Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.”

When Jesus came many Israelites thought He was the promised Elijah but He was not. God did send an Elijah though, it was the one who proclaimed the coming of the Messiah, John the Baptist. We know this is the case because Jesus said it was so. Matthew 17:9-13 makes this clear. Jesus credits John with restoring all things, which is his interpretation of Malachi 4:6.

There are some scholars today who still believe Elijah is yet to come. They expect a literal resurrection of the prophet and his return to the earth. Jesus recognized John as Elijah in the type sense. He said plainly, Elijah as already come. I’m certainly not going to argue with Jesus but some people think they know more than He does, evidently.

This is what often happens when you start out with an idea and then begin a search for verses that prove you right. Elijah came in type before the Messiah and is not coming in the flesh before the coming of Jesus in judgment. Elijah’s coming was to prevent the striking of the land with utter destruction. When Jesus returns to gather His people there will be no prevention of destruction. Check Second Peter, chapter three, out on that scenario.

Task for Today: Put your faith in God and His Son. Believe that Jesus is the Word and the word of truth. The coming of Elijah announced the end of an era as it introduced the beginning of the new one. Put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as you await His return.

This is the end of Comments on Verses from Prophets.

We will take a short leave of absence to prepare the comments on Hebrews for book publication. Once that is done, this series will be put in book form as well. Thanks for being a follower of the blog. We welcome your comments and suggestions for our next blog.

My wife is dealing with Parkinson’s Disease and I am trying to be a helper to her. It is taking a lot of the time I previously had to study and write. Please go back and read the blogs from several years back. I think you will enjoy them. The first three, Ephesians, Galatians, and Psalms are available in book form from Amazon. They are all available in ebook form and are inexpensive. God bless your studies and your walk with Him. Hope to join you here again soon.

Philip Dampier

If you are looking for a good read or gift for Christmas may I recommend you try my story of the first two years of the life of Jesus: The Five Wise Men.