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Continuing our discussion from part two, yet another Old Testament story with which many Christians will undoubtedly be familiar, concerns how God heavily anointed the Prophet Elijah, so that he was able to perform a number of amazing feats, such as bringing back to life the son of the widow of Zarephath. We find this account in 1 Kings 17, as we see by the following verses:

"And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee . . . And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth."


The time eventually arrived when Elijah's earthly ministry likewise came to an end, and God called him home to Heaven. As you may know, on the day that this event occurred, the anointing that was upon Elijah was passed to Elisha, as we see by the following group of verses:

"And the LORD said unto him [to Elijah], Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou ANOINT TO BE PROPHET IN THY ROOM . . . So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee? And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him."


"And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him."


With these different Bible accounts -- Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Saul, David, Elijah, Elisha -- the key point I would like you to see is how the mechanics of the Spirit seemed to operate. During Old Testament times, in each case, it appears that a very heavy spiritual anointing rested upon one individual at a time during different stages of Israelite history. I'm not saying that they were the ONLY individual with some kind of special anointing, but they were clearly the person with the MOST anointing of God's Spirit. This is what I am referring to when I say the mechanics of the Spirit. In other words, how God's Spirit seemed to operate during those times.

Turning to the New Testament, we see the very same mechanics at work with John the Baptist. As you may recall, in John's case, the Scriptures inform us that he was anointed with the Holy Spirit while he was still in his mother's womb, as we see by the following group of verses:

"But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and HE SHALL BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST, EVEN FROM HIS MOTHERS WOMB. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord . . . And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, THE BABE LEAPED IN HER WOMB; AND ELISABETH WAS FILLED WITH THE HOLY GHOST:"


Back in 1997 I wrote an article called "Was Jesus Filled With the Holy Spirit From Birth?". Over the years since that time, it has evolved into a four-part series. Now, the reason why I wrote that particular article is because I was very intrigued by the fact that while John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Ghost while still inside his mother's womb, the Gospels seemed to inform us that Jesus Himself wasn't filled with the Holy Ghost until He was about thirty years of age. At least that was my understanding twenty-seven years ago.

So I dug into the Scriptures in order to try to figure it out, because it didn't make sense to me that the very Son of God, who was miraculously formed in Mary's womb, had to wait for thirty years, while John was anointed even before he was born. If you are interested in finding out what my personal conclusions were, I encourage you to read that series. But as far as this current series is concerned, the main point I wish to draw to your attention is the fact that prior to the Lord beginning His public ministry, and very similar to what we see occurring in the Old Testament, aside from John the Baptist, there appears to be no other major Prophet who is active throughout the four Gospels. It is just John.

However, if you stop to think about it, this point is in fact a confirmation of what I have been saying all along. That is, that the mechanics of God's Holy Spirit back then was to rest on one primary individual at a time as God carried out His divine plans and purposes for humanity. The baton of spiritual anointing and authority was passed from one person to another. In fact, as I state in the series entitled "Elijah: Where Are the True Prophets of God?", there really wasn't any need for another major Prophet during Gospel times, because even Jesus confirmed that John the Baptist carried the same anointing as the Prophet Elijah, and was prophesied by several Prophets of the Old Testament, as we can determine by the following group of verses:

"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."


"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts."


"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."


"For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."


"But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come."


"And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them."


Notice how Jesus quotes Malachi almost word for word. Then, to make sure that the people really understand Him, at the very end the Lord says to them "if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come." Jesus could not have made it any clearer than that. Just as the Lord quoted from the Book of Isaiah in Luke chapter four when He preached in the synagogue in Nazareth and confirmed His own ministry, here we see Him quoting from the Book of Malachi to confirm John the Baptist's ministry as well.

In the very next Gospel, we discover that Mark was even more specific than Matthew. Whereas Matthew only quoted from the Prophet Isaiah, Mark appears to be quoting from both Isaiah and Malachi. Notice that Mark says "prophets" and not just "prophet". He also uses the word "messenger" which is found in Malachi's prophecy, but not in Isaiah's prophecy. Thus, it appears that Mark is combining both of these Old Testament sources:

"As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."


Eight chapters later in Mark chapter nine, the Lord again confirms that John the Baptist is indeed the Elias -- or Elijah -- who was spoken of by the Prophet Malachi, as we see here:

"And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him."


If we turn to the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, we find that the Angel Gabriel is speaking in the temple with Zacharias, who is the father of John the Baptist. As Gabriel describes the future ministry of John to Zacharias, notice what he says to him:

"And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."


Shortly after that, John's own father, Zacharias, is filled with the Holy Spirit and say the following after his speech is returned to him:

"And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;"


Turning to Luke chapter three, we again see Luke quoting from the Prophet Isaiah, and thus confirming the ministry of John the Baptist:

"As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God."


