggle to keep my family together. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith Yahweh of hosts.” Zechariah 4:
Returning to our opening passage let’s read the closing lines once again: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Yahweh: 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.” That curse has already begun brethren. This country and indeed, the entire world, have become consumed with violence. It seems like every day I hear about fathers and mothers doing horrific things to themselves and their loved ones. Families are the glue that holds any society together; they are the bricks and mortar that build strong assemblies. May Yahweh bless us all as we strive to take Elijah’s Message to this sick and dying world. HALLELUYAH!
Mark Biggs