The Old Testament closes out with this glorious prophecy: “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” (Malachi 4:5-6 NKJV).
Before the cross, most people did not have direct access to God; only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies. Now Jesus’ death on the cross has made a path for us into the Father’s presence. God tore right through the veil that had always separated us from him. He can come out and embrace mankind, including prodigals and sinners, with no interference.
The days of the Gentiles are almost over. God has given us plenty of warning that the Spirit will not forever strive with the rebellious. But before this generation comes under the retribution of almighty God, a great restoration is prophesied.
“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, my great army which I sent among you” (Joel 2:25 NKJV).
“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he consecrated for us, through the veil. …Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…” (Hebrews 10:19-20, 22, NKJV).
There are two sides to Christ’s work at Calvary. One is to the benefit of man, and the other is to the benefit of God.
God has revealed to us a sure way to become holy and perfect in his sight, whereby all his children can live in absolute peace and joy, knowing God looks on them as pure.
“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:21-24, NKJV).
Three months after Israel left Egypt, they arrived at the base of Mt. Sinai and set up camp. Moses climbed the rugged mountain to commune with the Lord and God called to him saying, “I am going to come to you in the form of a dark cloud so the people can hear when I talk to you. Then they will always believe you. Go down and get them ready for my visit. Sanctify them.”
I believe in Holy Ghost timing. Our prayers will be answered, one way or another, in God’s own time. However, we are often afraid to submit our prayers to Holy Ghost scrutiny. Some of those prayers need to be purged because our faith can be misspent on requests that are not mature. We do not know how to pray “your will be done” (see Matthew 6:10). We don’t want his will as much as we want the things permitted by his will.
God gave our forefather Abraham the land of Canaan “as an everlasting possession…” (Genesis 17:8, NKJV). In Hebrew, the word everlasting means never-ending. You might think that Abraham had to rejoice over this. God promised his descendants a permanent homeland, as far as they could see, and it would last into eternity. However, the New Testament tells us the world will be destroyed by fire, burnt completely out of existence, after which the Lord will bring about a new heaven and earth.
Elijah, that great prophet, had become disheartened by the moral landslide his nation was experiencing and had fled from the threats of wicked Queen Jezebel. God found him hiding in a cave on Mount Horeb and asked, “Elijah, why are you hiding?”
With indignation, Elijah replied, “God, I've been jealous for your glory, but your people have forsaken your Word, and your ministers have been persecuted. I'm the only one left, and now they're out to get me too."
What is it going to take to get us out of our miserable lives of guilt and depression? Aren't you tired of living a life of fear and mental torture? Haven't you yet learned there is a better way? What will it take to make us see that a far more glorious life awaits us?