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Who Is the Prophesied Elijah

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Who Is the Prophesied Elijah Who Is the Prophesied ‘Elijah’? Who Is the Prophesied ‘Elijah’? Long ago, God declared, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Just who is this “Elijah” whose coming would precede the day of the Lord? Has he come already? Or should we look for him to appear in the future? 1 The New Testament reveals that the Old Testament prophecy about God’s “messenger” (Malachi 3:1), called “Elijah the prophet” in Malachi 4:5, was fulfilled in the ministry of John the Baptist. Jesus was speaking of John when He said, “he is Elijah who is to come” (Matthew 11:14); and, “Elijah has come already” (17:10; cf. Mark 9:13). When John the Baptist denied that he was Elijah (John 1:21,25), he must have been denying that he was Elijah the Tishbite, who had mightily opposed the Baal worshipers on Mount Carmel during the reign of king Ahab (1 Kings 19), and was taken into the sky by a whirlwind after passing his mantle to Elisha, his successor (2 Kings 2). This must have been John’s meaning, for not only did Jesus say that the Baptist was the prophesied Elijah, but Zacharias (John’s father) knew that his son would fulfill the prophecy concerning the coming Elijah (Luke 1:13-17, 76-79). Surely John himself knew that he was the one prophesied to prepare the way for Christ. In fact, John 1:23 indicates that John was aware of his prophesied role. Yet, as clear as the New Testament is in identifying John as the prophesied Elijah, some claim that Malachi’s prophecy about Elijah pertains primarily to someone other than John. They claim that John did not truly fulfill the requirements of the Elijah-office, that he did not restore anything (as Elijah is supposed to do), and that John was but a type—a mere forerunner, at best—of an end-time Elijah who would do a much greater work than John did. But does the Bible explicitly teach that the “Elijah” prophecy would find its primary fulfillment in the time of the end, just before the Second Coming of Christ? Does the New Testament indicate that an “Elijah” other than John would come on the scene and “restore all things” before Christ returns? And was John the Baptist a (comparatively weak) forerunner or type of a future Elijah whose great ministry would make John’s efforts seem rather pitiful? Let’s now turn our attention to the Scriptures, and ‘allow divine revelation to help us separate what can be certainly known from speculation and guess work. Our beliefs and practices must be based on what can be known, not on fanciful theories and highly speculative ideas. God’s Messenger Through the prophet Malachi, God says, “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming” (Malachi 3:1). The one called “My messenger” is clearly distinct from the one called the “Messenger of the covenant.” “My messenger” is the forerunner of—“prepares the way before”—the “Messenger of the covenant,” who is also called “the Lord, whom you seek,” and who “will come suddenly to His temple.” God says, “My messenger…will prepare the way before Me.” He—GOD!—is “the 2 Lord” who comes to “His temple.” He is the “Messenger of the covenant” whose coming is preceded by the one called “My messenger.” Recall John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God”—the Word was with God the Father—“and the Word was God.” The God of Scripture is one in essence, but is more than one divine Person. As the Father is God, so is the Son. Verse 14 says, “And the Word”—was with God and was God—“became flesh and dwelt among us.” Clearly, the divine “Lord” and “Messenger of the covenant” of Malachi 3:1 can be none other than the Lord Jesus Christ! His forerunner is the one here called “My messenger” who is sent to “prepare the way” for Him. But who is the one called “My messenger”? Does the Bible reveal his identity? Remember, Jesus Christ is called the “Word of God” (Revelation 19:13; cf. John 1:1). The Bible—the Old Testament along with the New—is also the “Word of God.” As Jesus is the personal Word of God, the Bible is the written Word of God. The two speak the same thing! They never contradict! Thepersonal Word, Christ, has been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18), and therefore has authority to interpret—to REVEAL the true meaning of—the written Word of God. When He speaks—when He declares the meaning of a passage of Scripture—we ought to stop and listen! Now, just what does Jesus Christ—the personal Word of God—have to say about the meaning of Malachi 3:1? Let’s listen carefully to His interpretation: Speaking of John the Baptist, Jesus says, “But what did you [the multitudes] go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. [Notice this carefully!] This is he of whom it is written:‘Behold, I send My messenger before your face, who will prepare Your way before You’” (Luke 7:24-27). There it is! The identity of the one called “My messenger” (Malachi 3:1) isJohn the Baptist! Jesus said so! Therefore, any interpretation that has someone other than John the Baptist fulfilling the “messenger” role is to be rejected. Any interpretation that has John the Baptist as merely a type, shadow, or forerunner of some future messenger whose ministry is the primary fulfillment of this prophecy should be regarded as purely hypothetical, and should never find its way into the basic doctrinal foundation of one’s faith. Remember, our faith should be anchored to what we KNOW, not to mere speculation. We KNOW for sure that the messenger who prepares the way for Christ is John the Baptist. To deny this fact is to deny the very words of Christ! This we KNOW! Anything beyond what we KNOW for sure is speculation, or just plain guess work! Never should we anchor our faith to guess work! Never should such an unproved (and unprovable) theory be categorized as doctrine or dogma! Never should speculation become a part of the foundation on which our faith is built! Jesus tells us in plain language that the one called “My messenger” (Malachi 3:1) is John the Baptist. Let’s simply believe it, and let’s refrain from adding anything to His 3 interpretation. The Prophesied ‘Elijah’ Let’s now turn our attention to the prophecy that specifically states that Elijah will come before the day of the Lord arrives. Through the prophet Malachi, God says, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5,6). The “Elijah” spoken of here is not the original Elijah (whose story is told in 1 Kings 17-19 and 2 Kings 1-2), but is one who comes in the spirit and power of the original Elijah. Here, as in many other Messianic prophecies, the times associated with the First Coming of Christ and the future Second Coming are mingled. The reason for this is that, from God’s point of view, the “last days” began with the First Coming of Christ and will culminate in the Second Coming. Peter tells us that “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8). This simply means that God does not experience the passage of time the way we do. To Him, there is little difference between a thousand years and a day. He sees the Incarnation and the Second Coming as two aspects of one act of redemption. Further, it should be noted that the phrase “day of the Lord” refers to any day God steps into our world and performs His wondrous works. Each “day of the Lord” takes us a step closer to the final day of the Lord, when Christ steps in as King of kings and Lord of lords to judge the world in righteousness. From God’s point of view, the preparatory work of Elijah just precedes the arrival of the final day of the Lord. However, to humans, who perceive a vast difference between a thousand years and a day, Elijah’s coming and the final day of the Lord may be separated by a great span of time. The “earth” (Malachi 4:6) is most likely the land of promise, since the word translated “earth’’ can be rendered “land,” and since the larger context concerns the problems the Jews experienced after returning from the Babylonian captivity. The text speaks of the temple (3:1; cf.
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