A Prophetic Word: Two Altars in the Church

Elijah was a prophet of Israel who took on a religious system that was accepted, common, politically correct and which operated in harmony with the political and cultural systems of the day.

 

King Ahab had implemented Idol Worship and Worship of  Baal.  This was because of pressure from the culture.  He was a weak king.  He did what he did because it was popular.

 

As a result of this God brought hard times on Samaria.  For three years it did not rain.  Elijah had prophesied this.  It was an unpopular message of the day.  Elijah had declared it so by the word of the Lord.  Declared it and it came to pass.  Sometimes prophets declare what God is about to do and people think that the declaration is the cause of the crisis; that the messenger is the message.  Prophets release a  proclamation into the atmosphere but in the end it's all about God.

 

Baal worship was big in those days.  During the drought it got bigger.  God was using the weather to illustrate the bankruptcy of the pagan religion of the day.

 

Who is Baal?  Baal was a common god in many cultures at that time. 

 

A god of weather, a god of provision, a god of wealth, a god of fertility, a god of the marketplace. 

 

Baal means husbandman, ownership, owner, rule, rulership, master, wealth, possessions, alliances to make deals with, to marry.  In short compromise for the sake of gain.  To be in control of your destiny.

 

Money was promised to roll in when you worshipped Baal.  That's why it was so popular.  If you worshipped at the altar of Baal and if you held your mouth just right you could influence the weather so your crops would be better.  Baal was the over god and then there were lots of smaller gods.  Dagon, the Asherahs. 

 

King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were big time Baal worshippers.  In fact she kept a houseful of priests to this false religion, fed them, took care of them, paid them a salary.  It was the acceptable mainline religion of the day.

 

Ahab and Jezebel would not hear the Prophets of the Lord. In fact Queen Jezebel had hundreds of the Prophets of God put to death.  Obadiah, a servant of Elijah's, was able to hide out and feed about a hundred refugee prophets in caves. 

 

Finally God had enough and he told Elijah to put a stop to Idol worship. To call out the false prophets of Baal.   To destroy them.

 

Elijah issued a challenge.   He came to Ahab, the religious leader of the state of Israel.  Ahab upon recognizing Elijah said, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?" This was an insult because in fact the trouble Israel was suffering was because of Ahab's sin.  It was an insult because only Achan, who had hid the valuables from God at AI, had ever been called troubler of Israel. 

 

The pain for Ahab of having the man of God who simply said what God said was more than Ahab could stand.  He wanted a nice clean controlled religion without any power.  The Challenge was made.

 

The prophet of God all by himself versus 850 priests of Baal and the Asherah.  May the best god win.  Mount Carmel had an altar to Baal.   They put wood on the altar and an oxen.  They wanted a sign of his power.  Let fire fall.   Consume the Ox.  Come-on Baal, how bout a tiny spark.  Anything.  Speak Baal. Mobs of priests danced around, chanted, cut themselves, sang, prayed, bowed down and did all kinds of religious things that had no effect.  No fire, No rain, no power.

 

On the sidelines Elijah was having fun at the Priests expense.  He asked maybe Baal is out to lunch, or on vacation, or out of town or maybe he's on the toilet.  He judged them in their ignorant and empty religion. 

 

That made the Baal Priests even angrier and they did their religious act even more aggressively.  They cut themselves even more till the blood flowed.  They knew they couldn't fail.  If they did they would be killed. 

 

As the sun was going down, at the end of the day, Elijah built another altar to the living God with 12 simple stones.  He put some wood around it.  He put the offering on it. He had lots of water poured on it so when God acted there would be no doubt.

 

Fire came down after a simple prayer of faith and power and it consumed the offering, the wood and dried up all the water.

 

Then Elijah single handedly killed all the priests of Baal at the brook Kishon.  He destroyed the whole religious system by the power of God.

