Malachi 3:1-2, "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. 2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:

Malachi 4:5, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: Malachi 4:5 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

 

I. The Second Coming of Elijah Promised.

A. Malachi 3:1-2, "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he [is] like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:" --- 4:5, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:"

B. Isaiah 40:3-5, "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see [it] together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken [it]."

II. The Time of The Second Coming of Elijah.

A. Malachi 4:1, "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." --- V. 5, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:"

B. Daniel 12:1, "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation [even] to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."

III. Notice The Expectation of The Second Coming of Elijah.

A. The Scribes were sure that Elijah would come before the Messiah.

B. When Jesus came He was Introduced by His cousin, John The Baptist, and this is what confused the people, as well as the disciples.

1. This messenger Was To Be Elijah.

2. Notice, the Repeated Questions of the scribes concerning the Identity of John.

C. There is always an Empty Chair reserved at the Oxthodox Jewish Passover Feast, to be Ready For Elijah when he comes again.

D. People were Looking For Elijah To Come:

Matthew 16:14, "And they said, Some [say that thou art] John the Baptist: some, Elias (Elijah); and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets."

Mark 6:15, "Others said, That it is Elias (Elijah). And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets."

Luke 9:8, "And of some, that Elias (Elijah) had appeared; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again."

Mark 15:34-36, "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard [it], said, Behold, he calleth Elias (Elijah). And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put [it] on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias (Elijah) will come to take him down."

IV. The Confusion About John The Baptist.

A. The Jews Knew the Forerunner of the Messiah Was To Be Elijah.

Malachi 3:1, "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple," --- 4:5, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:"

Isaiah 40:3, "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD,"

B. John The Baptist Claimed to be the Forerunner of the Messiah and applies Isa. 40:3 to Himself.

John 1:19-23, "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 asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I [am] the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias (Isaiah)."

1. Matthew applies Isa. 40:3 to John the Baptist.

Matthew 3:3, "For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias (Isaiah), saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."

2. Jesus applies Isa. 40:3 to John the Baptist.

Matthew 11:9-10, "But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is [he], of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee."

3. John thought that the Kingdom would be set up then.

Matthew 3:1-2, "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

4. When it was Not, John became Confused.

Matthew 11:2-3, "Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?"

C. John Denies that he is Elijah.

John 1:21, "And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No."

D. However, Jesus says that John The Baptist Is Elijah.

Matthew 17:9-13, "And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. 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. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist."

V. The Explanation of All This Confusion.

A. We must understand the difference between the First and the Second coming of our Lord.

B. All the prophets had foretold the coming of the Messiah To Set Up His Kingdom.

1. They did not know of His Rejection.

2. They knew nothing of the Church Age.

3. As a result, they looked for Elijah to come Just Before the Messiah.

C. But God in His great Foreknowledge knew that Israel Would Reject the King when He came:

1. Therefore, the Kingdom Would Be Postponed.

2. He sent John The Baptist Instead of Elijah.

a. John The Baptist, therefore, was the Elijah of the First Coming.

b. Ellijah will be the John the Baptist of the Second coming.

D. John came and Proclaimed The Kingdom.

Matthew 3:2, "And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

1. This Not The Gospel, but it is the message of the Offer of The Kingdom.

2. If Israel Had Repented And Accepted Christ as their Messiah, He would have Set Up The Kingdom Immediately.

3. However, John 1:11, "He came unto his own, and his own Received Him Not."

E. John The Baptist was the Elijah of the First Coming of Jesus.

1. Luke 1:17, "And he (John) shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

2. Matthew 11:7-14, "And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft [clothing] are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is [he], of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And IF YE WILL RECEIVE [IT], THIS IS ELIAS (ELIJAH), which was for to come."

F. Elijah Will Come Again.

Matthew 17:11, "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias (Elijah) truly shall first come, and restore all things."

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