(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Lord, we love you. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Amen. All right, well, we're there in 2 Kings, chapter number 2. And tonight, like we've been talking about, we're starting a brand new series called The Times of Elijah. And we're going to spend several weeks going through the life of Elijah and looking at this great leader. And just so you know, the story of Elijah, the story of his life begins in 1 Kings, chapter 17. Now, we didn't start there because we are going to spend several weeks just going verse by verse, chapter by chapter, covering the life of Elijah and all the different things that he did. But tonight, we're going to begin by kind of just laying a foundation about the life of Elijah. And Elijah was an ordinary man that lived an extraordinary life. And in this series, we're going to see that. We're going to see his life. But there are some things that are it's funny because you've got the chapters that deal with Elijah's life. But then he's mentioned a lot throughout scripture in things that don't necessarily pertain to the life that he lived. And what I want to do tonight is just kind of give you some of the highlights or some of the extraordinary things, some of the unique things about Elijah as we prepare starting next week to just start going verse by verse through his life. Just so if you understand who this man was, and I'll make a quick application at the end tonight, and we'll be done. But tonight's going to be more of like a Bible study in the sense that I'm going to just give you a lot of information, and we're going to look at several things. This man, like I said, lived an extraordinary life. And there's several things about his life that were extraordinary, that were not unique, that were different than just normal man and normal life. The first one is, if you want to take notes, you can write these down. Elijah's departure from this world was extraordinary. The way that Elijah left this world, the way that Elijah ended his life, was an extraordinary event different than ordinary life. Now, you're there in 2 Kings chapter 2. Look at verse number 1. 2 Kings chapter number 2 and verse 1, the Bible says this. And it came to pass when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. I want you to notice that Elijah is a unique man in the sense that he never physically died. The Bible tells us that at the end of his life, he was taken up into heaven by a whirlwind. In fact, look down at verse number 11, same chapter. 2 Kings chapter 2 and verse 11 says this. And it came to pass as they still went on. This is talking about Elijah and Elisha. And talked that behold, notice what the Bible says. Now, just picture this in your mind. There appeared a chariot of fire. So that's pretty supernatural. I mean, here you have Elijah and Elisha walking down the road together. And all of a sudden, here comes swooping in a chariot, the same way that you and I would think of a chariot today. But the Bible tells us here it was a chariot of fire. Now, I don't know if it was a chariot made of fire. I don't know if it was a chariot with some rockets and had fire bursting out of it or whatever. But the Bible tells us here it was a chariot of fire and horses of fire. So you've got horses, chariot of fire, notice what it says, and parted them both asunder. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. So again, I don't know exactly what this looks like. And hopefully one day when we get to heaven, God will allow us to have maybe like a movie night where we can sit there and watch these stories and how they took place. I envision a chariot and horses that are made out of fire. And Elijah gets on this chariot. And then a whirlwind takes this chariot up into heaven. Now, I want you to notice just a couple of things. And keep your finger there in 2 Kings chapter 2. But go with me to the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter 5. And let me just say this. First of all, I want you to notice that the Bible emphasizes this idea in verse 1 and in verse 11, that he was taken up into heaven, verse 1. And in verse 11, it says that he went up into heaven. And again, I'm not preaching on this this morning, but the dispensationalists want us to believe that in the Old Testament, New Testament saints did not go up to heaven. They went down to hell to a place called Paradise or Abraham's bosom. But again, I want you to notice that Elijah very clearly retold he went up to heaven. He didn't go down into paradise. He didn't go down into hell. He was taken up to heaven. Now, Elijah is unique in the sense that he is one of two men in the Bible who were caught up to heaven and never experienced a physical death. The first one we saw, of course, in 2 Kings chapter 2 was a man by the name of Elijah. The second one is a man by the name of Enoch. Are you there in Genesis chapter 5? Look at verse number 21. Genesis chapter 5 in verse 21 says this, and Enoch lived 60 and 5 years and begat Methuselah. Notice verse 22. And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah 300 years and begat sons and daughters. And all the days of Enoch were 360 and 5 years. Notice verse 24. And Enoch walked with God, and he was not. Now, that phrase there, was not, meaning that he did not die. That phrase usually associated with someone being dead. And the Bible says here that he was not. Why? For God took him. So I want you to notice that in Genesis chapter 5, Enoch, the Bible tells us, he walked with God, and he was not. He never died. He never experienced death. He just kind of one day got caught up and disappeared. Why? For