2 Kings 2:14 – Then he took the cloak of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water, saying, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” And when he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.
Yesterday, we read a prophecy from Malachi 4:5-6 which says, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
This is a doubly fulfilling prophecy as Jesus already came to earth once and He will return again.
In Jesus’ first coming, this prophecy was fulfilled by John the Baptizer who prepared the way for Jesus’ first coming. Numerous Scriptures reveal this fact (Matthew 11:11–15, 17:10–13; Mark 6:14–16; Luke 1:16–17; John 1:19–23). The key is that John the Baptizer came, “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17), as he had the same Holy Spirit anointing as was given to Elisha.
When asked, “‘Are you Elijah?’ He [John] said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No.’” (John 1:21) The similarities between Elijah and John the Baptizer are many.
One, both men have a similar prophetic gifting and ministry (Luke 1:17). Two, both men dressed in eccentric mountain man ways (2 Kings 1:8; Matthew 3:4). Three, they both lived in the wilderness (Matthew 3:1; 1 Kings 17:1, 19:4). Four, both men preached repentance of sin. Five, both men had battles with evil kings and queens (1 Kings 18:17; Matthew 14:3).
In Jesus’ Second Coming, the prophecy of Malachi will be completed and fulfilled by Elijah. Prophesying the time leading up to Jesus’ Second Coming, Revelation 11:3,6-13 says, “‘…I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.’ …They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying [possibly Elijah], and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire [possibly Moses, or Enoch along with Elijah never died]. And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street…after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here!’ And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell…and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.”
It is common among Bible scholars to identify one of these witnesses as Elijah. The prophecy is that of a prophet who would shut the sky and prevent rain from falling which corresponds exactly with Elijah. It makes sense that Elijah, one of God’s toughest prophetic soldiers, would be spared death and sent back for the last battle on earth before the Second Coming of Jesus.
We are told that both prophetic witnesses will be killed and will rise from death to vindicate their loyalty to the Lord. The second prophetic witness is believed by some to be either Enoch or Moses. Since Enoch did not die (Genesis 5:14), these are the only two men who escaped death, which leads some to conclude that their death would come in the last days. Others believe that the second witness is Moses because the ability to turn the waters to blood echoes the Exodus 7:14-25 account where Moses struck his staff in the Nile, and it turned to blood.
One day, we will know for sure.
Who do you think the two witnesses are referenced in Revelation 11?
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