The first time we hear of the prophet Elijah is in 1 Kings 17:1, where the writer states “now Elijah.” Three verses earlier, we see King Ahab considering it a trivial thing to walk in the sins of Jeroboam (1 Kings 16:31). When Ahab came on the scene and instituted his abominable religious practices, God had enough. It was time for Elijah to come and turn the hearts of His people back to Him.
I believe the Lord is once again saying to His church, “Now Elijah.” Why? Because spiritual harlotry, especially in the church, is increasing. The church is spiraling downward, much like Israel in the days of Jeroboam.
The Sins of Jeroboam
After King Solomon died, Israel split into two kingdoms. The southern kingdom of Judah was home to the temple, the city of Jerusalem, and the priesthood. Rehoboam became the first king of the southern kingdom while Jeroboam became the first king of the northern kingdom.
Observing the biblical account of Jeroboam, we note the sins he committed—what Scripture refers to as the sins of Jeroboam. In a general sense, Jeroboam led Israel away from the true worship of Yahweh to a perverted, compromised form of worship based on convenience and self-promotion.
Jeroboam feared that his people would revolt and remove him as king if they went to Jerusalem and worshiped at the temple (1 Kings 12:28). That’s why he established his own set of religious practices, including golden-calf worship, pagan worship on the high places, and a new priesthood not from the sons of Levi.
In addition, Jeroboam established convenient places to offer sacrifices in Bethel and Dan, meaning worshipers didn’t have to travel all the way to Jerusalem. He also created his own feast days in place of the feast days established in Scripture (1 Kings 12:25-33).
In short, Jeroboam’s false religious system was uniquely designed for himself—to keep his people within his kingdom so he could preserve his position and power.
Jeroboam feared losing people, prominence, and prosperity. By placing himself above the Lord and His ways, Jeroboam created a false religious system rooted in compromise rather devotion, convenience rather than sacrifice. He established a priesthood far below God’s lofty standard. Ultimately, Jeroboam’s new version of Yahweh worship was a false representation of the one true God. Just to be clear, Jeroboam’s religious system was not a new religion; it was a corrupted and comprised worship of Yahweh.
The Sins of Jeroboam Today
Do the sins of Jeroboam sound eerily familiar? They do to me. In our day, much of the church is following the precedent Jeroboam set thousands of years ago. Let me explain.
Over the last few weeks, I have been researching some of the present practices in the Charismatic church. To be clear, I have been a Charismatic believer for decades, regularly practicing all the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit.
That said, much of Charismatic church has veered off track from God’s biblical standard. Many in this movement have become “enemies of the cross of Christ . . . who set their minds on earthly things” (Phil. 3:18-19).
While researching some modern-day Charismatic teachings, I was shocked at what I discovered. For example, many in the Charismatic movement have embraced Preterism and the Seven-Mountain Mandate, believing the church must invade the culture and take over the seven mountains of religion, family, education, government, economics, arts and entertainment, and media before Jesus returns. In case you want to learn more about these end-time errors, we will be talking about this in our Forerunner School.
There are many other deceptive teachings being promulgated today, which are seducing the church away from the simplicity of the gospel. These false teachings will ultimately lead the church into spiritual harlotry and great deception by the coming antichrist system.
Simply put, these false doctrines are not minor, irrelevant issues. They are leading the Western church away from the simplicity and purity of devotion to the person of Christ.
Now Elijah
An in-depth discussion of all the errors being promoted in the Charismatic movement would require an entire book. My main point here is that we need the spirit and power of Elijah once again. We need this unique anointing of the Holy Spirit to turn the hearts of God’s people away from deception back to Christ.
Thankfully, just as in the days of Ahab, God is now raising up Elijahs. He is raising up a forerunner company, empowered by the spirit and power of Elijah, to dismantle false doctrines, turn the church back to the person of Christ, and to prepare the bride for the Bridegroom. This work of the Holy Spirit is essential right now.
This leads me to another important point . . . if you have not yet registered for our Forerunner School, there is still time. You can register at www.forerunnerschool.org. The school is free and is a combination of self-study and group discussion. The school will equip you as a forerunner in the spirit and power of Elijah so you can help pluck from the fire those deceived by doctrines of demons. The bride desperately needs forerunners, like you, to help make her ready for Jesus and His soon return.
