Under the Old Testament some things were done in the Elijah manner, but that is not the whole nature of God.

      It is important to know who we are really dealing with.

              If we don't know God's nature or really understand Him, then we will never walk in His blessings and His power.

Young believers who think they are prophets believe they are God's lightning rod in the earth. The are going to attract all of the judgment and wrath of God and smite people if they get out of line.

           But that's not a full understanding of the ministry of the prophet, and certainly not the nature of God.

There are some who are examples of true prophets who were not hard and cruel.

       But when people think of the typical prophet they think of the ones like Elijah.

Many Christians, wanting to be great men of God, go back and begin to act like those in the Old Testament.

        Any time certain people are prophets or have the anointing of a prophet, they begin to get harsh and even cruel.

               They think they are acting like Elijah and get into the face of others and rebuke them.

God was operating in the way He had to during the times in the Old Testament.

       What God did throughtout the Old Testament wasn't His true and complete nature, neither was it whom He has revealed Himself to be in the New Testament.

                 But still people have the impression that God is a God of wrath who would wipe out anyone who gets in His way.

The Old Testament is only a partial picture of the nature of God.

                It is not a perfect representation of Him.

        Unless we understand the New Testament and able to harmonize it with the Old Testament, we are going to end up misunderstanding His love and complete nature.

John 11:40

In the Old Testament we see a picture of God that is incomplete.

     It isn't incorrect; it's just incomplete.

              Those who create their understanding of the nature of God based only on the Old Testament usually don't end up with an accurate picture of Him. 

The Word of God doesn't contradict itself.

        There is a perfect harmony to it all.

In one scripture, God commands death by stoning for picking up sticks on the Sabbath day in Numbers 15:32-35; and then in another, He forgives and doesn't condemn a woman caught in the very act of adultery in John 8:3-11.

             Examples like these have given people a rather strange impression of who God is.

Because some people do read and study the Bible on a fairly regular basis, a lot the passages appear to give a 'schizophrenic' revelation of God.

        Of course, God is not schizophrenic, but that is the way it appears to some that casually read the Word of God.

Many Christians don't read God's Word on a regular basis.

          They get a little here and a little there, maybe some from a pastor, some on television.

                 But that is not enough to make a real difference in their lives and specifically in their understanding of God and His nature.