The very last words of the Old Testament are as follows:
Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse. Malachi 4:5-6
Please note that these are the very last words of the Old Testament. They describe the
coming of the Great and Terrible Day of the LORD and associate it with the coming of Elijah. The Great and Terrible Day of the LORD is assumed by many today to be the final event on earth’s eschatological time clock. But according to Jesus, it has already occurred.
In the following statements, Jesus says that John the Baptist was Elijah.
And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. Matthew 11:14 NASB
And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist. Matthew 17:11-13 NASB
Because Jesus says something, I take serious note of it. By Jesus making these claims about John the Baptist, and by equating John’s coming with the coming of Elijah, I see no other way to interpret them than to conclude that Jesus was claiming His own coming was in fact the Great and Terrible Day of the LORD. How else can these verses be interpreted?
And if Jesus’ first coming was the Great and terrible Day of the LORD, what on earth are Christians waiting for with respect to His Second Coming?
What more great and terrible day can there be than the day God Himself came in the flesh and allowed Himself to be hung on a cross? I find it hard to believe anything else could be done and be more aptly described as Great & Terrible…