Was John the Baptist the Elijah Spoken of in Malachi 4:5&6?

Was John the Baptist the Elijah Spoken of in Malachi 4:5&6? Malachi 4:5 (ESV) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. Malachi 4:6 (ESV) And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. I. John the Baptist denied that he was Elijah. A. John the Baptist was directly asked as to whether he was Elijah or not. John 1:21 (ESV) And they asked him, What then? Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the Prophet? And he answered, No. B. John the Baptist denied that he was Elijah. John 1:21 (ESV) And they asked him, What then? Are you Elijah? He said, I am not. Are you the Prophet? And he answered, No. C. The question is then asked, If not Elijah then who is he? John 1:22 (ESV) So they said to him, Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself? The question has to do not with John the Baptist s person but rather his ministry, D. John the Baptist identified himself as the person that Isaiah prophesied concerning in Isaiah 40:3 John 1:23 (ESV) He said, I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said. 1. This is a quotation of Isaiah 40:3. Isaiah 40:3 (ESV) A voice cries: In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 1

Isa 40:3 (KJV) The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 2. This thought is alluded to in the book of Malachi as well. Malachi 3:1 (ESV) 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; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. 3. Thus John the Baptist is identified as a forerunner to Jesus. 4. What specifically was John the Baptist denying? a. Was he denying that he was the fulfillment of Malachi 4:5? b. Was he denying that he was the Elijah of the Old Testament? II. John the Baptist was not the reincarnated Elijah. A. John the Baptist was not the Elijah of the Old Testament reincarnated. 1. The Bible does not teach reincarnation but rather resurrection. 2. One does not continue on in the form of another person. 3. One is resurrected to the very same person that one was before death. B. Elijah himself (the person of the Old Testament) appeared to the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration. Matthew 17:1 (ESV) And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. Matthew 17:2 (ESV) And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. Matthew 17:3 (ESV) And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 2

Matthew 17:4 (ESV) And Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah. Matthew 17:5 (ESV) He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him. Matthew 17:6 (ESV) When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. C. The appearance of Elijah prompted a question on the part of the disciples. 1. Why do the scribes teach that Elijah must precede the coming of the Messiah? Matthew 17:9 (ESV) And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead. Matthew 17:10 (ESV) And the disciples asked him, Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come? 2. Jesus states that Elijah is indeed coming. Matthew 17:11 (ESV) He answered, Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 3. Jesus went on to say that Elijah has already come. Matthew 17:12 (ESV) But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands. 4. The disciples understood that when Jesus was speaking of Elijah already having come He was speaking of John the Baptist. Matthew 17:13 (ESV) Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist. 5. Are we to understand from Christ s words that Elijah (the Old Testament prophet) is still coming and there is yet a future restoration work for Elijah to perform? III. Did Jesus teach that John the Baptist was Elijah? 3

A. Jesus taught that John the Baptist was the Elijah that was to be looked for by those who believed in Jesus. Matthew 11:12 (ESV) From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:13 (ESV) For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, Matthew 11:14 (ESV) and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Matthew 11:15 (ESV) He who has ears to hear, let him hear. IV. The father of John the Baptist was told that John the Baptist would minister in the power and sprit of Elijah. Luke 1:13 (ESV) But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. Luke 1:14 (ESV) And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, Luke 1:15 (ESV) for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother s womb. Luke 1:16 (ESV) And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, Luke 1:17 (ESV) and he will 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 for the Lord a people prepared. A. What did John the Baptist have in common with Elijah. 1. John the Baptist wore a similar garment to that of Elijah. 2 Kings 1:8 (ESV) They answered him, He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite. Matthew 3:4 (ESV) Now John wore a garment of camel s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 2. John the Baptist is said to have a similar ministry to Elijah. 4

a. The spirit and power of Elijah does not have to do with his ability to perform miracles. (1) We mention that, because Elijah s successor prayed for a double portion of Elijah s spirit. 2 Kings 2:8 (ESV) Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground. 2 Kings 2:9 (ESV) When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you. And Elisha said, Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me. 2 Kings 2:10 (ESV) And he said, You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so. 2 Kings 2:11 (ESV) And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. (2) It has been generally understood that the double portion of Elijah s spirit was manifested in Elisha s ability to perform twice the recorded miracles that Elijah performed. (3) John the Baptist did not perform any recorded miracles. b. And yet there was no one greater than John the Baptist Matthew 11:7 (ESV) As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? Matthew 11:8 (ESV) What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings houses. Matthew 11:9 (ESV) What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 5

