Im the work of Elijah, the prophet of God, we have an instructive example of preaching the Gospel "in demonstration of the Spirit and power." (1 Corinthians 2:4)
In a time when Israel's king, Ahab, "did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him," (1 Kings 16:30) and had openly established the worship of Baal at the court, so that the influence of the royal family was tending to lead the people into idolatry, Elijah bore his testimony faithfully in behalf of the true God. His work reached its climax in the experience at Carmel, as set forth in 1 Kings 18:17-39.
Elijah Sent to Ahab
After the years of drought, during which Elijah had been hidden from the king and miraculously fed by the Lord, "the Word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go show yourself unto Ahab. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, Are you he that troubles Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father's house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and you have followed Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent unto all the children Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long do you halt between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him." (1 Kings 18:1,17-21)
The Test
Then the test was arranged in accordance with the terms of which the prophets of Baal were to prepare a sacrifice, and then Elijah was to do the same, "and the God that answers by fire, let Him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken." (1 Kings 18:24)
So the plans were carried out, and although the prophets of Baal "called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, ... and ... prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, ... there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded." (1 Kings 18:26,29)
Then Elijah "built an altar in the name of the Lord," (1 Kings 18:32) and offered a brief prayer recorded in verses 36-37, and: Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord He is the God; the Lord He is the God." (1 Kings 18:38-39)
The Question for Decision
The question to be decided then was, "Who is the true God?"
And the Lord so revealed himself in the ministry of His servant, Elijah, that the people were given an opportunity to see the difference between the true and false, and to make an intelligent decision in the matter. This was the Gospel as preached by Elijah. He pointed out that the real essence of idolatry was in forsaking the commandments of the Lord, and then in his ministry he revealed "the power of God unto salvation;" (Romans 1:16) that power which would be sufficient to keep the people from forsaking or breaking the commandments of the Lord.
The same question has been before the children of men since the days of Adam, "Who is God?"
And in every generation men have said with Pharaoh: "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice?" (Exodus 5:2)
But in all these years the Lord has had His faithful servants who were preaching His Gospel, declaring His Word to all the people, giving all an opportunity to choose between the true and false.
The Same Thing in Christ's Day
A departure from the true God reveals itself in different ways at different times in the development of "the great controversy between Christ and Satan."--Ellen White, The Desire of Ages, p. 762; The Great Controversy, p. 518; Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 358; Prophets and Kings, p. 685.
In Elijah's time it showed itself in making "a grove" and in the open worship of a false god under a distinct name; at the time of the first advent of our Lord it showed itself in substituting the authority of man, "the tradition of the elders," (Matthew 15:2) in the place of the Word of God in matters of faith and practice. It was with reference to this very thing that Jesus said: "Well has Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men." (Mark 7:6-8)
To walk "according to the tradition of the elders," when it is done knowingly, instead of according to the commandment of God, even though it is done by those who at the same time profess to be the children of God, is just as much a vain worship as to fall down before an image which is "a doctrine of vanities." (Jeremiah 10:8)
John the Baptist and Elijah
Inasmuch, therefore, as there was the same departure from God at a time when the first advent of our Lord was drawing near as there was in the days of Elijah, although it was manifested with a different outward form, it was necessary that the same Gospel should again be preached with the same power. And so the Lord had said, through the prophet Malachi: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4:5-6)
In Elijah's time they forsook the commandments of God and openly worshiped another God, under another name. In Christ's time they had forsaken the commandments of God, even though professing great regard for them, and had substituted the "tradition of the elders" in their place. The principle of departing from God by forsaking His commandments was the same. And so the needed Gospel message was sent by John the Baptist, of whom it was said: "And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God [just as Elijah did]. 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." (Luke 1:16-17)
And in the course of His ministry, Christ said of John: "And if you are willing to receive him, this is Elijah, which is to come." (Matthew 11:14,RV)
The Gospel in John's Day
In preaching the Gospel, the special message which was given to him to deliver, John the Baptist faithfully rebuked the people, even those who professed to be teachers of religion, for their departure from God; warned them against trusting in man for salvation; (Matthew 3:7-10) and urged them "that they should believe on Him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." (Acts 19:4)
