The Restoration of the Spirit and Power of Elijah to the Church

 

    • Malachi 4:5 "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.

    • Revelation 11:3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6 These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

    • 1 Kings 17:1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

      It appears that the two witnesses prophesied in Revelation have the spirit of Elijah (and Moses), for like Elijah in the Old Testament, they also are given power to shut up the sky. Some believe that we are now in the "days of Elijah," when the spirit that the Lord gave to Elijah is being restored to the Church. We believe that the two witnesses of Revelation are not necessarily two specific individuals, but might represent an army of nameless and faceless Elijah-like disciples who will have great power to witness for Christ in these last days. They will have power to demonstrate to the world that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God through powerful miraculous signs. However, when the age of grace is over and the age of judgement begins, the ministry of the witnesses on earth at that time will not be preaching the gospel, but of bringing judgment upon the earth according to the verses in Revelation above.


    The purpose of the spirit of Elijah in this present dispensation is to proclaim the gospel with great power and boldness leading to the prompt fulfillment of Christ's Great Commission.

    In 1 Kings 18, Elijah challenges the servants of the false god Baal to a "power encounter." When Baal fails to deliver, Elijah calls upon the name of the Lord, who answers with a miraculous sign---fire from heaven.

    • 1 Kings 18:39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD-he is God! The LORD-he is God!"

    In the same way, God is restoring the spirit of Elijah to His Church so that we may proclaim to the nations that "my God is the true God, and I will demonstrate that to you in the power of miraculous signs." These signs are generally miraculous healings.


    The New Testament teaches that believers who are sent to preach the gospel have been given a measure of authority to heal diseases and cast out demons to confirm the gospel of Jesus Christ.

    • Luke 9:1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. …6 So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.
    • Luke 10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. …9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' 17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.


    The mission of The Elijah Challenge is to teach missionaries, church planters, evangelists, and believers how, in a consistent fashion, to demonstrate through miraculous signs and healings that Jesus Christ is the Son of the true God.

    The spirit of Elijah proclaims to the world, "My God is the true God, and by His grace I will demonstrate it to you in power."

    Training with the The Elijah Challenge