The Prophet Elijah came on the scene at a time when the Northern Kingdom of Israel was reeling in idolatry and religious confusion. Yet for a short time, this great man succeeded in turning the hearts of many of the people to the God of their fathers (cf. 1 Kings 18). For more than two decades, Elijah proclaimed God's Truth—not only as a witness to rulers, powerful men and a wayward society, but also in a more in-depth manner to the three schools of the prophets he oversaw. Finally, the Eternal decided to take him away by a fiery chariot into the sky. In later years, the Jews would look for him to return—a notion fueled by the prophecy quoted above from the book of Malachi.
But like all men, Elijah died. And he will not be resurrected until it is time for ALL of God's people to be raised in perfection (cf. Heb. 11:39-40)—at the END of the year-long "dreadful day" of the Lord. How, then, would the prophecy be fulfilled that Elijah would come before that time? Part of the answer can be found in a statement Jesus Christ made in Matthew 11: "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John [the Baptist]. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come" (vv. 13-14). So was John the Baptist actually Elijah the person? Clearly not. Indeed, when the Jewish priests and Levites asked John, "Are you Elijah?," he replied, "I am not" (John 1:21)—that is, he was not the same person who had walked the earth 900 years earlier. So why did Christ identify him as Elijah, as prophesied in Malachi?
The explanation can be found in the message the archangel Gabriel brought to John's father before John was born: "And [John] will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also 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 a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:16-17). In essence, John came holding a similar office and bearing a similar commission to that of Elijah—to do an Elijah-like work. John was empowered by the same motivating force and spirit that Elijah was.
There are other elements to John's mission that should be brought out. His father Zecharias prophesied of him, "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace" (vv. 76-79). John was no doubt aware that he was to fulfill these prophecies as his father must have told him of them as he grew up.
Indeed, when he denied being Elijah, and the priests and Levites asked just who he was then, John identified himself as "the voice of one" foretold in Isaiah 40 (John 1:21-23), and the Gospels confirm this (Matt. 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:3-6). Notice the citation in Luke: "And [John] went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God."'"
Zecharias' prophecy was in part a reiteration of Isaiah's prophecy—and of another prophecy about preparing the way before the Lord that had been given in Malachi. Jesus said that John "is he of whom it is written [in Malachi 3:1]: 'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You'" (Matt. 11:10; Luke 7:27). This prophecy is directly linked to Isaiah 40 in Mark 1:2-3. Putting all this together, we see that the "voice of one" and the "messenger"—both preparing the way for the Lord—as well as the "Elijah to come," are all the same prophesied figure. But there is a major element yet missing here.
John certainly prepared the way before Christ's human ministry—but that did not immediately precede the "dreadful day of the Lord" heralding Christ's return in power and glory. When the disciples witnessed what is known as the "Transfiguration"—a vision of the Kingdom wherein Jesus, Moses and Elijah were all glorified—they asked Christ, "'Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him....' Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist" (Matt. 17:10-12). They understood this because, as we've seen, He had earlier told them that John was "Elijah to come" in Matthew 11. But in Matthew 17, John the Baptist had already been dead for some time (13:1-12). So in the passage just quoted, Christ was referring to more than one "Elijah"—one who had "come already" (i.e. John) and one whom Christ said "is [yet] coming" or "SHALL first come" (KJV) and "WILL restore all things." The restoring of all things, then, is another element of the Elijah commission—to be fulfilled by, at least, the later Elijah.
Now some have taken Christ's statement that "indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things" to be a mere reiteration of the scribes' position that "Elijah must come first"—and that Christ was pointing to John the Baptist alone—not any future person—as fulfilling the Elijah prophecy. This would mean that John had restored all things—whatever that would then have meant, as we otherwise have no record of him doing so. However, whether John restored anything or not is somewhat irrelevant since the way Christ said what He did certainly seems to indicate that there would have to be an Elijah in the future—that is, after the time of His statement—besides the one who had already come and was now dead. Adding weight to this is the fact that the scribes are not recorded as having mentioned that the coming Elijah would "restore all things." Neither is there any prophecy that he would do so recorded in the Old Testament for them to have been quoting. There is, then, no real support to the conclusion that Christ was reiterating an already-extant idea when He said this Elijah "WILL restore all things." Indeed, this definitely appears to be a new prophecy Jesus was giving. We are, therefore, much safer in concluding that He was speaking of a yet future individual—making the Elijah prophecy dual.
