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IN THE SPIRIT AND POWER OF ELIJAH
mong many Christians and Messianic believers, there is an expectation of one who will appear in the power and spirit of Elijah before the second coming of Yeshua the Messiah. Even observant Jews expect
 Eliyahu haNavi 
(Elijah the prophet) to come before
 Maschiach ben David 
(Messiah, son of David), as evidenced by the traditional Passover 
seder 
service, where a cup of wine is symbolically set out for Elijah.These beliefs are based on passages of Scripture from the prophetic book of Malachi:
MALACHI 3:1 "See,
I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me
. Then suddenlythe Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, willcome," says the LORD Almighty." (
 NIV 
)MALACHI 4:5 Behold,
I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadfulday of the LORD
. 6 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of thechildren to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse." (
 NKJV 
)
This same belief and expectation was present during the ministry of Yeshua. To many, the transfiguration of Yeshua on themountain is taken as a foreshadowing of this prophesied coming:
MARK 9:1 And he said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not tastedeath till they see the kingdom of God present with power." 2 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James,and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured beforethem. 3 His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth canwhiten them. 4 And
Elijah
appeared to them with
Moses
, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 Then Peteranswered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: onefor you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" — 6 because he did not know what to say, for they were greatlyafraid. 7 And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This isMy beloved Son. Hear him!" 8 Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, butonly Jesus with themselves. (
 NKJV 
)
After seeing this vision of the glorified trio of Yeshua, Elijah, and Moses transfigured, the disciples asked Messiah about theteaching that Elijah had to come before the Messiah could appear:
MATTHEW 17:9 Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the visionto no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead." 10 And his disciples asked him, saying, "
Why thendo the scribes say that Elijah must come first
?" 11 Jesus answered and said to them, "
Indeed,Elijah is coming first and will restore all things
. 12 But I say to you that
Elijah has come already
,and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about tosuffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of 
John the Baptist
.(
 NKJV 
)
Yeshua's answer to their question revealed the dual aspect of this prophecy. Most of the prophecies recorded in the Bible have
at least
two fulfillments, and this one does also. As Yeshua showed, John the Baptist was the Elijah who was to come beforehis first coming. But there remains yet
another
appearance of Elijah before "the coming of the great and terrible day of 
YHVH 
" (Mal. 4:5).
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Some have been confused regarding this prophecy, because John the Baptist himself denied to the Jewish leadership that hewas the expected Elijah:
JOHN 1:19 This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to askhim, "Who are you?" 20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." 21They asked him, "What then?
Are you Elijah
?" And he said, "
I am not
." "Are you the Prophet?" And heanswered, "No." 22 Then they said to him, "Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those whosent us? What do you say about yourself?" 23 He said, "I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THEWILDERNESS, 'MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,' as Isaiah the prophet said." (
 NASU 
)
In a sense, John's denial was accurate, because he was
not
the final, full realization of this prophecy. But John clearlyidentifies himself with the prophesied messenger who was to come before the Messiah by quoting from Isaiah 40. Let'sexamine this passage in more detail to see if it was
only
for John's time:
ISAIAH 40:1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim toher that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received fromthe LORD's hand double for all her sins. 3
A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the wayfor the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God
. 4 Every valley shall beraised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places aplain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (
 NIV 
)
This prophecy, which John only quoted a portion of, speaks of the coming of a messenger who heralds the imminentredemption of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah in glory. This salvation will only occur after the end-time messenger,who Malachi identifies as Elijah, has "turned the hearts of the children back to the fathers" just "before the coming of the greatand dreadful day of the LORD" (Mal. 4:5-6).John was a forerunner of the end-time Elijah. His role as one who would come in the power and spirit of Elijah was prophesied to his father Zacharias by Gabriel, the angel who foretold of his miraculous birth:
LUKE 1:13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wifeElizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, andmany will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither winenor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he willturn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17
He will also go before Him in the spiritand power of Elijah
, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdomof the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (
 NKJV 
)
John did pave the way for the ministry of the Messiah, and he did turn the hearts of many Jews back to God the Father throughhis preaching of repentance. Clearly, as Gabriel heralded and as Yeshua declared, John
was
the prophesied Elijah. But beforethe end of this age, "Elijah" will once again come to fulfill this prophecy.Many believe that Elijah himself will return from heaven as one of the "two witnesses" who will prophesy during the 42-monthreign of the Antichrist:
REVELATION 11:3 "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand twohundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstandsstanding before the God of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouthand devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6
Thesehave power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy
; and
they havepower over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues
, as often asthey desire. (
 NKJV 
)
As the Scripture above shows, the two witnesses will be able to turn water to blood, strike the earth with plagues, and stop therain from falling for the three and a half years of their commission. These miracles will mirror the exploits accomplished by both Moses and Elijah while they served God on the earth (Exodus 7:19-21; I Kings 17:1; Jam. 5:17). Because of thissimilarity, and because of the transfiguration on the mountain, many believers have theorized that Elijah and Moses will be the
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two witnesses spoken of in Revelation 11.On the surface, this assumption appears valid and scripturally supported. But will the Elijah to come at the end of the ageactually be Elijah the Tishbite from Gilead? If Moses is to be the second witness along with Elijah, why weren't we told toexpect Moses also? Additionally, why didn't an antetype of Moses arise with John the Baptist before the first coming of Messiah?The two witnesses of Revelation 11 aren't Elijah and Moses. The Scriptures make it clear through the use of symbols thatthese two witnesses, also described as the two olive trees and the two lampstands (Rev. 11:4), are the
House of Israel
and the
House of Judah
. The 144,000 sealed from the 12 tribes of Israel (Rev. 7:1-8), which compose the two houses, will serve asGod's witnesses in the end times. For abundant biblical evidence of this identification, see my article "The Two Witnesses Of Revelation."These two witnesses (the 144,000 of the two houses of Israel) will fulfill the role of Elijah prophesied by Malachi (Mal. 3:1;4:5-6) in the end time. To gain further insight into what these witnesses will do, let's examine the period of Elijah's prophecy,as well as the deeds of John the Baptist, who was a type of the end-time Elijah (Matt. 17:12-13). An analysis of the ministriesof the previous Elijahs will help us discover what is going to take place in the near future when the two witnesses carry out theElijah ministry at the end of this age.First, let's examine the initial appearances of Elijah and John the Baptist, and compare them to the appearing of the twowitnesses:
I KINGS 17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD God of Israellives,
before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years
, except at my word."(
 NKJV 
)
Elijah appeared suddenly, as if out of nowhere, to prophesy against the wicked ruler, King Ahab of Israel. John the Baptist alsoappeared abruptly to begin his ministry:
MATTHEW 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying,"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah,saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His pathsstraight.' " (
 NKJV 
)
The two witnesses will also appear suddenly, and they will prophesy against the ruler, the "beast":
REVELATION 11:3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothedin sackcloth." (
 NIV 
)
Just as Elijah said he stood before
YHVH 
, God of Israel, the two witnesses are also said to stand before the Lord:
REVELATION 11:4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands
that stand before the Lord
of theearth. (
 NASU 
)
Through diligent prayer, Elijah was able to restrain the rain for three and a half years, so that no precipitation fell upon the land:
JAMES 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and
itdid not rain on the land for three years and six months
. (
 NKJV 
)
Likewise, the two witnesses will be able to shut off the rain for the same amount of time:
REVELATION 11:6
These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of theirprophecy
; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with allplagues, as often as they desire. (
 NKJV 
)
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