The Elijah Factor
(Mark 9:9-13, Malachi 4:5-6)
1. The world has been going through a chaotic time. Islamic terrorists have been cruelly killing anyone unlike them.
2. Scotland almost voted for independence but decided to stay with the UK.
3. Vladamir Putin talks about starting World War III; Gay Marriage bans are breaking down in the courts.
4. Franklin Graham has publically wondered whether we are near the end times.
5. One individual associated with the end times is the prophet Elijah. You might recall that Elijah was taken up to heaven alive in a chariot of fire. Malachi predicted that he will return near the end times and have a ministry of repentance.
6. So when Peter, James, and John witnessed the transfiguration with Elijah and Moses present for a very short time, they were confused. Elijah appeared, but did not stay to have a ministry of reconciliation. And his is where we pick up.
7. Today’s sermon is not technically an expository sermon, as I typically preach; a hybrid; it deals with a text like an expository sermon might, but it also digresses
Main Idea: The substitution of John for Elijah teaches us much about God’s ways and his dealings with mankind.
I. God Works in PATTERNS (Mark 9:9-13)
A. Why the SECRECY?
• people wanted crown before the cross, the Millennium not crucifixion
• How things might have happened, in theory, had people been receptive
• Disciples confused about taking things more or less literally
B. God Often Works in Repeated PATTERNS
• Temple destroyed twice, same day of the year (9th of Av) 586 BC, 70 AD
• Number 40: rains 40 days, Jesus tempted 40 days; children of Israel sentence of 40 years to wander, God gives Israel 40 to decide
• Elijah multiplies loaves and fishes, Jesus multiplies loaves and fishes.
C. Usually a LESS literal fulfillment first, then the MORE literal
Because Something is Fulfilled Less Literally Does Not Mean It Will Not Also Be Fulfilled more Literally
1. Virgin Birth of Isaiah 7
2. Jesus Kingdom
3. Redemption: souls now, bodies later
4. Joy of the Lord at times now, full joy forever in heaven
II. God Foreknows All, and Makes Appropriate SUBSTITUTIONS (Malachi 4:5-6)
“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.” [Malachi 4:5-6]
A. Subject matter: END time fulfillment
• “Elijah comes first,” not “Elijah will come first.” A pattern, a principle.
• John the Baptist Less-literal fulfillment, but Elijah Will Literally Fulfill It
• Even today, the Jewish people leave an empty seat / open door at the Passover table in case Elijah shows up…
1. Elijah, not JOHN, at the Transfiguration
2. JOHN himself denied being Elijah
John 1:21, “And they asked him [John], ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the Prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No.’”
B. Luke HARMONIZES Jesus’ words and John’s
1. John only SPIRITUALLY fulfills this prophecy
Luke 1:16-17 (Angel Gabriel speaking to Zechariah about the coming birth of his son, John), “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
2. One of the two WITNESSES in Revelation 7 will probably be Elijah
• Probably along with Enoch
• Miracles associated with Elijah
• Have to be vulnerable to death
Revelation 11:3-12, “And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
“These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, 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. 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 of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.
“But 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.”
C. Application: prayer, God’s will, and SUBSTITUTE answers
1. Perhaps you dated someone, and you were sure this was God’s person
2. That person broke it off and later realized you dodge a bullet
3. Or perhaps you have an ailment, prayer did not fix, went to doctor, and test showed a more serious ailment you would not have discovered…
4. This is why the HS intercedes for us; our requests are reasonable, short term
God knew the Jews were going to reject Jesus, so he sent John instead of Elijah; when we pray, he may send a substitute answer because he knows what is ahead.
III. God’s Acceptance Comes at Man’s REJECTION
A. It is predicted that the Messiah would SUFFER rejection and death
B. John also had to be REJECTED
Where in OT does it state this? Nowhere I can find; some say it was prophesied as a type; Jezebel vowed to persecute Elijah, Jeremiah was rejected and persecuted, etc. Daniel 7:21 says that the saints would be persecuted by the little horn (antichrist) before Messiah comes to set up his Kingdom; less literal during Jesus 1st coming
C. This principle extends to BELIEVERS
Matthew 10:16-18, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.”
I Peter 4:4, “With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you…”
D. We should seek to be viewed FAVORABLY, but within limits
