YOU MAY MISS
THE PROPHECY UNLESS........
by Keith Hunt
I AM READING ALL THE WORDS CHRIST SPOKE AS RECORDED IN THE FOUR GOSPELS; WITH A RED LETTER BIBLE IT IS EASY TO SEE THEM.
THERE IS A PROPHECY IN THE BIBLE [FIRST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT] THAT HAS A DUAL FULFILMENT. A PROPHECY THAT MOST CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS PEOPLE WILL MISS; ONLY THE ASTUTE WILL FIND IT.
It begins in Matthew 11.
"And as they departed Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went you out to see in the wilderness? A reed shaken in the wind? What went you out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold they that wear soft clothing are in king's houses. What went you out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say unto you, and more than a prophet" (verses 7-9).
John [the baptist] was a very different person than the run of the mill people. He lived out in the wilderness. He was not like the average teacher or preacher of the time. He had a life-style that was different from most people as he preached and taught the way of the Lord. The "establishment" teachers and preachers of the Bible, did not take John seriously.....he was to them....well probably to most synagogue attenders.... "different" - and so it was only some who could recognize John was doing the work of the Lord; actually fulfilling a prophecy.
Jesus went on to say, "For this is he, for whom it is written, Behold I send my messenger before your face, which shall prepare the way for you [meaning prepare the way for Christ]. Truly I say unto you, among them that are born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist.....and from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven is gotten by force, and the forcefully strong will take it by force [you have to be right on the ball - exercising a strong mental attitude; the hungering and thirsting for righteousness that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 5]......and IF YOU WILL RECEIVE IT [so obviously the inference is many will not receive it] THIS is Elijah, who was to come" (verses 10-14).
Now that prophecy is found in Malachi 4:5. And if you are already up on some Bible prophecy phrases, you know the "day of the Lord" comes in the very end times, in fact during the last 42 months of this age [all that is explained to you in my many studies on the outline of Bible prophecy]. So this prophecy of Malachi has and END TIME fulfilment also. But BACK to Jesus in Matthew 11.
Jesus goes on to say that most of the people had preconceived ideas as to HOW John should have been. Jesus put them like .... well we called the tune but you have not danced AS WE want it. Yes John did not come jumping to the people's and religionists call of how they thought it should be.
Jesus said John came neither eating or drinking as they wanted it to be, and so was basically [for sure the religious teachers] called a man with a demon. They also did not like Jesus NOT dancing to their tune either; because he was not like John the Baptist, but ate and drank with "sinners" - they said he was "gluttonous and a winebibber (verses 14-19).
It did not matter what people thought about John the Baptist, that he was "strange" or "different" and not what they had expected with the prophecy of Malachi 4.
The MAJORITY of "religious" people just could not imagine this different kind of person, being the fulfilment of the prophecy of Malachi - they had pre-conceived ideas of what John should look like, where he should live, what he should dress like. And with such strong ideas that was how Malachi 4 would be, in their minds. The prophecy was right under their nose and they walked right by it; no doubt waiting to see the real Old Testament Elijah raised from the dead, or someone fitting THEIR ideas of this person coming to live and act in ways that the teachers and people of the day, had set up in their minds as to how John should live and act.
Because John the Baptist was "different" than what they expected.....they could NOT SEE that HE was the very one to come in the "spirit" and "power" of the Old Testament Elijah.
WE ARE NOT FINISHED WITH THIS PROPHECY!!
We pick up the connection of this whole prophecy in Matthew 17.
JESUS had come down from the mount of transfiguration, where he told those with him, to not tell the VISION to anyone [it was not a reality but a vision they were permitted to see, Moses and Elijah were not really there, it was a vision of the glory in God's Kingdom] before his resurrection. They had seen in vision Elijah, so it prompted the question, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" Ah yes the scribes knew that BEFORE the coming of the Messiah, Elijah was to come. They knew it from Malachi chapter 4!
Jesus answered them, "Elijah truly will come first and RESTORE ALL THINGS! But I say unto you, Elijah has already come, and THEY KNEW HIM NOT! ……."
THEN NOTICE - "Then the disciples UNDERSTOOD that he spoke to them of JOHN THE BAPTIST" (verses 9-13).
AH DID YOU CATCH IT? ARE YOU SEEING WHAT JESUS IS TEACHING?
The "scribes" of that time KNEW the prophecy of Malachi 4…… before the Messiah comes, Elijah will come!
Jesus added something to the Old Testament prophecy: THIS ELIJAH SHALL RESTORE ALL THINGS!
The prophecy in Malachi is for the very end time, before the DAY OF THE LORD an Elijah will come!
And Jesus made it plain that an Elijah HAD ALREADY COME!
It was John the baptist who was THE ELIJAH TO COME BEFORE the Messiah's FIRST COMING!
This is proof that prophecy CAN HAVE a DUAL fulfilment!
The "original" Elijah was NOT brought out of the grave, nor did he come from heaven as many believe he is in heaven today [which just is not true at all - see the study "Death - What Then?" on this website.
The prophecy in Malachi is obviously DUAL in nature - there was one who came in the spirit and power of Elijah BEFORE Jesus the Messiah came the first time - it was JOHN the baptist!
