As related in part I, Elijah the prophet of God has declared a total drought throughout Samaria which has been in effect for three straight years.  The people have suffered greatly over that time.  Now the prophet has commanded all Israelites to meet him at Mt. Carmel where he will explain why they have suffered so greatly.  Along with the general population he has ordered Queen Jezebel’s 850 prophets of her heathen gods to join them.  We pick up the story in 1 Kings 18:21 where we find Elijah addressing the masses, asking them how long were they going to dither between the two opinions?  They called themselves God’s people while bowing to Jezebel’s god Baal.  Elijah told them that if the Lord was Lord, then follow Him; and if Baal was lord, then follow him.  Incredibly, after three horrendous years without so much as a drop of dew had fallen in Samaria, “the people remained silent.”  Silence? after suffering so much.  One would think that they would be shouting for help.  However, when Satan has his talons in someone it is extremely hard to get through to them.  I have had church people agree with what I had shown them in God’s Word, then return to their false prophets and follow them.  In one case, a local pastor proclaimed that everything I had written in a newspaper article was true, but that he and his church were going another way.  One pastor, upon being confronted by God’s Word, said that he and his church were “… going outside the Bible” to find spiritual truth.  It is unbelievable but true that 99.99% of churchites world-wide have the same attitude toward the Word of God.  The “”going outside the Bible” statement was printed in the local newspaper, complete with a picture of the pastor who had the spine to say what other pastors are doing in secret.  A local pastor and his associate admitted to crying when they read what I wrote about Christmas and provided the Scriptural reference (Jer. 10:1-5).  As far as I know, they and their congregation still observe the heathen holiday.

Elijah pointed out that he, God’s true prophet, was alone while Baal’s prophets numbered 850.  Sounds like a level playing field to me.  Then he ordered that a test be performed to determined whose god was the true God.  He and the prophets of Baal would each sacrifice a bull, one for each of the gods.  He and Baal’s prophets would call out to their respective gods to consume their respective sacrifices with fire from heaven.  The sacrifice that was consumed would indicate which god was the true God.  Everyone agreed.  Read verses 23 and 24 for a description of Jezebel’s prophets’ sacrifice to their gods, Baal supposedly being the head god.  Calling upon him to hear their prayers, they began their rituals designed to cause their prayers to be heard (vs 26-29).  Elijah made fun of them as they danced, screamed and cut themselves in their vain attempt to cause fire to fall from on high.  When nothing happened Elijah opined that their god might be asleep, or on a journey.  Or perhaps he was talking with someone.

When Baal’s prophets had worn themselves out and accomplished nothing, Elijah then called the people to come near to him while he “REPAIRED THE ALTER OF THE LORD THAT HAD BEEN BROKEN DOWN.”  The people of Israel had allowed God’s alter on Mt. Carmel to disintegrate due to abandonment and rebellion against all that it stood for–OBEDIENCE TO HIS WORD/LAW.  Elijah took 12 stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel and with them built an alter IN THE NAME OF THE LORD (vss 30-32).  Read what he then did to make certain that everyone knew whose God was the true God (vss 32-37).  In verse 38 we find God sending fire from heaven to consume everything on His alter, including the water.

The ultimate questions relative to this situation concern why and how the Lord’s alter had been broken down and is it still in disrepair?  Neither the destruction of God’s alter nor the reason for its destruction has changed since the Garden of Eden where God first met with human beings.  Scripture tells us that He met with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day and TALKED with them (Gen. 3:8).  This was His alter where He met and communed with His most prized creations.  Note that He came from heaven for the sole purpose of communing with Adam and Eve IN THE GARDEN–His alter.  God’s alter is important to Him.  As stated in part one, His alter is no longer physical, nor is it confined to a particular place.  Following Christs death, God’s alter became spiritual, meaning that it is wherever His true saint happens to be.  So how did God’s alter come to nothing?

