THE BLIND ELECTORATE

August 27, 2026August 27, 2026Allen Frederick Leave a comment

A Prophetic Teaching on Spiritual Drift, Seduction, and National Vulnerability

Introduction: When a Nation Forgets Who Leads It

Jesus declared, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” (Matthew 12:25). His words are not merely a warning; they are a spiritual law. Division is not just a political condition — it is a symptom of deeper spiritual sickness.

Every election season reveals more than political tension. It exposes the spiritual condition of the electorate. A nation is never simply choosing leaders; it is revealing what it trusts, what it fears, what it values, and what it believes will save it. When people place ultimate trust in secular leadership instead of God’s leadership, they lose discernment. They become vulnerable to manipulation, seduction, and emotional persuasion. They become, in Elijah’s language, a people “limping between two opinions” (1 Kings 18:21) — unable to see clearly, unable to choose wisely, and unable to discern truth from deception.

But to understand the prophetic parallels, we must revisit the biblical story itself — the divided kingdom, the rise of Ahab and Jezebel, the infection of Judah, and the remnant God preserved.

THE BIBLICAL BACKDROP: THE DIVIDED KINGDOM AND THE HOUSE OF AHAB

After Solomon’s death, the kingdom of Israel fractured. Ten tribes formed the Northern Kingdom, called Israel, ruled from Samaria. Two tribes formed the Southern Kingdom, called Judah, ruled from Jerusalem. What God intended to be one nation under His covenant became two nations divided by politics, idolatry, and spiritual compromise.

In the North, Ahab rose to power. Scripture says, “Ahab… did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him.” (1 Kings 16:30). He married Jezebel, daughter of the king of Sidon, a woman devoted to Baal worship. Under her influence, Ahab built altars to Baal, erected Asherah poles, and filled the land with false prophets. Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD and replaced them with her own spiritual machinery.

This was not merely political corruption.
It was spiritual seduction.

Meanwhile in Judah, King Jehoshaphat walked in the ways of the Lord. But he made one fatal mistake: he formed an alliance with Ahab. His son Jehoram married Ahab’s daughter Athaliah, bringing Jezebel’s influence directly into the Davidic line. Scripture says, “He walked in the way of the kings of Israel… for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife.” (2 Chronicles 21:6).

The infection spread.

Jehoram’s son Ahaziah became king, and the Bible says, “His mother was his counselor to do wickedly.” (2 Chronicles 22:3). That mother was Athaliah — Jezebel’s daughter. Ahaziah followed the counsel of Ahab’s house, not the counsel of God. He aligned himself with the Northern Kingdom’s corruption and died in judgment.

Athaliah then seized the throne of Judah and attempted to wipe out the entire royal line of David. But God preserved a remnant. The priest Jehoiada hid the infant Joash in the temple for six years until the time was right to restore the rightful king. Through Jehoiada’s leadership, Judah returned to the covenant — but only for a season. After Jehoiada died, Joash drifted, listened to corrupt counselors, and fell back into idolatry.

The pattern repeated:
When leaders drift, the people drift.
When leaders are seduced, the nation is seduced.
When leaders abandon God, the electorate becomes blind.

The Electorate Has Lost Its Spiritual Center

Scripture teaches, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5). But when people begin trusting charisma over character, emotion over truth, personality over principle, promises over repentance, and institutions over Scripture, they become spiritually conditioned to follow the loudest voice instead of the truest voice.

Israel drifted when it trusted Ahab’s charisma instead of God’s covenant. America drifts when it trusts secular leadership as savior instead of God as Lord. Isaiah warned, “Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help… but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 31:1). The electorate becomes blind when it seeks salvation from human systems rather than divine truth.

Undisciplined Leaders Produce Undisciplined Followers

Elijah confronted leaders who knew about God but did not see God clearly. They practiced rituals, maintained traditions, and invoked religious language, but their hearts were undisciplined and their vision dim. Scripture says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18).

Ahab knew the rituals. Ahaziah knew the traditions. Jehoram knew the temple. Joash knew the priesthood. But none of them walked in obedience or clarity. Their leadership produced confusion, compromise, and corruption. Hosea declared, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6). When leaders drift, the people drift. When leaders lose discipline, the people lose discernment.

