THE 7,000 CLUB

Elijah, that great prophet of holiness and righteousness, had become disheartened by the moral landslide his nation was experiencing and had fled from the threats of Jezebel, the wicked wife of King Ahab. God found him hiding in a cave on Mount Horeb and asked, "Elijah, what are you doing here, hiding?"

With indignation, Elijah replied, "God, I've been jealous for your glory, but your people have forsaken your Word; your altars have been broken down; your ministers have been persecuted. I'm the only one left—and now they're out to get me, too."

To all outward appearances, Elijah had a good argument. The government was the most wicked and vile in all history and his society was nearing a collapse. The Bible says, "Ahab made a grove [pagan shrines for pleasure]; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him" (1 Kings 16:33). The government was actually forcing the nation into idolatry. Jezebel, the most wicked queen to ever share the throne, was a God-hating woman, bent on killing every follower of Jehovah.

Elijah was determined to "hold out to the end." If the whole nation forsook God, he would stay true! But God was not about to congratulate this hiding prophet, because at that very moment, the Holy Spirit was moving throughout the land. Elisha, Elijah’s eventual successor, was feeling the first stirrings of God's hand upon him and Jehu, a powerful young revolutionary, was chomping at the bit, waiting anxiously to declare war on the corruption and godlessness in the land. A great moral awakening was about to happen, and God would soon fling Jezebel to the dogs and overthrow the wicked rulers.

Elijah was most emphatically informed by God, "I have 7,000 who have not compromised and given in to the wickedness around them. They have not been seduced—they are Mine!" God was trying to tell Elijah that he had his people stationed in key positions, all across the nation, believers standing tall and true in spite of the corruption around them.

God has been encouraging me to open my eyes to the great calling out of saints that is now taking place in this, our own time. God said to Elijah, "Thousands have not bowed." To us, I believe He is saying, "Millions have not bowed!"

Glory be to God, we are not a tiny remnant! We are an army, a blood-washed multitude, in every walk of life, unbending and uncompromising in an age gone crazy. Satan would like God's people to think their numbers are dwindling fast; he wants true believers to think the majority have already defected to his camp, so that fear would drive them into hiding. Don't believe the lies of Satan! God is still at work, pouring out his Holy Spirit and drawing hungry hearts to himself.