God took him. And there are two characters in the Bible, Enoch and Elijah, who never experienced death. They were caught up to heaven without ever dying. And that makes Elijah a unique character in the word of God. He's an extraordinary character. But go back to 1 Kings chapter number 2. Let me show you something else that is extraordinary about this man. Not only was his departure from this world extraordinary, but I want you to notice that his spirit was extraordinary. Now, Elijah was filled with the Spirit of God, without a doubt. And you need to understand that there's a difference between the Spirit of God and our spirit. God has the Holy Spirit, which he seals those of us that are saved in the New Testament. And we're filled with the Spirit, and we're purchased with the Spirit. We understand all that. But then you have your spirit. And Elijah's spirit was an extraordinary spirit, in the sense that Elijah's spirit continued on to minister in this world after him. Are you there in 2 Kings chapter 2? Look at verse number 9. 2 Kings chapter number 2, and look at verse number 9. Notice what the Bible says, and it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha. And Elisha is going to be the prophet who's going to take the place of Elijah. He's going to take the ministry of Elijah. By the way, every good leader starts off as a good follower. And you've got Elisha, who's pouring water on the hands of Elijah. He's serving Elijah. He's going to be the main leader soon, but he's not there yet. And Elijah said unto Elisha, ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee. I love this from Elisha. Elisha was the type of guy who just had this idea. We're going to go big, or we're going to go home. He said, if I'm going to ask for something, I'm going to ask for something great. I'm going to ask for something big. And he said, let a double portion of thy spirit. And keep in mind, Elijah was a powerful preacher of the word of God. Elijah had great power in this world. Elijah was a man who called fire down from heaven. And we're going to see that in this series. Elijah was the first man to resurrect a dead body. Elijah was mightily used of God. Elijah, we'll see later on tonight, he is the greatest. And he is used as a representation of the prophets. And here's what's interesting about Elijah. He's used as a representation of the prophets, yet he never wrote a prophetic book. We don't have the book of Elijah. We don't have writings of Elijah that he wrote that we preach through like Ezekiel or Isaiah. What we have is the story of his life and the impact that he made. And he is a great man. And Elisha looked at Elijah. And Elijah said, hey, ask for whatever you want. Whatever you want, it'll be given to you before I leave. And Elisha said, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. You know what Elisha was saying? Elisha was saying, I want to do greater works than you. And we should have this idea that we, as believers today, and it's our time to make an impact for the world. We should look at the old IFB and say, we want to do greater works than them. And you say, yeah, but the old IFB is a little. You know what? Let's make sure that we try to set up our own children to do greater works than us. That they would do even greater things than us. That we would set them up to do great things. And Elisha here says, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me, verse 10. And he said, thou hast asked a hard thing. And by the way, this is when prayer is important, when we ask for a hard thing. He says, nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee. But if not, it shall not be so. So Elijah says to Elisha, if you see me, if you're with me, when I go, then it'll be granted you'll get a double portion of your spirit. Look at verse 11. And it came to pass, as they still went on and taught, that 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. Verse 12, and Elisha sighed, and he cried, my father, my father, the chariots of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he, Elisha, saw him, Elijah, no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces. He, talking about Elisha, took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan. Now, we don't have time to look at it. But if you read the chapter, if you read the context, you know that Elijah just crossed the Jordan River. And Elijah, here again, another miracle. He parted the Jordan River using his mantle. And now, Elisha has the mantle that fell. That is, Elijah was being taken up in the whirlwind. Elijah throws down the mantle as a picture of passing the baton to Elisha. And Elisha took that mantle, notice verse 14. And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither. And Elisha went over. And I want you to notice that Elisha was able to use the mantle of Elijah to perform the same miracle. And if you study it out, and if you look at it, you'll notice that Elisha did twice as many miracles as Elijah did. Because he asked for that double portion of his spirit. Verse 15 says this, and when the sons of the prophets, which were to view at Jericho, saw him, saw Elisha, they said, the spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him and bowed themselves to the ground before him. Elisha goes on to become a great prophet, to perform many miracles, to do twice as many miracles as Elijah. And when he started his ministry, because he asked for a double portion of Elijah's spirit, and he was there when Elijah was taken up, that the prophets identified, they said, Elisha has the spirit of Elijah. And that's interesting. It's interesting. One day, I'll die, and I'll pass the baton on to