Back in 2016, October the 1st to be precise, I published a post, entitled, "Who or What are the Two Witnesses?" In that post I commented on the reason I believed, at that time, was the impetus for Yeshua saying, to the people around Him, the following:
Matthew 11:12-15 ASV And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force. (13) For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. (14) And if ye are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, that is to come. (15) He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
My comments were as follows:
"Some will argue that Yeshua made his statements with a conditional requirement, that being that it is so if you can accept it, and thus there must necessarily be a future occurrence of the actual original Elijah returning in order to ensure that the prophecy is fulfilled. However, I strongly disagree with that reasoning because God does not do things in indefinite ways and because, I believe, it is not the purpose of the Lord's comment. Why would the God of all glory and all creation seem uncertain about His own plans? Are not the words of Christ directly from the Spirit of the Living God? The Lord made that comment for a different reason, being that believing John the Baptiser was the Elijah to come was not essential to their faith and walk with God. They could happily continue in their faith in God without having known or believed that John was the Elijah to come and there would come no harm to them, they would not be impoverished as a result."
"The reason for this is, I believe, that the appearing of Elijah was not for the sake of the believers but for the sake of the unbelievers, to bring testimony to them of the coming of the Messiah. When Yeshua made that comment, He had just been speaking to John's disciples who were sent by John to ask Yeshua if He was the one they were waiting for. As they departed, He turned to the multitudes and continued speaking, clearly also intending that John's disciples would hear this before they left. John's disciples already expected Him based on John's teachings about the coming Messiah and, in all likelihood, so did the multitudes that were listening, or they would not have been present."
Now, as a reason for Christ saying, "And if ye are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, that is to come", what I wrote is not a sufficient and complete answer, and it occurred to me why that was. As I wrote at that time, "the reason for this is, I believe"... that the appearing of Elijah was not for the sake of the believers but for the sake of the unbelievers. However, it was only what I could conclude at that time but, with time and with the continued work of the Spirit of God, things keep coming together like a grand jigsaw puzzle. Although believers did not really have a need to believe that John the Baptist was the Elijah to come, if he was then Yeshua would have wanted to make that plain to them and not leave it in doubt. Also, there was insufficient support for the comment I made about John's disciples overhearing what Yeshua said as they were leaving. It never sat quite right with me. Just one of those things, I guess, that kept niggling away in the depths of my mind... until this morning.
Now I have a clear, concise and definitive reason on why Yeshua made that conditional statement, and it ties in with the post, entitled, "Invalidity of All Current 'Two Witnesses'", published on the 6th of March, earlier this year.
Until John died, then the prophecies concerning the role of the Elijah that was to come were either not completely fulfilled or there was still time to invalidate the fulfillment by an action contrary to the prophecy. Without complete and inalterable fulfillment, who could declare that John was the Elijah that was to come in a legally irrefutable manner? If he had not yet completed his role, nobody could definitely say that he was the expected Elijah, whether in the spirit or in the flesh, because to do so would be to say that he had fulfilled all the prophecies concerning his appearance (binding John's acts to the prophecy) but, until he was dead, it could not be stated as fact. Alternatively, if he had completed fulfillment of the prophecy but then acted in a way to discredit that fulfillment before his death, we would end up with legally refutable claims that he was the Elijah to come. At the time that Yeshua made his conditional statement about accepting John the Baptist as the Elijah that was to come, John was in prison but was still alive, for his disciples had, at that moment, come to ask Yeshua, on John's behalf, if He was the expected one (the Messiah).
Mat 11:3 ASV and said unto him, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another?
So, Yeshua avoided making a false claim by keeping it open until John's death, after which Yeshua said plainly to His own disciples that John was, indeed, the expected Elijah. This was now legally factual to the world. The reason Yeshua had made the comment prior to John's death, saying that John was the coming Elijah, was because Yeshua already knew that it was true, as mentioned in the post, "Invalidity of All Current 'Two Witnesses'". However, the incompleteness of the fulfillment of prophecy ensured that He could not make a legally incontrovertible statement for, although spiritually it was fact, physically it was not yet complete and, thus, not legally factual. Once John was dead, the prophecies concerning him became legally established and incontrovertible fact. Like Yeshua said on the cross just the moment before His own death, "It is finished."
