IAMWEAK_2007
Member
Is he the Elijah promised on old testament?
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Is John the baptist Elijah?
- Thread starter IAMWEAK_2007
- Start date
Yes, if we are to believe Jesus.
Not Elijah reincarnated, but according to the angel Gabriel and Jesus, he is Elijah.
Here is what the angel Gabriel said when telling about John the Baptist's birth.
LUKE 1 - "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. There will be joy and delight for you, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord and will never drink wine or beer. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. He will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people."
And here is what Jesus said about John.
MATTHEW 11 - "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear."
salzer mtn
Well-Known Member
The Apostles went in the spirit and the power of Christ but It did not make them Christ. Act's 1:8 But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.
salzer mtn
Well-Known Member
And if ye will receive it
The words carry in them some suspicion of unbelief and hardness of heart, as though they would not receive it: however, whether they would or not, it was a certain truth, that
this
same person, "John the Baptist",
is Elias, which was for to come;
who was appointed by God to come, and was prophesied of ( Malachi 4:5 ) that he should come; and even according to the doctrine of the Scribes and Rabbins, he was expected to come before the Messiah; only they in general thought that Elijah the Tishbite, in person, was meant; though some, as before observed F5, were of opinion, that some great prophet equal to Elijah, and endued with the same spirit, is intended; and which is true of John the Baptist, who came "in the Spirit" and "power" of Elias, ( Luke 1:17 ) . And, as it was usual with the Jews F6, to call Phinehas by the name of Elias, and Elias Phinehas, because of his zeal for the Lord of hosts; for the same reason may John be called by the same name, there being a great resemblance between Elias and him; in their temper and disposition; in their manner of clothing, and austere way of living; in their very great piety and holiness; in their courage and integrity, in reproving vice; and in their zeal and usefulness in the cause of God, and true religion: in respect to which, Christ must be here understood, when he affirms John to be Elias; not Elias in person, but he that was intended by Elias, that was said should come: hence here is no contradiction to the words of the Baptist, in ( John 1:21 ) when he says, that he was not Elias; for the Jews, who put the question to him, whether he was Elias, or not? meant whether he was Elias in person, Elias the Tishbite, or not; and so John understood them, and very honestly and sincerely replies, he was not: but he does not deny that he was intended by this Elias, that was prophesied should come; yea, he says such things as might induce them to believe he was that person; hence, Christ, and he, say nothing contrary to, and irreconcilable, as the Jew F7 suggests, with each other. John Gill's Commentary. Also in St. John 1:19-21 And this is the record of John, when the jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou ? And he confessed and denied not: but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they ask him, What then? Art thou Elias? and he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered No.
The words carry in them some suspicion of unbelief and hardness of heart, as though they would not receive it: however, whether they would or not, it was a certain truth, that
this
same person, "John the Baptist",
is Elias, which was for to come;
who was appointed by God to come, and was prophesied of ( Malachi 4:5 ) that he should come; and even according to the doctrine of the Scribes and Rabbins, he was expected to come before the Messiah; only they in general thought that Elijah the Tishbite, in person, was meant; though some, as before observed F5, were of opinion, that some great prophet equal to Elijah, and endued with the same spirit, is intended; and which is true of John the Baptist, who came "in the Spirit" and "power" of Elias, ( Luke 1:17 ) . And, as it was usual with the Jews F6, to call Phinehas by the name of Elias, and Elias Phinehas, because of his zeal for the Lord of hosts; for the same reason may John be called by the same name, there being a great resemblance between Elias and him; in their temper and disposition; in their manner of clothing, and austere way of living; in their very great piety and holiness; in their courage and integrity, in reproving vice; and in their zeal and usefulness in the cause of God, and true religion: in respect to which, Christ must be here understood, when he affirms John to be Elias; not Elias in person, but he that was intended by Elias, that was said should come: hence here is no contradiction to the words of the Baptist, in ( John 1:21 ) when he says, that he was not Elias; for the Jews, who put the question to him, whether he was Elias, or not? meant whether he was Elias in person, Elias the Tishbite, or not; and so John understood them, and very honestly and sincerely replies, he was not: but he does not deny that he was intended by this Elias, that was prophesied should come; yea, he says such things as might induce them to believe he was that person; hence, Christ, and he, say nothing contrary to, and irreconcilable, as the Jew F7 suggests, with each other. John Gill's Commentary. Also in St. John 1:19-21 And this is the record of John, when the jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou ? And he confessed and denied not: but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they ask him, What then? Art thou Elias? and he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered No.
He wasn't literally Elijah, John himself explained that when he denied being Elijah in the flesh. And Elijah wouldn't have appeared with Moses at the Transfiguration had John literally been Elijah.
He was the finisher of Elijah's forerunning and had his spirit and power on him.
Jesus said John was the Elijah that they were looking for and that was told to come .... and they missed it.
He was the prophet that fulfilled the prophecy concerning one to come before the messiah, to prepare hearts/minds for Him...
NOT the literal Elijah back from heaven, but One who had the same kind of empowering by the Holy Spirit to preach as he did!
Now can there be a literal fulfillment of the real Elijah still to come, perhaps one of the two witnesses in revelation?
NOT the literal Elijah back from heaven, but One who had the same kind of empowering by the Holy Spirit to preach as he did!
Now can there be a literal fulfillment of the real Elijah still to come, perhaps one of the two witnesses in revelation?
thisnumbersdisconnected
New Member
No, John the Baptist was not Elijah!
Matthew 11, NASB
14 "And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come."
The Greek phrase thelo dechomai translated "willing to accept" here is an intellectual idiom meaning to accept a teaching figuratively. John came in the same spirit and calling as Elijah, as Dr. Luke wrote in his gospel, but was not himself a "reincarnation" of Elijah. That goes against biblical teaching.14 "And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come."
Luke 1
17 "It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
17 "It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
I'll stick with what Jesus said:
Matt:17:10 And his disciples asked him, saying , Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come ? 11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come , and restore all things.12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed . Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
salzer mtn
Well-Known Member
So you believe in reincarnation ?
No, but John WAS the "Elijah to come" from Malachi. So I repeat, John was Elijah.:BangHead:
Recognize that when people speak they often use figures of speech.
Jesus also said concerning the bread, "this is my body".
Obviously not to be taken literally (or maybe not so... to some)
Rob
I assume we all believe John wasn't the reincarnate Elijah, he was however the fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi.
thisnumbersdisconnected
New Member
Good, but understand it now only for what He said, but also how He said it. No way did Jesus mean Elijah himself had returned.