The Word of God is the
Lord Jesus Christ as the Angel of Covenant.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and
the Lord whom ye seek will suddenly come to his temple, and the Angel of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he cometh, saith Jehovah of hosts." (
Malachi 3:1)
Malachi 3:1 ""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 hosts."
Jesus Christ came to earth the first time as a baby, lived the life of a servant, and died for an offering for the sins of many. When He comes the second time to earth, He will be coming as the "King of Kings", to judge and to make all things right that Satan has corrupted.
Who then is this messenger that God will send "to prepare the way before me". John the Baptist came out of the wilderness preaching, "repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." [Matthew 3:1-2] Then in Matthew 3:3; "For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias [in Isaiah 40:3], saying, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path straight."
John the Baptist will, and did, come in the "spirit of Elijah". "Elijah" means "messenger' in the Hebrew. Though many preachers say today that John the Baptist was the prophet Esaias, or Elijah, he was not. However, the same spirit that gave Elijah his message, gave the words to John the Baptist. That Spirit is God's Holy Spirit.
In Matthew 11:13-15 we read, "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. and if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
Did they believe either John the Baptist, or Jesus? No, They beheaded John, and executed our Lord on that Roman cross. There was a condition set up by the word "if". We see in the Scripture that they refused to hear, and they also totally rejected both John the Baptist [the Messenger], and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Elijah never died, but was taken back to the Father without dying a fleshly death. Just like John the Baptist spoke out in the Spirit of Elijah, in the end times, that same spirit of boldness will return. For the "elect of God" will speak out as the Holy Spirit speaks through them, as Jesus foretold in Mark 13:11.
malachi3