In
the Bible we read of the test that the Jews applied to Jesus (pbuh) in
order to ascertain his truthfulness. The Jews had a prophecy that required
Elias to come before Jesus (pbuh): "Elias verily cometh first" (Mark 9:12).
They had not seen Elias yet so there was still doubt as to Jesus (PBUH)
being the Messiah. Jesus, however, responded to them that Elias had already
come but that they did not recognize him.
In Matthew
17:12-13 we read: "But I say unto you, That Elias is come already,
and they knew him not...Then the disciples understood that he spake unto
them of John the Baptist".
John, however
DENIES the claims of Jesus (pbuh). This is one of the Christian's "dark
sayings of Jesus" that their scholars have yet to reconcile and we will
leave this matter for them to work out among themselves.
In John
1:19-21 we read "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".
We notice
that there are three distinct prophecies here:
Elias,
Messiah
That
prophet.
The Jews were
not waiting for two prophecies, but three.
This can be
further clarified by reading John 1:25:
"And they asked
him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be:
a) not the
Christ,
b) nor
Elias,
c) neither
that Prophet?"
"that prophet"
could not be Jesus (pbuh), because that would make the third question in
both verses redundant; nor can we believe that "that prophet" is the holy
ghost, did John look like a ghost? Further, we must remember that "That
prophet" can not apply to any prophet before the time of Jesus (pbuh) because
at the time of Jesus (pbuh) the Jews were still waiting for all three.
Notice how
when we let the Bible speak for itself, without forcing the holy spirit
or other supernatural meanings on it in the commentary, or forcing three
questions to be only two, how clear these verses become.
It is quite
obvious from the above verses that the followers of Jesus (pbuh) recognized
that the Jews were waiting for three prophesies to be fulfilled.
The Bible,
to one degree or another, confirms that both the first and second prophesies
were fulfilled. However, it provides no logical explanation for the third
prophesy.
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