THE RETURN OF ELIJAH
OF THE GREAT AND DREADFUL
DAY OF THE
LORD
When
we talk about the return of Elijah we are talking about the promise of God in
Malachi Chapter 4 vs 5 & 6 which says “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord”. Vs 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”. This great and dreadful day of the Lord is the
end of this present world.
Jesus
told us about the end of this present world in many passages in the bible such
as Matthew 13 v 40 “as therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire,
so it shall be in the END OF THIS WORLD”.
We
also know that the present world will end by fire according to 2nd
Peter 3 v 7, 10-12 “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same
word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and
perdition of ungodly men”. Vs 10-12 “But the day of the Lord will come as a
thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great
noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the
works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things
shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy
conversation and godliness. Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day
of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat”?.
The
Lord in His infinite mercy promised to send Elijah before this destruction of
the world by fire referred to as the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
Elijah
will preach the gospel of the end to every nation as recorded in Rev. 14 vs 6
& 7. The Lord revealed to us, in Christ the Lord international Ministry, that Elijah is Arch angel Michael
that will PUT ON FLESH as recorded
in Daniel 12 v 1 and be with God’s people at the time of the end and preach the
end of the world message. Daniel 12 one says “The angel wearing linen clothes
said, “At that time THE GREAT ANGEL
MICHAEL who guards your people will APPEAR.
Then there will be a time of troubles, the worst since nations first came into
existence. When that time comes, all the people of your nation whose names are
written in God’s book will be saved”. To appear in this Bible passage means
that Angle Michael will put on flesh and be seem as Elijah.
Those
people who will believe the message of Elijah that is Arch angel Michael and
who will repent and obey God will be collected and taken away from the earth
before the great and dreadful day of the lord. The record of this removal is in
1st Thessalonians chapter 4 vs
16 & 17. It says “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead
in Christ shall rise first”. v 17 “Then
we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord”. We
refer to this disappearance as rapture.
As
Noah was taken away into the ark before the flood and as Lot was taken away
before the destruction of Sodom so also the Lord is sending Elijah to prepare a
people who will be TAKEN AWAY when
the Lord comes before the burning and melting of the elements of the earth
referred to as the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
So
we should wait for Elijah and thank the Lord that has sent him. The Lord
revealed that Elijah is coming with two witnesses of Revelation chapter 11 v 3,
the witnesses & Elijah will wait for Christ to arrive. The bible records
that they will work for 3½ years before Christ returns. Rev 11:3 “ and I will
give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred
and three-scores days, clothed in sackcloth”
This
article has become necessary because some bible scholars are misleading the
people teaching them that Elijah has returned as John the Baptist, and is not
coming again. If people believe this error it may cause the world to reject
God’s gift of Elijah.
If
you study the following passage you will know that Elijah is still coming.
THE
RETURN OF ELIJAH
Our
message to you is the return of Elijah. In this article we shall give a brief
account of the life of Elijah before going in to the main topic which is Return
of Elijah.
The
activities and life of Elijah are recorded in the books of 1st and 2nd Kings in the Holy Bible. He was known for his
power of miracles. He brought the children of Israel back to God, left this
world in a strange way with a chariot of
fire for which he is remembered by every Christian. Our message to you is that
the Lord promised the return of Elijah in Malachi 4 v 5 in the following
words:-
“Behold,
I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful
day of the Lord”.
This
article has become necessary because some Christians reject the return of
Elijah and preach that Elijah returned as John the Baptist and is not coming
again. The message is intended to prove that Elijah came as John the Baptist to
fulfill Malachi 3 v 1:- “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 host”.
We
are saying that Elijah is still coming again to fulfill Malachi 4 vs 5 &
6:- “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great
and dreadful day of the Lord. Vs 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”.
Elijah
Is Visiting The Human Race Three Times
The Lord has given Elijah a program to
visit the human race three times as recorded in the following three Bible
passages:-
(1)
1st and 2nd
Kings.
(2)
Malachi chapter 3 vs
1
(3)
Malachi chapter 4 vs
5 & 6
FIRST
VISIT
The record of his first visit is in
the books of 1st and 2nd Kings, he came with the name
Elijah and left in a chariot of fire for which he is remembered by all
Christians.
His
work in His first visit is summarized in the following bible passage from
SIRACH in Good News Bible with Deuterocanonical books/Apocrypha chapter 48
“Then there arose the fiery prophet Elijah, whose words blazed like a torch. He
brought a famine on the people, and many of them died because of his
persistence. Speaking in the name of the Lord, he kept the rain from coming,
and on three occasions he called down fire. Elijah, your miracles were marvelous!