In Daniel 8:7-21 we find a reference to a “little horn” which had the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great (boastful) things.  This “horn” was prophesied to rise up during “the time of the end” of the world (vs 17) and wreak havoc, even to the “persecution of the saints” (vs 21).  Recall that during “the Inquisition” the Catholic Church murdered over 50,000,000 people, many of whom were God’s people.  Recall also that the “Great Whore” of Revelation 17:1-5 held a cup filled with “the blood of the saints.”  Recall that Jesus told John that what he was about to see and write would come to pass at a later time (Rev. 1:19).  The Book of Revelation is now beginning to come to pass on earth.  That old “whore” along with her “harlot daughters” (together called “the church” today) are destined to rise to power once again by directing the activities of the same “beast” of Revelation 17.  This final version of that world-ruling power and the church that guides it is coming to power in Europe–AGAIN–just as God prophesied.  Together, this governmental beast and its guiding church will rule the world like the Roman Empire, directed by the Catholic Church, ruled that empire long ago.  The “beast” is rising in Europe at this time and the church is taking her position at the head of it.  What was called the Holy Roman Empire then is called the European Union today.  Billions of church goers now wear the “sign”–the Sunday Sabbath–of the the end-time church-state monster which will rule the world with an iron fist in the near future.  By wearing its “sign” one proclaims one’s allegiance to that developing power.  See the Introduction to this website for a list of some of the whore and her harlot daughters’ beliefs and customs.

The Lord’s alter began to deteriorate not long after the church’s founding on the Day of Pentecost 31 A.D.  Within 150 years the original apostles would not have recognized it as it had become totally secular.  Having adopted numerous heathen beliefs and customs, “the church” looked then like it looks today–like the world in which she so comfortably fits.  The only difference between her and the world around her is where her constituents spend a couple of hours each sun god observance day (Sunday).

Like Elijah, God’s few servants are trying to rebuild the Lord’s alter for the few who truly desire to please Him.  The word “repaired” found in 1 Kings 18:30 in the Hebrew language is rapa, meaning to heal, to recover, to cure.  Truly, God’s alter, His place of meeting with His people, has been torn down by the counterfeit church which has replaced it with various alters to their god–Satan.  This is where his parishioners go on Sunday to unknowingly worship him and vow their allegiance to him, all the while believing that they are dealing with the Biblical God.

False Christianity has broken down God’s alter through rebellion against His Word and depending on her false prophets to tell them His Truth.  Like those who came to hear the Prophet Isaiah teach.  His parishioners told him: “Do not show us what God is like; do not prophesy His Words to us; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits.”  Read Isaiah 30:8-13 and apply it to today’s version of Christianity.  Nothing has changed.  Rejection of God and His Word is as pervasive today as it was anciently.  Note in verse 8 that what God said was for “THE TIME TO COME.”  That time began 2000 years ago and will continue forever as God will require His people to obey Him forever.  This is the time referred to in Daniel 7 as “the time of the end” when his writings would be unsealed and understood by God’s true ministers (Dan. 8:17).

In the final analysis, we must each rebuild God’s alter in our own lives.  His alter is built with His Words.  Read Psalms 119 to learn how important God’s Word is to Him.  His Word/Law is God in written form, just as Jesus was God in human form.  We must, as did Jesus, have God’s alter always with us and must make use of it with each opportunity.  We must “redeem the time” allotted us to personally enter into our “closet” and there commune with Him, even in the midst of chaos if necessary.  My family accuses me of tuning them out.  I am not interested in what they are talking about.  So I enter into my “closet” and shut the door.

Let us repair the alter of the Lord that professing Christendom has broken down.  Let us separate ourselves from her, never to “touch” her again.  Then, and only then, will God be our God and we will be His people (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1).  Let us, like Elijah, use the Law God gave to our spiritual ancestors–the 12 tribes of Israel–to rebuild His alter.  Let us rebuild it with stones, not wood, so that it will never fall again.  Let us build His alter on “the Rock” that is Jesus Christ.  Let us engrave His Word in our hearts so that, no matter the situation, we will always be standing on It, thinking about It, reciting It, loving It.  Jesus said: “Watch and pray always” so that we will face Him in the future knowing that He will welcome us into the Kingdom of God.  “Always” means all the time, that we must have our alter ready for use at all times. L.J.