Although the Old Testament prophets' mandate of bringing correction to God’s people has become more of the mandate of the apostle in the New Testament, there is still a need for the prophetic preachers of righteousness and justice. John the Baptist, the greatest of all transitional ministries, was the greatest of all preachers of righteousness. We are told that John came in the anointing of Elijah, but unlike Elijah, he had very little prophetic revelation and really did not demonstrate any of the kind of power that Elijah walked in. Even so, his message prepared the way for the Lord. For this reason, he was called by the Lord the greatest man ever born of woman (see Matthew 11:11).

      We are told in Malachi that before the end of this age, before the great and terrible day of the Lord, that Elijah the prophet will be sent again. Teachers and theologians have speculated about this probably since Malachi wrote it, but most New Testament scholars agree that this will come like it did upon John the Baptist with the anointing of Elijah. Most also see this coming in a corporate anointing upon many rather than upon one person because the Lord is now manifested through the many members of His body, the church.

     This anointing is evidenced on a number throughout the church age, which has been used to prepare the way for the Lord. This ministry is one of building part of the highway that is spoken of in Isaiah 40, which we are told is how we are to prepare the way of the Lord. The highway of Isaiah 40 is God’s “higher way.” It is the path to the kingdom. The message of repentance is to turn people from the road to destruction to the highway that leads to the kingdom.

     As Francis Frangipane points out, both Jesus and John preached repentance because the kingdom was at hand, not because judgment was at hand. We are told in Romans 2:4 that it is the “kindness of God that leads to repentance,” not threats of punishment as some suppose. This being so, we must also keep in mind that the great kindness of God is demonstrated at the cross more than anywhere else. His greatest kindness of all was paying the price that He did for our sins. So the greatest of all realizations of the kindness of God is the cross. This is why the message of the cross is so central to true apostolic preaching and has been so much the basis of the great messages and messengers of the entire church age.

      The message of the cross was much more than the teaching of the atonement we have through the cross, but it was also the preaching of the life of the cross. The true Christian life is a life of sacrifice, which Jesus said we had to do daily by taking up our own crosses if we were to be His disciples (see Luke 9:23). This message of the cross is sown throughout the message of the great saints who have been the prophetic and apostolic messengers of the church age. You can also tell that this was much more than just their message—it was their life. They lived the message of the cross by dying daily to their own will and their own desires to live a life of sacrifice for the sake of the gospel.

     Those who try to preach the cross, but do not live it are easily discerned by the lack of power in their words, and their message will die with them. Those who truly “die daily” for the sake of the gospel touch eternal life in such a way that their message cannot die either—and it lives long beyond their own physical lives. That message is their part of the highway that leads to the kingdom, and some in every generation have done their part to build it.

     Many think that they have to reach a certain degree of holiness before God will anoint them with power, but the truth is that God has anointed some very unholy people with power, as Samson is just one example. People who have power ministries can fall into sin and the power will continue because God is faithful even if we become unfaithful, and we are told the gifts and callings of God are “without repentance” (see Romans 11:29 KJV). This means once He has given them to us, He will not take them back. For this reason, just because God still uses us to do miracles, does not mean that we are right with Him. As we are told in I Corinthians 13, we can do many miracles, and even have the faith to move mountains, but if we do not have love, it will all count for nothing.

     We need more power, and we need more miracles, healings, and prophecy, but in our pursuit of them, we cannot forget that our ultimate calling is to grow in love for God and then love for one another. Just as the greatest demonstration of God’s love that there will ever be was the cross, those who live a true life of the cross, the life of sacrifice for the sake of the gospel and the people who need it, is the greatest of all demonstrations of true love. The more you love someone, the more you will gladly sacrifice for them. The more we love God, the more we will lay down our own lives for Him and those whom He laid down His life for.

     We will study the prophetic gifts and ministries that have been given to the church, and we will seek more power. However, we will also keep in mind the saying that “power corrupts” can be true of spiritual power too if we are not living our lives on the solid foundation of abiding in the Lord, of loving Him and one another, which is demonstrated by our devotion to taking up our crosses daily. This alone will keep us on the path of life.