Return of Elijah?

[Gabriel423]

There is a lot written about the return of Christ. 

I have also heard some people speak of the return of Elijah.  His return is, of course, mentioned at the end the Old Testament book of Malachi.  

And of course, Jesus said that Elijah had returned in the form of John the Baptist.  But as to whether he will return again prior to the return of Jesus or not, there seems to be some opinion both ways on this question. 
I was wondering if anyone here knows if there is a prevailing view, and if so, which one? 
Or maybe some churches understand it one way, while others understand it the other?

Or do most simply leave it as an open question of individuals to decide on?

[R. Hartono]

Elijah was taken alive to heaven, how could he became birthed again ?

Elijah himself appeared with Moses to meet Jesus at the mountain, apostles who saw that did not see Elijah as John the baptist.

John 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.

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by R. Hartono

[Gabriel423]

Hi R:  Those are interesting points, but they seem to be in conflict with some others:

For instance, immediately after the vision of Elijah with Moses and Jesus on the mountain (Matt 17: 1-8) we read ^"10And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Eli′jah must come?” ¹¹ He replied, “Eli′jah does come, and he is to restore all things; ¹² but I tell you that Eli′jah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of man will suffer at their hands.” ¹³ Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist."  (It should be noted that John had been killed by Herod shortly prior to this point.)

And earlier in Matthew 11, Jesus says:

¹³ For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John [the Baptist]; ¹⁴ and if you are willing to accept it, he is Eli′jah who is to come. ¹⁵  (A similar discussion is found in Mark 9:11-13).

I think the answer to this confusion is found in Luke 1, when the angel Gabriel is describing to John's father, prior to John's birth, some of the aspects of John's upcoming life:

¹⁶ And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God,
¹⁷ and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Eli′jah,
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.

This quote seems to address your question about how Elijah could be "birthed again."

And John the Baptist was correct to answer to the priests and Levites (as you quoted above) that he was not Elijah physically (since the priests and Levites were more concerned with physical things). But, according to Gabriel and Jesus, John was indeed Elijah if you are looking at the spirit.  And most of Jesus' teachings were about spiritual realities. 

So, to return to my original question:  Some Christian communities anticipate that at least the spirit of Elijah (or the spirit of John the Baptist) will return in some form prior to the return of Jesus.  I was interested in learning how widespread this perspective is.

[WilliamL]

You nailed the essence of the matter in your post above. There is yet to be another prophet coming in the spirit of Elijah.

What most people don't understand is that there are collective spirits, such as the spirit that was upon Moses that was divided 70 ways among the elders, and the spirit of Legion that Jesus cast out of the demonic.

The spirit of Elijah is a celestial spirit that is called to  witness to Israel multiple times, in times of their greatest crises. The ancient Hebrews believed that he was to return right before the final battle of the age against Israel, the invasion by Gog and Magog. I believe that is what the prophecy of Malachi 4 is prophesying:

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD..."

 

By the way, welcome aboard the Worthy board. 

Edited May 28, 2019 by WilliamL

[R. Hartono]

The Bible states that John sent messengers from prison to Jesus to ask if He was the one, the Messiah. Or "do we look for someone else?" Why did John question whether Jesus was "the one" if he was Elijah who was taken to heaven alive ?

Moses and Elijah will be the 2 Witnesses of Revelation

Rev 11:4 These are the two Olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

Standing before the God of the earth means standing face to face with God :
The only man who has been in contact face to face with God and remain alive are Henoch, Moses and Elijah.

Olive tree and Candlestick (Menorah) are the symbols from ancient Hebrew.

So Moses and Elijah will be the living Witnesses of Jesus who met Him when He was ministering in Israel, God says at least 2 living Witnesses are required for an acceptable Testimony.

Deut 19:15 :...A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

Why did Moses and Elijah appear to Jesus on the mountain?
“He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him” (Matthew 17:2, 3).

The Scriptures record the fact that both Moses and Elijah are in heaven. But it is important to note that Elijah was translated to heaven without dying, “Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (2 Kings 2:11, 12). And Moses had a special resurrection by Christ “Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 9).

Moses was the great deliverer, lawgiver, and founder of the Hebrew nation. And Elijah was the one who saved it in a time of great apostasy and crisis. Here, they were living representatives to bear witness to the divinity of Jesus. And through their written records, they had testified of Him (Luke 24:44).

Moses represents the saints that will be resurrected from the dead while Elijah represents the saints that will be living when the Lord comes and will go to heaven without seeing death. These two prophets, one raised from the dead and the other translated without seeing death, appeared with Jesus, as a type of the glorious kingdom in which the ransomed of all ages will be with Him in glory (Matt. 25:31; Col. 3:4; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17).

[missmuffet]

The two witnesses during the 7 year tribulation will have miraculous power to accompany their message. Some think it will be Moses and Elijah and some think it will be Enoch and Elijah. The Bible is silent on who it will be. 

[Diaste]

On 6/27/2019 at 5:43 PM, missmuffet said:

the 7 year tribulation

No such thing.

[Diaste]

I would think the return of Elijah is unequivocal. I'm of the opinion Enoch is the other.

We know two witnesses will appear to prophecy in the first half of the last week, right before the beginning of GT.

[Diaste]

On 5/30/2019 at 11:34 PM, R. Hartono said:

But it is important to note that Elijah was translated to heaven without dying,

As was Enoch.

 

 

[missmuffet]

5 hours ago, Diaste said:

No such thing.

Suit yourself.