Heaven Fire: The Coming of Elijah, the Prophet and the End of the Age

By Michael Thomas Babcock

We stand at a precipice of prophetic knowledge unseen, unknown, and unexperienced until now. The vista before us; strange, beautiful, and fearful, is lightened by the face of Almighty God.

Like viewing a familiar object through a microscope for the first time, HEAVEN FIRE will reveal that Gods design of the biblical end times is far more elaborate than weve ever thought. And the message of the cross is far more powerful than we ever dared to dream.

Like a volatile chemical reaction, the gospel of Jesus Christ is about to explode upon an unsuspecting world. The Church of Jesus Christ is about to rock the foundations of every earthly kingdom.
HEAVEN FIRE will challenge what you think you know about the Earths prophetic future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9781456878221

Michael Thomas Babcock

The Future Is Coming Clear We stand at a precipice of prophetic knowledge unseen, unknown, and unexperienced until now. The vista before us; strange, beautiful, and fearful, is lightened by the face of Almighty God. Like viewing a familiar object through a microscope for the first time, HEAVENFIRE will reveal that God’s design of the biblical end times is far more elaborate than we’ve ever thought. And the message of the cross is far more powerful than we ever dared to dream. Like a volatile chemical reaction, the gospel of Jesus Christ is about to explode upon an unsuspecting world. The Church of Jesus Christ is about to rock the foundations of every earthly kingdom. HEAVENFIRE will challenge what you think you know about the Earth’s prophetic future.

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THE COMING OF ELIJAH

THE PROPHET

AND THE END OF THE AGE

Copyright © 2013 by Michael Thomas Babcock.

ISBN:            Ebook               978-1-4568-7822-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 08/16/2013

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Contents

Introduction

I. The Frame Of The Ages

II. The Elijah And The Day Of The Lord

III. Discerning The Spirit Of Elijah

IV. Fatherhood: The Ministry Of The Elijah

V. The Restitution Of All Things

VI. Syllabus Of The Last Days

VII. The Aftermath

Epilogue: The Manifestation Of Jesus Christ

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

INTRODUCTION

In the very last chapter of the Bible, we read, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand (Revelation 22:10).

God’s Book is not sealed. The awesome Spirit who breathed it is offering its mysteries to all who will study and believe and receive. And yet the subject of biblical prophecy remains as a great yawning enigma among the various denominations of Christianity.

This author is convinced that there is still much to discover within the thousands of prophetic utterances of Scripture. Many of these are shrouded in the symbolic language of God’s seers awaiting our discovery. Our Lord in His wisdom discloses more each and every time His people stir up desire for His holy work and His holy words. This is a basic principle of progressive biblical revelation. He reveals His mysteries incrementally as we demonstrate our own due diligence. He will abundantly pour forth the knowledge of His future plans as we devote ourselves to carrying them out at any personal cost. Although the Book is not sealed, we are unable to assimilate its depth of doctrinal truth without the measures of His Holy Spirit by whom we must execute it.

Those who avail themselves to the study of Bible prophecy soon observe that many of the popular ministers purport differing interpretations of the end time scenario. The teaching contained here began as a personal search for an understanding that would reconcile these differences.

Since my conversion in 1982, I have possessed a fervent curiosity regarding Bible prophecy. As I beheld the plethora of opinions before me, I endeavored to search the Scriptures with an open heart. I adopted, as a kind of theme verse, Psalm 119:18, Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. God in His faithfulness revealed a powerful, unifying key among the end time prophecies that has brought resolution to the many theories that traverse the Christian markets.

This key has subsequently unlocked several fragments of critical prophetic information: Namely, that the second coming of Christ, although imminent, cannot occur before a series of monumental, global omens are displayed before the eyes of the unbelieving world. As the prophetic age we are living in draws quickly to a close, they (and expectantly we) will witness an unfolding of events of such magnitude that no author could possibly fully convey them.

The purpose of this writing is to challenge and equip every reader to fulfill his or her own part in this stupendous end time masterwork of God.

Author’s note: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible. [All bracketed words found within Scripture quotes are notations by the author and are not part of the actual Scriptures.]

I. THE FRAME OF THE AGES

From foretelling the rise and fall of mighty world empires, to describing minute details in the life of Jesus of Nazareth centuries in advance, the Bible has proven itself over the millennia to possess unqualified perfection in its predication of future events.

Written by forty different authors over a time span of 1500 years, it is by far the most significant collection of documents ever penned by humankind. The Holy Bible has for centuries running been the world’s number one best-selling book. Volumes—veritable libraries—have been written concerning the various ways that Scripture discloses its own inspiration. Its impeccable record of history; its precise sociological and geographical knowledge; its hundreds of fulfilled prophecies; its resolute adherence to true science and scientific principles; and the absolute continuity of doctrine among its authors all attest to its infallible, divine revelation. With these things in mind, I must at this onset urgently implore my reader to abandon any and all other forms of prognostication for personal guidance or insight into Earth’s future. Though psychics, mediums, channelers and their so-called prophecies may abound, yet is there not one clear and truthful among them!

But the Bible, the Word of the Living God which we have believed, has never once failed, never fallen short, never erred. In the Apostle Peter’s second epistle, he wrote,

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.

—2 Peter 1:19

We do indeed have a more sure word—an anchor for the soul in every circumstance of life. In the Holy Scriptures we have a word of temporal and eternal salvation, a word of deliverance from vice and evil, a word of healing for all that ails mankind. And, as I hope to demonstrate in these pages, we have also a more sure word of prophecy concerning the work of God in the end time Church.

