Mal 3:1 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,"
Says the Lord of hosts
Mal 4:
4 "Remember the Law of Moses, My servant,
Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel,
With the statutes and judgments.
5 Behold, I will send
you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
6 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."
Now we ask to whom these words were addressed. And we go back to chapter 1 vs 1.
The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
So thus, a
literal fulfillment of this prophecy would be
to Israel, and Israel alone. And the time of it will be at the
millenial reign of Christ. Malachi refers to the
Messanger of the Covenant, which all Judea would supposedly recognize as a
literal reign of Christ.
Now lets go to the Disciples question concerning this matter.
Matt 17:10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" (Remember, this is just after the transfiguration of Elijah and Moses)
11 Jesus answered and said to them,
"Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. 12 But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands."
13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.
In this red part, by the word "Indeed" Jesus confirms and supports both Malachi's promise and prophecy and their disciples beleif in it. He uses the future tense because he is referring directly to the Prophecy in the tense that it was recorded in Malachi. If we were to stop at this sentence, it would appear that Jesus is saying that in the future, Elijah will
literally come.
But Jesus says:
Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands."
13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.
Jesus says, Elijah HAS COME.. the disciples could have thought; in the transfiguration, but Jesus continues: they did not know him, but did to him whatever they wished. And the
disciples understood that Jesus spoke of John the Baptist.
Thus Jesus ascribes a
figurative fullfillment of Malachi's prophecy that was
clearly to the house of
Israel which is also associated with the New Covenant to come to Israel in the Millenial kingdom.
Is Jesus the unbeliever??
We also have the account of the priests and Levites asking about weather or not John was the
literal fulfillment (reincarnation) of Elijah that was promised. John denies being the literal reincarnation of Elijah, and at the same time confirms that he is the one to preceed the Lord's coming, using Isaiah 40 rather than Malachi 4 thus confirming that He is the fulfillment of that prophecy.
19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."
21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?"
He said, "I am not."
"Are you the Prophet?"
And he answered, "No."
22 Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?"
23He said: "I am
'The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
"Make straight the way of the Lord,"'
as the prophet Isaiah said."
24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.
Notice in verse 24, who these were who sought a literal reincarnated Elijah and did not recognize the 'spirit of Elijah' in John the Baptist.
They were of the Pharisees.
Apparently this idea of the expectation of a
'literal fulfillment of Elijah was believed and taught by the Pharisees. Jesus introduce the idea of Elijah as John the Baptist earlier in
Matt 11.10 For this (John the Baptist) is [he], of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee; and spoke it plainly 3 verses later in
Matt 11:14. And if ye will receive [it], this is Elias, which was for to come.
Notice the important words; If ye will recieve it. What waited for those who did not recieve it or Jesus? A second chance in the Millenium? No, the Vengeance and destruciton of Jerusalem / Judea and the loss of their lives.
We have further explanation of the figurative fulfillement in the promise of John the Baptist's birth given to Zacharias. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
17 He will also go before Him
in the spirit and power of 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."
We are given further indication that these things are purposely hidden from the 'wise' in Matt 11:25. At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from
the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.
The point is, you see these words as pertaining to the church. You see them as pertaining to gentiles.
Here again, you expose your view that there are still Jew and Gentile division in the church or that the 'church' is predominantly Gentile. Ephesians 2 says very clearly that the barrier between Jew/Gentile has been slain in the Cross. The Jewish race was disolved, the geneology destroyed. What has resurfaced and are now called Jews, is just as Isaiah said, A viper shall rise out of that which is Crushed. These are Pharisees that want you to look for a LITERAL fulfillment and miss the figurative fulfillment of a Israel of 'all nations of the earth, that was the Mystery that Paul talks about.
You do not see them as addressed to the sons of Jacob or you do not define the sons of Jacob or the house of Israel as exclusively Israel.
Yes, they are obviously addressed in the old testament as the sons of Jacob, house of Israel etc. When Jesus himself says that the Gospel and the promises to Abraham is to go to "all nations" I think it should end argument. Luke 24:37.
