If you read the whole context Matt 11:7-15 … Christ says John was Elijah returned. I don’t see any figurative language here.
I think you are overlooking something Jesus said in Mark 9:11-12 at the same conversation but different testimony. It says that, “Elijah is to come first and will restore all things.” As St. Bede says, “He will restore all things, that is to say, those things which Malachi points out, saying, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to be children, and the heart of the children to their fathers…” Jesus makes it clear that Elijah is to come, and He made it clear that he has come in a figurative way, much like the antichrist has come, is here, and will continue to come until the Antichrist comes at the end of time. 1 Jn 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
The same spirit yes … how else could John of had H.S. from the womb ? He was Elijah … fully confessed and perfected when he was taken up to heaven in chariot … and had his spirit put back into body of John. Everyone must see death … John’s death was Elijah’s also.
Well how was Elijah suppost to return ? Bodily plopped down on earth as grown adult … after hundreds of years up in limbo, or somewhere where a human body would be allowed ?
D-R Bible, Haydock Commentary:
Yes, though I don’t know if there will be any plopping sound or not.
In fact Elijah and Enoch will come just as they left the earth, they are the ones who are mentioned in Re. 11 as the 2 witnesses. litteralchristianlibrary.wetpaint.com/page/The+2+Witnesses+in+Rev.+11Yes, good ideas you have for us
Okay, let’s get into this deeper. Your position is really untenable and for several reasons. The Holy Spirit is not the same thing as Elijah’s soul or personality. Having “the spirit of Elijah” does not mean that one is Elijah; rather, the expression (“spirit of Elijah”) refers to the charismatic, prophetic gifts that Elijah himself possessed. For example, if one reads 2 Kings 2:9-10, here, Elijah’s disciple Elisha asks to have a “double portion” of Elijah’s spirit, and Elijah tells him that his request will be granted if Elisha sees him taken up into heaven, which he does. Thereafter, Elisha, too, possesses power charismatic powers and is able to work miracles. So, the “spirit of Elijah” is merely the prophetic power and character that Elijah (the greatest of all the prophets) possessed; and John the Baptist received this very same prophetic power and character.
This was the moment of John’s indwelling of the Holy Spirit, i.e., the moment when the unborn John was essentially “Baptized” into Christ. It was from this point on that he was empowered by God to be Christ’s prophet and precursor, i.e., even from his mother’s womb, for, John’s first ‘prophecy’ was when he leaped inside his mother as she who bore the eternal Word of God (Mary -the New Ark of the Covenant) entered his mother’s home. The unborn John knew this by the power of the Holy Spirit, and his own mother Elizabeth was filled with the Spirit through her unborn son’s prophetic power, inspiring her to prophesy herself and to testify to the fact that Mary bore the Messiah.
They were not one and the same. Elijah and John were two different persons who shared the same Divinely-given prophetic office. That’s a big difference.
See Luke 9:29–31. It is interesting to note that, in the narrative of Luke’s Gospel, John the Baptist is still alive when the Transfiguration takes place.
So, was John both in prison and on the mountain with Jesus and Moses at the same time?He said that he was not either of them, i.e., not personally.
This is wrong. John denied that he was Elijah personally. He was responding to the Pharisees who were speaking literally. Christ claimed that John was Elijah in the sense that he held the place and office of Elijah and fulfilled the prophecy that “Elijah” (that is, a prophet like Elijah) would come before the Messiah to announce His coming.
I see. So, John was ignorant of who he was??? That is, he was Elijah but he didn’t know it? Some prophet, if that’s the case! 
To be sensible, then, one must admit that it is inspired Scripture that records BOTH Christ’s reference to John as Elijah AND John’s denial that he is Elijah in a personal sense. Scripture cannot lie, and does not record lies. John spoke the truth within the context of his exchange with the Pharisees.Reincarnation is not a Christian or a Mosaic Jewish belief (it is antithetical to both!), therefore, there was no need to address such an impossibility. John was of the seed of Zechariah and born of Elizabeth; he was a Levite and the descendant of Levitical priests. He was a unique creation of God, distinct from Elijah, who was a Tishbite, and not of Levitical descent. Also, Elijah was assumed into heaven both body and soul. John was born to Elizabeth and developed as a fetus in her womb. So, if John and Elijah are the same person, what happened to Elijah’s original body?? Clearly, the head and neck of John the Baptist, which were cut in twain in the palace of Herod Antipas, were not the same head and neck that Elijah the Tishbite had during his conflicts with Ahab and Jezebel 600 years earlier. And so, your idea that Elijah finally “died” through the martyrdom of the Baptist is, I’m afraid, silly, since the body that Herod killed was clearly not the body of Elijah - the body that was assumed into Heaven without dying. I’d say that you need to seriously re-think your theology here.Your understanding is not the understanding of the ancient, Apostolic Faith or what we see presented in the Bible.