It should be clear to you by now that John the Baptist did indeed carry the very same mighty spiritual anointing as the Prophet Elijah, exactly as had been prophesied of him. Well, if the pattern and mechanics I have been discussing in this series is true -- as I am convinced it is -- then according to this pattern, the baton should next fall to someone else. As we know, that is precisely what happened. In fact, John the Baptist foresaw this day. Thus, once he announced Jesus as the Lamb of God, and had baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, we find him saying the following:

"He must increase, but I must decrease."


So John realized that his mission had been completed, and that it was now time for him to recede into the background. It was not long after that, that evil King Herod had John thrown into prison -- and eventually beheaded -- because John dared to publicly expose Herod's sin of adultery when he married his brother Philip's wife, Herodias, as we see by the following group of verses:

‭"At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him. For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger. And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus."


From that point forward, after He has passed Satan's tests in the wilderness area of the Jordan River valley, it is Jesus Himself who shines in the pages of the Gospels. Furthermore, we know from reading the Bible, that while Jesus was -- and still remains -- the Son of the God, during His brief time on Earth, He was filled with the Spirit of His Father without measure. In other words, His spiritual anointing, power and authority was totally unlimited, which is why the Lord was able to perform so many miracles. This fact is confirmed by the following group of verses:

"For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him."


"For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;"


"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."


"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."


"But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house."


"But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house."


"For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man."


Thus far, we have seen how the Spirit of God has worked pretty much the same throughout the Old Testament period, and up to the time of John the Baptist and Jesus Himself. The pattern and mechanics has not changed much, if at all. During each time period, one individual has received the anointing of God's Spirit beyond anyone else in their own generation. However, it is in the Gospels where we actually begin to notice a change in the Spirit's mode of operation. Jesus Himself spoke of the change which was coming, and it was in fact prophesied to come, even in the pages of the Old Testament. Furthermore, I mentioned it to you in part one of this series. Allow me to share those verses with you again to refresh your memory, along with some additional ones that clearly reveal to you exactly what this coming change was, and is:

"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that HE may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth HIM not, neither knoweth HIM: but ye know HIM; for HE dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."


"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, HE shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."


"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, HE shall testify of me:"


"Howbeit when HE, the Spirit of truth, is come, HE will guide you into all truth: for HE shall not speak of HIMSELF; but whatsoever HE shall hear, that shall HE speak: and HE will shew you things to come."


"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:"


"John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:"


"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call."


"But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."


"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"


"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:"


"And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:"


"And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence . . . But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."


"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."


"Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost."


"‭‭And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,‭ He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.‭ And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.‭ Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.‭ When they heard ‭this‭, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.‭ And when Paul had laid ‭his‭ hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.‭ And all the men were about twelve."


"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels [meaning the Spirit in our bodies of flesh], that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."


"‭‭Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, ‭is‭ God;‭ Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the spirit in our hearts."


And there you have it, my friends. Whereas the anointing of God's Spirit had previously been restricted for the most part to just certain individuals such as Patriarchs, Prophets and kings, once Jesus departed from this Earth, we see that the dynamics changed, and God's Holy Spirit thus became available to ALL FLESH. In short, the pattern and the mechanics totally changed. Please notice in the above verses from the Gospel of John that Jesus even clearly stated that He had to go away, in order for the Comforter to come. In other words, Jesus too completed the pattern, and the spiritual baton was passed on, first to the Apostles, then to other Disciples, and down to us -- His children -- today as well, so that we too can now receive the Holy Spirit, exactly as Jesus stated in Luke 11:13 above. All we have to do is ask for it in faith. Have you done so yet?

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

A Treasure in Earthen Vessels: God's Promise of the Spirit
Abundant Life Doctrine: Scripturally Exposed!
Are the Gifts of the Spirit for Today?
Are You a Burning Ember for the Lord?
Are You Saved and Sealed and Healed and Filled?
Elijah: Where Are the True Prophets of God?
Facebook and the Battle for Our Youth
Facebook False Prophets and Misguided Teachers
Have You Read the New Scriptures Yet?
Holy Ghost: The Spirit of Jesus Christ?
Humility in Our Understanding of God's Word
In the Ages to Come
Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?
Modern False Prophets and Worldly Ecumenism
Please Stop Misinterpreting the Scriptures
Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth
Roman Catholicism, Water Baptism and the Holy Trinity
Study, Work and Don't Be Ashamed
The Office of Prophets and Teachers
The Urantia Book: A Dangerous New Age Doctrine!
Tradition or Truth? Old Wine or New Wine?
Was Jesus Filled With the Holy Spirit from Birth?

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