And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Paul, Luke and Peter explained the reasons that the Israel in which the New Covenant is fulfilled is an Israel composed of All Nations including Jews. These verses have been stressing that foundation. Gal 3,4, Gal 3:16; Eph 1-3; Rom 3-5; 9-11; And I'm sure there are others. Luke 3:25. The apostles countinually quote old testament prophecies and scripture to show the fulfillment of those scriptures to explain and confirm the body of saints of all nations as the fulfillment of those scriptures. This is the example of Jeremiah 31 as quoted in Hebrews. Yes, Hebrews was written to primarily Jews in Jerusalem, but as Paul says again in Ephesians 2 that Greek and Jew in Christ are co-heirs of the promises. Again, there is no difference of Jew/Greek even though the PHarisess want you to believe it.
It is not as if the Jews rejected Christ and now this offer has come to the Gentiles. John said that Jesus was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the World. Jesus said that for this very reason (to die on the cross) he came into the world.
Abraham was preached the Gospel when it was said to Him; In you shall ALL NATIONS of the earth be blessed. Gal 3:8
In refering to the salvation that has come upon the Romans, Paul says that it is not as if the word of God has had no effect...as if God were unable to keep his promises to the Israelites concerning His promises and salvation.
For they are not ALL ISRAEL who are OF ISRAEL. This last sentence goes directly against your premise quoted above that the old testament Promises were strictly and literaly to the house of Israel or descendants of Israel. Paul indicates in this chapter 9 that the fulfillment of those promises are
figuratively fulfulled to
"all Israel" composed of believers of All Nations, the jew first, according to the election of Grace, as he explains further in the text. They are the elect children through the seed/promise of Christ continued through Abraham/Sara, Isaac/ Rebecca, Jacob according to the purpose of God, not according to the flesh. Otherwise all Abrahams and Isaacs seed would be heirs to the promises.
The geneology is destroyed. There is now (ever since 70 AD) no proof of being geneological Israel. There was a symbolic and realistic purpose for God to allow or cause this. What survived is the religion of the PHarisees as described in Isaiah 59:5. It is the Pharisees religion of the Babylonian Talmud and the commentaries of the Torah and the Kaballah of the 13th (I think) century.
When the New Testament writers teach that a figurative fulfillment of the promises to Israel are to be found in an Israel of Christ of 'all nations including Jew and Gentile', as Paul does in chapter 9, then we become disbelievers to not believe in this fulfillment. We would be like the Pharisees who continue to look for a "literal" Elijah when he has already come. We would look for a future Kingdom of God and a NEW and Perfect Covenant, when It has Already come and is still here for recieving. (the acceptable day of the Lord).
Salvation and approval by God is not obtained by studying so that you can be approved by other people by "rightly dividing"; pushing off the Kingdom of God/Christ and claiming a special church age of Grace. It's obtained by being given Grace to Believe that Jesus Is the Son of God, eternal life is given to all who call upon His name in repentance and mercy. He who has the Son..(who already came) has LIFE, He who has not the Son, hath not LIFE.
So, has prophecy ended? No, We are still in a acceptable year of the Lord, and the interactions described in some of those prophecies are very much fulfilled and occuring. Fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace.... etc. etc. The Viper of Pharisees (not jewish race) has risen it's head, just as prophecied.
Thus, if you wish..classify me as an unbeliever in futurized literal fulfillments when Jesus, Paul, Luke, Peter John, etc were given authority to instruct of the time and manner of their fullfillment. Classify me as an unbeliever in dispensationalism and it's foundational premises of reseperating the beleivers (and unbeleivers) into nations that God has joined together and disolved respectively.
Your statement about there being jewish believers and Gentile believers and Jewish unbelievers/Gentile unbelievers is directly opposite Pauls teaching of Ephesians and denys the fact that there is no traceable jewish race or tribes.
Gentlemen. again, I dislike the idea of leaving a discussion open ended. But I think I'll opt to leave any further instruction that God has for either of us or anyone reading these words unto the Grace of God and His Spirit. I hope this last section seeing how Malachi's prophecy about Elijah was neither fulfilled in a literal reincarnation or in the literal Millenial kingdom but was confirmed and taught by JESUS to be fulfilled figuratively might shed understanding Jeremiah 31 as described in Hebrews and in a salvation and kingdom of God of "all Israel" out of all nations as described by romans 9.
God bless and may God grant Grace to believe in His Son more fully than we do.
