Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctive first-century Jewish point of view. This is Liz Aiello. Today, our Bible teacher is Dr. Gary Hedrick and his subject is the second coming of Elijah. I'll be back a little later with information about a special offer, so have your pencil and paper ready. And now, with today's installment, here's Gary.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: Thank you and we welcome all of our listening friends to this edition of the program. I'm Gary Hedrick and we're in a series of prophetic studies dealing with the second coming of Elijah. Our text from the Old Testament is taken from Malachi chapter 4, verses 5 and 6, where the Lord said, "Behold, I will send 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."

We've been discussing the fact that what Malachi seems to be describing in these two verses is a second coming of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. When we ran out of time on the last broadcast, we had been looking at Revelation chapter 11, which we found gives us some very important clues as to when and how and why, after almost 3,000 years, the prophet Elijah will be sent forth by God to prophesy once again.

Here's what it says. Revelation chapter 11, verse 3, "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days," that is 1,260 days, which is equivalent to three and a half years on the Jewish calendar because the Jews use a lunar calendar which consists of 360 days. So he says, "they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." And then in verse 7, we read, "And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them."

Let's see if we can determine who these two witnesses are. Obviously, I've already made it known that I believe one of those witnesses will be Elijah, the Old Testament prophet. I base that view simply upon a literal interpretation of this verse in Malachi chapter 4 where the Lord says, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." Up until recently, very few Christian scholars or commentators would dare to say that Malachi's prophecy was a literal reference to a second coming of Elijah.

But it's interesting that the Jewish people and the rabbis, particularly the Orthodox rabbis, as a matter of long-standing tradition, have interpreted this passage literally. In fact, in the Jewish Passover celebration, they drink four cups of wine or grape juice during the course of the Seder, which is the Passover meal. According to Jewish tradition, the four cups represent God's fourfold promise of redemption in Exodus chapter 6. They drink from those first four cups, but then there's a fifth cup, which they pour but no one drinks.

Do you know what they call it? Elijah's cup. And they have an empty chair at the table too, called Elijah's chair. Even to this day, there's a place in the Passover ritual where they go to the door and fling it wide open so that Elijah might come in and bring at last the long-awaited news that Messiah has come. The ancient Orthodox Jewish rabbis taught that Elijah would come three days before the advent of the Messiah. On the first day, they said, he would stand on the mountains of Israel, lamenting the desolation of the land.

Then, according to the Jewish tradition, in a voice that would be heard from one end of the world to the other, he would cry, "Peace cometh to the world, peace cometh to the world." And on the second day, Elijah would cry, "Good cometh to the world, good cometh to the world." And on the third day, he would cry, "Yeshua," and that's the Hebrew word for salvation. The English word is Jesus. So on the third day, Elijah would cry, "Yeshua cometh to the world, Yeshua cometh to the world."

Then according to the tradition, Yeshua would come and establish his worldwide kingdom known to the Jews as the Messianic Age, or what we Christians call the millennium. So at the Passover supper, the fifth cup of wine is poured symbolically for the prophet Elijah. What we're saying here today about the second coming of Elijah may seem like a strange doctrine to Gentile believers, but the Orthodox Jews know exactly what I'm talking about. Up until recently, most Christian scholars have tried to explain away Malachi chapter 4, verse 5 by connecting it with chapter 3, verse 1.

Let me read it for you. Malachi chapter 3, verse 1 says, "Behold, I will send my messenger and he will 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." Here's what they do. They say that since the prophet of chapter 4 is actually the messenger of chapter 3, and since Matthew in the New Testament says that the messenger of Malachi chapter 3 was John the Baptist, then that must mean that the prophet of Malachi chapter 4 is really John the Baptist.

They argue that John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah, and that's why Elijah's name is used here in Malachi chapter 4. Well, they've got it all tied up in a neat little package, but here's where they make their mistake. When they quote Matthew 17:12, where Jesus said that Elijah had already come, they should quote it within the context of the verse before it, verse 11, where the Lord said, "Elijah truly shall first come and restore all things." Some of the newer commentaries are starting to come around to a more biblical position on this.

