Section 2. The Second Coming of Elijah and John the Baptist The prophet Malachi foretold that Elijah would come again: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes” (Mal. 4:5).
Jesus testified that the prophesied coming of Elijah was realized in none other than John the Baptist: “I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not know him, but did to him whatever they pleased. . . .” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist (Matt. 17:12-13). Nevertheless, John the Baptist did not recognize himself to be the second coming of Elijah (John 1:21), and neither did the Jewish people. John’s ignorance reinforced his doubts about Jesus (Matt. 11:3). Since many Jewish people esteemed John the Baptist, they respected John’s point of view. This exacerbated their disbelief in Jesus. John’s ignorance was a major factor in compelling Jesus to go the way of the cross.
2.1 The Jewish Belief in the Return of Elijah During the period of the united kingdom, God’s ideal for His holy Temple was thwarted by Satan through the transgressions of King Solomon (cf. Parallels 3).
To restore the Temple and pave the way for the advent of the Messiah – who is the incarnation of the Temple – God sent four major and twelve minor prophets to Israel and worked through them to purify Israel of all satanic influences.
Besides these, God sent the prophet Elijah to confront the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel; he defeated them with the power of God and cast down their altars to Baal. |