Matthew 3 - John the Baptist, the return of Elijah

In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Matthew 3:1-3.

The prophet Malachi warned Israel that before Messiah came, Elijah would return and prepare a way for His coming. We see in Matthew that John the Baptist came dressed like Elijah, acting and speaking like Elijah, baptizing people for the repentance of sins, basically fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy of the "Voice crying out in the wilderness."

But Jesus later told his disciples that John fulfilled much more than this - he in fact was the promised Elijah who was prophesied to come and warn Israel to repent, get back to the law, and prepare for the Messiah and the new kingdom.

This was the predominant understanding of the church up until the mid 1800s when the futurist or "left behind" view came into vogue. There does not appear to be any biblical evidence that Elijah the Tishbite will return to earth and prepare the way for Messiah. Jesus claimed that Elijah has already come in the person of John the Baptist, and of course, we already know that Messiah came, was crucified, buried but was raised up to glory!

Take a fresh look at Scripture and decide for yourself whether Elijah has indeed come, just as the Lord promised!