Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el and Mishpachah and thank you for rejoining us for the 9th part of the series, The Return of the Elijah Prophets which I believe to be integral to our understanding of the restoration of the end-time Remnant, particularly in these days of Penultimate Judgment which will radically alter the spiritual landscape.

Last week we covered a multitude of aspects of prophecy and the prophets starting with the way prophecy originates with Yahweh, is heard by the navi (prophet) and then spoken by the navi (prophet), irresistably sending the prophecy to its divine destiny. I emphasised the importance of the spoken Davar or Word. We considered the false prophecies of the last American Presidential election and understood there to have been, and still is, a proper unity between kerygma (preaching) and charisma (the showy gifts) with kerygma in the leadership rôle, looking at two in harmony as a kind of dance.

One of the strange things for us to perhaps comprehend today is how many of the nevi'im (prophets) were called not only to speak the Davar Elohim (Word of God) but to in some way embody that Davar (Word) in personal action. What's more, this 'prophetic action' or 'prophetic symbolsm' was far more than an illustrative sign which gives added point to a verbal message and it was far more than mere a 'visual aid'.

One thing this prophetic symbolism is not is what one might call 'sympathetic' or 'imitative magic'. By that I mean it is not an act which imitates the action the worshipper wants his deity to perform and which in turn compels the god to do so. That's paganism. As far as the true navi (prophet) of Yahweh is concerned - and mark this well - the action is no more magical that the Davar (Word) itself.

Let's take the account of Elijah on Mount Carmel in his contest with the prophet's of Ba'al where some might say that the navi (prophet) was a kind of 'rain-maker'. Why would anyone suppose that? Because the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Ba'al took place during a drought and the pouring of water around the altar could, through pagan eyes, be construed to mean an ensuring of the coming of rain. However, as the story makes clear, both the fire in 1 Kings 18 (v.38) and the rain (v.38) are due solely to what? The will of Yahweh, whose messenger Elijah is. So this is not pagan sympathetic magic. I think if we are to avoid both the pagan and secular meanings of these actions it would be best that we simply refer to them as 'prophetic action'.

Let's return to what we were speaking about last time and use that as a launching pad to explain what 'prophetic action' is. The 'prophetic Davar or Word' is the echo of the Davar (Word) already spoken by Elohim (God) and you will remember that the Hebrew word davar' means both 'word' and 'deed'. This is why we must get into the habit of using the Hebrew word because it means more than what we usually translate it to in English. The prophetic action is therefore a davar, a happening, a word in motion BUT (and those of you who are charismatics or occultists listen well) it no more compels Yahweh to act than does the prophetic word itself. It echoes visibly the will of Elohim (God) just as the word echoes it orally and so it fulfils the same function as the word. Elijah's pouring of water is neither a piece of magic nor a prayer. It is an action which is a part of the whole process by which Yahweh's will becomes Yahweh's act.

Let's take an example you are familiar with because we've already used it several times in this series. When Ahab consulted his band of nevi'im (prophets) about the battle against the Syrians in 1 Kings 22, Zedekiah not only promised him success but made himself a pair of horns and apparently appeared before Ahab wearing them. Do you remember? This action was then accompanied by an interpretive word: With these [horns] you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed," he said (1 Kings 22:11, NKJV). Though the navi (prophet) is mistaken (because he's a false prophet), the word and the action go together as the expression of what he believes to be the will of Elohim (God) and in this way he seeks to further it. Obviously he doesn't mean Ahab will destroy the Syrians with the literal horns he is wearing on his head - he is using them as a symbol of a fight or clash, as when male animals clash in a contest for leadership in the herd or pack.

Let's take a different kind of example, Isaiah 20. Turn with me to that chapter if you would (Evidence Bible/EB, p.947):

"In the year that Tartan came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him, and he fought against Ashdod and took it, at the same time Yahweh spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, 'Go, and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet.' And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. Then Yahweh said, 'Just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia, so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians as prisoners and the Ethiopians as captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. Then they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation and Egypt their glory. And the inhabitants of this territory will say in that day, 'Surely such is our expectation, wherever we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria; and how shall we escape?''" (Isa.20:1-6, NKJV).