Reform Without Repentance Creates National Instability

Israel attempted reform without repentance. They built new alliances, adopted new policies, embraced new religious expressions, and followed new cultural movements, but they never returned to God. God spoke through Isaiah, “This people draw near me with their mouth… but have removed their heart far from me.” (Isaiah 29:13).

America mirrors this pattern. We create new programs, adopt new slogans, form new coalitions, and pursue new reforms, but without repentance, reform becomes cosmetic — a fresh coat of paint on a rotting foundation. The Lord warned, “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it.” (Psalm 127:1). Reform without repentance is labor in vain.

Faulty Foundations Make the Electorate Easy to Mislead

Jesus taught the parable of the two builders: “The rain descended, and the floods came… and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:27). A house built on sand cannot withstand pressure. A nation built on faulty foundations cannot withstand deception.

Israel built on Baal worship, political marriages, cultural assimilation, and emotional religion. America builds on secular moral relativism, therapeutic spirituality, political tribalism, and cultural seduction. Paul warned, “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2). Faulty foundations produce emotional voting, ideological seduction, personality worship, fear‑based decision‑making, and propaganda vulnerability.

The Jezebel Spirit Seduces the Electorate

The Jezebel spirit is not gender; it is seduction, manipulation, idolatry, and false teaching. Revelation warns, “Thou sufferest that woman Jezebel… to seduce my servants.” (Revelation 2:20). Seduction is the weapon of spiritual blindness.

In Elijah’s day, Jezebel seduced a nation through false prophets, emotional religion, political influence, and cultural pressure. In America, the same pattern appears in seductive ideologies, high‑sounding philosophies, emotionally charged narratives, and spiritually empty traditions. Paul warned, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine… and shall turn away their ears from the truth.” (2 Timothy 4:3–4).

When People Stop Listening to God, They Become Blind Voters

This is the heart of the teaching. When men and women stop guarding their homes, stop teaching their children, stop listening to God, stop walking in obedience, and stop practicing discernment, they become persuadable, misled, emotionally reactive, spiritually blind, and geopolitically unstable.

Jesus said, “If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” (Matthew 15:14). The electorate becomes blind not because leaders are powerful, but because the people are spiritually undisciplined. Paul warned, “Be not deceived.” (Galatians 6:7). Deception enters through drift.

The Electorate’s Blindness Is a Theological Crisis, Not a Political One

America’s vulnerability is not a party issue, a candidate issue, or a policy issue. It is a theological issue. When a nation loses its spiritual center, it loses its geopolitical stability. God warned Israel, “Ye have forsaken the LORD, and he hath forsaken you.” (2 Chronicles 24:20).

Israel drifted theologically and fractured politically. Judah drifted spiritually and weakened militarily. Ahab drifted morally and alliances corrupted the nation. Joash drifted internally and institutions collapsed. America’s instability mirrors this pattern. Jesus said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” (Mark 3:25).

The Remnant Principle: God Preserves Clarity in a Blind Nation

Even in Elijah’s day, God preserved clarity. Seven thousand remained faithful (1 Kings 19:18). Obadiah hid prophets (1 Kings 18:4). Jehoiada preserved Joash (2 Kings 11). God preserved the Davidic line. In America, the remnant is the believers who see clearly, the churches that remain faithful, the leaders who refuse seduction, the communities grounded in Scripture, and the individuals who walk in obedience.

Paul wrote, “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Romans 11:5). God always preserves a remnant.

The Call: Return to God With Whole‑Hearted Obedience

The only cure for electorate blindness is repentance, not reform. A nation cannot be saved by politics, ideology, institutions, traditions, emotionalism, or cultural narratives. Only by returning to God with whole hearts can a nation regain discernment and stability.

God declared, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven.” (2 Chronicles 7:14). Repentance restores clarity. Obedience restores vision. Truth restores stability.

Conclusion: The Elijah Warning for America

America is not blind because its leaders are corrupt. America is blind because its people have drifted. The electorate is not misled because voices are loud. The electorate is misled because discernment is lost. The nation is not unstable because politics are chaotic. The nation is unstable because theology is compromised.

Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation.” (Matthew 12:25).
Elijah said, “How long halt ye between two opinions?” (1 Kings 18:21).
Isaiah said, “Return unto Him from whom the children of Israel have deeply revolted.” (Isaiah 31:6).