the next guy, and it probably will not be said, oh, so-and-so has the spirit of Roger Jimenez, or so-and-so has the spirit of Steven Anderson or Donny Romero. But yet, Elisha, it was said of Elisha that he had the spirit of Elijah upon him. Now, you say, well, maybe that was just, they were just using kind of a metaphor, and they were trying to say something nice about the fact that Elisha was taken over. But this idea of Elijah's spirit has taken him even further, even into the New Testament. In fact, go with me to Matthew chapter number 17. In the New Testament, the first book of the New Testament, you got the book of Matthew. Elijah's spirit not only continued with Elisha, Elijah's spirit also manifested itself in the New Testament on a man by the name of John. John the Baptist. Now, let me just explain a few things about John the Baptist. And again, this is kind of an introductory sermon, so I want to talk about some things that you might find interesting. There's a little bit of debate about this with John. I want to give you both sides, and I'll explain to you where I land on these sides. Some people believe that John the Baptist was actually the reincarnation of Elijah. Now, the reason they believe that is because the fact that Elijah never died. Elijah was caught up in a chariot of fire and horses of fire, taken up in a whirlwind. And some people have the idea that John the Baptist was actually basically the reincarnation of Elijah, that God brought Elijah back into this world. And you say, well, why would people believe that? Well, people believe that primarily because of the fact that Jesus called John the Baptist Elijah. Let me show it to you, Matthew 17. Look at verse number 10, Matthew chapter 17 and verse 10. The Bible says this, and his disciples asked him, saying, why then say the scribes that Elias? You see the name there, Elias? Elias is the New Testament version of the name Elijah. So in the New Testament, you don't see the name Elijah, you see Elias, which is the Greek way of saying it in the New Testament. He said that Elias must first come. So the disciples said, why do the scribes, the scribes are those who pen down scripture, who taught scripture. They said, why do the scribes say that Elias must first come? And we're going to look at it later on tonight. But there was a prophecy in the Old Testament that Elijah, Elias, would return. And they're asking, why does the Bible say that? In verse 11, it says this, and Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come and restore all things. Notice verse 12. But I say unto you that Elias is come already. And they knew him not. But have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer of them. Verse 13, then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. So they said, why do the scribes say that Elias must first come? And Jesus said, Elias is come. He's come already. And they didn't know him. And they didn't recognize him. And they killed him. And they martyred him. And the disciples understood that Jesus was speaking about John the Baptist. Because of this, people will assume and believe that John the Baptist was a reincarnation of Elijah. Go to Matthew chapter 11. Matthew chapter 11. Let me give you another example of the same thing. And we can look at it in several gospels, but I'll just give you a couple to look at. Matthew chapter 11, look at verse 13. Matthew chapter 11 and verse 13 says this, for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. Talking about John the Baptist. Notice verse 14. And if ye will receive it, this is Jesus speaking. He says, if ye will receive it, this is Elias which was for to come. So again, Jesus often in his ministry referred to John the Baptist as Elias or as Elijah. So because of that, people will often believe that he is the reincarnation of, that John the Baptist is the reincarnation of Elijah. There's another reason why they believe this. And again, I just want to give you all the information. I'll let you know where I land on this argument. But I just want you to see both sides. Go to Luke chapter number 1. You're there in Matthew. You're just going to go past Mark into the book of Luke. Luke chapter 1. Another reason why people believe that John the Baptist was the reincarnation of Elijah is not only because Jesus often will refer to John as Elias or as Elijah, but also because of John's peculiar womb experience. The Bible tells us that John was filled with the spirit from the womb. Let's look at it together. Luke chapter 1 and verse number 39. Luke chapter 1 and verse 39 says this, and Mary arose in those days. Luke chapter 1, verse 39. This is, of course, the Virgin Mary. She's going to give birth to Christ. And went into the hill country with haste into a city of Judah and entered into the house of Zacharias and saluted Elizabeth. Now, if you remember, Elizabeth is also with child. But she's with child with John the Baptist. Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist. Notice verse 41. