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<title>Was John the Baptist Elijah the Prophet?</title>

It is Christian Doctrine that Elijah the Prophet has to return before the Messiah can come – and therefore John the Baptist was the second coming of Elijah the prophet.

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Main Prooftexts

(A) “The Prophecy” Malachi 4:5-6 (KJV)
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
(B) “Similar Prophecy” Malachi 3:1 (KJV)
3 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.
(C) “Prooftext 1” Matthew 11:13-14 (NET)
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John appeared.
14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, who is to come.
(D) “Prooftext 2” Matthew 17:10-13 (KJV)
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.
13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
(E) Luke 1:16-17 (RSV)
16 And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God,
17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Eli′jah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
(F) “Not Elijah” John 1:19-25 (NET)
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He confessed—he did not deny but confessed—“I am not the Christ!”
21 So they asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not!” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No!”
22 Then they said to him, “Who are you? Tell us so that we can give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John said, “I am the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.)
25 So they asked John, “Why then are you baptizing if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

Secondary Prooftexts

re: john

(G) Luke 1:13-16 (KJV)
13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

to-investiagte: “The Smiting of the Land will happen at Armageddon”

Prophecies of Elijah

(A) “The (Malachi) Prophecy” Malachi 4:5-6 (KJV)
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
(H) “The Ecclesiastes Prophecy” Ecclesiastes 48 (KJV)
4 O Elias, how wast thou honoured in thy wondrous deeds! and who may glory like unto thee!
5 Who didst raise up a dead man from death, and his soul from the place of the dead, by the word of the most High:
6 Who broughtest kings to destruction, and honorable men from their bed:
7 Who heardest the rebuke of the Lord in Sinai, and in Horeb the judgment of vengeance:
8 Who annointedst kings to take revenge, and prophets to succeed after him:
9 Who was taken up in a whirlwind of fire, and in a chariot of fiery horses:
10 Who wast ordained for reproofs in their times, to pacify the wrath of the Lord's judgment, before it brake forth into fury, and to turn the heart of the father unto the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.