Can Christians Forbid Rain Like Elijah?

So a lot of people asked for a breakdown on episode 376 of the Holy Note and others took issue.

What Matthew 16:19 Means by Binding and Loosing

Whatever you forbid, heaven will forbid. I forbid it to rain in Jesus' name. You can pray like that. I forbid this sickness to operate in my loved one any longer. I forbid this cancer to stay in my body.

I forbid this debt and poverty to stay in my life in Jesus' name. Pray like Elijah prayed. I forbid this poverty. I forbid this sickness. I forbid this fear to remain in my life in Jesus' name. And I allow healing to flow in my body.

I allow abundance to flow in my finances. I allow breakthroughs to flow in my life. As you can tap into this power any time.

I'm not sure, but it seems like Gregory is teaching from Matthew 16, verse 19, which says, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

This is the account of Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus says that upon Peter's confession, which is the foundation of apostolic doctrine, he will build his church.

What's being taught here by our Lord is the role of the apostles to deliver God's truth to God's church. Through their teaching and what is contained in their writings in the New Testament, they have the keys.

They open the way for entrance into the kingdom of heaven, as it were. Those who do not receive their testimony, their teaching, are excluded from the kingdom. Matthew Henry calls this the key of doctrine.

In his commentary, he writes, your business shall be to explain to the world the will of God, both as to truth and duty. And for this, you shall have your commissions, credentials, and full instructions to bind and loose.

That's in essence what Jesus is saying to the disciples according to Matthew Henry. He writes, these in the common speech of the Jews at that time signified to prohibit and permit to teach or decree a thing to be unlawful was to bind, to be lawful was to loose.

What are some examples of the apostles wielding the keys of the kingdom in this way? Now, the apostles had an extraordinary power of this kind. Some things forbidden by the law of Moses were now to be allowed, as the eating of such and such meats.

Some things allowed there were now to be forbidden as divorce, and the apostles were empowered to declare this to the world, and men might take it upon their words. When Peter was first taught himself, then taught others to call nothing common or unclean, this power was exercised.

There is also an ordinary power hereby conveyed to all ministers to preach the gospel as appointed officers, to tell people in God's name and according to the scriptures what is good and what the Lord requires of them, and they who declare the whole counsel of God use these keys as well.

So now that we've gotten our bearings of the text that Gregory seems to be launching from, let's see what he says about it.

Elijah Did Not Pray for Rain to Stop

Whatever you forbid, heaven will forbid. I forbid it to rain in Jesus' name. You can pray like that. Pray like Elijah prayed.

Should be clear at this point that Matthew 16, 19 does not mean that you have the power and authority to forbid it to rain. If a teacher tends to take a verse like this or an event in scripture like this and make it all about you, applying it immediately to you, they're probably lying.

First, Elijah didn't pray like that. Second, you're not him. You are not an Old Testament prophet. What Elijah does say is, as the Lord, the God of Israel lives before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years except by my word.

Now that's not a prayer, that's an announcement to King Ahab. At this point, Israel is in a state of deep. Their king is a gross idolater. In fact, it is written that there was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab.

Ahab worshiped Baal. And if anyone comments, it's pronounced Baal.

Right to jail.

Baal Worship, Covenant Judgment, and Elijah's Prophetic Context

Let's catch the significance of what Elijah has said. Two things to note. Baal was worshiped as the God who provided rain for crops. Through this drought, the Lord is going to display his sovereignty over the created realm, specifically the rain, while laying siege to the reputation of this false God whom Israel is worshiping.

He is going to show that it is not Baal who controls the weather, it's Yahweh. Drought was one of the curses with which the Lord promised to punish Israel for breaking the covenant in Deuteronomy 11, 16, and 17.

They have broken the covenant by worshiping Baal. And in other ways. So those are two important observations for establishing the context. This man is telling you to forbid rain like Elijah, but he's not gonna tell you to slaughter hundreds of false prophets like Elijah because that's utterly ridiculous, right?

Because Elijah is one of a small number of remaining faithful Israelites whom God is using for a specific purpose that is welded to God's covenant with the nation of Israel. Gregory wants you to forbid it from raining like you're someone who you are not, who existed in a context in which you do not exist.

Prophets are not mediums. Their pronouncements of judgment and mercy were always tied to God's covenant with Israel. The whole point is that Yahweh has this power and it's not given to you to tap into, it's about him.

The Believer's Authority Is Not the Apostles' Mission

So let's talk about the believer's authority because there are presuppositions behind this take that lead to such poor application of the text. Common among charismatic charlatans is the teaching that believers are given the very authority of Christ himself to command their desired ends like healing, changing weather, casting out demons, et cetera.

As if Jesus said in Matthew 28, all authority has been given to you, go therefore and make disciples of all nations. That's not what he said. This teaching about the believer's authority comes from Matthew 10 and it's parallel account in Luke wherein Jesus sends the 12 apostles.

Hold up, who does Jesus send? The 12 apostles. So you're not an Old Testament prophet, but did you know that you're also not one of these apostles either? To whom it is given to deliver to the church the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament scriptures.

He sends these men on a special mission specifically to the Jews. He forbids them from going to the Gentiles. He tells them not to bring their wallets nor any supplies. Now all of these specific instructions for the specific context are ignored, but what's taken from it is the believer's authority.

The reality is that this authority was given for this mission to announce that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, that the long anticipated Messiah has arrived. That's why he tells them not to go to the Gentiles.

Their mission is to the Jews. Isaiah prophesies about these signs accompanying the arrival of the king. Isaiah 32, three and 35, five and six. Behold, a king will reign in righteousness. In the eyes of those who see will not be blinded.

In the ears of those who hear will listen. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.

Now notice what Matthew is doing. In the beginning of the very next chapter, John the Baptist sends messengers to Jesus to ask, are you the expected one or shall we look for another? Jesus then quotes those passages from Isaiah, applying them as evidence that he is who he says he is.

His authority is on display when by divine right, he delegates to the 12 apostles to announce to all Israel that the king has arrived. The event in Matthew 10 was about Jesus, not your authority. The point of these passages and what Matthew wants to communicate to his primarily Jewish audience is that the expected one has arrived and we need not look for another.

And you don't have to be Elijah for God to be pleased with you. You're just you and that's okay.

You are loved.

The Great Commission and the Limits of Elijah Typology

Matthew 28, when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and the son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.

And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. We don't have to be anybody special because one greater than Elijah is with us. Now, right application of Elijah's drought can be found in James 5, 17 and 18.

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

James is urging the church to pray in faith for the healing of those among them who are sick. He's also exhorted them to endure trials with joy and to remember that they should not boast about tomorrow because God is sovereign over their lives.

Notice that James highlights what we have in common with Elijah, which is his human nature. There must be something that we don't have in common with Elijah. Elijah prayed for no rain, but what James tells us to emulate is Elijah's fervency, his earnestness.

He is not telling us that we can tap into the power to control the weather, speak poverty away and forbid disease. We speak with authority when we speak according to the scriptures, not by twisting them.

That's a holy...

Nope, mm-mm.