In doing this He was simply declaring the message due at that time, which he had found in the prophet Isaiah: "Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come." (Isaiah 40:9-10)
Thus was fulfilled the command: "Prepare the way of the Lord. ... And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed." (Isaiah 40:3,5)
The Apostasy and the Gospel in the Last Days
But now the second advent of our Lord draws nigh, and the present situation is thus described by the Scripture: "This know also that in the last days perilous time shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, ... lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." (2 Timothy 3:1-2,4-5)
By way of further description we also read: "Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of the devils." (1 Timothy 4:1)
The "falling away" has come, as foretold by the great apostle to the Gentiles, the "man of sin" (2 Thessalonians 2:3) has been revealed, "Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." (2 Thessalonians 2:4)
And as previous to the first advent of Christ a message went forth "in the Spirit and power of Elijah," (Luke 1:17) to those of whom Christ spoke as "not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God," (Matthew 22:29) although they made a great deal of the "form of godliness," (2 Timothy 3:5) so now in messages going forth, "the everlasting Gospel," in fulfillment of the prophecy, "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Revelation 14:6-7)
A careful reading of the 13th and 14th chapters of Revelation will show that it is describing a time when worship is being directed to some other than the true God, (Revelation 13:4, 8, 12, 15; Revelation 14:9-10) and just then "the everlasting Gospel" is preached "with a loud voice," just as in the time of Elijah and of John the Baptist, urging the worship of the true God.
That the issue at stake now is the same as of old, is shown from the fact that those who receive this special message of "the everlasting Gospel" are described in verse 12 as follows: "Here are they that keep the commandments of God." (Revelation 14:12)
1. In Elijah's time they forsook the commandments of God and followed Baal;
2. In the time of John the Baptist they "reject the commandment of God" (Mark 7:9) and follow the "tradition of the elders;" (Mark 7:5)
3. In our time there is "a form of godliness," without the power, and the same putting of the authority of man in the place of the plain Word of God.
In all three cases God sends forth His Gospel message of warning, with a revealing of His power, in order that men may be "without excuse." (Romans 1:20)
Jehovah, He Is God
But there is a special force in the fact that the Gospel message now calls upon all men to "worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Revelation 14:7)
This demands a recognition of God as the Creator all things, and the "worship" which He requires is the worship of obedience. "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not grievous." (1 John 5:3)
But which commandment reveals God as Creator? The fourth, in which He says: "The seventh [not the first] day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is [compare with Revelation 14:7], and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." (Exodus 20:10-11)
God thus reveals himself as the Creator of all things, and commands us to "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," (Exodus 20:8) because our only hope of salvation is in His creative power. "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:8-10) "For thus says the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it;...I am the Lord; and there is none else. ... Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. ... Look unto me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else." (Isaiah 45:18,20,22)
He alone can save who can create, and that we may know Him as the Creator, and so know Him as "God of Israel, the Saviour," (Isaiah 45:15) He has given us His Sabbath. "And hallow my Sabbaths and they shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God." (Ezekiel 20:20)
To know Him as the One who creates is to know Him as the One who sanctifies, and so the Lord says further: "Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that does sanctify them." (Ezekiel 20:12)
The Sabbath the Sign
The Lord Jehovah's Sabbath is the seventh day of the week (Saturday) and not the first day of the week (Sunday). And the observance of the seventh day of the week (Saturday) is our recognition of the true God, "who created all things by Jesus Christ," (Ephesians 3:9) and our acknowledgment of our dependence upon, and trust in Him for salvation. It is the outward sign of our having entered into His rest through faith, of our having "ceased from our own works as God did from His." (Hebrews 4:10)
The observance of Sunday as a sacred day, or as being of any significance in the religion of Jesus Christ, rests upon no Scriptural authority and is a forsaking of the commandment of God, and a following of the traditions of men, just as truly as was the worship of Baal in Elijah's time, or "the washing of pots and cups" (Mark 7:8) by the Pharisees. But the Elijah message is also going forth, saying now as of old: "If the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him." (1 Kings 18:21) "By their fruits you shall know them. Not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:20-21)
Oh, that each one who reads these lines would say as did Joshua of old: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)--Present Truth, March 24, 1898--1 Kings 18:17-39
E.J. Waggoner