It's hard for us to imagine Isaiah walking around Jerusalem stark naked for three years wearing nothing at all and that's because he wasn't, at least in the sense that we mean it. The Torah forbids nakedness in public and we know this is not supposed to be taken strictly literally but comparitively. It means that Isaiah wore only the garb of a captive, nothing but a loincloth, when he appeared in public, which to him would certainly have felt like going around naked. That was embarrassing enough - imagine yourself going around town in just your underpants - you would feel pretty naked! Nowhere in the text does Isaiah explain the purpose for this display but at the end of the period, when the Assyrians were marching through the land and the people of Judah were looking to Egypt for help, the prophetic sign eventually became clear to them. Egypt would be taken captive by Assyria and therefore could not be relied upon by the Judeans for help. If this should happen to Egyptians on whom they had militarily and politically relied what would then happen to them? Well, consistently, Isaiah advised reliance upon Yahweh alone and sought to dissuade his people from relying on any kind of foreign help. His action here is a part of this divine message which together constitute the Davar Elohim (Word of God). Both proclamation and action are a part of the divinely ordained process which is set in motion by the Davar (Word-Action) and will of Elohim (God).

Let's take another example. In a couple of instances in Scripture a navi (prophet) is commanded to wear a yoke, a wooden cross-piece fastened over the necks of two oxen and attached to the plough or wagon which they are to draw. In the case of Jeremiah (Jer.27:28) whom Yahweh commanded to wear what was designed for use by a beast of burden, the yoke symbolised the power and authority of Babylon over Judah and the surrounding nations as vassal states. When the navi (wore) it, it signified to the Judeans that they should submit to the Babylonians even though obviously they didn't want to. Another navi (prophet) called Hananiah then broke the yoke from Jeremiah's shoulders:

"Then the navi (prophet) Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the navi (prophet) Jeremiah and broke it, and he said before all the people, 'This is what Yahweh says: 'In the same way will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.'' At this, the navi (prophet) Jeremiah went on his way" (Jer.28:10-11, NIV).

So here you have two nevi'im (prophets) apparently working in concert, two actors in a prophetic drama to make sure the ordinary folks clearly understood what Yahweh's Davar (Word) was. I stress the word 'apparently' because Jeremiah did not react at first but went on his way. Only one navi (prophet) spoke truly and one spoke falsely. This was a challenge to Jeremiah who now had to seriously wonder whether he or Hananiah had heard the true Davar Elohim (Word of God) correctly and after a while he came to the conclusion that he had and Hananiah had not. We saw it recently, didn't we, in the American Presidential election?

You see, Satan is constantly interfering with Yahweh's nevi'im (prophets) and that's something you need to be aware of. Satan always challenges true nevi'im (prophets) with his own dressed to look like Yahweh's. Just because someone is walking around saying "Thus says the LORD)" doesn't mean it is so. You have to discern. Unfortunately discernment is usually poor amongst Yahweh's lay folk because their religion is only on the surface or because they are themselves being led by false spirits masquerading as the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit). And there are millions of lawless Christians who are being deceived.

So what was Jeremiah to do? You know I have had people claiming to be inspired challenge messages Yahweh has given me, and several times from among our own people. That has been a tough call and can it lead you to wonder or doubt whether you have heard Yahweh correctly or not. I have certainly paused to wonder. Do not envy the navi (prophet) in his calling. Historically we have had three rebellions amongst our own people in NCAY and the last one ripped the fellowship apart. And sometimes it can take a while to discover who was speaking truly and who was not but in the end it was clear who was right because all the rebels fell away from faith altogether. It's worth your reading up on what happened in what we call our 'Third Rebellion' because the claimed legitimacy for the rebellion is so common (existentialism - 'I feel it's true it so it must be true') and we're seeing it rip the Body of Christ up in so many places even as I speak to you today.

What makes such rebellions particularly challenging is that the rebels can sound so reasonable, so wise, so spiritual. They fool themselves into believing their feelings are the 'Spirit'. Besidesd it requires less effort to feel than it does to think so it's a lazy man's response. When I have had to confront such things it has been really hard to deal with because if the rebels are sophisticated and erudite enough it can typically lead to self doubt on my part, something which all the nevi'im (prophets) experience at some time or another. I have anonymously published some of the corresponsed I had with the rebels so that you know how this goes. Jeremiah didn't react to Hananiah at first because it seems he wasn't sure. Only after prayerful reflection did he realise he had been in the right all along. Elijah himself certainly had his doubts as you will remember when he ran, tail between his legs, from Queen Jezebel when she started threarening his life. His was a case of naked fear - he ceased trusting in Yahweh's protection even after the Carmel experience! As humans we have our weak moments. With perhaps the exception of Jonah, the true nevi'im (prophets) do recover their composure.