Since John did not do anything just prior to his own death that would have been contrary to the character of Elijah and which could have invalidated the prophecy with regards to himself, the prophecy of the return of Elijah appears to have been fulfilled, taking Yeshua's word for it. However, we do not know enough about John's activities to comment on his fulfillment of the prophecy found in the book of Malachi, chapter 4, regarding turning the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers. Was that fulfilled by John or is it only necessary that a final Elijah-like prophet at the end fills that role once in order that the prophecy given by Malachi be true? There is much written on this but what does it actually mean? I find that most explanations are too vague, fuzzy or wishy-washy to be of any value. My understanding of scripture is that it is clear, concise, logical and solidly factual.
Luk 1:13-17 ASV But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: because thy supplication is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. (14) And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. (15) For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. (16) And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God. (17) And he shall go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.
In this scripture, found in the book of Luke, we see confirmation that John did come in the power and spirit of Elijah, thus strongly supporting our method of understanding so that we know that it is consistent with the scripture, but we also see a comment related to Malachi's prophecy regarding turning the hearts of the fathers to the children. However, instead of speaking about turning the hearts of the children to the fathers, it speaks of turning the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just, seemingly equating the hearts of the children with the disobedient and the fathers with the just. Although it could be a currently fulfilled prophecy, it does also sound rather like the expected situation going into the millennial reign of Christ on earth, which can only begin upon the exit of the two witnesses of Revelation 11 and the return of Christ. The chasm between parents and children in the current age is the worst that the world has ever seen, so the prophecy of Malachi does seem to apply more strongly to the current day or the near future than it does to any time before now. This view assumes that it is talking about parents and their immediate children. The support for this view is that it speaks of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, meaning that the fathers spoken of must be alive in the same era as the children, so it could not be referring to something like ancient, wise patriarchs and modern, rebellious people.
Since John the Baptist was a spiritual fulfillment of Elijah, his coming (and going) does not prevent another "Elijah" from coming, to pave the way for the Lord, as stated by Malachi. The great and terrible day of the Lord has not come, not quite yet, and although the prophecy of Malachi may appear to have been fulfilled ("Elijah" came before the great and terrible day regardless of how long ago he came), turning the hearts of the fathers and the children back to one another is something possibly incomplete, as would also appear to be "the restoration of all things", a major part of the coming Elijah's role as stated by Yeshua. The "things" would likely be the correct understanding of scripture, righteousness and justice, the nature of evil, right, wrong and free will, the process of salvation and its essential requirement, the proper interpretation of parables, the truth about God and Christ, etc., a restoration which, it would appear, the two witnesses will accomplish, thus completing the great commission of bringing the gospel to the whole world as a testimony in order that the end can come. That the coming Elijah restores all things lends credence to the idea that, if he is yet to come again, he may be one of the two witnesses of Revelation 11. The two witnesses will be bringing the gospel of Christ to the world as a testimony and in the process will inevitably restore a correct understanding of many things therein.
Since John did not do anything just prior to his own death that would have been contrary to the character of Elijah and which could have invalidated the prophecy with regards to himself, the prophecy of the return of Elijah appears to have been fulfilled, taking Yeshua's word for it. However, we do not know enough about John's activities to comment on his fulfillment of the prophecy found in the book of Malachi, chapter 4, regarding turning the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers. Was that fulfilled by John or is it only necessary that a final Elijah-like prophet at the end fills that role once in order that the prophecy given by Malachi be true? There is much written on this but what does it actually mean? I find that most explanations are too vague, fuzzy or wishy-washy to be of any value. My understanding of scripture is that it is clear, concise, logical and solidly factual.