Then, there are those who do believe that Christ must have been speaking of a future Elijah who would restore all things, but think that He was referring to Himself—since the return and rule of Jesus Christ will mark the "times of restoration of all things" (Acts 3:19-21). Now it's true that Jesus will be the ultimate Restorer. But remember that He said the future Elijah would come "first"—that is, before the time portrayed in the Transfiguration and thus prior to the establishment of His Kingdom. And in this regard, it makes absolutely no sense that Jesus would precede His own coming. While He did precede His Second Coming when He came in the flesh, this was certainly not the future event that He was speaking of—as He, like John, had already come. The understanding that makes by far the most sense is that John, coming in the spirit and power of Elijah before Christ's First Coming, was the forerunner of a future person, not Christ, who would come in the same spirit and power before Christ's Second Coming as a later fulfillment of the Elijah prophecy.
Have the prophecies of the
end-time Elijah been fulfilled yet? Are they now being
fulfilled? Or are we still waiting for the Elijah to appear on
the world scene? And just what value does this understanding have
for us today?
Past Teachings
We understand the Work of the Global Church of God to be a continuation of the ministry of the late Herbert W. Armstrong, who pastored the vast majority of God's people for more than 50 years. Ever since the Apostolic Era, numerous apostasies and scatterings due to persecution had taken their toll on the true Church. Over the centuries, many important biblical doctrines had been lost. And when Mr. Armstrong came among God's people around 1930—after being called directly through the Scriptures—he found a few thousand people stagnant in growth and "ready to die," as the "Sardis" Church is described (Rev. 3:1-2).
Yet Mr. Armstrong, ordained under their ministry, was zealous to proclaim and live by the whole truth, as God revealed it to him from His Word. And God blessed him for it. Many vital truths were restored through him. And from a humble beginning of 19 people in Eugene, Oregon, the Church Mr. Armstrong pastored grew to an international attendance of around 150,000. Millions heard the true Gospel preached through the mass media. And world leaders actually sat down with Mr. Armstrong and had the message communicated to them directly.
Over time, Mr. Armstrong—in looking back over what God had accomplished through him—came to see himself as fulfilling the prophecies of the end-time Elijah. Indeed, he said so in numerous sermons and publications (see box "Herbert W. Armstrong's Statements on the Elijah"). In fact, this was the official doctrine—that is, teaching—of the Worldwide Church of God. For instance, notice this from Lesson 18 of the 32-lesson Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course:
"Recall that John the Baptist was the 'messenger' whom Malachi prophesied would come to prepare the way before Christ's ministry during His first coming to earth (Mal. 3:1; Mark 1:4, 7-8; Luke 1:13-17). An angel prophesied that John would go ahead of Christ "in the spirit and power of Elias (Elijah), to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and... to make ready a people prepared for the Lord' (Luke 1:17).
"1. After John was put in prison and Christ had begun His ministry, did Jesus prophesy that another 'Elijah' was yet to come? Matt. 17:10-11. Is it clear that John the Baptist was a type of yet another Elijah? Verses 12-13. Did Malachi also prophesy of another Elijah's coming? Mal. 4:5. What would this 'Elijah' do? Verse 6; Matt. 17:11.
"COMMENT: These verses show that John was a type of the future 'Elijah'—one who would also be sent by God to the world in the spirit and power of Elijah the prophet, this time prior to Christ's coming in great power and glory as World Ruler (Mal. 3:1-6). Before the day of the Lord, a human messenger would be commissioned by God to prepare a spiritual people for God, and turn the hearts of the children to the fathers and vice versa before the second coming of Christ—much the same as John did before Jesus began His ministry.