Return to the Altar: A Call to Prayer and Remembrance

May 7, 2026May 7, 2026Allen Frederick Leave a comment

The Forgotten Altar and the Silent Fire

There was a time when the people of God knew where to find Him. They knew the sound of His voice, the weight of His presence, the trembling of holy ground, the fire that fell upon sacrifice, and the sacredness of the altar where heaven met earth. But that time has faded into memory, and the modern church stands in a sanctuary filled with polished wood, tuned instruments, and well‑timed programs, yet the altar of the Lord lies in ruins. The fire has gone out. The testimony has grown silent. The encounter has been forgotten. The people have grown cold. And the priests, who should stand between the porch and the altar, no longer remember where the altar even is.

False Altars and a Fireless Priesthood

The Scriptures speak of a day when Israel’s altars were broken down, neglected, and abandoned. The people still believed in God, but they no longer met Him. They still had priests, sacrifices, rituals, and religion, but they had no fire. The fire only falls on a rebuilt altar, and the tragedy of our age is that the altar has been replaced with a stage. The place of sacrifice has been replaced with a platform. The place of encounter has been replaced with entertainment. The place where God once answered by fire has been replaced with fog machines and lighting cues. And the church wonders why the heavens are silent.

The prophets of Baal danced, shouted, cut themselves, and performed with great passion, but “there was no voice, no answer, and no response” [1 Kings 18:26]. This is the condition of the modern church. There is plenty of noise but no voice, plenty of motion but no presence, plenty of ritual but no fire. We have built altars to entertainment, personality, tradition, comfort, culture, and convenience. We have erected platforms where altars once stood. We have traded sacrifice for sentiment, fire for performance, testimony for announcements, and encounter for routine. And like the prophets of Baal, we go through the motions without expecting fire, because deep down we no longer believe it will fall.

The Abandoned Feasts and the Lost Remembrance

The Feasts of the Lord were given as altars of remembrance, sacred touchstones where God commanded His people to remember His deliverance, His voice, His provision, His mercy, and His presence. Passover declared, “Remember how I brought you out.” Pentecost declared, “Remember how I spoke to you.” Tabernacles declared, “Remember how I dwelt among you.” But the modern church has tossed aside the Feasts and replaced them with man‑made traditions that carry no fire, no remembrance, and no encounter. We have abandoned the very rhythms God established to keep His people anchored in His works, His ways, and His wonders. A church that abandons the altars of remembrance will always lose the God of remembrance.

Joel’s Cry to a Sleeping Church

The prophet Joel spoke to a nation that had forgotten God, a priesthood that had grown cold, a people who had lost their testimony, and an altar that lay in ruins. And the Lord commanded a cry that echoes into our generation: “Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, ‘Spare Your people, O Lord’” [Joel 2:17]. This was not a call to polished sermons or well‑crafted worship sets. It was a call to brokenness, intercession, remembrance, and return. It was a call for the priests to stand in the place where the people could see their tears and where God could hear their cry. It was a call to rebuild the altar.

The modern church has pastors who can run a service but cannot call down fire, leaders who can manage a budget but cannot hear the Shepherd’s voice, worship teams who can sing but cannot travail, and congregations who can attend but cannot testify. We have a priesthood without encounter, a ministry without fire, and a generation without remembrance. The apostle Paul wrote, “When you come together, each one has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation” [1 Corinthians 14:26], yet in most churches today the only voice heard is the one behind the pulpit. The people of God have forgotten how to speak of the works of God because they have forgotten how to meet Him.

Elijah and the God Who Answers by Fire

Elijah knew where the fire fell. He did not call fire from heaven because he was loud or talented or charismatic. He called fire because he rebuilt the altar. Scripture says, “Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down” [1 Kings 18:30]. He knew the God who answers by fire. He knew the difference between ritual and relationship. He knew the sound of heaven. And when he prayed, the fire fell, not because of the prayer but because of the altar. The false prophets could not call fire because they had no altar, no covenant, no encounter, and no relationship. They had built false altars to false gods, and false altars never produce true fire.

A Call to Return and Rebuild

This is the message to the modern church: return. Return to the altar. Return to the God of encounter. Return to the stones of remembrance. Return to the place where the fire once fell. Return to the Shepherd whose voice you no longer hear. Return to the testimony you no longer tell. Return to the hunger you no longer feel. Return to the God you have forgotten. Because until the altar is rebuilt, the fire will not fall. And until the fire falls, the church will remain asleep.

