S
SeanTom
Guest
JOHN or ELIJAH?
Malachi 3:23: “Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the day of the Lord comes”
Commentary in Scripture referring to MalachI 3:23: “Elijah, described in 2 Kgs 2, 11 as taken heavenward in a fiery chariot. Here his return to earth seems to be foretold. Jewish tradition has interpreted this literally; Christ declared it to be fulfilled in the coming of John the Baptizer.”
Matthew 11:11: “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force. All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. And, if you are willing to accept it, HE (John) IS ELIJAH, the one who is to come.“
Matthew 17:10: “Then the disciples asked him, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ He said in reply, ‘Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that ELIJAH HAS ALREADY COME‘, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. ‘So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands’. Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.”
Luke 1:17: Referring to John: “He will go before him in the SPIRIT AND POWER of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers toward children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.
Commentary in Scripture referring to Luke 1:17: “He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah. He is cast, moreover, in the ROLE (my CAPS) of the Old Testament fiery reformer, the prophet Elijah”.
Matthew 4:4: John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist……At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.”
Commentary in Scripture referring to the above: “The clothing of John recalls the austere dress of the prophet Elijah (2 Kgs 1,8). The expectation of the return of Elijah from heaven to prepare Israel for the final manifestation of God’s kingdom was widespread, and according to Matthew, this expectation was fulfilled in the Baptist’s (John’s) ministry“.
My comments:
Was John actually Elijah? If so, this means that John was sent into the world by God to grow and fulfill the mission as given to Elijah. It means that John had the spirit and power of Elijah as if he were Elijah himself.
Since Matthew’s Gospel was written before the other Gospels, I, in my opinion, accept the wording in Matthew 11:11 where Jesus made the direct statement that “he” (John) “is Elijah., the one who is to come” As for Luke’s Gospel “He” (John) “ will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah”. Having the spirit and power, to me, means that John has come into the world to fulfill Elijah’s mission and to act as Elijah himself.
Now, what was God’s message to us in all this? I feel that knowing whether John was really Elijah is not as important as the message God was conveying to us. And that is:
That Elijah was given the authority, spirit and power, by God, to restore all things. (2) That God told us of Elijah’s return before the end of the world; (3)That John was given the same spirit and power that was given to Elijah and was to continue Elijah’s mission.
Will Elijah return for the third time? No I don’t anticipate a third coming of Elijah. But I am a bit confused. In Article 718 of the Catholic Catachism, , it states that John is “Elijah”. But then down a bit further in Article 719, it states “John completes the cycle of prophets begun by Elijah”.
John may have come to us as Elijah, but with a different name given by God’s messenger, an angel, who had visited Elizabeth. But since John continued with Elijah’s mission, I have no problem with John being either himself or Elijah, through an action by God.
If anyone one has anything to add which might clarify and confirm the answer to the question “Was John Elijah?”, I would be pleased to hear it.
Malachi 3:23: “Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the day of the Lord comes”
Commentary in Scripture referring to MalachI 3:23: “Elijah, described in 2 Kgs 2, 11 as taken heavenward in a fiery chariot. Here his return to earth seems to be foretold. Jewish tradition has interpreted this literally; Christ declared it to be fulfilled in the coming of John the Baptizer.”
Matthew 11:11: “Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force. All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. And, if you are willing to accept it, HE (John) IS ELIJAH, the one who is to come.“
Matthew 17:10: “Then the disciples asked him, ‘Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ He said in reply, ‘Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that ELIJAH HAS ALREADY COME‘, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. ‘So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands’. Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.”
Luke 1:17: Referring to John: “He will go before him in the SPIRIT AND POWER of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers toward children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.
Commentary in Scripture referring to Luke 1:17: “He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah. He is cast, moreover, in the ROLE (my CAPS) of the Old Testament fiery reformer, the prophet Elijah”.
Matthew 4:4: John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist……At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.”
Commentary in Scripture referring to the above: “The clothing of John recalls the austere dress of the prophet Elijah (2 Kgs 1,8). The expectation of the return of Elijah from heaven to prepare Israel for the final manifestation of God’s kingdom was widespread, and according to Matthew, this expectation was fulfilled in the Baptist’s (John’s) ministry“.
My comments:
Was John actually Elijah? If so, this means that John was sent into the world by God to grow and fulfill the mission as given to Elijah. It means that John had the spirit and power of Elijah as if he were Elijah himself.
Since Matthew’s Gospel was written before the other Gospels, I, in my opinion, accept the wording in Matthew 11:11 where Jesus made the direct statement that “he” (John) “is Elijah., the one who is to come” As for Luke’s Gospel “He” (John) “ will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah”. Having the spirit and power, to me, means that John has come into the world to fulfill Elijah’s mission and to act as Elijah himself.
Now, what was God’s message to us in all this? I feel that knowing whether John was really Elijah is not as important as the message God was conveying to us. And that is:
That Elijah was given the authority, spirit and power, by God, to restore all things. (2) That God told us of Elijah’s return before the end of the world; (3)That John was given the same spirit and power that was given to Elijah and was to continue Elijah’s mission.
Will Elijah return for the third time? No I don’t anticipate a third coming of Elijah. But I am a bit confused. In Article 718 of the Catholic Catachism, , it states that John is “Elijah”. But then down a bit further in Article 719, it states “John completes the cycle of prophets begun by Elijah”.
John may have come to us as Elijah, but with a different name given by God’s messenger, an angel, who had visited Elizabeth. But since John continued with Elijah’s mission, I have no problem with John being either himself or Elijah, through an action by God.
If anyone one has anything to add which might clarify and confirm the answer to the question “Was John Elijah?”, I would be pleased to hear it.