Malachi 4:5-6 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. (6) And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
The above passage of scripture prophesied about two separate events. For in this passage, God promised Israel that He would send Elijah the prophet to that nation, before the coming of the Lord. God fulfilled the first part of that prophecy, when our Lord came to the earth the first time. For we know that on that occasion, God sent His prophet John in the spirit of Elijah. And we know that John was sent by God to prepare the nation of Israel for their coming Messiah. On that occasion, John was not sent to the world, he was only sent to the children of Israel. We know that our Lord is coming back to the earth again. And so, God will fulfil the second part of that prophecy when our Lord comes to the earth the second time. When God sends His prophet this time, his mandate will remain the same as the first time. He will be sent by God to the nation of Israel, to prepare them for their coming Messiah. And so, we see that on the second occasion, as on the first, the Lord’s prophet will not be sent to the world, he will only be sent to the children of Israel. This time however, God will send the prophet Elijah himself and not another prophet in the spirit of Elijah.
Michael E.B. Maher
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