A Final Summons to a Wandering Generation

This is not a call to emotion or nostalgia or tradition. This is a call to awakening. A call to repentance. A call to remembrance. A call to restoration. A call to fire. The altar is broken. The fire is gone. The testimony is silent. But the Lord is calling His people back. And the priests must answer. They must stand between the porch and the altar, with tears, with remembrance, and with fire, until the God who answers by fire answers again.

The Vineyard and the White Whale: A Parable for an Unsettled Age

January 21, 2026January 19, 2026Allen Frederick Leave a comment

There was a kingdom by the sea where a modest vineyard grew on a quiet rise. It wasn’t impressive, yet it endured every storm. It bore fruit in seasons when other fields failed. It stood as a quiet contradiction to the loud voices of the age.

One man in the kingdom could not bear the sight of it. He was a man of influence, accustomed to shaping the mood of the crowd. But the vineyard unsettled him. It contradicted the story he told about the world. It bore fruit he insisted could not exist. And so, the vineyard became, in his mind, an offense.

He convinced himself that if he could just uproot it, the unease inside him would finally be quiet.

But the vineyard was not his.

And that truth gnawed at him.

He brooded. He rehearsed grievances until they hardened into certainty. Soon the vineyard was no longer a patch of land — it was a symbol of everything he despised. He rallied others to hate it with him. He painted it as a threat to the kingdom’s stability. He insisted that the realm could not stand while that vineyard stood.

Elijah had once confronted a king just like this — a man who wanted what was not his, a man who mistook desire for destiny. The prophet warned him that coveting another man’s inheritance would cost him more than he imagined. But the warning was forgotten, and the pattern repeated.

Across the sea, another man sailed with a similar fire in his bones. Melville would later author his story — a captain who let a single wound become his compass. A white whale had crossed his path, and instead of healing, he fed his injury until it became an obsession. Every sunrise was measured by how close he was to the creature he hated. Every decision bent toward the chase.

Both men believed the same lie:

“If I can destroy the thing that troubles me, the world will finally be set right.”

But the vineyard did not trouble the king. And the whale did not trouble the captain. Their own hearts did.

And while they raged, the world around them trembled.

Borders shifted. Nations armed. Old powers stirred. New powers rose. The tides of history moved like deep waters beneath a sleeping ship.

But neither man noticed. Their eyes were fixed on a single point, and everything outside that point faded into shadow.

The Moral of the Story

And in the days that followed, the kingdom learned what neither Ahab ever could.

When hatred becomes the single bead on the string, it swallows every other color. It dulls the eyes until beauty looks threatening. It numbs the ears until wisdom sounds like deceit. It twists the mind until truth feels dangerous and lies feel safe. It blinds people to what is good, and it blinds them even more to what is right.

The king had sworn the vineyard was poison. The captain had sworn the whale was evil. But the poison was in their own vision, and the evil was in the obsession that hollowed them out.

“The light of the body is the eye,” the Scripture says, “and if the eye is evil, the whole body is full of darkness.” (Matthew 6:22–23)

Their eyes had turned evil — not with violence, but with fixation. And the darkness that followed was of their own making.

The vineyard is still growing. The whale still swam. Nothing the obsessed man did altered either one. His hatred had no power over the thing he despised, so it turned inward and fed him instead.

And any obsession fastened to an unreachable prize will end the same way — consuming the one who clings to it while the prize itself remains untouched.

The prophets had warned of this long before:

“They have eyes, but they see not; ears, but they hear not.” (Psalm 115:5–6)

A blindness chosen, not imposed.

And while the obsessed narrowed their sight to a single target, the world around them shifted. Borders trembled. Nations armed. Old powers stirred. New powers rose. The tides of history moved like deep waters beneath a sleeping ship.

But the obsessed did not see it. They could not. Their hatred had become their compass, and it pointed nowhere but inward.

So, the kingdom learned a hard truth:

A nation fixated on destroying one figure loses the ability to discern the forces shaping its destiny. A people who let hatred guide them will walk straight into the dangers they refuse to see. Obsession does not merely distort reason — it devours it. And when reason is gone, the world can burn unnoticed.