There will come another ELIJAH - in the spirit and power of Elijah - BEFORE Jesus the Messiah COMES AGAIN!
NOTE THIS ALSO - there is not one word in the Gospels or New Testament, that says John DID MIRACLES! He taught; he preached - but nothing says he did MIRACLES!
JOHN TAUGHT THE TRUTHS OF GOD; John taught real REPENTANCE, THE TRUE WAY TO SALVATION THROUGH THE MESSIAH.
Jesus also added something else: The Elijah to come in the SECOND fulfilment of Malachi 4 would RESTORE ALL THINGS!
HENCE A RESTORING WOULD BE NECESSARY! Things by the time of the end would NEED to be restored. The Christianity of the world and in the true Church of God, would, before the day of the Lord, NEED TO BE RESTORED!
LOOK AT ALL THE FORMS AND SHAPES OF CHRISTIANITY TODAY; LOOK AT THE DIFFERENCES IN 7TH DAY SABBATH CHURCHES TODAY; LOOK AT THE DIFFERENCE IN ALL THE 7TH DAY SABBATH AND FEASTS OF THE LORD GROUPS, TODAY. YOU SHOULD GET THE DRIFT, IF YOU ARE ASTUTE.
John the baptist was "different" - he had a life-style that was WITHIN the way of the Lord, but he was different. Because he was different MANY - especially the "theology teachers" - just could NOT SEE him for what the Eternal God was doing through him. No doubt part of that was due to as Jesus once said, "A prophet is not without honour, save in his own household." It is the attitude of mind that, "Well we have known this guy, we have seen him grow into a man, we know he is a sinner; now we see he is also different in certain ways from the average person; he just cannot be anything God is using."
SO IT WAS THEN IN JESUS' DAY, SO IT WILL BE AGAIN BEFORE THE DAY OF THE LORD.
The prophecy does not say HOW LONG before the day of the Lord this prophecy of Malachi will be fulfilled.
And that's where MANY will fall and fail to see the picture.
God seldom does things the way humans want it done, or think how it should be done. Many will think God will send another that will dress kinda "hippy style" and live outside in the wild, have a long beard, and well….. look like another John the baptist. So they will not see, they will miss it completely!
Many may think the end time Elijah will walk around with some placard saying, "REPENT YE, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!" And with his strange dress and long beard and hair catch the attention of the world TV news people, to be on the world's broad-casting. Many may think he will walk into the United Nations, and preach before them. Many may think he just must to go to the Jewish State of Israel, and preach in that land.
Many in the very Sabbath observing Churches of God, with all their theology differences, will not be astute enough to see this end time prophecy before them. They will be like the disciples of Christ, they will not see the prophecy fulfilled, UNTIL Jesus tells them. They will be so ASLEEP, so UN-ASTUTE, so BRAIN-DEAD, or so much like the church at LAODICEA in Revelation 3, thinking they are just fine and dandy, so in tune with God, that they need for nothing. They will think they have it all, and certainly don't need any eye-slav to really see spiritually, that they are blind and naked. They will be so lukewarm they will MISS this end time prophecy.
THE VAST VAST MAJORITY OF ROMAN CATHOLICS THINK THEY WILL "GET TO HEAVEN"--- THEY CAN NOT SEE THERE IS ANYTHING TO RESTORE.
THE VAST VASY MAJORITY OF PROTESTANTS BELIEVE THEY ARE FINE IN THEIR THEOLOGY, AND WILL "GET TO HEAVEN"--- THEY DO NOT SEE THERE IS ANYTHING TO RESTORE.
THE VAST VAST MAJORITY OF CHRISTIANS DO NOT KNOW THIS PROPHECY EVEN EXISTS. THEY READ RIGHT OVER IT, IF THEY READ THE GOSPELS AT ALL. THEY SURE AIN'T TAUGHT IT FROM THEIR MINISTERS OR PRIESTS. THEY DO NOT SEE THERE IS ANYTHING TO RESTORE. THEY JUST BELIEVE THEIR BRAND OF THEOLOGY IS FINE, AND GOD ACCEPTS ALL THE DIFFERENT SHADES OF CHRISTIANITY.
JESUS OBVIOUSLY DID NOT, AND TAUGHT A RESTORING WOULD COME BEFORE HE RETURNS.
YOU NEED TO BE VERY ASTUTE; YOU NEED TO READ YOUR BIBLE FROM COVER TO COVER; YOU NEED TO STUDY TO SHOW YOURSELF APPROVED OF GOD, A WORKMAN THAT NEEDS NOT BE ASHAMED, RIGHTLY PUTTING TOGETHER THE WORD OF THE LORD.
DO NOT LET THE PROPHECY OF MALACHI 4 PASS YOU BY, DON'T AS THEY SAY "MISS THE BOAT!" BE WILLING TO THINK "DOES MY BRAND OF THEOLOGY NEED TO BE 'RESTORED'? - I WILL CHECK AND INVESTIGATE MY THEOLOGY AND SEE IF IT LINES UP WITH GOD'S WORD, THE HOLY BIBLE."
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