Eschatology, or the study of last things, has been a topic of keenest interest among Christians throughout the New Testament era. In order to appreciate the subject at hand, we must possess a basic knowledge of a few terms that have evolved out of this discipline.

This first chapter will briefly overview the subject of end time prophecy and offer some simple, scriptural definitions. Throughout the course of this study we will be using the following expressions, which are used more or less universally among prophecy teachers to describe the future of our race and planet. This list, in the sequence given, is quite widely accepted among the various sectors of Christianity.

The Church Age

The Rapture

The Tribulation

The Second Advent

The Millennium

The Regeneration (The New Heaven and New Earth)

Eternity

Like many Bible doctrines, the outline of the future must be pieced together carefully and prayerfully from a myriad of statements, both clear and unclear, both literal and figurative, scattered throughout the Bible. The wise God has given us the task—or privilege—of finding where each piece of the prophetic puzzle fits.

Prophecy is indeed an intriguing field of study. It is also a very rewarding one for those whose hearts are turned toward their Master; for He said, Seek, and ye shall find (Matthew 7:7).

Let us begin our inquiry in the famed faith chapter from the letter to the Hebrews.

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God.

—Hebrews 11:3

This statement is somewhat unclear to us because of the translators’ choice of English words. Worlds, in the original Greek of the New Testament, is the word aionas, from which we derive the English eons. An eon is a long, undetermined time period, or an age. This verse literally says, The ages have been framed by the word of God. By implication, this statement also refers to everything that fills the ages—the entire ongoing epic of creation.

This verse is saying that the Word of God, the Bible, has prescribed an outline of Earth’s history. Although many details of world affairs are left unmentioned, all major events relating to God’s covenants and His people are contained inside this scriptural framework. We may be assured that every international incident that makes headlines must, and always does, fit perfectly into it. The very universe and time itself hangs on the integrity of the words given us by our holy Creator. Each and every word must certainly find fulfillment in His marvelous plan.

The events in our list—the Church Age, the Rapture, the Tribulation, the Second Advent, the Millennium, the Regeneration, and the Eternity—are the main cross-members of the edifice of prophetic time. The Master Builder of it will reveal more and more supporting members as we approach the transition from this eon to the next.

FIGURE 1:

This illustration represents the classic timeline of the future that is accepted by a great consensus of Christianity. Many of the timelines that have been published by prophecy teachers are much more elaborate with artwork and Scripture references but contain the same basic information as you see here.

1.jpg

THE CHURCH AGE

The time period we are now living in is commonly called the Church Age. The Church Age consists of the creation and maturing of Christ’s Church, and the spread of the Gospel message to the ends of the Earth. It began the very moment that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. It will end at the event called the Rapture. The Holy Spirit, in Acts 2:17 and other passages, has dubbed this interval the last days. There are a number of specific predictions that we will be addressing relating to the last days. First, however, as an introduction, I will touch on a few general statements that have forecast the world in which we now find ourselves. Paul wrote in his second letter to Timothy,

1. This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.

—2 Timothy 3:1-4

Paul then added in the 13th verse, Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. Here is an amazingly accurate depiction of the extreme moral and spiritual darkness we are witness to in these days. According to this verse the decadence of the human condition will continue on a downward spiral until the end of the Church Age. These words of Paul were recorded about twenty centuries ago. Centuries yet before this, it was written in the Proverbs,

11.   There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.

12.   There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.

13.   There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.

14.   There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

—Proverbs 30:11-14

Let there be no mistake. These are indeed the last days and we are surely racing toward this depraved antichrist generation!

THE RAPTURE

The Rapture is unquestionably the most anticipated of all predictive events. It is, according to several plain Bible statements, a point in time at which all those who have entered into covenant with the Living God, from the beginning of creation until that moment, both living and deceased, will be bodily translated from Earth to heaven. These will be the first to experience what Scripture calls the first resurrection (Revelation 20:5-6).

It is believed by most that the Rapture will be a sudden, instantaneous, and completely unheralded event. (We will, however, need to adapt a slight exception to this thought in light of our study.)

The word rapture is of Latin origin. It means a catching away in a literal or figurative sense. Although this word is not a part of our English Scriptures, one of its forms is found in Latin translations of the Bible. Personally, I feel it is a very fitting title. It certainly captures the spirit of the event.

51.   Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep,* but we shall all be changed,

*The death of believers is often referred to as sleep throughout the Bible.

52.   In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

—1Corinthians 15:51, 52

16.   For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17.   Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

—1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; * for we shall see him as he is.

*This statement offers us an excellent topic of study in itself. Each of the four Gospels describe the kind of body Jesus had after His resurrection. As Christians we may glory in the fact that we shall be like Him.

—1 John 3:2

20.   For our conversation* is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

*citizenship or commonwealth.

21.   Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body . . .

—Philippians 3:20, 21

Whereas some of the biblical prophecies tend to be symbolic and somewhat ambiguous, these four references are amazingly clear statements, and virtually without symbolism. They assert that an instant in history is forthcoming when a great global resurrection of believers (called the dead in Christ) will take place. At that same moment, God’s people remaining alive on the earth, who openly profess the Lordship of Jesus Christ, shall be caught up together with them, and all will be given changed and glorious bodies. The effects of this event will, of course,