Is Elijah and John the Baptist the same person?

Question

That's what these verses seem to say.
Matthew 17:11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed, Likewise shall the Son of man suffer of them. 13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

Answer 1

When John the Baptist was asked pointedly, "Are you Elijah?", his answer was "I am not" (John 1:21)
However before John's birth, the angel announced
"It is he who will go before Him (the Lord) in the spirit and power of Elijah..." (Luke 1:17)
Therefore John Baptist was Elijah in a figure, but not in person. The last verse of the prophet Malachi says:
"Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.
"He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse." (Malachi 4:5-6)
This however refers to Jesus' Second Coming in glory, when He comes to establish His Kingdom on the earth. Just as Elijah will precede Christ's second coming, John Baptist preceded and announced His First Coming.
Many Bible commentators believe Elijah will be one of the 2 witnesses mentioned in Revelation chapter 11, before Jesus returns to earth.

Answer 2

Yes that's right.
In the last chapter of the Old Testament in Malachy is written:
Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
Mal 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

And:
Mat 17:10 So the disciples asked him, "Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"
Mat 17:11 He answered them, "Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things.
Mat 17:12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, yet people did not recognize him and treated him just as they pleased. In the same way, the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands."
Mat 17:13 Then the disciples understood that he had been speaking to them about John the Baptist.

Therefore Lukas talked about the John the Baptist and then about Jesus.

But read in John the thing is different:
Joh 1:19 This was John's testimony when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
Joh 1:20 He spoke openly and did not deny it, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."
Joh 1:21 So they asked him, "Well then, are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No."

Answer 3

Elijah was protected by God from His enemies while John the Baptist was surprising allowed to be beheaded. Was it the start of the sign that those who worked for Christ will die a horrible death the same way Jesus was?
I am just surprised at the comparison. those who served God of the Old Testament, died peacefully except for some who made mistakes. But those who were heroes of the New Testament have mostly died from persecutions and those who followed the Book were almost all were victims of being burned at the stakes if not crucified or fed to the lions.

Answer 4

Jesus was reiterating the prophecy that the angel had given Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist concerning the child who would be born approximately 9 months later to Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias. John came in the spirit of Elias who is Isaiah, the prophet who lived 700 years before John and Jesus were born and who prophecied much about the coming of our redeemer.

Answer 5

John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy of Elijah returning (as a type or picture), which is found in Malachi 4:5-6. Your quote from Matthew confirms this.

Answer 6

the bible is quite clear that John the Baptist is given this designation because he came in the “spirit and power of Elijah” – not because he was Elijah in a literal sense.

Elijah himself appears with Moses at Jesus’ transfiguration after John the Baptist’s death. This would not have happened if Elijah had changed his identity

In the first chapter of John’s (the Apostle) Gospel, John the Baptist identifies himself as the messenger of Isaiah 40:3, not as Elijah.. John the Baptist even goes so far as to specifically deny that he was Elijah in John 1:19-23

Answer 7

No. This is address directly in John 1:21-23 "And they said to him, What then? Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not. Are you the prophet? And his answer was, I am not. So they said to him, Who are you then? We have to give some answer to those who sent us. What have you to say about yourself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the waste land, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet." The prophecies that have caused this wrong belief to arise is contained in Malachi 3 & 4. In Malachi 3:1 God promises: "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty." This is clearly John the Baptist. In chapter 4 God promises: "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." John the Baptist is promised in chapter 3. John the Baptist "makes straight the way" for Jesus. Elijah is promised in chapter 4. Elijah will come before the final day of judgment at Armageddon.

Answer 8

no, they are two different people. elijah was in the old testament and john the baptist was in the new. what this verse is talking about the fact that when elijah's walked the earth, people did not heed his words, just like people ignored john the baptist when he was alive. Jesus is comparing the two.

Answer 9

There are two comings of Messiah. Elijah will be the precursor to Messiah at His second coming (see Revelation) however, John the Baptist was the predecessor for His first coming. In a way, He was a "type" of Elijah in the coming tribulation. No, he was not Elijah (though we do see him in Matthew 17:3), but he was the "model" or "type" of Elijah when he comes to prepare the way in the tribulation period.

The prophetic passage in Malachi 3:1 may indeed have two fulfillments...

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.

However, the coming of Elijah has to do with the tribulation period. We see a chapter later in Malachi 4:5...
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

Elijah will be one of the two witnesses seen in Revelation 11--the one that will shut up the heavens so that rain will not fall.

Answer 10

I think that John the Baptist was the reincarnation of Elijah - and the only case of reincarnation in the history of Christianity. I believe this to be true because it was prophesied that Elijah would come back.

Hope this helped!