"Jesus also said the Elijah to come would 'restore all things' (Matt. 17:11).... Just as Christ shall restore the government of God over the entire earth, the one who was to come in the spirit and power of Elijah would restore it in God's Church. God's government has been restored in the one true Church of God! In the process of restoring the government of God in the Church through the modern Elijah, God has used him to restore many related truths. Of primary importance was the restoration of Christ's true gospel of the Kingdom of God! That gospel was restored when Pastor General Herbert W. Armstrong of the Worldwide Church of God first went on the air with 'The World Tomorrow' radio program" (pp. 13-14).
Moreover, even for some time after Mr. Armstrong's death, this was still the official position of the Church. Mr. Armstrong's successor Joseph Tkach Sr. and the WCG Editorial Staff printed the 18 truths restored by Mr. Armstrong with the following as part of the introduction: "Shortly before the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, someone would come in the spirit and the power of Elijah... and would restore all things to the Church.... Though Mr. Armstrong didn't know it at the time God began to call him, God had a lifelong job for him: to restore to His Church truth that the centuries had dimmed" (Worldwide News, Aug. 25, 1986).
But over time the official teaching was changed. Two years after Mr. Armstrong's death, Mr. Tkach wrote, "Just as Malachi prophesied of John the Baptist and just as the angel Gabriel expounded, a people would be prepared for God. From the Ephesian era until now, the Church of God fulfills that role of preparing a people for God" (Worldwide News, Feb. 15, 1988). And of course, as more time went on, the WCG abandoned many of Mr. Armstrong's teachings—even essentially rejecting him, as being a false minister.
In 1993, when the Global Church of God was beginning, many people were anxious to see where we would stand on the Elijah question. At the time that I, Raymond McNair, came to Global in April of that year, Roderick Meredith and I were in almost complete doctrinal agreement—as we had been for the past 50 years. But a significant point about which we then disagreed was that concerning the Elijah to come. I firmly believed that Mr. Armstrong had fulfilled this prophetic role. Dr. Meredith, however—while rejecting the idea that the Church in general primarily fulfills this role—did not believe that Mr. Armstrong had fulfilled it either. The reason he gave was that Mr. Armstrong and the Work he did weren't well enough known—that Mr. Armstrong didn't make a big enough impact on the world to qualify him as the one who fulfilled the Elijah prophecies. I heartily disagreed. Furthermore, over the course of Global's six-year existence, our ministers had numerous discussions with Dr. Meredith—at private ministerial lunches and doctrinal meetings—concerning this question. But in all those discussions, he held steadfast to his position.
Now I must say here that I believed this to be his private opinion—even if made in a public context. After all, our stated objective early on was to stick to the doctrines taught at the time of Mr. Armstrong's death unless there was a consensus among the leading ministry that a point should be changed. Most of the ministers I spoke to about this believed that Mr. Armstrong was the Elijah to come—indeed this was the prevailing belief. Although Dr. Meredith talked to us a number of times about the Doctrinal Team officially taking up the Elijah question, we never did. However, I have since learned that personal correspondence department (PCD) letters were being sent out with Dr. Meredith's viewpoint on the matter as Global's official position. This should never have happened—though those in PCD were not to blame as the Church's position had essentially been misrepresented to them.
Here's an example of a response Dr. Meredith gave in 1993: "You asked 'Was Mr. Armstrong Elijah?'... The original Elijah was well-known to all Israel. And the second Elijah, John the Baptist, also virtually 'shook' the whole nation (Mark 1:5, 'Then ALL the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins'). But in my own broad experience, and through extensive interviews and research, it becomes very obvious that Mr. Armstrong was virtually unknown to at least two-thirds or three-fourths of the American people. And all the leading men in the Worldwide Church of God's British Work have told me that even Mr. Armstrong's name would not be recognized by ninety-nine percent of the British people—let alone what he preached. So it may be that God will raise up a powerful spiritual leader just before the Great Tribulation, and that this man will perform great miracles and shake the nations! In fact, he might end up being one of the 'two witnesses.' However, Mr. Armstrong did do an Elijah-like Work to the extent he could."
