Let us not forget that the reason
the Jewish people look for Elijah to come before the Messiah is because they
reject that John the Baptist was Elijah.
We, as Christians, know that John
the Baptist was Elijah because Jesus told us he
was:
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. Matthew
17:10-13
For all the
prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is
Elias, which was for to come. Matthew
11:13-14
Well, even though I think the Holy
Bible, the Holy Word of God, in Jesus’ own words, is an unimpeachable witness to
the fact that John the Baptist was Elijah, I have to admit that I’ve had others
on Five Doves in the past that would not “receive it”.
And, even if we accept that Elijah
has already come, I’ve heard others say that he could also be one of the two
witnesses on the Earth for 1260 days mentioned in Revelation.
And I will give
power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and
threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. Revelation
11:3
Does the Bible anywhere say one of
the two witnesses is Elijah? No. So we must accept this for what it is, only
supposition.
Does the Bible anywhere tell us the
identity of the two witnesses? Well, in the next verse in Revelation we are
told:
These are the
two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the
earth. Revelation
11:4
So, the identity of the two
witnesses is the two olive trees and the two candlesticks. Doesn’t sound like
Elijah to me.
The olive trees are clearly symbolic
as are the candlesticks. Olive trees give sustenance while candlesticks
illuminate our way, often burning olive oil. For us to assume that a “witness”
must be a human being is pouring in one meaning when there are other
possibilities. Zechariah 4 describes the two candlesticks and the two olive
trees, so we should let the Bible interpret the
Bible:
And the angel
that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of
his sleep. And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and
behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven
lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top
thereof: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and
the other upon the left side thereof. So I answered and spake to the angel that
talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? Then the angel that talked
with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said,
No, my lord. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying,
Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of
hosts. Zechariah
4:1-6
We were just told
the identity of the two witnesses to the LORD of hosts, weren’t we? Can we
accept it? There were two witnesses to the LORD of hosts mentioned in this
verse. They were the “WORD of the LORD”, and “MY SPIRIT”, the other two
individuals of the GodHead. Who else witnesses of the Father but the Son, the
“WORD of the LORD” and the Holy Spirit, “MY
SPIRIT”?
Then said he,
These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the LORD of the whole
earth. Zechariah
4:14
As Christians, we
know that the WORD of the LORD, became flesh in the form of Jesus of
Nazareth
. We know that
the SPIRIT of the LORD, alighted upon Jesus of
Nazareth
, when He was anointed by Elijah, i.e.
John the Baptist.
And the Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John
1:14
I must admit I
have assumed in the past at many times that the two witnesses were two human
beings. Forgive me LORD for my arrogance. Whether the 1260 days stands for
days in the first half of the tribulation and the 3 ½ days is at the end of the
first half, or whether the 1260 days stands for years leading up to the last
half of the tribulation and the 3 ½ days stands for the years in the last half
of the tribulation, the Great Tribulation, I do not
know.
I am the vine,
ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth
forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
John 15:5
For if thou wert
cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to
nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural
branches, be graffed into their own olive tree? Romans
11:24
His eyes were as
a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written,
that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in
blood: and his name is called The Word of God. Revelation
19:12-13
For our God is a
consuming fire. Hebrews
12:29
That all being
said, can we interpret Malachi to be talking about two different days separated
by around 2,000 years?
Behold, I will
send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of
the LORD: Malachi
4:5
The day of the
death of our Savior, our LORD JESUS CHRIST, at Passover in place of the Passover
lamb was a great day as it paid the price so EVERYONE that called upon our LORD
JESUS CHRIST could inherit Eternal Life in Heaven. It was also a dreadful day
as our LORD JESUS CHRIST, who was completely innocent, had to die a painful and
horrifying death, taking upon himself all the horrible sins of the
world.
So I will leave
this last question unanswered, but Scripture do not seem to require it. We
shall see. Keep in mind that a false Elijah could also be presented to the
Jewish people, possibly at Passover, to make way for the false Messiah being
accepted by them.
For your
prayerful consideration.
Shalom,
Ted
Porter