Was John the Baptist Elijah?

[OneAccord]

Matthew 11:13,14 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to recieve it, he is Elijah who is to come.

Matthew 17:11,12 Indeed Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished.

It appears that Jesus is saying that John the Baptist is Elijah but:

John 1:21 And they asked him (John), "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not."

I'm also interested in the phrase in Matthew 17:11 that says that Elijah will restore all things. According to Acts 3:21 heaven must recieve Jesus until the "times of the restoration of all things" which apparently has not been fulfilled yet.

[Dad Ernie]

Greetings OA,

Other verses you need:

Luke 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, 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.

Isaiah 40:3 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.

John 1:23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

Hebrews 12:13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

As you can see JB came in the "spirit and power" of Elijah. John ushered in a new era and he was the one who closed out the OLD era. As we can see in Hebrews we are still in the time of "making a straight path for our feet". One of righteousness by faith and not by the law.

You are correct in assertaining that the SPIRIT of Elijah shall come once again "TO RESTORE ALL THINGS". The "restoration" can be seen in analyzing the story of Solomon's Temple. Once all was built, (according to pattern) and all the accessories were prepared and the people and the priests heart were ready, THEN the Shekanah Glory came to rest in the Holy of Holies, which in the NT is the Greek word "naos".

Once the Solomon temple was destroyed, and then again rebuilt in the time of Nehemiah, you will notice the "Shekanah Glory" DID NOT come again.

Jesus is the inheritor of the throne of David. As such He is currently "building a 'habitation' (a temple) wherein God shall dwell through His Holy Spirit. This "building" is not complete yet. It won't be until we see the "fulness of Israel" come into the Kingdom of God." At that time, God shall dwell once again with His people and upon them shall be the spirit of Elijah which will "RESTORE ALL THINGS". This will be during the last 3 1/2 years just prior to the Lord's 2nd Advent. The people will be empowered to:

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

We can also see that according to Daniel 9 that the promise or "covenant" made to Daniel will be completed during that time which ALL ISRAEL shall be restored to "righteousness with God", thus fulfilling that particular covenant. So again we see that the reference to "RESTORING ALL THINGS" includes the return of the Jews to right standing with God.

You may want to consider Romans 11:15. I believe what is being referred to here when the Jews return to God in "their fulness" is that the "resurrection" is imminent.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

[larryt]

Hi OA,

JB said himself that he wasn't Elijah/Elias. DE gave you some good explaining though about how and why he did come.

Joh 1:21  And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

LT

[OneAccord]

What does it mean that John came in "the spirit and power" of Elijah?

Who then is Elijah? Is he the Prophet? He aparently has some pretty high standing in the heavenly realms, being taken up rather than dying. He never died that we know of, unless he was in fact John the Baptist (which he denied in JOhn 1:21) But we see him on the mount of transfiguration in a glorified body.

The idea of him "restoring all things" is a pretty big mission, I thought Jesus was the restorer of all things.

I just never seem to be able to get a full understanding of who John the Baptist was. Or Elijah., for that matter.

[Dad Ernie]

Greetings OA,

What does it mean that John came in "the spirit and power" of Elijah?

Elisha might be a good example for you to think about. Once he donned the "mantle of Elijah", he then operated in the same SPIRIT & POWER as Elijah had done. Elijah can be compared to Jesus who was 'given the spirit without measure'. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was given in full measure to the disciples, who then went forth and did the things of Christ and EVEN GREATER things that Christ did, did they do.

Who then is Elijah? Is he the Prophet? He aparently has some pretty high standing in the heavenly realms, being taken up rather than dying. He never died that we know of, unless he was in fact John the Baptist (which he denied in JOhn 1:21) But we see him on the mount of transfiguration in a glorified body.

No, Elijah was just a man, like Enoch. Consider this:

Matthew 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Jesus is saying that even Moses, Enoch or Elijah or even King David was not as GREAT as John the Baptist, yet HE THAT IS LEAST IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS GREATER THAN HE. Jesus was in essence the "least" and in fact the ONLY "man" to have entered into the Kingdom of God at that time. Where He was, was the Kingdom of God.

The idea of him "restoring all things" is a pretty big mission, I thought Jesus was the restorer of all things.

Yes, Jesus is, but until He physically returns to set up the Kingdom on this earth, He has bestowed upon the believers in Him to tear down the powers and principalities of this earth. The Two Witnesses are good examples of this. And they overcame the beast by the Word of their Testimony and the Blood of the Lamb. So it is not up to ONE man or even TWO men, but each and every Christian called to serve God. Please read Eph 1-3. When the body of Christ has reached its "fulness", the Shikinah Glory shall be so powerful in the believers that they will be able to call down plagues and stop up the rain upon this world. This is what Jesus was referring to when He said Elijah would come and restore all things. Believers will receive back the authority that was given to Adam in the Garden of Eden and then relinquished to the serpent.

BTW, Elijah was known as the "prophet of fire". Notice at Pentecost that "tongues of fire" was associated with it. Also notice that the Two Witness have "fire coming out of their mouths".

Hope that helps.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

[Trinity]

John came in the spirit of elijah but John himself was not Elijah. Remember Elisha(not elijah) had Elijahs spirit too.

2 Kings 2

9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?"

"Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.

10 "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours-otherwise not."

So even though elisha had a portion of his spirit, that doesn't mean Elisha was Elijah

[His son]

God can put the spirit of Elijah into anyone He wants to Just like He gives us all His Holy Spirit. This shouldn't be a problem for anyone to understand. Elisha is direct evidence of this when God filled him with a double portion of Elijah's spirit. There are no limits to what God can do.

[O'Dannyboy]

Amazing stuff. So do you think Elijah is/will be one of the two witnesses/prophets of revelation?

[Trinity]

God can put the spirit of Elijah into anyone He wants to Just like He gives us all His Holy Spirit. This shouldn't be a problem for anyone to understand. Elisha is direct evidence of this when God filled him with a double portion of Elijah's spirit. There are no limits to what God can do.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The only problem with this theory is that Elijah never died there for Elijah is still in his body.

Even though elisha had a portion of Elijahs spirit, that doesn't mean Elisha is Elijah.

John came in the spirit of elijah but he wasn't Elijah.

[OneAccord]

Well apparently this "Spirit of Elijah" is not done yet as there is still a lot of restoring to do.

Do you think then that the "Spirit of Elijah" is due to incarnate again in the endtimes? Or were the prophecies regarding Elijah fulfilled in John?

PS: Dad Ernie, I am not ignoring your responses, they are well-thought out and helpful. Thanks for taking the time to type them up.