So Jeremiah had a dilemma. Publically, Hananiah had just contradicted him by removing his wooden yoke and smashing it. Actually, we have a translation issue here too, just to make things more complicated (compare, for example, the RSV and the NEB), for the Enemy seeks to undermine our understanding of past prophetic actions as well, but we won't go into that today. That is why you have to work hard when digging up the truth, a reason why I deal with such issues at such length, and so often, so the last generation will not have to figure all of this out from scratch when their time (which they won't have so much of because of all that's going on around them) could be better spent directly in ministry. So what happened with Jeremiah?

"Shortly after the navi (prophet) Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the navi (prophet) Jeremiah, the Davar (Word) of Yahweh came to Jeremiah: 'Go and tell Hananiah, 'This is what Yahweh says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. This is what Yahweh Sebaoth, the Elohim (God) of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.'' Then the navi (prophet) Jeremiah said to Hananiah the navi (prophet), 'Listen, Hananiah! Yahweh has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. Therefore, this is what Yahweh says: 'I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against Yahweh.' In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the navi (prophet) died" (Jer.28:12-17, NIV).

In this story it is important to realise that this dispute isn't simply between two people as to what was going to happen in the future. It was a very critical matter of understanding what Yahweh had already decided to do and had, in fact, begun to do by uttering His Davar (Word), so they could either help forward this process by announcing His Davar (Word) or attempt to hinder it by announcing a false one. Subsequent events proved Jeremiah had heard correctly. That is why Deuteronomy 13 gives instruction in what to do when nevi'im (prophets) appear among the people making predictions. In a such conflict as between Jeremiah and Hananiah Yahweh reveals that He permits such to happen for a reason:

"Yahweh your Elohim is testing you, to know whether you indeed love`Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and soul" (Dt.13:3b, NRSV).

So when there are multiple nevi'im (prophets) saying contradictory things, it's a test. But how are you going to know which speaks truth and which does not? Not by making the claim, as most Pentecostals and charismatics do, that they are 'spirit-filled' and can therefore, by definition, always discern. No you can't. That's a very dangerous assumption and assertion to make! In the next verse about discerning nevi'im (prophets) Yahweh says:

"Yahweh your Elohim (God) you shall follow, Him alone shall you fear, His mitzvot (commandments) shall you keep, His voice you shall obey, Him you shall serve, and to Him you shall hold fast" (Dt.13:4, NRSV)

Note well the central importance of commandment-keeping. It's stressed throughout the Scriptures. A false navi (prophet) is not a faithful commandment-keeper, how could he be? How else wlould he open spiritual doors to a deceiving spirit? So that is a good place to start - find out of they seek to be Torah-obedient. That's at least a good place to start, and is something I have been telling you for years. False prophets are invariably not Torah-obedient. Indeed, typically they make a big play for their 'freedom', twisiting what Paul taught, and as a result make numerous false prophecies. See, for instance, Romans 8:21, where the apostle describes the believer's freedom from bondage, not any imagined freedom to do be led by his feelings to do whatever he thinks is right. The moment you remove the train of your life from the Torah railway track, the moment you become 'derailed', you're stuck and wandering in the imagination of your own heart.

The fact that false nevi'im (prophets) often have a 'hit rate', that is to say, that they get some prophecies right, is not good enough because so do the psychics, occultists and shamans. I talked about this recently. So serious is the matter of false prophecy that Yahweh most emphatically declares that Israel "shall purge the evil from your midst" (Dt.13:5, NRSV). He doesn't say, 'let them continue to hang around making false prophecies' - he says, excommunicate them, get them out of your fellowship, and so serious was it under the Old Covenant that they were stoned to death so as not to corrupt the nation. Sometimes Yahweh kills them himself, as with Hananiah. You can't mess with the Davar Elohim (God). That's why Yahweh takes the likes of Hananiah out. You're playing with fire when you falsely prophecy. And it doesn't necessarily have to be a prediction that goes awry - it can be (and this is what Deuteronomy points out) it can simply be someone who encourages believers to willfully disobey the mitzvot (commanmdments), telling them it's been 'nailed to cross', twisting Paul's words yet again. That is why I keep preaching that those who reject authority and discipline, those who continue to babble in 'tongues' and claim it is to be the 'Ruach (Spirit)', are false nevi'im (prophets) when they speak in the Name of the Father or the Son, and are playing with 'strange fire'. They are dicing with death!