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary. So keep in mind, Mary is with child with Jesus. Elizabeth is with child with John the Baptist. Mary walks into the house of Elizabeth. And Mary salutes Elizabeth, says, hi, how are you doing? Or whatever. And when Elizabeth, verse 40 says, heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb. Talking about John the Baptist. When he heard the salutation of Mary, he leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. So again, because of these reasons, because John had this peculiar womb experience where he leaped at the hearing of Mary's voice in the womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Spirit. And John was filled with the Spirit. Because Jesus would often refer to John as Elias or Elijah. Some people take the position. And I've met independent fallen Baptist, good people, nice people. Maybe even tonight you might take that position. And they'll say that John is a reincarnation of Elijah. And I'll tell you this. I don't take that position. I don't agree with that. And I'll give you the reasons why I don't agree with that. I don't think people who believe that are bad people or whatever. But I will just say this. As New Testament Christians, we don't believe in reincarnation. We don't believe that people are reincarnated. That's Hinduism. That's a different religion. So that's my main concern or problem with that argument. And again, I've met people, nice people, good people, that take that position. That's fine. Let me give you what I believe is happening here. Go to John. You're there in Luke. Just one book over to John, John chapter 1. Let me give you the reasons why I don't believe that John is the reincarnation of Elijah. But I'll explain to you some things in regards to this. I personally believe that the references to John being Elijah was not in reference to John physically being Elijah, but in reference to the fact that John, like Elisha, had the spirit of Elijah on him. So in the same way that Elisha got a double portion of Elijah's spirit and continued on in the power and the works of Elijah, I believe that John had the spirit of Elijah on his life, but he wasn't physically Elijah. In the same way that Elisha didn't turn into Elijah when he got his spirit, I don't believe John was Elijah. Now you say, well, why don't you think John was Elijah? Couple of reasons. Number one, John was point blank asked in the Bible, are you Elijah? And he said, no. John chapter 1, look at verse 19. And this is the record of John. So here we're going to be told about who John is, John the Baptist. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, here's what they came to ask him. They came to ask him, who art thou? And he confessed and denied not, but confessed. Because they thought, when John showed up, they thought that he was maybe the Messiah, that he was the Christ. And they came to him and they said, who art thou? And he just said flat out, he confessed, I am not the Christ. He said, look, I'm not the Messiah. I'm not the Christ, verse 21. And they asked him, what then? He said, OK, so if you're not the Christ, then who are you? What then? Notice what they asked. Art thou Elias? Now remember, Elias is Elijah. Because there's a prophecy that Elijah is supposed to come back. So they said, OK, if you're not the Christ, are you Elias? Are you Elijah? And he said, notice, I am not. So they flat out asked him, are you Elijah? He says, no, I am not Elijah. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, no. Then said they unto him, who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us, what sayest thou of thyself? And I love the answer here of John, very humble man. Because he's asked, tell us who you are. And normally, we would, our Facebook generation, you want to know who I am? Let me tell you who I am. I am this, and I am that, and I went to this college, and I got this. We talk all about ourselves. John was asked, who are you? And in verse 23, he says this. He said, I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness. He said, I'm just a voice. He says, it's not about me. It's about my message. It's not about me. It's about what I preach. He said, it's not about me. And listen to me. Especially you guys that want to go into ministry, realize that it's not about you. You say, Pastor Jimenez, what are you? I am a voice. Every preacher is a voice. We are not building our own kingdoms or our own income. We're not building, you know, we're not becoming celebrities. We're not building our own followings. We are simply a voice crying in the wilderness and preaching the word of God. It's always about the message, not the man. Now, God is looking for a man, but he's looking for a man who's willing to say, I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord. As said the prophet Isaiah, said, they which were sent were of the Pharisees, notice verse 25. And they asked him and said unto him, they said, OK, well, if you're just a voice, why baptizes thou then? That if you're nothing special, if thou be not, notice what they understood. They said, if thou be not the Christ, that Christ. He said, if you're not the Messiah, nor Elias, neither that prophet. So I just want you to say, Pastor Jimenez, why do you think that John the Baptist was not the reincarnation of Elijah? Well, number one, we don't believe in reincarnation. But number two, he was asked specifically point blank, are you Elias? And he said, I am not. So John denied the fact that he was Elijah. Go to Luke chapter number one, if you go back from the book of John into Luke, Luke chapter one. She said, OK, well, then why is Jesus calling him Elias? Again, my position on that is that he's referring to him because of the fact that John did have the spirit of Elijah in the same way that Elisha had the spirit of Elijah. Let me show that to you. Luke chapter one and verse 16. And many of the children of Israel shall he, talking about John the Baptist, turn to the Lord their God. And he, talking about John the Baptist, notice what it says, shall go before him, talking about Jesus, in the spirit and the power of Elias. So in the same way that Elisha continued on in the spirit and the power of Elijah, John came into this world, a unique man filled from the womb with the spirit of God. And he also