As it is written:

“Be sober, be vigilant; for your adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

The lion did not devour them through the vineyard. Nor through the whale. He devoured them through the obsession they chose.

Quenching the Spirit: The Silent Crisis in Today’s Church

June 14, 2025June 26, 2025Allen Frederick Leave a comment

Random Ramblings from the Resident Raptor

“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 (ESV)

The Apostle Paul’s warning is a cry to the modern church: Do not quench the Spirit! Yet, countless churches have unknowingly become fire suppressants, designing services that leave no room for the movement of God. The Spirit is choked, the prophetic voice silenced, the wind of revival stilled. What remains is an empty structure—a skeletal framework of religion that remembers the past but does not live it (2 Timothy 3:5).

But the crisis we face today is not new—it has been woven through biblical history. If we would just listen, if we would look, Scripture already shows us the cost of silencing the breath of God.

The Valley of Dry Bones: The Calling and the Resistance

“The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones.”
— Ezekiel 37:1

Revival always begins with the hand of God upon someone—a chosen vessel, set apart for a divine task. Ezekiel was not placed in the valley by accident; God positioned him intentionally in the midst of death, decay, and desolation. He was sent not just to observe, but to speak, to call forth breath, and to declare life where death reigned.

Yet in the physical vision, the bones were completely lifeless, all flesh had been removed—they had no resistance, no voice, no ability to reject the call of God. When Ezekiel prophesied, they responded immediately; they could not fight back because they were truly dead (Ezekiel 37:7-10).

But in spiritual reality, the modern church is not fully dead—it still has some life on its bones, it still walks in the flesh enough to resist the call of God. Instead of surrendering to revival, instead of rising to the prophetic word, many churches fight against the placement of God’s chosen, resist the voices He has sent, and silence the Word instead of receiving it.

The spirit may be willing but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)

The Thessalonians were warned against this very act:
“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21

Paul foresaw what would happen if the church turned against its own awakening. A church that rejects prophecy, silences the Spirit, and fights against divine placement is suffocating itself. It is not fully dead—but it is dying.

This is precisely what Jesus rebuked in the Pharisees:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.”
— Matthew 23:27

Their outward form appeared righteous, yet inside they were lifeless—spiritually dead, spreading corruption instead of revival. And worse, they didn’t just remain in their own deception—they multiplied death, leading others deeper into spiritual ruin:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.”
— Matthew 23:15

These spiritless leaders were not reviving people—they were burying them. They were not calling forth breath—they were silencing it. The Pharisees were not just dead bones themselves—they were creating a modern valley of dry bones, filled with disciples of death instead of disciples of Christ.

Elijah and the Fire Suppressants: When the Altar Became Empty

“How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
— 1 Kings 18:21

Elijah stood atop Mount Carmel, confronting not just the false prophets, but the people who had accepted the deception. Israel had grown spiritually dull, hosting empty worship services that had no impact, no presence, no awareness of God’s absence. They clapped, they sang, they danced, but they did not realize they were spiritually dead.

The prophets of Baal cried out, danced, and slashed themselves, believing that volume and movement would summon fire. But there was none (1 Kings 18:26-29). Their worship was loud but powerless, dramatic but empty, passionate but void of the Spirit.

The prophets of Baal were not chosen, not sent, not anointed. They set themselves up as spokesmen for God without His presence. And what did they produce? Emptiness. Delusion. False manifestations.

This is the modern deception—the belief that noise equals anointing, that repetition equals revival, that emotion equals encounter, that you can conjure up the Spirit by performance in the flesh.

Elijah did not shout, did not dance, did not perform. He simply arranged things decently and in order (1 Corinthians 14:40), then he stepped back and let God move. He knew he was not the one responsible for bringing about a move of God, all he had to do was make the preparatioins.

He rebuilt the altar, stacked the stones, laid the wood, and drenched the sacrifice in water—making it impossible for human effort to ignite the fire.

Elijah prayed:
“Answer me, Lord, so that these people will know that You are God.”
— 1 Kings 18:37

And the fire of the Lord fell.
Because it wasn’t performance—it was purity.
Not charisma—consecration.

