Who is the End-Time Elijah?
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by Doug Ward |
The Old Testament in our Christian Bibles concludes with a famous
prophecy. In Malachi 4:5-6, God proclaims,
``Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 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'' (KJV).
This prophecy has great import for Christians. The Gospels
make clear that Mal. 4:5-6, along with the related predictions in Mal. 3:1 and Isa. 40:3-5, found fulfillment in John the Baptist, who had
a special mission to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah (Luke
1:13-17; 3:1-18). Jesus Himself affirmed that John played such a role (Matt.
The Scriptures also imply, however, that the fulfillment of Malachi's
prophecy is not yet complete. Indeed, Jesus stated that a future Elijah ``truly
shall first come, and restore all things'' (Matt.
These considerations raise some interesting questions: How can we recognize an end-time Elijah? In general, what constitutes the fulfillment of a prophecy like the one in Malachi 4:5-6? What implications does this prophecy have for us today? In the present article, I will explore these questions and propose some possible answers.
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Building Models |
Scholars in every academic discipline develop models to
summarize the patterns that they discover in the course of their
research. A model, in this sense, is a simple description of some
phenomenon that is intended to accurately capture its essential features.
After a model is formulated, it is checked against available data and, if
necessary, modified or replaced as more information becomes available.
For example,
In the sciences, models are generally based on numerical data obtained from experiments. Theological models, on the other hand, rely on the evidence of God's revelation to mankind contained in the scriptures, as well as on the ways that God's people have understood those scriptures through the centuries. In particular, an effective model of prophetic fulfillment must be consistent with what we know about how God has worked in history to carry out His promises and His plan. If such a model does a good job of explaining prophecies whose fulfillment is a matter of fairly general agreement, then we might be able to apply the model to draw some reasonable conclusions about more controversial prophecies.
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Discrete Duality or Continuous Unity? |
Malachi 4:5-6 is one of a number of Biblical prophecies whose
fulfillment seems to involve two events separated by some long interval of
time: John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for Christ's first coming,
and the arrival of another prophet ``in the spirit and power of Elijah"
will precede the Day of the Lord at His second coming. Some other familiar
examples are Isa. 9:6-7, which Christians apply to
the birth of the Messiah and to His return to rule the whole world in peace; Isa. 7:14, which refers to a son of Isaiah and also points
forward to the Virgin Birth of Messiah; and Isa.
61:1-3, which describes elements of Jesus' earthly ministry (see Luke 4:16-21)
along with things He will accomplish when He returns. These prophecies might be
pictured by a timeline marked with two distinct dots to designate the two times
of their fulfillment. Such a timeline represents what could be called the duality
model of prophetic fulfillment.
Notice that all of the prophecies mentioned above relate to the Promise of the Messiah and the unfolding of God's plan of salvation. Old Testament scholar Walter C. Kaiser, building on the previous work of nineteenth-century theologian Willis J. Beecher [1], has championed an alternative model for the fulfillment of prophecies of this sort (see e.g. [2, chapter 4], [3]). Pointing out that God has worked continually throughout history to carry out His purpose, Kaiser forcefully argues that the fulfillment of these prophecies can best be described as a continual process that often extends from the times of the prophets themselves through Christ's first coming and onward to the time of His return. This model, which I will call here the continuum model, can be pictured by drawing a line that connects the dots of the duality model. The continuum model emphasizes the essential unity of God's plan for mankind by representing the main fulfillments of a particular prophecy as part of a single process rather than as two or more disconnected events.
There is a great deal of scriptural evidence in favor of this model.
Consider first the concept of the Day of the Lord, which is mentioned often in
biblical prophecy. Some prophecies about the Day of the Lord refer to a great
time of judgment that has not yet occurred, while in other passages the
prophets say that the Day of the Lord is near at hand in their own times. In
the ninth century B.C., Joel (Joel
For example, the prophet Joel graphically describes a locust plague that
constitutes the Day of the Lord in his time (Joel 1-2). He issues a call for
repentance (
The
It is interesting to take another look at Isa.
9:6-7, one of the prophecies mentioned earlier, in light of this broad
definition of the
A third concept that is well-represented by a continuum model is the idea of
antichrist. Near the end of the first century A.D., the apostle John mentioned
that there were already ``many antichrists'' and that more would come in the
future (I John
The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which give victory over
sin and death, constitute a major fulfillment of this prophecy. But leading up
to those great events, servants of God throughout history have prevailed over
the opposition of servants of Satan. Think of Moses and Pharaoh, David and
Goliath, and Elijah and Jezebel, for example. In a sense, we participate in
this process today in our own struggles against sin, as we look forward to its
final stage as described in Rev. 19-22. The apostle Paul made reference to
future fulfillment of Gen. 3:15 when he wrote in Romans
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Back to Elijah |
Now let us return to our starting point, the prophecy of Malachi 4:5-6. We have
already seen that this prophecy applies to John the Baptist, and that a future
Elijah is expected before the final Day of the Lord. Perhaps this Elijah will
be one of the ``two witnesses'' of Rev. 11, since these two prophets will have
an Elijah-like power to prevent rainfall (Rev. 11:6).
Could these two fulfillments of the prophecy be part of a single larger process? There are strong arguments in favor of such an interpretation. First, the Day of the Lord can be viewed as the culmination of a series of divine interventions in human affairs, as was mentioned above. Furthermore, Elijah himself was the first in a continuing line of prophets commissioned to call God's people to return to their Father in the midst of a corrupt age. Elijah's ``spirit and power'' were passed on to his successor Elisha (2 Kings 2:9-15), and more prophets followed after them. John the Baptist, who gave a forceful call to repent and follow the coming Messiah (Luke 3:1-18), fit right into this line of prophets. It seems reasonable, then, to view as part of the overall work of Elijah any effort that leads people toward a closer relationship with the God of Israel. When people of all ages draw closer to God, the hearts of the ``fathers'' and the ``children'' are thereby united as well.
We do not know who the final Elijah will be, or when that individual will arrive on the scene, but there is much to be done in the meantime. In our families, congregations, and communities, we can participate in the work of Elijah by directing each other toward God and promoting and restoring His ways.
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References: |
1. Willis J. Beecher, The Prophets and the Promise, T.Y. Crowell
& Co.,
2. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., The Uses of the Old Testament in the New, Moody Press, Chicago, 1985.
3. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., The
Messiah in the Old Testament
, Zondervan,
4. Brad Young, Paul
the Jewish Theologian, Hendrickson Publishers,
Footnotes:
1 Such an
understanding of the
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On 29 Jan 2001, 18:00. 
