Ⅰ
Elijah was a minister of the age with the vision for his age (cf. Mal. 4:5-6; Luke 1:13-17, 76-80; Matt. 17:1-13; Rev. 11:3-12); in every age the Lord has special things that He wants to accomplish; He has His own recoveries and His own works to do; the particular recovery and work that He does in one age is the ministry of that age; Elijah’s ministry was for him to be an anti-testimony, telling the children of Israel that idolatry is a sin that offends God; when all Israel worshipped idols, Elijah told them that the idols they worshipped were false gods, and only Jehovah was the true God:
A
Elijah’s name means “My God is Jehovah”; this speaks of his mission and message; he was the most prominent and the most representative of the prophets before the captivity, and he was an overcomer.
B
At the time of Elijah all Israel was worshipping Baal, and only Elijah said that Jehovah is God; he was a prophet raised up by God at one of the darkest hours of Israel’s sad history, when their desolation and darkness were most severe; the entire kingdom of Israel was following a pattern of idolatry—1 Kings 18:19.
C
Their worshipping Baal was actually their worshipping Satan; 2 Kings 1:2 says that the god of the Ekronites was Baal-zebub; in the New Testament Beelzebub means “the lord of flies,” referring to Satan as the ruler of the demons; this name was changed contemptuously by the Jews to Beelzebul, which means “the lord of the dunghill”—Matt. 10:25; 12:24, 27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15:
１
As the lord of the dunghill, Satan specializes in leading flies to feed on dung; since he is also the lord of flies, all sinners are like flies that follow Satan to “feed on dung”; all the fallen descendants of Adam are captives of Satan, who leads them about to commit sins and makes them “a slave of sin”—John 8:34.
２
We need to follow the apostle Paul’s pattern, who said that all the things that were once gains to him in the past, he counted as “refuse” (dregs, rubbish, filth, dog food, dung) that he might gain Christ—Phil. 3:5-8.
D
Ahab provoked Jehovah to anger more than all the kings before him; consequently, God raised up Elijah to declare that the children of Israel had been troubled because of idolatry and that only Jehovah is God—1 Kings 16:33; 18:4, 17-18, 37:
１
As New Testament believers, we need to take heed to the apostle John’s word—“Little children, guard yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21); idols refer to anything that replaces or is a substitute for Christ as the true, genuine, and real God (John 20:28-29); we need to see that the man Jesus is the very God (1:1-2; 5:18; 10:33; Rom. 9:5; Phil. 2:6; 1 John 5:20).
２
Jehovah said to Ezekiel, “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts”; an idol in our heart is anything within us that we love more than the Lord and that replaces the Lord in our life—Ezek. 14:3.
３
In the word antichrist, the Greek prefix anti has two main meanings—first, it means “against”; second, it means “in place of,” or “instead of ”; to be an antichrist is, on the one hand, to be against Christ, and on the other hand, it is to have something instead of Christ, something that replaces Christ—1 John 2:18-19.
４
We need to ask the Lord to save us from having a living that is in the principle of antichrist, the principle of replacing Christ, who is both the anointed One and the anointing; to have a living in the principle of antichrist is to have a living in the principle of being “anti-anointing,” which is to be “anti” the moving, working, and saturating of the Triune God within us—vv. 20, 27.
５
Satan’s aim is to receive worship from men by hiding behind numerous idols and religions (Matt. 4:8-9); idols have evil spirits and demons hiding behind them because Satan is behind them; the Father has to seek for worshippers because Satan is trying to rob God of worship (John 4:23-24; cf. 1 John 2:20, 27).
E
Elijah represents the principle of not caring for one’s own life in order to maintain God’s testimony; he was strong and courageous to stand before the king, the people, and the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal; when the church is desolate and the majority of the believers are lukewarm, God raises up overcomers to be an anti-testimony, who do not care for their own life and care only for God’s will (such as “Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells”)—Rev. 2:13-14; 12:11.
Morning Nourishment
1 Kings 18:21 Then Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you go hopping between two opinions? If Jehovah is God, follow Him; but if Baal is, follow him...37 Answer me, O Jehovah; answer me, that this people may know that You, O Jehovah, are God and that You have turned their heart back again.
Elijah rose up to be an anti-testimony. At that time all Israel was worshipping Baal, and only Elijah said that Jehovah is God. He was a prophet raised up when the darkness and desolation were most severe. At that time King Ahab and Jezebel not only worshipped idols but also killed the prophets of God; the entire kingdom was following a pattern of idolatry...God raised up Elijah to declare that the children of Israel had been troubled because of idolatry and that only Jehovah is God (1 Kings 18:18, 37). Elijah warned them that if they did not believe, he would ask Jehovah, and there would be no rain for three and a half years ... (17:1; 18:1). Nevertheless, Ahab still would not repent.
One day on Mount Carmel,... Elijah challenged [the people of Israel and the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal] to prove who really was God (v. 21). (CWWL, 1954, vol. 4, p. 543)
Today’s Reading
Elijah was strong and courageous; he went against the four hundred fifty prophets of Baal and all the people of Israel. To stand up as an anti-testimony at the time of desolation, one must have the spirit of Elijah, the courage of Elijah, and the testimony of Elijah. Every age of desolation needs overcomers like Elijah to step forward; while everyone is going after idols, there needs to be ones who can stand up and denounce everyone’s mistake. Today the church is still in desolation; thus, there is still the need for people like Elijah to rise up to be an anti-testimony, not caring for their own lives, not caring for the extent of the outward opposition, and not caring about their numerous opponents. In the end all the prophets died, but not Elijah; rather, he was raptured alive (2 Kings 2:1). We do not need to fear death; people may want us to die, but God wants to rapture us. This was Elijah’s testimony. (CWWL, 1954, vol. 4, p. 544)There is a sinning factor, an addiction to sinning, within man... [that] is Satan himself... In the Bible, Satan is also called Beelzebul... Beelzebul means “the lord of the dunghill,” from the name meaning “the lord of flies.”... As the lord of the dunghill, Satan specializes in leading flies to feed on dung; hence, he is also the lord of flies. Since he is the lord of flies, all sinners are like flies that follow Satan to “feed on dung.”
All the descendants of Adam are the captives of Satan... After he captured us, he entered into us as...the lord of flies and began leading us about to commit sins. Deep in his heart, no one wants to sin, but when a person becomes addicted and is stirred up by Beelzebul, he has to follow, allowing himself to be led around “by the nose.”... Although deep in his heart no one wants to sin, eventually everyone sins. No one has control over himself, and everyone has become a slave of sin. This is why the Lord Jesus said, “Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34). (CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “The Jubilee,” pp. 29-30)
In this age Satan is the ruler of this world. In his entire life Satan’s aim is to receive worship from men by hiding behind numerous idols and religions. Many idols have spirits because Satan is behind them. Satan’s intention is to rob God of the worship from men. Therefore, the Scriptures say that God is a jealous God... John 4:23 says, “The Father also seeks such to worship Him.”...The Father has to seek for worshippers because Satan is trying to rob God of the worship from men. (CWWN; vol. 15, pp. 28-29)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 4, “The Jubilee,” ch. 3; CWWN, vol. 15, ch. 4; CWWL, 1954, vol. 4, pp. 537-549; Life-study of 1 John, msgs. 31, 33