continued in the spirit and the power of Elias. So Jesus is often referring to him as Elias. He's not saying that he's the reincarnation. He's saying, that guy, he's like, you know that Old Testament prophet? You know that controversial negative preacher in the Old Testament, Elijah? This guy, John, has the spirit of that preacher. And you know what? We need to make sure that the spirit of Elijah continues even on today. Today we have too many preachers that are clothed in soft raiment. Today we have too many preachers that are just a little too effeminate, a little too soft, a little too just smooth. And Elijah was a preacher that preached with power, that preached with boldness, that was a controversial. And John shows up, and he continues on with the spirit and the power of Elijah. But here's what I want you to understand. And go to Luke. You're there in Luke chapter 1. Go to Luke chapter 9. Here's what I want you to understand. Elijah, that's what we're talking about, right? Elijah was an extraordinary figure in the word of God. He was an extraordinary man. Why was he extraordinary? Well, his departure was extraordinary. He was unique in the sense that he was one of two men who never experienced death, who were caught up to heaven before they died. But he was also extraordinary in the sense of his spirit, and his spirit continuing on and influencing not only the ministry of Elisha, but the ministry of John the Baptist as well. There's a third thing that makes Elijah an extraordinary man in scripture. And it is this. His appearances after his afterlife experiences, I should say, are extraordinary. He never died. He went up to heaven. But he's got some appearances in the word of God that would be considered afterlife experiences. After his life had already been finished and he went up to heaven, he appeared again. You say, well, when was that? Well, let me show it to you, Luke chapter 9. Luke chapter 9. Look at verse number 28. Luke chapter 9 and verse 28. In Luke 9, we have the famous story of the mount of transfiguration. And in Luke 9, verse 28, the Bible says this. And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, he, talking about Jesus, took Peter and John and James and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance, talking about Jesus, was altered. That's real interesting. The way Jesus looked changed. This is called the mount of transfiguration because he was transfigured. Because remember, when Jesus came to this earth, he clothed himself in flesh. He became a human being like you and I. When he went up to the mount of transfiguration, he actually, for a moment, he took on his glorified body and he took on his glorified look. The Bible says that the fashion of his countenance was altered and his raiment was white and glycerine. And behold, there talked with him two men. Jesus was transfigured into his glorified look, and immediately two men appeared. Notice what it says, which were Moses and Elias. Now, here's what's interesting. Moses represents the law. Remember, all throughout the Bible, Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the prophets. And we're often here in scripture about the law and the prophets. How the law and the prophets spoke about Christ and how the law and the prophets revealed Jesus in the Old Testament. And here, at the mount of transfiguration, Jesus is glorified into his glorious body. And two men appear with him, one who represents the law, Moses, and one who represents all of the prophets, Elias, the greatest prophet that lived, and yet he never wrote a prophetic book, or at least we don't have a prophetic book of his writing. Notice verse 31. Who appeared in glory and swag of his disease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. Here, Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus, and they're having a conversation about how Jesus is going to go die. How Jesus is going to die and be crucified. Verse 32. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they were awake, they saw his glory. And the two men that stood with him, and they came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, and you got to love Peter. When he says we're going to do a series on the life of Peter, Peter is often, I mean, Peter, when he's on, he's on. Sometimes he makes these great statements, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. You know, when Jesus has, wilt thou also go away? And Peter says, to whom shall we go? Thou has the words of life. And Peter often is just saying the right thing at the right time. But also, Peter is often just inserting his foot in his mouth. And you know, it's just like us. Sometimes we're on, and sometimes we're off. And here, Peter inserts his foot in his mouth. In Mercury 3, it says this, and he came to pass, as they departed from him. And Peter said unto Jesus, master, it is good for us to be here. And let us make, here's where he made his mistake, three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, one for Elias. Notice what the Bible says, not knowing what he said. He said, well, what was wrong with what Peter said? Here's what was wrong with what Peter said. Peter was putting Jesus on the same level as Moses and as Elias. Notice how God responds, verse 34. While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them. While Peter is saying these things, let's make three tabernacles, one for Moses, and one for Elias, and one for you, Jesus. There came a cloud, and overshadowed them. And they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, this is the voice of God the Father, saying, this is my beloved son. Hear him. You know what God was saying? You know