"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."
Elijah is the best example of an Old Testament prophet. To the average Israelite in those days, if one asked for the name of a prophet from the history of their nation, most would reply Elijah. By looking at Elijah's crowning moment on Mount Carmel, we see the distinct role of a prophet in the mind of God. The primary role of the prophet is to call people back into relationship with their God. When it became Elijah's turn to offer the sacrifice on the altar he had made, he prayed a simple but powerful prayer:
"Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again." 1 Kings 18:36-37
Notice His purpose in this prayer. It is to show the people that their God is turning their hearts back to Him. A turning back to God. This is the pathway of repentance. Repentance at its root means "to turn". So, we find that the ministry of Elijah is exactly what we find John the Baptist doing. He was triggering repentance. Though Elijah and John the Baptist were not the exact same person, if you were to place them side by side, you would find that their ministry would be identical. It was time for the people to turn again. What time is it for us?
