See, I Will Send You the Prophet Elijah
Before That Great and Dreadful day of the LORD Comes
Malachi 4: 4-6

See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. DIG: Was John the Baptist really Elijah? What would have happened if Isra’el had accepted John’s message? What will Elijah’s ministry be when he returns? How will the people of the world react to Elijah’s ministry? 

Another event that is clearly predicted to happen before the Great Tribulation is the return of Elijah. This is the second of five such events that will occur throughout the first half of the Great Tribulation. So the ministry of Elijah will start before the Tribulation and continue on through the first half. The prophet Malachi said: Remember the Torah of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Isra’el. See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of ADONAI 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. The Jewish family unit, strong for so many centuries, had begun to break down, and, according to Malachi’s prophecy, would continue to break down. However, Elijah’s coming ministry will restore that unity in preparation for the Second Coming of Christ.

Therefore, sometime before the Great Tribulation, the prophet Elijah will return to do his ministry of restoration. Thus, Elijah will serve as a forerunner of Messiah’s Second Coming. John the Baptist was a type of Elijah in that he came in the spirit and power of Elijah. If Isra’el had accepted Jesus’ message of His First Coming, then John would have accomplished the function of Elijah, which was the ministry of restoration. However, John the Baptist and the Messiah were both rejected. So Elijah is yet to come to perform his ministry of restoration before the Great Tribulation. As with the first blackout, it is not possible to pinpoint the exact time when Elijah will return in the sequence of pre-tribulational events, but when he does return, it will be considered the seventh birth pain.

Dear Heavenly Father, We love and worship and praise You. Birth pains mean that the birth of a new age is soon approaching. Though we do not know the exact date of the last End-Time battle, we know for sure the outcome, for You wrote about the battle and You won! Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written that no one knows but Himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords . . . And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against Him who was sitting on the horse and against His army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. (Revelation 19:11-16, 19-21). There is no question as to who will win the final battle. God Alone is Totally Powerful and Almighty. We worship at Your feet. In Your holy Son’s name and power of resurrection. Amen