The Lord spoke to me last night about two kinds of fathers in the body of Christ right now that He is causing a separation and distinction from the Eli’s and the Elijah’s.
Both of these men had similarities in their lives. They were both fathers. They were both called, anointed, and appointed by God. Both of these men walked with the Lord, heard Him speak, and became oracles of God proclaiming His word. They were both prophets, and both of these men were undeniably loved by the Father.
However, the end of their lives appeared very different. Eli who was a high priest would go up every year to Shiloh and worship and honor the Lord bringing before Him a sacrifice. Though he started off right with the Lord, he began to be blinded and could not see, nor did he have an ear to hear. He allowed his sons to sleep around in the temple of God, and even when Samuel is in the temple and hears the voice of God crying out to him, it took Eli several times before he could even rightly discern it was God speaking. His heart grew callused, and his sight grew dim. He allowed his sons to run rampant in the house of God, and no longer corrected sin but traded his altar of intimacy for the throne of his son’s hearts, and he traded holiness and the glory of God for momentary satisfaction. Though he was a “seer,” he could not see. With that, the word of the Lord which was delivered to Eli and he did not take heed, came to pass, and in battle, his two sons were killed and the ark of God had been captured. Hearing of this news Eli falls backward in his chair and breaking his neck he dies, still blind to what was around him.
Then we have Elijah, a man of courageous and bold faith; a man that called down fire on Mount Carmel and dealt with the injustices in the land; a man that walked with God in total fear and reverence for His presence. One day Elijah and his servant Elisha are walking along the Jordan. The fifty sons of the prophets had just questioned Elisha saying, “Don’t you know your master is leaving you today?” Elisha responded to them saying “Yes, I know it. Keep quiet,” and he continued on with Elijah saying, “I will not leave you.”
Elijah walks with Elisha and takes off his coat, striking the waters of the Jordan they cross over supernaturally on dry ground. After he gets him away from all the chatter, and all the noise, he proposes a question to his servant Elisha saying, “What do you ask of me before I am taken?” Elisha responds back to him saying, “I want a double portion of your spirit upon me,” and Elijah turns to Elisha saying “you asked a hard thing, yet if you see me when I go, it shall be done for you.”
Now, why did he say you asked a hard thing? I believe in that moment after being proposed that question, Elijah began to recount all that he endured and went through to carry the measure of anointing on his life. Yes, we know of his great triumphs and victories in the Lord. But, the same man that called down fire on Mt. Carmel, and killed the prophets of Baal, was also found at one time under a juniper tree, begging for the Lord to take his life. A man that walked in great power and anointing was found feeling alone, wondering if there were any left in the world that still served God.
In this moment of questioning, I believe all these scenarios began to be recounted in Elijah’s head. The cost of the anointing, because how can any man build anything unless they first count the cost. And he didn’t respond saying, “If you prophesy like me…if you know the scripture like me.. if you have money and wealth..” No, the requirement for inheritance was “can you endure to the end? Can you finish the race set before you?” Paul also spoke on this matter saying, “I have finished the race set before me, and I have KEPT the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)
See it’s not just about whether you start in holiness, can you finish in holiness? Can you run the race set before you with endurance and finish the race well? Not being blinded by what’s around you and the things of this world. Greed, lust, and power come to destroy the children of God, but I urge you to keep your eyes fixed on Him. Jesus did not say “by your ability to preach or prophesy they will know your my disciples,” He said, “by your LOVE for one another.” Real love chastises, real love corrects, and real love does not allow the continuation of sin within the camps of God.
Real love doesn’t trade the ark of God’s presence and glory for the satisfaction of the flesh, but understands that “it is not I who lives, but Christ in me, the hope of all glory.” We are bondservants to Christ and the highest price in heaven was paid for our freedom and redemption. We have the ability through the cross of Jesus Christ to commune with God and walk with Him in direct relationship. Keeping His commandments, and walking upright with Him. That is an honor and a privilege. To spend your days at the feet of Jesus, and beholding His beauty. The Bible tells us it is those who endure to the end that shall be saved (Matthew 24:13).
These were two men who had callings to host God’s presence and raise up sons to be lovers of His presence. One passed the test, while the other failed. One had lost everything in his life including the presence of God, and fell over backward, dying as he hit his head because he failed as the “head” of his house. With that, his lineage died also. Then you have Elijah, who had many times of trials and tribulation but he stayed the course, and he allowed God to break him, to mold him, and to use him unto His glory. Elijah stood for righteousness and dealt with injustice in the land, and he raised up his son to love and fear God and keep his commandments. Eli fell and broke his neck, Elijah was ushered into the presence of God by chariots of Israel’s horseman and a whirlwind of fire, leaving his mantle and a double portion of his spirit behind. Elisha went on to do double the miracles that his father Elijah had seen and done.
There is a power in finishing well, and keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. God is dealing with the Eli’s in the house of God and raising up an Elijah company to overthrow and overturn injustice in the land and raise up a strong company of believers who will not only finish the course but will carry a double measure of the anointing the previous generation walked in, and they will help usher in not the first great awakening nor the second, but the GREATEST AWAKENING the earth has ever seen. One that will awaken the bride and she will not fall back into her slumber. I say, let the Elijah’s arise in Jesus’ name!
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Consuming Love Ministries
Featured Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay
