Malachi says, "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes", and The Gospels say that John the Baptist came to prepare the way for the Lord.
But is Malachi saying that Elijah will come before the day of Judgement, or was John the Baptist Elijah?
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3 comments:
You're hilarious, Greggers.
So Eric, I figure you're talking about Malachi 4:5-6
"Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse."
Here's some commentary I found about those two verses:
"These last two verses of the O.T., as it is arranged in our English Bibles, point ahead to the coming of Elijah, one of the most unique figures of the O.T. The rabbies taught that Elijah would return to prepare for and announce the coming of the Messiah (see Mt. 17:10; Mk. 9:11). Even in the intertestamental period, Elijah was seen as one of the great O.T. personalities (Sirach 48:1-12a). When asked who he was by Jewish religious leaders from Jerusalem, John the Baptist denied that he was Elijah (Jn. 1:21), but perhaps he meant simply that he was not the actual Elijah reincarnated. This may also have been the point being made by the angel when, in speaking to Zechariah in the temple, he said that John would go "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Lk. 1:17). Jesus publicly identified John as the one whom the Jews were expecting to come as Elijah (Mt. 11:11-14). After meeting with Elijah at His transfiguration, Jesus alluded to Mal. 4:5,6 as He explained to Peter, James and John that John fulfilled the prophecy about Elijah's return (Mt. 17:10-13; Mk. 9:11-13)."
Maybe that helps you understand what's up. It sure did help me. I just looked up all the verses it referenced. That was really cool.
Thanks, Drew. That was the answer I was looking for.
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