Neither Have They Kissed...part 2

Even though Jesus said that John was the prophesied Elijah, come to make straight the Way, John denied it...why? Because of his great humility.

John 1:19-23 “(19) And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ (20) And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’ (21) And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ And he said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you that prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No.’ (22) Then they asked him, ‘Who are you? Tell us so that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What do you say of yourself?’ (23) He replied, ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah’.”

Now, here I feel the need to make something very clear and plain...this is absolutely not a reincarnated Elijah, come back for another life in John the Baptist’s body, as some claim. This is contrary to the Principles of the Kingdom of God...and besides, Elijah never died. He was caught away, up to Heaven, by a fiery chariot, as we see in 2nd Kings 2:11 “And it came to pass, as they (Elijah and Elisha) walked along, talking between themselves, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” So, we can see here that Elijah never died, till the Lord supernaturally brought him back to fulfill Isaiah’s and Malachi’s prophecies. How did He do this? I don’t know...all I know is Jesus said John was that Elijah, “who was foretold to come”, and I believe Him. And, as it is “appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27), we can rest easy in the fact that Elijah’s “one death” came at the hands of another wicked woman...Herodias, the wife of Herod’s brother Philip. (See Matthew 14:1-12) She, undoubtedly, was of the spirit of Jezebel, for she very deliberately and maliciously desired to have the head of John the Baptist...and she got it.

One small note -- I do not know for certain just how Elijah and John the Baptist fulfilled all things prophesied concerning the both of them; I know some believe John was Elijah; some believe it was the spirit of Elijah upon John, even as an anointing. Whatever the case, I just believe that John’s ministry fulfilled those prophetic words spoken in the Old Testament. It is not a point I would argue over or even debate. One Day we all shall know finally and for certain.

As we have seen, Jezebel and her wicked husband, king Ahab, both worshipped Baal, the pagan god that was a Phoenician deity. All throughout the history of the Jews, this god kept rearing its ugly head, causing Israel to sin and forsake their One True God. While the LORD told Elijah He had reserved or had a remnant of seven thousand faithful souls, who had not bowed to Baal or kissed his image, the true worshippers of Baal did both of these things.

Bowing to Baal -- means to “bend the knee; to prostrate; bow down, bring down (low), kneel, sink, subdue, or to subject oneself to.” It was all a matter of submitting to a god who was no god; subjecting themselves to demonic spirits and doing their wills.

Kissing Baal -- is to “cling to, i.e. join, to love, delight in; have a delight, be in love with.” All of these things are to be reserved for the One True God, the God of Israel, and now the Lord God Who saved us. The preceding definiton for “kissing” denotes intimacy and a special love relationship. As Israel strayed, pursuing new gods and false prophets, they quickly lost any intimate relationship with the Lord God Who ruled and reigned over them.

Who is this Baal? We are first introduced to the god Baal when Balaam was hired by Balak, king of Moab, to “curse” Israel (Numbers 22:1 to 24:25). Balaam was a kind of early, independent prophet, and in these passages we see, among other things, the talking donkey (22:28-30) who rebuked (and saved the life of) Balaam; we see an angel with a flaming sword, sent to kill Balaam (22:31-33); and we hear some of the most beautiful prophecies concerning Christ and His coming and His reign (Num 24:5-9 & 17-24).

As far as Balaam is concerned, not much is known of him, but in 2nd Peter 2:15 we see, “...those who have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; (16) and he was rebuked for his iniquity, the voiceless donkey speaking with a man’s voice preventing the madness of the prophet.” Also, in Jude 1:11: “Woe unto them! They have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah.” And, finally, in Revelation 2:14 “But I have a few things against you, because you have amongst you those that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.”

We can see from these verses that to serve and bow to Baal is to be seduced and to eventually “fall away from” the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us guard closely our lives and watch over our walk with Him, that we not stray or be diverted from our One True Love, Jesus Christ, the Righteous. These seductive, misleading ways and false teachers that Jesus and others spoke about will ultimately cause us to “move away from the hope of the gospel,” if we are not careful.

At Paul’s admonition, we must “continue in the faith grounded and settled, and not allow ourselves to be moved away from the hope of the gospel (Colossians 1:23).” Hope, in the Greek, means “to anticipate, usually with pleasure or expectation or even with confidence; to have faith.” To have “hope in the gospel” means we have not lost our vision or our aim; we still cling to, rely on and trust in His Word, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, knowing that each and every promise is, indeed, for us. All that we have read or heard, we strive to understand; we don’t just “listen”; we must have, as Jesus said many times, “ears to hear”. We must hear, understand and receive His Truths...then the enemy can have less and less of an effect on us. And, should Jezebel rise up and threaten the lives of any of God’s people, we shall not run away.

What is Hope?

Colossians 1:26 -- “Even the Mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints; (27) to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
1st Thessalonians 5:8 “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.”
2nd Thessalonians 2:16 “Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, who has loved us, and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, (17) Comfort your hearts, and establish you in every good word and work.”
1st Timothy 1:1 “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, Who is our Hope.”
Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.”

There are many things in life that can distract us, divert us, lead us astray, or, as Proverbs says, make us sick. Hope deferred simply means to “prolong; to make a tedious, tiresome march; to remove, delay, draw out, extend, stretch out.” It could also mean “to withhold, or even promise something, then not give it”. The Lord never teases us or tempts us, and He will never promise something, then withhold it...but Jezebels will; so will Balaams, and any other type of evil spirit influence that can affect our lives. Let’s take another look at James 5 --

“(19) Brothers, if any of you roams from safety, truth, or virtue; going astray, being deceived or seduced from the truth, and one brings him back to the Lord; (20) let him know, that he who converts the sinner from the deception and delusion of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins.”

We should, first and foremost, not allow anything to deceive or seduce us from the safety of the Presence of the Lord; and if we find ourselves “safe” in that regard, then we should do everything that we can to help lead those “back to Him” who may have gone astray...those who may have “roamed from safety, truth, or virtue”. Our joy should be to bring them back to the safety and the Presence of God; not judge them or criticize them or refuse to have anything to do with them. As Jesus commanded His twelve, so He commands us, “A new commandment I give to you, ‘That you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one to another’.” (John 13:34, 35)

This is how the world shall know that we are His disciples...by our love, one to another. We’ll close with this very well-known verse: 1st Corinthians 13:13 -- “And now abides these three: Faith, Hope and Love, but the greatest of these is Love.” Even so, where would we be without faith? And what would our lives be without hope? Let us keep our hearts closely guarded so that neither of these three attributes are lacking; so that none of them suffers, which will cause the Body to suffer. For as one suffers, so we all suffer. May His Grace keep your faith strong, your love growing and your hope solid and settled in His Word, which shall never fail.