The lesson is clear: Revival does not come through human effort, emotionalism, or performance, it comes through surrender, obedience, and divine intervention. For the Word teaches us that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 15:50)

But one final warning must not be ignored—when God’s fire falls, it does not just bring revival, it brings judgment. Those who stand in deception, who embrace false worship, who reject the Spirit’s movement will not be refined, they will be consumed.

“For our God is a consuming fire.”
— Hebrews 12:29

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.”
— 2 Corinthians 13:5

When God shows up, will you be revived or destroyed? Will His fire purify you or consume you?

The Call: Will We Let the Bones Remain Dry?

Can these bones live?
Can the altar be rebuilt?
Can the fire fall once more?

YES. But only if we remove the fire suppressants. Only if we refuse to quench the Spirit. Only if we call for the breath of God.

“Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’”
— Ezekiel 37:9

The church must no longer resist. The wind is waiting. The fire is ready. The bones must rise.

This final warning must not be overlooked—when God’s fire falls, it does not just bring revival, it brings judgment. Those who stand in deception, who embrace false worship, who reject the Spirit’s movement will not be refined—they will be consumed.

This truth is woven throughout Scripture:

Leviticus 10:1-2 – Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, and fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them.
1 Kings 18:38-40 – When God’s fire fell on Elijah’s altar, it proved His supremacy, and the false prophets of Baal were slaughtered.
2 Chronicles 7:1 – At the dedication of Solomon’s temple, fire came down from heaven, consuming the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.
Hebrews 12:29 – “For our God is a consuming fire.”

This is the final warning, examine your heart. When God shows up, will you be revived or destroyed? Will His fire purify you or consume you?

The modern church must wake up, it cannot host empty worship, it cannot embrace false teaching, it cannot reject the Spirit and expect to stand when the fire falls.

History Repeats: The Church’s Cycles of Suppression and Revival

Whenever the Spirit was quenched, revival was needed to restore God’s presence:

The Dark Ages (500-1500 AD) – A time marked by institutional control over faith and a lack of spiritual power.
The Protestant Reformation (16th century) – A return to biblical truth, but often reliant on intellectualism over Spirit-led movement.
The Great Awakenings (18th-19th centuries) – Revivals birthed through fervent prayer, preaching, and power encounters.
The Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements (20th century) – A rediscovery of spiritual gifts and the fire of God.
Modern Protestantism – Many churches today maintain a form of godliness but deny its power (2 Timothy 3:5).

Every time the Spirit was quenched, God raised up a remnant hungry for His presence. That remnant must rise again today.

This has been A View From the Nest: And that is the way I see it! What say you?

Allen Frederick

A True Story of Man-Made Climate Change

March 23, 2014March 23, 2014Allen Frederick 3 Comments

“Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” – 1Kings 17:1

Elijah was a Tishbite. Most Jews and Christians are familiar with Elijah. When Elijah confronted wicked rulers he was a “nobody” from an obscure tribe. But that did not stop him from taking a stand for God. Elijah didn’t have a prophetic blog. He did not hold a degree in theological studies from a major Jewish school of the prophets. He did not boast a large resume nor have thousands of Facebook likes and Twitter followers. For the most part until he took a stand for the Lord he was a nobody. What gave him a place in the annals of biblical history is what he had to say, and for whom he was speaking.

Elijah was facing Ahab, who along with Jezebel was systematically attempting to remove all the spokesmen of God from the land. They were killing the prophets of God. They sought to SILENCE the voice of God from among the people. They wanted to be sure that there was no one to challenge their political position, or political decisions. They in effect wanted to be the final arbiter of all things.

God wasn’t having any of it and thus sent Elijah to confront Ahab about his wicked ways. Ahab had introduced Baal worship into the northern kingdom of Israel. Baal was considered the god of fertility and of rain, so the pronouncement of Elijah that it was not going to rain until Elijah said it would was a direct challenge to Ahab’s worship of the Baal god. Elijah was directly challenging Ahab’s reliance on idol worship. He was there to remind Ahab who really was in charge of the climate.

True to his word the heaven’s withheld rain and dew for three and a half years until God spoke to Elijah again to declare that it was going to rain. During that time a great famine hit the land.