what? Jesus is more special than Moses and Elias. Jesus is more powerful than Moses and Elias. If you're going to make a tabernacle for someone, you're going to make a tabernacle for Jesus. You're not going to put them all on the same level. But I want you to just notice that here on the Mount of Transfiguration, we have Elias with Moses appear in an afterlife appearance. And here's what's interesting, too. Peter, and James, and John had all seen John the Baptist. I want you to notice, when they saw Elias, they didn't say, hey, it's John, right? They said, it's Elias. They said it was Elijah. So there's just one more reason why I don't believe that John was the reincarnation of Elijah. Go to Revelation chapter 11. Last book in the New Testament, Revelation chapter 11. Check my phone here. No baby yet, so I think we'll be good. Revelation chapter 11. Revelation chapter 11. So Elijah was unique in the sense that his departure from this world was extraordinary. And the continuation of his power and his spirit was extraordinary. And his afterlife appearances were extraordinary. Now, he appears at the Mount of Transfiguration, but that is not the only time Elijah will appear. He will actually return one day, not be reincarnated. He's just going to come back, because he never did die. He's going to return one day to this earth as one of the two witnesses in the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter number 11. Now, in Revelation, we're told of these two witnesses, these two men of God. They're going to return and preach. And Elijah is one of them. Now, let me say this. There's a lot of controversy about who these two witnesses are. And I'll give you the two main thoughts, and I'll tell you where I side on those thoughts. And again, I know good men that differ with me on this, and that's fine. No problem there. You know, it's really not a big deal. The Bible says about anti-prophecy, we see through a glass darkly. So we don't really know how these things are going to play out. But let me show you this in Revelation chapter 11 and verse 3. Revelation chapter 11 and verse 3. The Bible says this, and I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy 1,203 score days clothed in sackcloth. And these are the two olive trees. This is a quote from the Old Testament about these two witnesses. The two candlesticks standing before the god of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies. And if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power. Notice these prophets have power. Not only can fire proceed out of their mouth in order to protect themselves during this time of God's wrath being poured out and people hating God, but they also have power. Notice, to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy, and have power over water to turn them to blood and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will. I want you to notice that phrase, as often as they will. These men are able to just perform miracles at will. Have fire come out of their mouth at will. Shut the heavens at will. Turn water into blood at will. These are the two witnesses. Now, you're there in Revelation. Go to Jude, just real quickly. Jude. And let me just talk to you about the two different views about these two witnesses. And again, this isn't something we have to get all dogmatic about and argue about. It's just kind of something interesting. But Elijah is definitely part of this. Here, view number one is this. There are basically two main views in regards to end times. One is that the two witnesses are Elijah and Enoch. And we've talked about this in this sermon already. And you say, why do some people believe that Elijah and Enoch are the two witnesses? The primary reason for that is because of the fact that neither Elijah or Enoch died. Enoch was caught up into heaven. And Elijah was caught up into heaven. So people have this idea that because neither one of them died, then they're going to come to this earth. Because in Revelation 11, we didn't read the whole chapter, but if you continue reading, the beast, the antichrist, basically kills the two witnesses. And their bodies lay there for three days. People are celebrating. They're giving gifts to each other. And then God resurrects them and sends them up to heaven. So many people believe that Elijah and Enoch are the two witnesses. And people who believe that don't have a problem with them, that's great. I understand why they believe that. Other people, and this is where I would stand, believe that the two witnesses are Elijah and Moses. Now, you say, well, why do people believe that the two witnesses are Elijah and Moses? Or why do you believe that the two witnesses are Elijah and Moses? There's two main reasons I believe that. And I told you to go to Jude. And I do want you there. Keep your finger there. But maybe go back to Revelation 11 just real quickly. Let me give you my reasons as to why I believe the two witnesses are Elijah and Moses. Number one, it was Elijah and Moses who appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration. It wasn't Elijah and Enoch. It was Elijah and Moses who already appeared in the New Testament in the Mount of Transfiguration. The second reason that I believe that the two witnesses are Elijah and Moses, and again, if you disagree with that, I don't want to argue with you. It's fine. It's not a big deal. This is just kind of interesting things to think about and talk about. I believe that the two witnesses are Elijah and Moses because both of these men appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration. But I also believe that Elijah and Moses are the two witnesses because if you look at the two witnesses in the Book of Revelation, we're told of the miracles they perform. And the miracles that they perform are pretty identifiable with Elijah and Moses. Look at Revelation 11 and verse 5 again. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth. Now, what is Elijah mainly known for? He's mainly known for two main miracles. And we're going to begin to look at those next week when we begin our study. The main thing that Elijah is known for, of course, he resurrected a dead body. He's known for that. I guess I should say there's three main miracles because that's a pretty common one, that he resurrected a body, a corpse. But the main things that Elijah are known for is we're calling down fire from heaven. So he is able to call down fire. And here we're told that fire proceeded out of their mouths. You say, that's kind of weak. OK, well, look at this one. And devout their enemies. If any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. Look at verse 6. These have power, notice what it says, to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophecy. Look, the miracle that put Elijah on the map. When we meet Elijah in 1 Kings 17, he is showing up out of nowhere, walks up to Ahab the king, and he says, it's not going to rain. I pray that it will not rain. And the book of James tells us that he prayed that it would not rain for three and a half years. It did not rain again till Elijah prayed that it would rain. The main thing that Elijah is known for, the main miracle that Elijah is known for, is the fact that he prayed that it would not rain. And then we have this man show up who prays. The Bible says that he has power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy. And notice the other thing they're able to do, have power over water to turn them to blood. Who does that sound like? Isn't that what Moses is mainly known for? Moses is known for showing up with Pharaoh. And what's the first thing he does? After the trick with the serpent, what does he do? The first plague, he turns water into blood. Notice what it says at the end of verse 6, and to smite the earth with all plagues. Doesn't that sound like Moses, the 10 plagues? As often as they will. And here's what I want you to notice. And here's what makes Elijah unique. Go to Jude. And actually, do me a favor, have your place there in Jude, but also go to Malachi. Let me give you just one more thought. And let me get my thoughts together here and make sure that I'm explaining this properly. Go to Malachi, and then we're going to go to Jude. Malachi chapter 4, let me say this. No one argues, whatever view you have about the two witnesses, nobody argues that Elijah's one of them. Some people think it's Elijah and Enoch. Some people think it's Elijah and Moses. But everybody agrees that Elijah is one of the two witnesses. Nobody thinks it's Enoch and Moses. Some people think it's me and Pastor Anderson, but that's a whole different thing. But everybody agrees that it's Elijah and someone else. Elijah and Enoch. Elijah and Moses. Now you say, well, why are they so sure that it's Elijah? Well, here's why they're so sure. Because the Bible just flat out tells us that. Malachi chapter 4, look at verse 5. Last book in the Old Testament, book of Malachi. Malachi chapter 4, verse 5. Notice what it says. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet. When is he going to send him? Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. This is why the scribes were asking, art thou Elias? Because there is a prophecy that Elijah the prophet will come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. When is that? That's the two witnesses. So look, there's no question it's Elijah. The question is, who's the other guy? Now again, some people believe that it's Enoch, because of the fact they never died. I believe it's Moses, because the miracles that we're told they did, turning water into blood and having power over all place, I think God is trying to just send the real strong hint, hey, it's Moses. And also the fact that at the Mount of Transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appear. But let me just show you one more just kind of interesting thing. Go to Jude, because some people get really hung up on this and say, no, it's got to be Enoch. It's got to be Enoch. Enoch is the only one other than Elijah who didn't die. And they get really hung up on that. And it's like, there's going to be millions of people that never died that go to heaven at the rapture. So there's no rule in the Bible that says that if you get caught up into heaven, you have to come back and die. But let me just throw this out there. If you're really hung up on the idea, like, no, there's got to be something different about their death. That's the key to being the two witnesses. Here's what's interesting about that. There's something interesting about the death of Moses. Look at verse 9. It's one chapter, look at verse 9. Jude 1.9. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil, this was a spiritual battle going on that we are told about in the book of Jude, knows what it says. He disputed about the body of Moses. Does not bring against him a railing accusation, but said the Lord rebuked him. He said, Pastor Jimenez, what do you believe about that? You know, honestly, I don't know. I don't know what I believe about this. I know the Bible tells us Moses died. What's unique about Moses' death is that he went up to a mountain and basically God killed him. And the Bible says that God buried him. And here we're told in the book of Jude thousands of years later that Michael and the devil are disputing about the body of Moses. You know, why is that? I don't know, but I think that God is going to resurrect that body of Moses and have him be one of the two witnesses. So if you need there to be something weird about Moses' death, there is something weird about Moses' death. Because he died and nobody knows where he was buried. And later on, there's some spiritual battle where they're disputing over his body. So again, we don't have to argue about that. We don't have to fight about that. I just think that's kind of interesting about the two witnesses. Like I said, we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. One day it will all make sense and we'll understand it. But I'm just explaining to you that Elijah, Elijah, nobody argues the fact that Elijah is one of the two witnesses that will appear at the end. Now, you're there in the book of Jude. Go with me to the book of James real quickly. You're there in Jude, so if you just go backwards, you're going to go past 3 and 1 John, 2 and 1 Peter, into the book of James, James chapter 5. And we'll be finishing up here soon. The whole point of this sermon has been to just show you the extraordinary life of this man Elijah. And I wanted you to see that, because I want you to have some context as we study the life of this man. This man was extraordinary in the sense that he departed this world in an extraordinary way. In the sense that his spirit and power and influence continued in this world in an extraordinary way. In the life of Elijah and in the life of John the Baptist. In the fact that he had some afterlife experiences that were extraordinary. He appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration and we know that he will come back as one of the two witnesses. This was a unique man in scripture. This is a special man in scripture. This is an extraordinary man in scripture. But here's what's interesting. When you study the life of Elijah and when you look up the names of Elijah in the Old Testament and you look up the name of Elias in the New Testament and you read about this man. And this is something I did in preparation for the sermon. I went through and read every single verse, every single reference that had Elijah in it. And as you go through his life, you're just kind of overwhelmed with how amazing this man was. How powerful this man was. How great and extraordinary this man was. And then you get to the very last time he's mentioned in scripture. And you read something kind of interesting. James chapter 5, look at verse 17. Now we're going to come back and look at James in its context later on in this series. But I just want you to look at one phrase in verse 17. James chapter 5 verse 17. The last time Elias is mentioned by name in the Bible, this powerful man, this extraordinary man, this unique man, this bigger than life man, and the Bible says this about him, Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are. The last time you read about Elias by name in the Bible, you know what we're told? God says he was normal. God says he was average. God says he was a man of like passions as we are. Now if it wasn't for that verse, you might not get that idea. Because if it wasn't for that verse, you might think, man, Elijah was a powerful Elijah. You might be like Peter and say, hey, let's make a tabernacle for Elijah. Let's worship Elijah. I mean, look how wonderful and great and powerful he is. And he was wonderful. And he was great. And he was powerful. And he was extraordinary. But God makes sure to tell us that Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are. And here's the thing. In this series, we're going to see that. We're going to see Elijah in his highs and his lows. We're going to see him having great victories. And we're going to see him cowering in fear. We're going to see Elijah taking a strong stand. And we're going to see him depressed and discouraged. And you say, why is that? Because Elias was just a man. He was a man subject to like passions as we are. And here's the application. Here's the entire application for the Old Stormy. I said all that to say this. Romans 2, 11, you have to turn there, says this. For there is no respect of persons with God. You say, what can we learn from that? Here's what we can learn. God wants to use you. And God wants to use me as much as he wanted to use Elijah. You say, Elijah was extraordinary. Elijah was unique. Elijah was powerful. Elijah had the power of God as life. But you know what, you and I have the same Holy Spirit and the same God available to use us. If we would be willing to yield ourselves like Elijah, if we would be willing to give ourselves over to God like Elijah, if we would be willing to say, God, use me, if we would be willing, like Elisha, to look up to heaven and say, where is the Lord God of Elijah? Because see, the power of Elijah was not found in Elijah. It was found in the God that he served. And he was just a man. He was just a man, like you and I. See, we have the tendency to kind of make preachers celebrities and make them bigger than life and almost start to worship them. But the Bible tells us that Elias was a man of life passions. So when you read about this great prophet standing before the 400 prophets of Baal, calling on fire, resurrecting dead bodies, fighting great battles, doing great things, just realize God can use you and God can use me in the same way. Because there is no respect to persons with God. Elias was a man of subject to like passions as we are. And if God could use him, he could use you too. Let's bow our heads in our word of prayer. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for this great man, Elijah.