Response to Return of Elijah

This is not a book review but simply a heartfelt response to Adrian Eben’s book The Return of Elijah. And I will confess that because of the amount of highlighting and underlining done along the journey through this material, The Return of Elijah is currently the most colorful book in my collection.

Brother Adrian requests the reader to “Please see this book as written by a son who is coming to his father and saying, ‘Dad, I think I found something amazing…” (p. 249). Although that ‘amazing’ truth was revealed to me prior to reading the book, (and yes, Brother Adrian, it is an amazing truth!), The Return of Elijah has played a vital role in confirming that discovery and in significantly increasing my awareness and comprehension of the myriad of related issues, beliefs, and doctrines. Below are some of the highlights from my study of The Return of Elijah. May you be blessed through this sharing.

First of all, the diagrams and charts included in the book were extremely valuable. Each one says a lot in a little space so the concept being presented can be grasped “at a glance” (or maybe many glances, depending on the concept). My “condense it to bare bones” learning style appreciates these pictoral representations of truth.

Also appreciated is the effort that Brother Adrian expended to explain how he transitioned from point A to point B to point C so that the reader can clearly understand the logic behind the conclusions he reached. He was careful to explain not only the “what” but also the “why” behind the “what” which is extremely beneficial.

As a result of reading The Return of Elijah, I was also able to add two keys to my ‘key ring’:

1. The key to life is to safeguard my relationship with our Father and His precious Son
2. The key to victory over sin is in my relationship to God as His dear daughter

Throughout the book, he reminds the reader that we don’t derive our value from whether the world approves of our performance (although they definitely would like us to think so), but that our value (priceless!) is because our merciful Father accepts us in the Beloved. Our value is centered in our sonship and daughtership – a simple truth that is easily forgotten.

As is true for many people today, my life stream has been poisoned from birth, my paternal blessing nonexistent, resulting in a wounded woman with deeply rooted feelings of worthlessness. Praise Father, I know my true value in Him and can embrace our Father’s life-giving promise, “This is my beloved child in whom I am well pleased.” As Brother Adrian states, “Accepted and received into the heart they [these powerful words] can heal any wound, any pain…” (p. 227). I accept, I receive, I believe. Gratitude floods my soul as the Father “opens rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys” (Isa. 41:18) for me. Praise Him for these springs of living water!

One exercise during the reading of this book which helped me gain a better understanding of God’s kingdom was putting Brother Adrian’s description of Satan and his kingdom (around page 28) into chart form. For example, here is one description from the book:

“Lucifer, now Satan, stands alone. There is no one to hold him, no one to love him, and no place to call home. Satan’s fountain is a broken cistern…”

In my chart, I first filled in the descriptors for Satan and then completed a column for God’s Kingdom:

By filling in the blanks in a column for God’s kingdom using the opposites of Satan’s kingdom, a powerful picture of ‘positives’ emerged – characteristics of God, a description of pure agape.

While taking notes on Chapter 3, Protecting God’s Life Source and Value System with the Law, I combined Adrian’s charts on the Ten Commandments (“God’s Character” and “Our Identity”) into one chart and included the information in the numbered lists in the same section. My chart ended with a final column containing “I will” statements in response to the commandments. For example, the 8^th commandment looks something like this:

Thankfully, He promises to give me His Spirit to enable me to keep these vows that His works may be manifested in my life because I fall dreadfully short of every single one.

Hallelujah for Brother Adrian’s emphasis on the restoration of male leadership (Mal. 4:5, 6) and the distinct roles of men and women in this book! He discusses this in marriage relationships primarily but also briefly addresses it within the church structure, for growth of agape among God’s people.

Through The Return of Elijah, I have found blessing and joy in the truth about the Father and His true Son, joy that is even greater than it was before. The precious truth that “…the very person of Christ, His very identity is the way to the Father” (p. 248) is even more real to me now. As a result, I pray that I may be a channel of blessing to others so the rich current of His love may flow through me. May this powerful truth nurture closer relationships – greater agape, stronger bonds – with the people of God and with all whom I meet, by His infinite grace.

“He [Christ] desired that the hearts of believers should be closely knit together in strong bonds of sympathy, so that there might be unity in Himself. They are together to rejoice in hope of the glory of God, looking for eternal life through the virtue of Jesus Christ. If Christ is abiding in the heart, His love will diffuse itself to others through its possessor, and will bind heart to heart” (RH, June 26, 1894 par. 8).

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