As the prophet of prayer, Elijah turns the hearts of spiritual fathers to their children and the hearts of spiritual children to their fathers, lest the curse of separation overcome us. (Malachi 4: 4-6) The prophet Malachi bears witness to the holy function of Elijah, the function of turning hearts to ‘I AM,’ God’s presence in his self-revelatory Name, imparted from elders to saints, renewing wisdom in glory, the living heart of Holy Orthodox tradition. The name Eli Yah means ‘My God is Yah,’ revealing the function of Elijah, which is to unveil Yah as ‘my God in the midst.’ Eli, my God, is Yah Ehyeh, ‘He who is I AM,’ revealed here at centre in the midst, renewing in the Name, prophecy that inspires prayer of the heart. The Name undoes the curse of separation, which is hell, so as to unveil the mystery of glory, which is heaven. On Mount Horeb, by the entrance to a hidden cave, a wind broke through obstruction on the mountain, an earthquake shattered confusion in the land, and a fire consumed the delusion of the world, but God was not yet directly revealed beyond all reification. ‘I AM’ was unveiled in a still small voice, a gentle whisper of the hallowing Name (1 Kings 19:9-18). Eli Yah heard the Name, shem, with a hearing, shema, which bore witness that ‘I AM’ is our God, ‘I AM’ is one. (Deut 6:4). In the desert, he heard that ‘I AM’ alone is one ‘I AM,’ for there is no other, releasing wisdom into glory without end.
The prophetic function of Eli Yah is universal in scope, because he who ascends to heaven descends in glory again to renew wisdom everywhere. He left no scripture but transmitted the Name which is the fulfilment of all Scripture, turning the hearts of elders to saints and saints to elders so that wisdom is renewed in glory through the Name. The prophetic function of Eli Yah is to prepare the way for Christ’s coming again in every moment, his timely, timeless advent as a new heaven and new earth of the heart. (Is 65:17, Rev 21:1-2). The Day of ‘I AM’ is a timeless New Jerusalem, a new Great Peace, shalom, shining forth in every heart. It was unveiled in Christ, with Moses and Elijah on Mount Tabor, whose transfiguration anticipates resurrection through the Name. Eli Yah ascends to glory so that in glory he may descend to bring peace, shalom, restoring all things. The apostle says that restoration of all things, apokatastasis panton, was spoken by prophets of old. (Acts 3:21). On Mount Carmel, when all-consuming fire descended and the Name was revealed, God’s wondrous doxophany inspired theophanic doxology: ‘I AM, He is God, I AM, He is God.’ (1 Kings 18:39). Eli Yah awakened sons of prophets in the desert who transmitted wisdom on Mount Carmel, repeatedly revealing ‘my God is ‘I AM.’ As the wisdom shepherd of spiritual solitaries in every age, Eli Yah descends to awaken hearts to ‘I AM,’ unveiling in the desert, through the Spirit of Truth, the glory of the Name. His prophecy of prayer is alight today as always, renewing prayer of the Spirit in the heart,
The prophetic function of the Tishbite is to restore wisdom, wisdom that resolves indissoluble difficulties, the aporia which plunge divisive thinking into impasse. The wisdom of the Tishbite is wisdom from God, divine wisdom in God, wisdom that handles rational double-binds from beyond the plane where contradiction reigns. Wisdom opens to Great Peace, the shalom of glory, the new Jeru shalem, City of God, Bride of the Lamb, in whose midst run rivers of transcending glory, waters of undying life, crystal clear and dazzling like precious stones. (Rev 21:18-21; 22:1). Tishbite wisdom reflects glory with crystalline clarity, a prophetic alchemy turning the base metals of our being to gold. Holy halos of gold crown saints in icons to show that glory really does crown wisdom with theosis, ensuring such icons do not degenerate into idols by reification.
Eli Yah intervenes in the ‘last days,’ showing that every day is a ‘last day,’ in the light of the Day of ‘I AM,’ the Day of Great Peace, the Day of completeness. Uncovering illusions of satanic confusion and delusions of diabolic division, the day of ‘I AM’ breaks through chronological time, chronos, to fulfil timeless, kairotic time, kairos. Eli Yah, the prophet, unites the hearts of elders and saints by disjoining confusion so as to conjoin division, a holy conjunction through disjunction that cuts through impasse and leaps over double-bind. He transmits Great Peace, uniting shalom with salam. Eli Yah sees through the many parodies of religion that arise in the ‘last times,’ parodies which use the form of religion in order to subvert its spirit, insinuating confusion into whole communion and degenerating hallowed difference into division. To counter these counterfeit parodies of sacred tradition, the prophet of prayer transmits wisdom to young and old, a tongue of flame to renew prophecy and a flame of fire to renew prayer. Eli Yah descends in glory to renew wisdom, inspiring prophecy and prayer in the illumined heart, so that whoever calls on the hallowing Name shall be saved. (Joel 2:28-32).