The God who answers by fire

“Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” – I Kings 18:24

The prophet Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal and Asherah to a duel of sorts by calling upon their gods to answer them by fire and consume their sacrifice. The false prophets built their altar, laid a bull upon it and cried out to their gods to answer them by fire. They yelped and cried out all day, but to no avail and Elijah mocked them saying that maybe their god was asleep or on vacation, but still no fire.

This is what it is like today, men build their churches, fill it with chairs, advertise their services and even give away prizes and use all kinds of gimmicks to get people to come to their church. But that is all it is, “Their church.” No fire, no power, no miracles, only a dead and lifeless system of dry and dusty programs, tradition and ultimately, spiritual death. Many are even “Mega Churches” with thousands of attendees sitting comfortably in their theater seats, having their ears tickled, feeling good about their eternal souls as they slip into the darkness of Hell.

Elijah is a type and shadow of the Lord Jesus Christ, a prophetic overview of the divine model of the yet to come modern day assembly of believers, called out as living sacrifices, washed, filled and sent to be the vessel that contains His character and divine nature.

“Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” – I Peter 2:4, 5

Elijah built his altar with twelve stones, a shadow of the twelve apostles and symbolic of the government of God. Twelve is the number of the government of the Most High: twelve tribes, twelve disciples, twelve months in the year, twelve hours in the day and twelve hours in the night, not to mention the measurements of the heavenly Jerusalem in Revelation, as well as many other references in scripture.

Once the stones were laid, a trench was dug around it, the wood placed upon the altar and the sacrifice. Then Elijah had twelve water pots poured out on the stones, the wood and the sacrifice, filling the trench, representing the washing of the water of the word of God. This is the prophetic view yet to come of the church of Jesus Christ built of living stones, washed in the water and the blood, Jesus Christ our sacrifice, the Chief Cornerstone.

Elijah then called upon the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob in the sight of all the people to send fire from Heaven down upon the altar of the Lord, the future church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The fire of God fell and consumed the entire altar: the stones, the wood, the sacrifice and licked up the water, representing the Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost.

Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” – I Kings 18:39

Jesus had spent three years training His twelve disciples, lost one, but one more was elected, after the demise of Judas, Mathias. It is interesting that the apostles thought it necessary to have twelve apostles – God’s government. If we build God’s living temple His way it will always be fruitful and multiply.

The ministry of Jesus had multiplied into 120 called out, on fire disciples, “Only 120 you say?” You would think there would be thousands, after all He healed their sick, cast out demons and even raised their dead, but they were only interested in His benefits and not in following Him. This is where the wheat is separated from the tares, by obeying God’s word to follow Jesus and to make disciples, He didn’t command us to start churches – He commanded us to make disciples.

If you are fishing on the wrong side of the boat and are not seeing the fire fall or disciples being trained, equipped and sent, then repent and throw the old wine skin out. Be about your Father’s business, the old Priesthood is dead and gone, nailed to the cross and a new way is here and Jesus is that way. Model your ministry after His ministry and you will see the fire of Heaven fall upon everything you set your hand to do.

“Be Fruitful and Multiply!” The anointed Church of the Firstborn is not a place to go, it is a Person to be, the body of the living Lord Jesus Christ.