I do not think Elijah came away where close to "restoring all things" nor has he come before the great and terrible day of the Lord. That event lies in the future
A basic principle of biblical exegesis is that the clear parts of Scripture inform and help the unclear. Even then, we may come across things which simply can't be resolved, or at least resolved easily.
A somewhat classic example is St. Paul's mention of "baptisms for the dead" in 1 Corinthians 15. We aren't exactly certain what Paul is talking about here. However there are those who take this passage and run full speed ahead into endless speculations, so for example the followers of Joseph Smith Jr, the Mormons, have invented a whole complex religious ritual involving proxy baptisms on behalf of the dead.
In this case we have a very clear statement made by Jesus, that St. John the Baptist fulfilled the promise of the coming of Elijah before the Great and Terrible Day of YHWH. This language about Elijah is applied to John several times.
That's the clear part of this matter. Jesus said John was the promised Elijah, and so that settles that. Only then can we begin to now address what the Great and Terrible Day of YHWH means.
Well, we do have another example we could look at. In the Acts of the Apostles St. Peter, on the Day of Pentecost, stood up and filled with and speaking by the Holy Spirit declared that this outpouring of the Holy Spirit was the prophetic fulfillment of the words of the Prophet Joel, that God would pour out His Spirit upon all nations.
The prophecy by Joel also mentions the Great Day of YHWH in connection with this.
So, since Scripture tells us these things were fulfilled then, then it would behoove us not to make assumptions about these things that are in conflict with the express and clear statements made by Scripture.
In this case, it would appear that the Day of YHWH has nothing to do with the end of the world, but with YHWH's Visitation upon Jerusalem, the Visitation of YHWH
in the Person of Jesus Christ.
To which we might ask, how was there judgment at Christ's first Advent? To which we can again turn our attention to the New Testament. For example, John chapter 3, Christ tells us He did not come to judge, but to save; nevertheless the judgment has already been made: our works are evil, and we love darkness more than light, so he retreat from the light into the dark.
The Law is what condemns us as sinners, according to St. Paul; thus the Law cannot make men righteous, it can only bring condemnation and therefore death to sinners.
So how was this overbearing, crushing weight of the Law's condemnation dealt with?
Calvary. Jesus Christ died for us. The full metric tonne of all our sin He bore on the cross. Christ became the Condemned Man for us. He bore the curse and shame of the cross.
Christ took the Judgment of the Law that was justly against us and condemning us, and made satisfaction on our behalf.
Judgment occurred on the Cross.
The Judgment of God that the death of the Righteous Man shall make satisfaction for the guilt of condemned sinners.
Am I saying that there is no Last Day, no Final Judgment? Of course not. Our Lord Jesus Christ will, as He Himself promised, return. He will return in glory to judge the living and the dead, and on that Day we shall be raised up from the dead, and share in the full and perfect life that is to come: World without end.
What makes the time between Christ's first Advent and His future second Advent significant is that this is the time of the end. These have been the last days since Christ's first Advent. He is the Son of Man who after He has suffered, died, buried, raised from the dead, also ascended to take His seat at the right hand of the Father--brought before the Ancient of Days and given everlasting kingdom, at the right hand of the Father. He reigns as the King and Lord Messiah, The Son of David.
When the King returns to earth, that's it. That's the end of the play. The drama has come to its conclusion. The King returns, the unjust occupiers who have held the whole world hostage and under their thumb are kicked out into outer darkness and gnashing of teeth, and God sets all things to rights.
-CryptoLutheran