The Bible knowledge commentary, compiled by the faculty of Dallas Seminary, has an interesting note here. I brought it into the studio so I could read from page 1588 of the Old Testament volume where it says: "After Elijah appeared with Christ in his transfiguration, the disciples asked about Elijah's future coming. Jesus, speaking apparently after John's death, affirmed that Elijah comes and will restore all things (Matthew 17:11). This future expectation indicates that Malachi chapter 4, verses 5 and 6 were not fulfilled in the ministry of John. Israel did not accept John the Baptist as the Elijah-like restorer of all things, so another Elijah-like forerunner is yet to come before the day of the Lord."

That's from the Bible knowledge commentary edited by Doctors Walvoord and Zuck. The significance of this 11th verse in Matthew chapter 17 is that after John the Baptist has been beheaded and removed from the scene, Jesus Christ uses a future tense verb to confirm that the prophet Elijah truly shall first come and restore all things. He's saying this is yet in the future. Although he doesn't say precisely when it will take place, he does say that it will take place. Then he says in Matthew 17:12, "But I say unto you that Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed," or whatsoever they wanted. "Likewise shall also the son of man suffer of them."

He was saying, yes, Elijah the prophet will come someday to restore all things, just as Malachi predicted. But in the meantime, another Elijah, John the Baptist, has already come and you saw what they did to him. They killed him and they're going to kill me too. That's what the Lord was saying. Probably the most serious problem with the view that John the Baptist fulfilled the Elijah prophecies, rather than looking forward to a second coming of Elijah himself, is John's own testimony.

I call your attention to John chapter 1, where the Levites and the priests went out into the wilderness to meet John the Baptist. John 1:21 says, "And they asked him," that is they asked John the Baptist, "what then? Art thou Elijah?" And here's his answer, "And he saith, I am not." John the Baptist was an Orthodox Jew, my friend. He was an observant Jew. In fact, he was a Nazirite. He knew the scriptures inside out and backwards and forwards. He knew all about Malachi's prophecy of the second coming of Elijah.

When they asked John the Baptist point-blank, "Did you come to fulfill Malachi chapter 4, verse 5? Are you Elijah?" John's response was, "I am not." He couldn't have made it any clearer than that. Was John the Baptist like Elijah? Yes. Was John the Baptist an antitype of Elijah? Of course he was. Did John the Baptist minister in the spirit and power of Elijah? Yes, absolutely he did. But was John the Baptist the fulfillment of Elijah's second coming prophesied in Malachi chapter 4? The answer is no, he was not. Elijah is yet to come.

That, my friend, is why I believe the most sensible way to interpret Malachi chapter 4, as well as Revelation chapter 11, and indeed most of the rest of the scriptures as well, is to interpret them literally. We're out of time for today, so we'll have to continue this on the next broadcast. I'll see you then. Bye-bye.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. If you enjoyed today's presentation on the second coming of Elijah by Gary Hedrick, you'll be glad to know we've placed the entire series on one convenient CD. It's available for a gift of just $6 or more to the ministry of Messianic Perspectives. Just ask for CD number GT4, entitled "The Second Coming of Elijah." Just visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order.

If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, P.O. Box 345, San Antonio, Texas, 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line. The number is 1-800-926-5397. Let me remind you that when you order the materials we offer here on the program, you're not only enabling us to remain here on your station, but you're also helping us take the good news of Yeshua HaMashiach to Jewish people and Gentiles all over the world.

Even if you're one of our regular listeners, you still may not know that we're much more than just a radio program. Messianic Perspectives is sponsored by CJF Ministries, one of the largest missionary organizations in the world. We currently have missionary families serving the Lord all over the world, including the United States, Canada, South America, England, France, and of course, Israel. So when you write, consider helping us with a gift above the suggested amount. We'd be very grateful.

And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. This is Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you, as Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series on the second coming of Elijah, right here on Messianic Perspectives.