Holy Boldness

to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Matt 11:13-15)

Jesus said that both the prophets and the law “ prophesy until John” . The law prophesies and foreshadows a governmental order that will govern the world. That government was distilled and perfected with the appearance of Jesus. That governmental order continues to impact the world far more power fully than almost anyone realizes. Jesus said that John the Baptist was actually “Elijah who is to come.” Every Jewish household was trained to expect Elijah to come and be present at their Passover meal. “ The seat of Elijah” set up at the traditional Passover meal was an open chair left at the head of the table in case Elijah showed up. The appearance of Elijah was understood by Jews to be the sign of the coming of the Kingdom. The last two verses of the Old Testament read, Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the heart of the children to the fathers so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.” (Malachi 4: 5, 6) “But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and you wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. You will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at this birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit awhile yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1: 13-17) Jesus confirmed this word from Gabriel to Zechariah that Elijah had come in the person of John the Baptist. But even as Jesus’ messiahship was hidden to all but those who had eyes to see, so also was John the Baptist’s true significance was hidden from most. That is why Jesus qualified His statement about John being the appearance of Elijah with “…if you are willing to accept it…”. The benefit of John’s ministry was that He pointed to the one who was coming who would change everything. “If you receive a prophet in the name of a The angel Gabriel visited Zacharias, John’s father, and prophesied this Scripture from Malachi over John the Baptist before he was conceived.

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