Interestingly, Dr. Meredith
related to a number of us that he felt God would use him
to "really shake the nation and the world" with a powerful
end-time message. Let it be stated here that we do not agree with
his assessment of the scope of Mr. Armstrong's work, as will shortly
be explained.
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Can We Identify Him?
So was Herbert W. Armstrong the Elijah to come? Or will it be someone else—perhaps one of the two witnesses? Remember that there was to be a "voice of ONE crying in the wilderness"—not the voice of TWO witnesses. What is clearly indicated is a lone voice in a wilderness of spiritual confusion—one man fulfilling this role, just as John the Baptist did. Now that doesn't mean this person would be absolutely alone and would have no help. Elijah ran three schools of the prophets—in Jericho, Bethel and Gilgal—and his students, including Elisha, assisted him. John the Baptist also had disciples (John 3:25). And in an interesting parallel to Elijah, Herbert Armstrong founded three Ambassador College campuses—in California, Texas and England—to train ministers to assist him in his work. Still, Mr. Armstrong could clearly be described as the "voice of ONE."
What message was to be conveyed? Continuing in Isaiah 40, the commission is to announce how fleeting this life is and the importance of trusting in God's Word—and to warn that God will destroy those who don't (vv. 6-8). John the Baptist preached a warning of the "wrath to come" (Matt. 3:7). But he also came to "give knowledge of salvation" (Luke 1:76), preaching a "baptism of repentance for the remission of sins" (Mark 1:4). Remember his famous announcement? "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). But the Elijah was also to lead "Zion," the Church, in relaying a message of good news about the future, saying, "Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him" (Is. 40:10). In this spirit, John preached the Kingdom of God (Matt. 3:1-2). And it cannot be disputed that Mr. Armstrong preached ALL of these important elements of the Elijah's message—indeed, he restored a great deal of understanding about each one mentioned.
What was to be the purpose of the message? As so many verses we've looked at say, it was to prepare the way of the Lord—specifically, to prepare a people for the Lord (Luke 1:17). This preparation was to be done, as we've seen, by giving this people the knowledge of salvation, by giving "light to those who sit in darkness" and by guiding our feet "into the way of peace" (v. 79). God's Word—His Truth (John 17:17)—is the "light" that guides us (Ps. 119:105). But what people were to be prepared? Remember, the "messenger" of Malachi prepares the way for Christ to return to His temple (3:1). Today that temple is spiritual—the Church (Eph. 2:19-22). And Mr. Armstrong certainly restored and taught God's Truth to the Church, preparing its members with the true knowledge of salvation. Indeed, concerning the way of peace just mentioned, national leaders saw Mr. Armstrong as an ambassador for world peace. And so he was.
Then there is the commission in Malachi 4:5-6 that the Elijah would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers lest God strike the earth with a curse—that is, wipe out its inhabitants. We have often associated these verses with someone strengthening families, especially within God's Church. And there is no doubt that Mr. Armstrong did this. Besides restoring the truth about the very purpose of the family, he taught parents the importance of loving and properly rearing their children. And for the development and godly training of the Church's young people, Mr. Armstrong instituted three Imperial Schools, established several summer camps, published Y.E.S. Bible Lessons and the Youth magazine, and created Youth Opportunities United (YOU)—all for turning our young people's hearts to God and their parents. But though all of this may be intended by Malachi's prophecy, there may also be a dual application.
Turning the hearts of the children to the fathers is specifically interpreted in Luke 1 as turning "many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God" and turning "the disobedient to the wisdom of the just"—again, to "make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (vv. 16-17). This makes sense because immediately before giving the Elijah prophecy in Malachi 4, God says, "Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb [Mount Sinai] for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments" (v. 4). Essentially, then, we may perhaps understand the prophecy this way. The "fathers" are the patriarchs and prophets, whose hearts' desire was for their descendants to be blessed through obedience to the Lord, which they taught. The Elijah to come would proclaim their wisdom and instruction about obeying God to the disobedient descendants of Israel in his generation—as the original Elijah did in his day among the Northern Kingdom of Israel and as John the Baptist did in his day among the Jews of Judea (in both cases, only part of Israel). Thereby, the Elijah would turn the hearts of many of these "children" to the "wisdom of the just"—to obeying God.