So we have looked at a couple of examples now but it is in the Book of Ezekiel that we perhaps have the best and most numerous examples of these 'prophetic actions':

"Then the Ruach (Spirit) came into me and raised me to my feet. [Yahweh] spoke to me and said: 'Go, shut yourself inside your house. And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house. But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, 'This is what Yahweh-Elohim says.' Whoever will listen let him listen, and whoever will refuse let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house" (Ezek.3:24-27, NIV).

So soon after his calling, Ezekiel was struck dumb. Many commentators say this cannot be taken literally. Why not? Cannot Yahweh do as He pleases? Other (liberal) commentators say this event must come from a later period in his life, nearer the fall of Jerusalem and not at his call, or that this is an editorial comment at the time of compiling the book. Just because it makes no sense to the carnal mind that a navi (prophet) should be struck dumb at the beginning of his ministry doesn't mean it is nonsensical. Indeed, it makes perfect sense, because the account of Ezekiel's dumbness is followed in chapters 4:1 to 5:4 by a series of prophetic actions which contain no verbal proclamation whatsoever. That's right, the Davar (Word) was wordless!

What do we find him doing? First he lay on his left side for 390 days and on his right side for 40 days, signifying the punishment of Israel and Judah, respectively. During this time his food and drink were strictly rationed. Now the meaning of this action commanded by Yahweh is made clear to Ezekiel himself but there is no indication in the text that he ever put its meaning into words for the benefit of the people who watched him. That wasn't all he did. He also took a brick and drew on it a 'picture' or representation of Jerusalem and then portrayed the siege of the city by means of a kind of 'war game'. Further, he shaved off his hair and his beard. One third he burnt, one third he cut up with a sword and one third he scattered to the wind - a few hairs he preserved and tied to his girdle. All of these actions are left to speak for themselves. The important thing is this: as surely as if he had spoken the Davar (Word), the actions declare it and so help to bring it to pass.

And so it is clear that the nevi'im (prophets) could, in certain circumstances, if directed to do so by Yahweh, either replace or reinforce the spoken Davar (Word) by means of actions. Both word and action proclaimed the Divine Davar (Word) spoken by Elohim (God) and assisted that Davar (Word) on its way toward its fulfilment. Please note, and note it very well, that in the Hebrew mindset - the biblical mindset - word and action are inseparably connected, and not just in the matter of prophecy and prophesying. Emunah (faith) itself is in the same category. That is why we need to get to Hebrew roots so as not to mistake our 21st century notions (which are more Greek than Hebrew) to be the same as those of the ancients. Our modern notions of 'faith', 'love' and 'prophecy' are not necessarily the same as those of the Bible because faith is more than just 'believing', love is more than just having a warm feeling in the bosom, and prophecy is more than just the spoken word. In all three there is a dynamic, an action component. That is why salvation is not passive because the authentically 'saved' always follow up their salvation with Torah-obedience, a reason why the 'Once Saved, Always Saved' doctrine is exceedingly dangerous - it turns Christians into spiritual couch potatoes, doing nothing and going nowhere.

There's more. The nevi'im (prophets), like the rest of us, are caught up in the drama of what they proclaim, leading to great difficulties for themselves sometimes. It is very difficult and painful for a navi (prophet) to proclaim a mishpat or judgment and in so doing set the word of judgment into motion. You see, the navi (prophet) himself can often be one of the people to be judged because he is a part of the community coming under judgment. This isn't always the case, of course. Amos, being a Judean, was not personally involved in the downfall of the northern Kingdom of Israel. Ezekiel, who was in exile already, was spared the fate of being in the city of Jerusalem when it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.

On the other hand, Jeremiah was very much involved in the events surrounding the fall of Jerusalem and even when he was offered the chance to leave in 597 BC, stayed on to share in the downfall of the city and in the fate of his people. This sense of echad or oneness with his people is seen very clearly in the call of Isaiah when he declares in great distress:

"Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips" (Is.6:5, NKJV).

Now there are some scholars who see in the book of Isaiah references to a 'righteous remnant' which will be saved from the coming disaster and they see the navi (prophet) as creating this remnant and therefore belonging to it. Much as I like the idea, because it accords with other prophecies about the end-times, I don't think that's necessarily applicable here. In fact , I think it's most unlikely. The 'remnant' that survives does so only because future generations need to be raised from among the rebels. These are the ones Yahweh has ordained to survive the disaster rather than representing any hope for a righteous remnant (the hairs Ezekiel tucked under his belt). Indeed, the disaster will be so great that hardly anyone will escape. Not all 'remnants' are the same and some remnants are chosen purely out of divine grace and not because they were deserving in any way. So we need not always assume that just because we're a 'survivor' it's because there is something intrinsically 'good' about us, that we're a 'special case' deserving of congratulation. It might be but it doesn't have to be. That is why I always frown when people claim they are 'special' just because they didn't get consumed in some calamity. It may very well be that they deserved to be. Rather, they should be humble and simply grateful they were spared for further service.