 

Elijah then told Ahab, "listen, I hear the sound of abundant rain".  Elijah and his servant went up on the hill and waited for the rain to come.  Ahab believed God and Elijah and had a big dinner celebrating the rain that hadn't yet come.  He believed the prophet of God.  It looked for a moment repentance was near.

 

After this great success Elijah is cursed by Jezebel and threatened with death.  Elijah runs.  Ahab was a "whipped of a woman pansy" who let Jezebel run his life.  When he should have stood up to her and said, "Jezebel, Maybe there is something to this Jehovah God thing after all" he didn't.   In spite of the facts from mount Carmel,  she intimidates Ahab into submission.  She would rather stay in control and power than submit to the rule of the only true God.  He cowers and buckles under the pressure.  By that he squandered his positional authority as King.  Jezebel is eventually eaten by dogs.

 

This story is in 1 Kings 17-19. 

 

SO WHAT YOU SAY?  What does that have to do with me and my ministry?  MUCH!

 

• Baal worship still goes on in most churches. 
• Baal worship is an acceptable religion to the culture. Mainline.
• Baal worship has professionals who make a living out of being a priest to the worldly religion
• Baal worship is still the worship of the marketplace, productivity, ownership, materialism, fertility, wealth and what can God do for me.
• Baal worship is still practiced as a powerless form of godliness.

There are two altars in every church like there were two altars on Mount Carmel.  One will be exulted, one will be torn down.  The one erected to "what can God do for me" will always be built up by Baal worshippers and the one to the true God which says, "I worship you for who you are" will be torn down.  Gideon after the victory over the Midianites tore down the false altars to Baal.  The high places.  The hierarchies. The exalted ones above God.  For that Israel was blessed. 

 

God is now insisting that spritual leaders of today tear down the altars to Baal inside his churches or he will continue to hold back the rain.  God is calling Christians out to destroy the systems and traditions standing between him and his people.  To destroy the high places set up by man that are substitutes for the power of God.

 

The drought of his Holy Spirit suffered in most churches in America is the direct result of the Altars erected to the demon Spirit of Baal.  This is a very high Demonic Spirit. It looks good.  It sounds good.  It's very religious. It has long traditions.  It possesses beautiful buildings. But it is the biggest restrainer against what God wants to do.

 

When the Prophet came to Ahab, who represents the spiritual authority in the land at that time, Ahab said, "You are a troubler of Israel".  That IS what the Church is saying to the prophetic today.  Except in a few cases most of the Church does not want to hear or ignores what the prophets of God are saying to them.  They call them false prophets.  They treat it as if there were no power in what they say.  They say, "you are a troubler of the Church.  Things were fine before you came around".  In fact God is exposing the Altars to Baal that exist in those churches and is saying that you must tear them down or I will and when I do it will destroy the Church you labored so hard to build.  You will morn over the Babylon you have created saying, "Babylon, Babyon is fallen"

 

The spirit of Jezebel is a ruling spirit that wants to control things.  The War in Iraq is part of this.  The whole Global Warming Controversy is wrapped up in this.  And, religious systems have become agents trying to control, to take the reigns from the Holy Spirit in his Church.  I heard Barry Kolb say once of a fellow pastor who said, "If the Holy Spirit comes into our service, let him sit way in the back and be quiet".  It's about control.  Fear of losing control.  An attempt to mount a coup against the Spirit of the Living God.  That's what is happening in Churches today.  This Jezebel Spirit must be crushed or we will all die in our sin.

 

Here's the word to those of you who are in charge of Churches, in the ministry, elders, leaders, and concerned about the Church at large.  The altar of Baal is being erected again and the prophets are speaking.  The Ahabs (rulers of the religious systems) are trying to silence or kill the prophets.  The Baal altars that now stand at the front of many churches is about to destroy those churches.  The Jezebel spirit is trying to take control. 

 

If it isn't stopped you will put a lock on the door and put up a sign up saying ICHABOD – the glory has departed.

 

God is speaking, are you listening?