Frances … you are amazing. Incredibly insightful and learned !! Its hard to find fault with anything you write.Okay, let’s get into this deeper. Your position is really untenable and for several reasons. The Holy Spirit is not the same thing as Elijah’s soul or personality. Having “the spirit of Elijah” does not mean that one is Elijah; rather, the expression (“spirit of Elijah”) refers to the charismatic, prophetic gifts that Elijah himself possessed. For example, if one reads 2 Kings 2:9-10, here, Elijah’s disciple Elisha asks to have a “double portion” of Elijah’s spirit, and Elijah tells him that his request will be granted if Elisha sees him taken up into heaven, which he does. Thereafter, Elisha, too, possesses power charismatic powers and is able to work miracles. So, the “spirit of Elijah” is merely the prophetic power and character that Elijah (the greatest of all the prophets) possessed; and John the Baptist received this very same prophetic power and character.
As for when John was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb (per Luke 1:15), this is directly depicted for us less than thirty verses later in Luke 1:41ff, which reads:
This was the moment of John’s indwelling of the Holy Spirit, i.e., the moment when the unborn John was essentially “Baptized” into Christ. It was from this point on that he was empowered by God to be Christ’s prophet and precursor, i.e., even from his mother’s womb, for, John’s first ‘prophecy’ was when he leaped inside his mother as she who bore the eternal Word of God (Mary -the New Ark of the Covenant) entered his mother’s home. The unborn John knew this by the power of the Holy Spirit, and his own mother Elizabeth was filled with the Spirit through her unborn son’s prophetic power, inspiring her to prophesy herself and to testify to the fact that Mary bore the Messiah.
They were not one and the same. Elijah and John were two different persons who shared the same Divinely-given prophetic office. That’s a big difference.
See Luke 9:29–31. It is interesting to note that, in the narrative of Luke’s Gospel, John the Baptist is still alive when the Transfiguration takes place.
He said that he was not either of them, i.e., not personally.
This is wrong. John denied that he was Elijah personally. He was responding to the Pharisees who were speaking literally. Christ claimed that John was Elijah in the sense that he held the place and office of Elijah and fulfilled the prophecy that “Elijah” (that is, a prophet like Elijah) would come before the Messiah to announce His coming.
Reincarnation is not a Christian or a Mosaic Jewish belief (it is antithetical to both!), therefore, there was no need to address such an impossibility. John was of the seed of Zechariah and born of Elizabeth; he was a Levite and the descendant of Levitical priests. He was a unique creation of God, distinct from Elijah, who was a Tishbite, and not of Levitical descent. Also, Elijah was assumed into heaven both body and soul. John was born to Elizabeth and developed as a fetus in her womb. So, if John and Elijah are the same person, what happened to Elijah’s original body?? Clearly, the head and neck of John the Baptist, which were cut in twain in the palace of Herod Antipas, were not the same head and neck that Elijah the Tishbite had during his conflicts with Ahab and Jezebel 600 years earlier. And so, your idea that Elijah finally “died” through the martyrdom of the Baptist is, I’m afraid, silly, since the body that Herod killed was clearly not the body of Elijah - the body that was assumed into Heaven without dying. I’d say that you need to seriously re-think your theology here.Your understanding is not the understanding of the ancient, Apostolic Faith or what we see presented in the Bible.
So, the ‘prophetic Elijah’ has come … and we should not expect him at some point in the future ?
Thanks so much, BRB; I’m happy I was able to be of some help to you in this.
We don’t know this with any accuracy.
Not a coincideence; it was done as a sign.
God wished for the Jews to recognize that John was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Elijah’s return - that John, like Elisha before him, had succeeded to Elijah’s prophetic office and character. Elisha dressed like Elijah too. When Elijah called Elisha to be his successor, he threw his own cloak over Elisha’s shoulders, but Elisha was obviously a different person than Elijah. He merely succeeded to Elijah’s prophetic office and possessed the “spirit of Elijah”, i.e., the Spiritual charisms of a prophet that Elijah possessed.
Not necessarily. Elijah may appear again when Christ returns again. But, the prophecy which Jews expect to be fulfilled has already been fulfilled. One can see this if one attends an Orthodox Jewish Passover meal. The prayer that is recited when a place is made at the table for “Elijah” is as follows:
The Protestants who do this have been misled by distorted non-Christian Jewish belief and have lost sight of the true Apostolic Tradition.
I think what you are referring to is Heb 9:27, which says:
No, per the above.