Luk 1:13-17 ASV But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: because thy supplication is heard, and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. (14) And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. (15) For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. (16) And many of the children of Israel shall he turn unto the Lord their God. (17) And he shall go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just; to make ready for the Lord a people prepared for him.
In this scripture, found in the book of Luke, we see confirmation that John did come in the power and spirit of Elijah, thus strongly supporting our method of understanding so that we know that it is consistent with the scripture, but we also see a comment related to Malachi's prophecy regarding turning the hearts of the fathers to the children. However, instead of speaking about turning the hearts of the children to the fathers, it speaks of turning the disobedient to walk in the wisdom of the just, seemingly equating the hearts of the children with the disobedient and the fathers with the just. Although it could be a currently fulfilled prophecy, it does also sound rather like the expected situation going into the millennial reign of Christ on earth, which can only begin upon the exit of the two witnesses of Revelation 11 and the return of Christ. The chasm between parents and children in the current age is the worst that the world has ever seen, so the prophecy of Malachi does seem to apply more strongly to the current day or the near future than it does to any time before now. This view assumes that it is talking about parents and their immediate children. The support for this view is that it speaks of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, meaning that the fathers spoken of must be alive in the same era as the children, so it could not be referring to something like ancient, wise patriarchs and modern, rebellious people.
Since John the Baptist was a spiritual fulfillment of Elijah, his coming (and going) does not prevent another "Elijah" from coming, to pave the way for the Lord, as stated by Malachi. The great and terrible day of the Lord has not come, not quite yet, and although the prophecy of Malachi may appear to have been fulfilled ("Elijah" came before the great and terrible day regardless of how long ago he came), turning the hearts of the fathers and the children back to one another is something possibly incomplete, as would also appear to be "the restoration of all things", a major part of the coming Elijah's role as stated by Yeshua. The "things" would likely be the correct understanding of scripture, righteousness and justice, the nature of evil, right, wrong and free will, the process of salvation and its essential requirement, the proper interpretation of parables, the truth about God and Christ, etc., a restoration which, it would appear, the two witnesses will accomplish, thus completing the great commission of bringing the gospel to the whole world as a testimony in order that the end can come. That the coming Elijah restores all things lends credence to the idea that, if he is yet to come again, he may be one of the two witnesses of Revelation 11. The two witnesses will be bringing the gospel of Christ to the world as a testimony and in the process will inevitably restore a correct understanding of many things therein.
Mat 17:11-13 ASV And he answered and said, Elijah indeed cometh, and shall restore all things: (12) but I say unto you, that Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they would. Even so shall the Son of man also suffer of them. (13) Then understood the disciples that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
Furthermore, this scripture, when viewed in the light of the aforementioned understanding of the legal requirements for the declaration of prophetic fulfillment, makes sense of the fact that Yeshua said that Elijah shall restore all things (the word translated as "shall" directly implies a future tense by what would probably have been the imperfect tense in the Aramaic or Hebrew language prior to its Greek translation) in spite of the fact that John was already, at that moment, dead, which is itself the reason Yeshua made it unequivocally clear that John the Baptist was the Elijah that was to come, for it was now legal fact. Perhaps we can now state even more confidently that we should still expect one more "spirit of Elijah" prophet. Whether or not he will be one of the two witnesses of Revelation, chapter 11, remains to be seen, though at this point it seems quite possible, even likely. The events on the "mount of the transfiguration" would lend further support, though not solid proof, that he will be. Will the Lord reveal that to us sometime soon? We (including you) should ask Him about it. Give it a shot. God is wonderfully good and generous and the only reason He withholds information from His servants is because the moment for the revelation is not yet come.
So, should we expect the return of the spirit of Elijah? I suspect so, though I would not state it as a legally binding requirement for the fulfillment of the prophecies of the last days or, at least, not without a deeper revelation on this issue. We do not know enough at this time about the activities of John the Baptist other than the very little given to us in the scripture and possibly some fragments of historical accounts. I guess that we will have to pray, wait and see.
