"IF THE LORD BE GOD, FOLLOW HIM."
By E. H. Rees
IN I Kings 18:21 we read these words: "And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him." We also read in the Holy Scriptures the promise of another like Elijah, who was to come before our Lord. See Mal. 3:1. And there is a like promise to those now living, which is found in Mal. 4:5. These promises are both of the same nature, and we shall see, as we read, that one has been fulfilled, and that the other is in process of fulfilment. Now, as these messages are alike, the only thing necessary for us to know what the present message should be, is to study what the first one was, and the reason why they are both referred to as the messages of Elijah. The reason why it is so important at the present time that we fully understand the message is, that we, as the people had in Elijah's time, have reached a crisis in the message. In the days of Elijah the people were following the customs brought in by their leaders, who had gradually separated from God, so that they had lost sight of His mighty power, and blindly followed their leaders into idolatry. So it was that when there arose a man who stood up and advocated following the Lord God, regardless of any man, "the people answered him not a word." Thus they showed that they were perfectly indifferent as to whether their leaders were following the instructions of the prophet of God, or not; they only looked to their customs and leaders.10And now, in the crisis which we have reached, we may know how God will regard us, in case we do as they did about making our decision. In a work entitled "Testimonies for the Church," Volume 3, page 281, there occurs this passage: "If God abhors one sin above another, of which His people are guilty, it is that of doing nothing in case of an emergency. Indifference and neutrality in a religious crisis is regarded of God as a grievous crime, and equal to the very worst type of hostility against God." These are words of truth. See Judges 5. In view of these things, it behooves us to acquaint ourselves with the former message, that we may know how to decide quickly, and thus not hinder the cause of God. Then we will not be regarded of God as the worst of hostile enemies to His cause, while professing to love and work for its advancement. The fulfilment of the first promise of Elijah was met in John the Baptist; for Jesus says of him (Matt. 11:10), "This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee." Also in verse 14: "And if ye will receive it, this is Elijah, which was for to come." Now when John himself was asked if he was Elijah, he said, "I am not." John 1:21. At first sight there would seem to be a discrepancy in these statements; for how could Jesus say of John, "This is he," and John say, "I am not," and yet both be true statements? We shall find the solution in Luke 1:17: "And he shall go before Him 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." So then we have the statement plainly made that the spirit and power of Elijah is what constitutes the Elijah of the promises in the prophecy of Mal. 3:4. Now let us examine the message found in Matthew 3: "In those days came John the Baptist, . . . saying, Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet." Thus we see that the very beginning of the message was a time message, and that it was based upon the prophecies. And furthermore, it was an announcement of the nearness of the coming kingdom. The call to repentance was to repentance for sin, and sin, being "the transgression of the law," was a call for a reform on the part of the people with reference to the law of God. Now, in this generation, the same spirit came upon the servants of the Lord, and sent them out with the same startling message to all the world, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand," and with the same admonition, "Repent ye." Then, in verse 4, we are shown John's plainness of life; so we know that the very spirit of the message calls for a reform in manner of life. For he whom the Spirit would use must be holy. By his abstemious life John was to rebuke the excesses of his time. A lesson in temperance was given to us, through the directions to John's parents by an angel from heaven. Again, in Matt. 3:6, 11, we have baptism as a part of the message; and in verses 7 to 9 is found the denunciation of the fallen and confused (Babylon) condition of the popular churches, with the call, "Come out of her, My people." In verses 10-12 the annihilation of the wicked is taught. In verse 11 the gift of the Spirit and spiritual gifts are brought to light; and in verse 12, the saints' inheritance. Thus we can make no mistake by holding fast the old message; for this is exactly what it is, and always has been. It was given by John, and is being given now, for the express purpose of "making ready a people prepared for the Lord." Now let us study the "spirit" and "power" briefly. In the days of Elijah apostasy was so widespread that the prophet thought himself to be the only one in all the nation who was loyal to God. "And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." 1 Kings 19:10. The Spirit, then, is one which will cause a person to cling to the message, when, to all appearance, the whole church, leaders included, have ceased to obey the messenger of God, and have apostatized from the message; when, to all appearance, the people, without exception, regard the servant of the Lord as the one in the wrong; when he must stand alone, and rebuke wrong and apostasy in leaders and people alike. The power of the message is the same as was possessed by Elijah. And we read of him that he "was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months, and he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain." There is another time recorded when he prayed, and God answered by fire. These prayers were for no other purpose than to save souls, and to vindicate the cause of God. Being unselfish prayers of faith, God could answer them; and, when they were answered, and God had vindicated Himself, Elijah did not become exalted. He remained humble under all circumstances. Dear reader, are you so filled with the spirit and power of Elijah which is in this message, that you can stand alone, if every leader and all the people should be "shaken out"? Can you so lay hold of God as to lose sight of self, and, no matter how or by whom the different phases of the message have been or may be brought to the front, you can go with it to triumphant victory and translation? May the Lord grant you His grace, that it may be so. "How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him."