No one else can boast of such deeds! In the name of the Most High, you brought
a dead man back to life. You brought a famous king down to sickness and death.
At Sinai you heard the Lord rebuke you and DECLARE
his determination to punish his enemies. You anointed a king to be the instrument
of that punishment, and a prophet to take your place. You were taken up to
Heaven in a fiery whirlwind, a chariot drawn by fiery horses. The Scripture
says that you are ready to appear at the designated time, to cool God’s anger
before it breaks out in fury; that you “will bring fathers and children
together again,” and restore the tribes of Israel. Fortunate are those who live
to see you come, as well as those who have already died in love, for we too
shall live.
SECOND
VISIT
We
heard of Elijah again during his second visit when he came as a fore-runner for
the first coming of Christ. In the second visit he came with the name John,
because of his work of baptizing he was known as John the Baptist. Angel
Gabriel who brought the message of the birth of John was the one who gave him
the name John in Luke 1 v 13.
In
Luke 1 v 17, the angel told Zacharias the father of John that John was coming
with the spirit and power of Elijah.
Luke 1 v 17 “And he shall go before him in
the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people
prepared for the Lord.
From Luke 1 v 17 just quoted,
we got to know that John the Baptist came with the spirit of Elijah. This is
the second visit of the spirit of Elijah, but he was not to be called Elijah
but John. In this second visit John was fulfilling Malachi chapter 3 v 1
because the Lord Jesus told the disciples of John that John came to fulfill
Malachi chapter 3 v 1.
Talking of John to John’s
disciples Jesus said the following in Matthew 11 v 10. “For this is he, of whom
it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare
thy way before thee.
Jesus said it is written in
that bible passage of Matthew 11 v 10, if it is written where was it written?
It is written in Malachi 3 vs 1.
So Jesus Quoted Malachi
chapter 3 v 1 and said that John came to fulfill that prophecy. The prophecy
which John came to fulfill did not call John Elijah but a messenger to prepare
the way for messiah (Jesus).
From the above account,
Jesus who said that John was fulfilling Malachi 3 v 1, wanted His hearers to
know that although John had the spirit of Elijah, John was not to be called
Elijah but a messenger according to Malachi 3 v 1 which He Jesus quoted.
If John were to be called
Elijah it will mean that he came to fulfill Malachi chapter 4 vs 5 & 6,
where the bible prophecy used the word Elijah. Jesus did not want that error so
he told them that the Mission of John was not the fulfilling of Malachi 4 vs 5
& 6 but Malachi 3 v 1, because the Jews were expecting Elijah of Malachi 4
v 5.
The Lord told John’s
disciples in Matt. 11 v 14, that there will be another visit of Elijah to
fulfill the prophecy that said that the Lord will send Elijah for the End of
the world according to Malachi 4 vs 5 & 6. So in Matt. Chapter 11 vs 10
& 14, the Lord said that John was fulfilling Malachi 3 v 1, where Elijah
has come with the name John to prepare the way for the Messiah & is not to
be know or called Elijah.
He further said in Matt. 11
v 14, that Elijah is still coming with the name Elijah to fulfill Malachi 4 vs
5 & 6. So the Lord is saying that the spirit of Elijah is visiting three
times but should be known & called Elijah only twice that is in the 1st
and the third which is the last visit.
In the 2nd visit
although he had the spirit of Elijah he is to be known as John, a voice to
prepare the way.
John
Identifies Himself
John himself knew that he
came with the spirit of Elijah but was not to be called Elijah in that second
visit of Elijah that was why he told the Jews that he was not Elijah as
recorded in St. John’s gospel chapter 1 vs 19 – 23.
The leaders of the Jews sent
people to enquire from John about his mission. Here is the record, St. John gospel
chapter 1 vs 19 to 23 “And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent
priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed,
and denied not, but confessed, I am not the Christ. And They asked him, What
then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that Prophet? And he
answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? That we may give an answer
to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of
one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the
prophet Esaias”.
They asked him if he was the
Messiah, he said he wasn’t the Messiah. They asked if he was Elijah and he said
in John Chapter 1 v 21, He was not Elijah. He said he was sent to prepare the
way for the Lord.
He confirmed what Jesus said
that John came to fulfill Malachi 3 v 1, in which he was called a messenger
coming to prepare the way for the Lord.