It is not so much personal danger to themselves which causes the nevi'im (prophets) anxiety - they are more concerned about the danger to the chosen or elect people of Elohim (God), the people of which they are an inalienable part. So for all the harshness of their message there is often a sympathy with their people which makes it hard to proclaim it. So when Isaiah was given the task of hardening people's hearts in chapter 6, his question, "for how long?" (Is.6:11, NIV) is not simply a request for information - it is the traditional opening of a lament, as in Psalm 79:5, where you can feel the navi's (prophet's) burden:

"How long, O Yahweh? Will you be angry forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like fire?" (Ps 79:5, NIV).

Now, Hosea's prophecies of disaster are amongst the most vivid and violent of the nevi'im (prophets) and yet it is hard to resist the feeling that when he cries, "How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?" (Hos.11:8, NIV) he is not only proclaiming a Davar Elohim (Word of God) but also expressing his own personal anguish in that Davar (Word). The navi (prophet) must identify with, and be echad (one) with, Yahweh's heart. His anguish is Yahweh's anguish, and vice versa. There is a tension here which must have been hard to bear. When I think of some of the things Yahweh has shown me is going to happen to my own homeland, I feel the same anguish. I do not delight in declaring its fall and destruction.

Even Amos for whom, as we have seen, the message of destruction of Israel seems to have presented him with few problems because he was a Judean and not a northern Israelite, pleads for "Jacob", meaning, Israel as a whole, with the result that something merciful happens: judgment is postponed. You see, Yahweh has a big heart, far bigger than ours could ever be.

You find the same tension in the book of Jeremiah where a lack of response to his message from the people he wants to help and the inevitable judgment that will follow, cause him great distress. True nevi'im (prophets), whilst being very strict, also have big hearts.

Indeed, one of the reasons I like the book of Jeremiah so much is because it presents us with a much clearer picture of the navi's (prophet's) own personal life and experience than any of the other prophetic books. Jeremiah suffered hugely from the stress involved in proclaiming a message which he did not want to proclaim and which people did not want to hear. It isolated him from his fellows and so caused him to cry out:

"I never sat in the company of revelers (party-goers),
never made merry with them;
I sat alone because Your hand was on me
and You had filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain unending
and my wound grievous and incurable?" (Jer.15:17-18, NIV).

According to chapter 26 we are told that when, in 609 BC, soon after the untimely death of Josiah and the succession of Jehoiakim, Jeremiah proclaimed the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, his life was seriously threatened and it was only through the intervention of some friends at court that he was spared. He was 'lucky'. The navi (prophet) Uriah (Jer.26:20ff.) had prophesied the same thing but was forced to flee to Egypt to try to escape persecution. Unfortunately he was caught, brought back to Jerusalem, and put to death. By this time any navi (prophet) who expressed words which might be interpreted as defeatism was in danger of being killed for fear he should spread alarm and despondency.

Though Jeremiah escaped death, thanks to his friends in the family of Shaphan, he nevertheless experienced persecution (Jer.17-18) and the leaders in jerusalem plotted against him (Jer.18:18ff.). Passhur the cohen (priest) had him put in the stocks (Jer.20:1ff.) and it was on this occasion that he confesses how he rebelled against his task and yet was unable to refuse it. He could only pray for delivetrance from his persecutors. Later on, in 597 BC he had to go into hiding (Jer.36) and after the first attack on Jerusalem in that year he was in and out of prison and detention of some sort many times until the second attack and destruction of the city in 587 BC. So we are presented with a picture of a navi (prophet) who suffers mentally and physically as a result of his prophesying.

The picture is clear cut in Jeremiah. Nevertheless we should never forget those nevi'im (prophets) who were attack and put to death by Jezebel (1 Ki.18:7ff.). Nor should we forget Elijah himself who was forced to flee from Jezebel (1 Ki.19). Even Amos was turned out of Bethel by Amaziah the cohen (priest) for prophesying there and forbidden to enter Israel again. So there is a certain tradition in Scripture about prophetic suffering. Isaiah was sawn in two by Manasseh and it is possible that he foreshadowed the Suffering Servant of Yahweh in the Servant Songs of Isaiah 40-55 in what he himself had to endure.