Elijah’s confidence was in God’s character and faithfulness. He spoke with assurance because he knew the voice of the Lord and he knew that God could be counted on to do what He said He would do. Elijah even went as far as confronting all the prophets of Baal, those the government hired to stand before the people and instruct them on the ways of Baal worship. These were government employees whose job was to instruct the people on the religion of environmentalism, and they were given the authority to punish anyone who did not bow down to worship the god of the earth.

Elijah wasn’t having any of it.

1 Kings 18:16-39 (GW)
¹⁶ So Obadiah went to tell Ahab. Ahab went to meet Elijah.
¹⁷ When he saw Elijah, Ahab said, “Is that you, you troublemaker of Israel?”
¹⁸ Elijah answered, “I haven’t troubled Israel. You and your father’s family have done it by disobeying the LORD’S commands and following the various Baal gods.
¹⁹ Order all Israel to gather around me on Mount Carmel. And bring the 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
²⁰ Ahab sent word to all the Israelites and brought the prophets together on Mount Carmel.
²¹ Elijah stood up in front of all the people and asked them, “How long will you try to have it both ways? If the LORD is God, follow him; if Baal is God, follow him.” The people didn’t say a word.
²² So Elijah told the people, “I’m the only surviving prophet of the LORD, but there are 450 prophets of Baal.
²³ Give us two bulls. Let the prophets of Baal choose one for themselves, cut it into pieces, lay it on the wood, but not set it on fire. I’ll do the same with the other bull.
²⁴ “You call on the name of your gods, but I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire is the real God.” All the people answered, “That’s fine.”
²⁵ Elijah told the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves. Prepare yours first, because there are more of you. Call on the name of your god, but don’t set the wood on fire.”
²⁶ They took the bull he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon. They said, “Baal, answer us!” But there wasn’t a sound or an answer. So they danced around the altar they had made.
²⁷ At noon Elijah started to make fun of them. “Shout louder, since he is a god. Maybe he’s thinking, relieving himself, or traveling! Maybe he’s sleeping, and you have to wake him!”
²⁸ So they shouted louder. They also cut themselves with swords and spears until their blood flowed. (This is what their ritual called for.)
²⁹ In the afternoon they continued to rant and rave until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no sound, no answer, no attention given to them.
³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come over here.” So all the people came to him. He rebuilt the LORD’S altar that had been torn down.
³¹ Elijah took 12 stones, one for each of the tribes named after Jacob’s sons. (The LORD had spoken his word to Jacob: “Your name will be Israel.”)
³² Elijah built an altar in the LORD’S name with those stones. He also made a trench that could hold 12 quarts of grain around the altar.
³³ He arranged the wood, cut up the bull, and put it on the wood.
³⁴ He said, “Fill four jars with water. Pour the water on the offering and on the wood.” Then he said, “Do it again,” and they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time.
³⁵ The water flowed around the altar, and even the trench was filled with water.
³⁶ When it was time to offer the sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward. He said, “LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, make known today that you are God in Israel and that I’m your servant and have done all these things by your instructions.
³⁷ Answer me, LORD! Answer me! Then these people will know that you, LORD, are God and that you are winning back their hearts.”
³⁸ So a fire from the LORD fell down and consumed the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dirt. The fire even dried up the water that was in the trench.
³⁹ All the people saw it and immediately bowed down to the ground. “The LORD is God!” they said. “The LORD is God!”

Oh happy day! Someone darned to challenge the prophets of environmentalism and prove once and for all who is actually in charge of the environment. Elijah forced the king and the prophets for hire to prove that the god they worshipped was in charge. This proved to be a fatal error.

Elijah went to the top of Carmel and bowed down on the ground to pray. …Gradually, the sky grew darker with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. I Kings 18:42 &45

Elijah was not ashamed of his God and was willing to stand against king Ahab to declare his faith. I am afraid there are too many prophets of God hiding in caves from fear than are willing to boldly go and tell the good news of Christ to a lost and dying world. I am afraid that the worship of Baal has crippled too many of God’s people into believing the lies the Baals are selling and not the truth of God’s word. We need a few good men willing to stand up and proclaim to all the prophets of Baal the truth of God’s word.

Or we can start with just one lone voice crying in the wilderness. Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Choose today whom you will serve. If Baal is god then serve him but if God is God then serve Him you really can not have it both ways.

And that is the way I see it. What say you?

This is a view from the nest. What say you?

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. _{Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)}

Along for the journey

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