If John had said he was
Elijah the Jews would have thought that he came to fulfill Malachi 4 vs 5 &
6, and might be thinking that the world was about to end for the Bible in
Malachi 4 v 5 said that Elijah was coming for the end of the world.
The fact that the time of
visit and the work of John of Malachi 3 v 1 are different from that of Elijah
of Malachi 4 vs 5 & 6, are further proofs that the two visits could not be the
same.
John came as a messenger to
prepare the way for the first coming of Messiah who suddenly came to the temple
according to Malachi 3 v 1 while Elijah of Malachi 4 vs 5 was coming at the end
of the world to cause people to repent so as to cool God’s anger lest He
destroys the world.
So Bible scholars who say
that John has fulfilled Malachi chapter 4 vs 5 & 6 and is not coming at the
end of the world are wrong. John the Baptist came with the spirit of Elijah but
was fulfilling Malachi chapter 3 v 1 as shown by Jesus & John himself.
Therefore it is an error to say that the second coming of Elijah’s spirit in
fulfillment of Malachi 3 v1, is the same as the coming of Elijah to fulfill
Malachi 4 v5.
In conclusion the spirit of
Elijah is visiting the human race three times. He is to be known and called
Elijah in the 1st & 3rd visits but to be called John
in the 2nd Visit.
I hope that the Bible
Scholars who say Elijah has come as John and is not coming again, will agree
with me after this article that Elijah is coming again with the name Elijah
according to Malachi chapter 4 vs 5 & 6.
The
Third Visit
The third visit has not
taken place it is a promise of God to be fulfilled at the time of the end and
associated with the events of the end of the world. The bible record of the 3rd
visit, is in Malachi 4 vs 5 & 6. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the
prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord”. Vs 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”. The great and dreadful day of the Lord is
understood by bible scholars as the end of the world according to the book 2nd
Peter 3 vs 10-12 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in
the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein
shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what
manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness.
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens
being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent
heat”?.
From this record Elijah is coming before the
great and dreadful day of the Lord which is before the end of the world.
Elijah
is coming to preach the message of the End of the World
The Lord
revealed to us in Christ the Lord Int’l. Ministry that Elijah is one of the three
angels coming to preach the gospel of the end of the world as recorded in
Revelation 14 vs 6 to 10. “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven,
having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and
to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people. Saying with a loud voice,
fear God , and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and
earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel
saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all
nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel
followed them, saying with a loud voice.
If any man worship
the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand.
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.”….. The first of the
three angel is Elijah.
Elijah
is angel Michael
The Lord further
revealed to us that Elijah is angel Michael who will come in the flesh to be
with God’s people during the time of the Great Tribulation according to Daniel
12 vs 1 & 2 Good news Bible “The angel wearing linen clothes said, “At that
time the great Angel Michael who guards your people will appear. Then there
will be a time of troubles, the worst since nations first came into existence.
When that time comes, all the people of your nation whose names are written in
God’s book will be saved”. “Many of those who have already died will live
again: some will enjoy eternal life, and some will suffer eternal disgrace”.
Chariot
of Fire
The Lord revealed in a song that Elijah is returning with
a chariot of fire.
The Lord told
me that when a message is very important, he gives it to me as a song, so he
has given us many songs to show that
this is the right time to look forward to the return of Elijah. And you know
from the scripture that Elijah’s visit as well as the visit of the two witnesses
of revelation eleven will be 3½ years before Jesus arrives, according to
Revelation 11 vs 3 “and I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall
prophesy a thousand two hundred and three-scores days, clothed in sackcloth”
It’s necessary
that you know this so that you can make plans very well to receive
Christ.
Elijah is
going to be manifested; The Lord is going to manifest him. He told us that
Elijah will be coming back with a chariot of fire and the world will know that
Elijah has returned and where he is returning to. And so my brothers and Sisters
buy and listen to our songs, so you can learn a bit more about the return of
Elijah.
Incidentally,
we have these songs in albums that you can buy. They are available at the City
of God and our branch churches in Onitsha, Asaba, Agbor, Obiaruku, Benin and
many record stores. We have songs that will teach you more about the return of
Elijah.
Time
of Return
The Lord did
not tell us the day of the return but said that Elijah’s return will be either EASTER SEASON or CHRISTMAS SEASON because He the Lord wants to associate Elijah with
Christ his Master.
May the Lord
bless you as you wait for Elijah in Jesus name. Amen.
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