Finally, both Hosea and Ezekiel have personal experiences which cause them great personal sorrow and suffering and yet these are also, simultaneously, prophetic actions. Take Hosea, who was required to marry a harlot (Hos.1,3) as a prophetic sign of the unfaithfulness of Israel to Yahweh. Not only that, but his remarriage to Gomer gives you some indication of the shame which it brought to him and the love which he had for the woman. The tension is great, but for the navi (prophet) it is a tension in the heart of Yahweh Himself for those who claim to be His but who go awhoring after the world. In the same way, the death of Ezekiel's wife who was the "light of his eyes" (Ezek.24:15ff.) is a great personal tragedy made worse by the fact that he was forbidden to mourn her death in the conventional way because this too had to become a prophetic sign of what Elohim (God) was about to do to Jerusalem and its temple.

On a happier note, Isaiah's two wives, the first of whom bore children each of which had prophetic names, one of whom was given the prophetic name, Shear-Jashub (Isaiah 7:3) which, interestingly, means 'a remnant returns'. His second wife was a neviah (prophetess) like himself. Neither he nor his two wives directly participated in the events prophetically depicted by their names, or the names of their children. This shows how unique each of the nevi'im's (prophets') callings were. In fact, no two were ever identical, even if some were similar.

One navi (prophet) was called to marry a prostitute (Hosea), one never to get married at all (Jeremiah), one to not mourn when his beloved wife died (Ezekiel), and the other to marry polygamously (Isaiah). There is no such thing as a 'standard' or 'archetypal' navi (prophet) such as you find in Pentecostal and churches where they are all basically the same. So don't be surprised when you come across modern Elijah Prophets that they are all rather...how can I put it?...'special' or 'different'. Invariably they have led extraordinary lives. You will more than likely find some of them like Hosea, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Isaiah, and others even more 'unsusual' than these four examples. If you do, remember, they're more than likely performing a prophetic enactment that in many cases could be very personally distasteful to them or strongly disapproved by others. I mean, how many modern 'prophets' go around dressed in goat-skin eating locusts and honey? Yet John the Baptist was the greatest navi (prophet) after Christ Himself. More about him another time.

Take another example, Joseph, the step-father of Yah'shua (Jesus) who was probably 30 or 40 years older than Mary - these days age-gap marriages are viewed with extreme disgust, yet here Joseph is prophetically enacting Yahweh as the "Ancient of Days" (Dan,7:9,20,32) and Mary the young Messianic Community (Church). They spoke no written or oral Davar (Word) that we know of, but the very fact that they existed and were who they were was a 'prophetic action' all in itself. Being the step-dad to a wife who got pregnant supernaturally is in itself 'unusual', to say the least. Cultural prejudice and taboo can be a great stumbling blocks to accepting truth and understanding prophetic action which is why we must return to the core elements of New Covenant Torah culture. That's the pattern for the Remnant, take it (and leave Egypt) or leave it (and go back to Egypt), even as you will.

So to wrap this teaching up, the nevi'im (prophets) became completely involved in their task in every way. They were no 'armchair prophets'. The davar Elohim (Word of God) cannot be separated from the lives they had to live. In one sense it's quite objective, a word which like a guided missile finds its way unerringly to its target. Yet on its way it catches up with the navi (prophet) in its path so that his life and experience become inseparable from it and he is no longer an uninvolved transmitter of the word but a man whose whole personality is bound up with the task of proclamation. What the Elijah-Prophet preaches he must in some way live or participate in. So be careful what you teach and preach!

I hope you found this interesting and useful. As always, there is so much more than could be said. I am called to share these things because many Elijah Prophets will shortly be in our midst again, with one or two of them already here. Oh, and by thre way, they're not going to go around and anounce themselves, saying, 'I'm an Elijah Prophet!' which would almost certainly be proof they were not. Their works will declare who they are. At least you are getting a much clearer picture now in how to recognise them and separate them out from the swarms of false lawless prophets playing with strange fire who, like locusts, are currently plaguing the Body of Christ, blinding people to what the Remnant actually looks like, and destroying spiritual harvests. Next week we will look at where and when a navi (prophet) is supposed to speak and when he must remain silent. Until then, may Yahweh bless your week and bring you much simcha (joy) and contentment in Him. Amen.

Endnotes

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Acknowledgments