Matthew 11:10 (ESV) This is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you. Matthew 11:11 (ESV) Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Matthew 11:12 (ESV) From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. Matthew 11:13 (ESV) For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, Matthew 11:14 (ESV) and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. Matthew 11:15 (ESV) He who has ears to hear, let him hear. c. John the Baptist s ministry was like that of Elijah in that it brought about a great revival in Israel. Luke 1:17 (ESV) and he will 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 for the Lord a people prepared. d. He was to prepare a people for Christ s coming. Luke 1:17 (ESV) and he will 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 for the Lord a people prepared. V. Will Elijah minister prior to the second coming of Christ? A. Is Elijah one of the two witnesses of Revelation 11? Revelation 11:1 (ESV) Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, Revelation 11:2 (ESV) but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. Revelation 11:3 (ESV) And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. 6

Revelation 11:4 (ESV) These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. B. There are some similarities between Revelation 11 and Elijah s previous ministry. 1. There is a similarity of fire. Revelation 11:5 (ESV) And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. 1 Kings 18:36 (ESV) And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 1 Kings 18:37 (ESV) Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back. 1 Kings 18:38 (ESV) Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 2. There is the similarity of withholding rain. Revelation 11:6 (ESV) They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. James 5:17 (ESV) Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. James 5:18 (ESV) Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. 3. An aside, there are many similarities between the judgments found in the book of Revelation and the judgments that came upon Egypt and others in the Old Testament. 4. There is the similarity of sparing God s people in judgment. 7

C. However it should be noted that these prophets later die. Revelation 11:7 (ESV) And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, Revelation 11:8 (ESV) and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. Revelation 11:9 (ESV) For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, Revelation 11:10 (ESV) and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. Revelation 11:11 (ESV) But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. Revelation 11:12 (ESV) Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, Come up here! And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. D. Did Elijah and Moses die? VI. Conclusion: A. Malachi speaks of Elijah preceding the great and terrible day of the Lord. Malachi 4:5 (ESV) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. Malachi 4:6 (ESV) And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. B. Was this prophesy fulfilled in the Lord s first coming? C. I would think that the great and terrible day of the Lord has reference to the Lord s Second Coming. D. Will the literal Elijah come just before the Lord s second coming? E. Or was the coming of Christ seen as one event and before the great and terrible day of the Lord, the Christ comes at His first coming not smiting the earth with a curse and thus fulfilled in John the Baptist? 8

F. Will the historical Elijah once again have an earthly ministry just prior to the Lord s second coming? In the history of exegesis many Jewish and Christian interpreters maintained that the historical prophet Elijah will return in person. This was apparently also the point of view of the LXX and of the Jews in the time of Christ (Matt. 17:10, 11), probably because of Elijah s ascension to heaven (2 K. 2:1 11) and the subsequent expectation of his coming again. In the NT the proposed work of this Elijah was applied to John the Baptist (Luke 1:17). Jesus answer to the question of the disciples, Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first? is: To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come (Matt. 17:10 13 par. Mark 9:11 13, NIV); and: If you are willing to accept it, he [John the Baptist] is Elijah who is to come (Matt. 11:14). In the light of the NT application it is not necessary to expect the coming again in person of the historical prophet Elijah. He was introduced in our text as a typical representative of the OT prophets. What was said about the historical Elijah who has proclaimed the divine judgment on a wicked dynasty and an apostate nation, but at the same time has called them to repentance (1 K. 18:20 46), has been applied to the Elijah of our text. He will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). Verhoef, Pieter A. The Books of Haggai and Malachi. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987. Print. The New International Commentary on the Old Testament. 9