If you are also under the same teaching, the following message is for you to think about it again...
Is Elijah yet to come to the world?
Many people
believe that Elijah is yet to come because they think he might come again as he
was ascended to Heaven with his physical body.
However, no
man in flesh can stay in Heaven while remaining in flesh, due to the sinful
nature of the flesh. Thus, no doubt that God took him up to Heaven after having
transformed his earthly body into a glorious one. In other words, as a spirit,
he was taken up to Heaven.
When we read
the following scriptures in Luke 1:17, we see how the angel Gabriel
explains to Zacharias about John the Baptist, who is to be born to
him through his wife Elizabeth. According to the angel, John was born
in the spirit of Elijah.
Luke 1:17
And he shall go before him in
the spirit and power of Elias, (Elijah), to turn the hearts of the fathers
to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord.
However,
someone can argue that even though John was born in the spirit of Elijah, he
himself was not Elijah. To have a better understanding of who John
the Baptist really was, let's look at the answer Jesus gave to Peter,
James and John, when they asked Jesus about the second coming of Elijah.
Mark 9:11
And they asked him,
saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?
We can see Jesus' answer to
this question in Mark 9:12-13
Mark 9:12-13
And he answered and told them, Elias (Elijah) verily cometh first, and restoreth all
things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many
things, and be set at nought. But I say
unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever
they listed, as it is written of him.
Here,
talking about Elijah, Jesus says, he was supposed to come first in order
to restore all things for the Son of Man to suffer many things and
die. But, the Bible clearly says that it was John the
Baptist who came first and made the path for Jesus to
start His ministry in the world. Read the following scriptures.
Matthew 17:10-13
And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then
say the scribes that Elias (Elijah) must first come? And Jesus
answered and said unto them, Elias
(Elijah) truly shall first come, and restore all things. But
I say unto you, That Elias (Elijah) is come already, and they knew him
not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son
of man suffer of them. Then
the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
Mark 1:1-3
1 The
beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; 2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold,
I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of
the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and
power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the
disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the
Lord.
Johan 1:6-7
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The
same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him
might believe.
If Elijah had
appeared to the world as Elijah for the second time, people would not have
killed him as if the Son of man had appeared to the whole world as
the Son of God, they would not have killed Him.
In Mark 9:13 Jesus
went on to say that Elijah has already come and the people have done to him as
written in Scriptures. Just before Jesus gave this answer to Peter, James
and John, they saw Elijah as Elijah on the high mountain with Jesus who was
tranfigured before them just before they saw Elijah with Moses. In Matthew 17:13 as mentioned above, it is revealed that the disciples too
understood that Jesus was talking about John the Baptist as Elijah.
When you read
the follwoing scriptures, you can clearly understand how Jesus reveals the fact
that Elijah and John the Baptist are one.
7 And as they departed,
Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into
the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But
what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that
wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9 But
what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a
prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written,
Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before
thee. 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that
are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist:
notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And
from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth
violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For
all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it,
this is Elias, (Elijah) which was for to come.
Despite all of the above explanations to prove that Elijah and John the Baptist are the same, John the Baptist himself denied the fact that he was Elijah in John 1:21-3.
John 1:21-3
21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. 22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias (Isaiah).
This
confession can be explained in a different manner. There can be
two reasons for John the Baptist to give this answer:
1st
Reason - Probably he
would have not revealed the truth as he was supposed to be killed by the
people.
2nd
Reason - After Elijah became
flesh again, the fact that he was Elijah, who came to the world again, would
have been hidden from him by God. However, he would have been made to
understand that he was the voice Isaiah was prohesing in Isaiah 40:3.
The above kind
of assumption could be further supported by the fact that John's understanding
of Jesus as the Son of God had been taken away from him after he baptized
Jesus.
Read the following scripture:
Luke 7:19-20
19 And John calling unto him
two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come?
or look we for another? 20 When the men
were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art
thou he that should come? or look we for another?
That is why he
was doubting about Jesus, when he was in prison even though he rightly identified
Him as the Son of God at the time he was baptizing Jesus.
Nevertheless,
the following scriptures reveals the understanding about the Son of God, that
John the Baptist had before he was put in prison.
Matthew 3:11
11 I indeed baptize you with
water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose
shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and
with fire:
Mark 1:7-8
7 And preached, saying,
There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not
worthy to stoop down and unloose. 8 I
indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy
Ghost.
Luke 3:15-16
16 John answered, saying unto
them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the
latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with
the Holy Ghost and with fire:
I would like
to end topic leaving you with another mind blowing testimony to say that
Elijah and John the Baptist are the same. That is, apart from the Son of God,
Jesus Christ, God the father Himself clearly tells that Elijah and
John the Baptist are the same.
This is the Scripture:
(Malachi 4:5-6)
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Now look at what the angel Gariel tells Zacharias about John the Baptist in Luke 1:17.
Luke 1:17
17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
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