- May 19, 2015
- 125,492
- 28,588
- 73
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Christian
- Marital Status
- Single
- Politics
- US-Libertarian
Can I ask you guys to please make a seperate thread of that quit derailing this thread? ThanksMat 17:12 But I say unto you, That Elias 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.
Mat 17:13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
.
http://www.christianforums.com/t7768011/
Was John the Baptist Elijah?
"19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you? 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, I am not the Messiah.[g] 21 And they asked him, What then? Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the prophet? He answered, No." Jn. 1:19-21 (NRSV)
"13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came; 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come." Mt. 11:13-14 (NRSV)
" 10 And the disciples asked him, Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? 11 He replied, Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things; 12 but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands. 13Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist." Mt. 17:10-13 (NRSV)
"13 But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Lu. 1:13-17 (NRSV)
"5 Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse." Mal. 4:5 (NRSV)
-----------------------
I believe that John the Baptist was not the prophesied Elijah that was to come. I do think he came in the spirit and power of Elijah (as the angel says in Luke 1) but I believe that Christ's statement in Mt. 17 speaks of another Elijah (Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things). Also John the Baptist's denial in John 1 is quite telling. So I believe the prophecy was partially fulfilled by John, or perhaps that it would have been fulfilled had the Jews accepted Christ as their Messiah. As it is, I do not believe John the Baptist was the prophesied Elijah of Christ and Malachi. I think that one of the two witnesses may be this prophesied Elijah.
Note also Christ's statement in Matthew 11: "If you will accept (or receive) it, this is the Eiljah which was to come." That seems to say that if the Jews accepted Christ as their Messiah, then John the Baptist would have fulfilled the Elijah prophecy. In that case, since the Jews did not accept Christ as their Messiah, then John the Baptist was not the Elijah that was to come. So we look for another.
Discuss.
________
.
Upvote
0