Mr. Armstrong definitely did this. Perhaps as many as 20 million people have read his book, The United States and Britain in Prophecy, telling the modern Israelites their identity. Even "British Israelists" acknowledge that he did more for this understanding than anyone in modern times. Also more than anyone else in the modern era, Mr. Armstrong reintroduced God's law, and the need to obey it, to a wayward society. Seventh-day Adventists have acknowledged him as single-handedly doing more for the Christian observance of the Sabbath than anyone else in this century. Furthermore, God used Mr. Armstrong to bring back many important statutes, such as the Holy Days. Though not keeping them, a number of evangelical preachers today are teaching the significance of God's Festivals—understanding that seems to have come, directly or indirectly, from the work of Mr. Armstrong. But thankfully many people are keeping them—many people who have come into the Church of God, spiritual Israel (Gal. 6:16), as a result of Mr. Armstrong's ministry. And because of this—because many have become the elect of God and are remembering to obey the law that Moses delivered—the Almighty will not eradicate mankind (Matt. 24:22).
When was the Elijah to appear on the scene? "Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord" (Mal. 4:5). Of course, John the Baptist did so in that he came long before the terrible time described here. However, we can be confident that the later Elijah would not precede the day of the Lord by hundreds or thousands of years as John did. Why? Because Malachi 3:1 says that Christ would come "suddenly" after the Elijah messenger's work. John, the first messenger, immediately preceded Christ's First Coming. And to ultimately fulfill this dual prophecy, the later Elijah would appear soon before Christ's Second Coming. Mr. Armstrong fits this picture also. We have numerous proofs that his work was done in the last days. Indeed, we must be living in the end time—unless our whole understanding of end-time prophecy is completely wrong. And as everything fits so well, that seems extremely unlikely. Furthermore, the fact that Mr. Armstrong died before the Great Tribulation poses no problem. For as the two witnesses prophesy from the beginning of the Tribulation until three days before Christ's return (Rev. 11), it is evident that the "voice of one" would precede them.
Next, let's observe the fact that God said He would send Elijah "the prophet." Indeed, the original Elijah was a prophet. And so was John the Baptist—in fact, Christ called him "more than a prophet" (Luke 7:26). Some have argued that this disqualifies Mr. Armstrong since he wasn't a prophet—and then point to the prophesying of the two witnesses. To answer this, let's first notice a problem in that only "the prophet" is in quotes above. The Bible says "Elijah the prophet"—or simply, the Prophet Elijah. It doesn't say "a prophet in the spirit of Elijah." Indeed, just as the Elijah to come is not Elijah himself, there is no clear requirement that he be a prophet either. Rather, he simply comes in the spirit and power of Elijah the prophet.
Yet let's carry this further and, for the moment, assume that being a "prophet" is a requirement. Now it's true that Mr. Armstrong claimed he was not a prophet in the sense of seeing visions or actually hearing God tell him what to say: "Emphatically I am NOT a prophet, in the sense of one to whom God speaks specially and directly, revealing personally a future event to happen or new truth, or new and special instruction direct from God—separate from, and apart from what is contained in the Bible" (Tomorrow's World, Feb. 1972, p. 1). But Mr. Armstrong long taught that "prophesying" could be interpreted as simply speaking for God—that is, inspired preaching from the Bible (cf. p. 1). Indeed, though John the Baptist may have heard a supernatural voice or received visions from God, we have no record that he did. He may have simply communicated the meaning of Old Testament prophecies. Yet we would all acknowledge him as an inspired preacher who, Christ explained, was a prophet. Likewise, although the two witnesses are to "prophesy," the Bible doesn't specifically say whether or not they will see visions or hear voices. As for Mr. Armstrong, then, we certainly believe that he was often inspired in preaching from the Word of God.
Besides that, we understand that Mr. Armstrong was an apostle who was taught what to say directly by Jesus Christ—that is, by the Bible, which is essentially Jesus Christ, the Word of God, in print. And the office of apostle, it should be realized, supersedes th