Giving John the Baptist the prophetic role of another Elijah is replacement theology

Dear Children,

This may be one of the most complicated things that I will try to put together for you for a couple of reasons. I don’t necessarily believe it to be a game-changer theologically speaking, but it does fly in the face of what most people believe.

Before I start with the scriptures I want to speak with you about man-made organized religions in general:  It takes literally years to loose the ‘churchianity’ filter we obtain from hump-teen years of sitting in church pews and Sunday School or Children’s Church.  In my case, I have to shed almost thirty to forty something years.  To this day I continue to always question the source of theologies I have held when I read the bible.  Like it or not, our early years of church training are our filters even when we don’t realize it.

There are plenty of things I no longer believe in that I believed when I was ‘churched’.  The Trinity is a big one I no longer believe in. I’m not sure what I believe about the length of Yeshua’s ministry on earth; it’s on my list of things to research. I don’t believe the Temple stood where the Al Asqa is. I could go on with my list but I’ll stop here.

Concerning Yeshua I have been praying earnestly.   Absolutely sincerely seeking through pray for at least two years to understand WHO He is. I didn’t know where in the scripture to begin so I began with prayer.  If I don’t truly understand who Yeshua is how will I recognize Him?  It’s really that simple. How can I accept Him as my Saviour, my Betrothed, the Lord of my life IF I don’t recognize who He is and who He came as and who He will come again as? Lovingly and slowly the Holy Spirit reveals more and more of who He is with each passing year.

It’s with a heart that is longing to know Him I prayed to know Him as He is, not as church said He is. Scripture says if we know Him we know the Father. It also says the opposite that if we don’t know Yeshua we don’t know the Father.  It became very apparent to me that pursuing knowledge of who Yeshua is would be of the utmost importance. I use to think that until we reach the marriage supper of the Lamb  that we can never really know Him. Just as in a natural marriage we never really know our spouses until we dwell with them. Our arrangement with Him after all is an ethnic situation with a kidsman-redeemer, not as one being courted, but as one being redeemed from widowhood. However, I find in the scriptures that we must know Him and He must know us.  I believe the Father called many but the Messiah choses few (puny in the Strong’s) because few seriously take the call to walk as He did and the time to know him.  The Father calls, the Son choses. We must know him and be known by Him.

You might be saying ‘Duh, Mom, the church has always prayed to Jesus and sang about Jesus and preached about Jesus; how could you not know all of this?” I’ll answer it simply.  When I walked away from church I found myself looking at the Father more than the Messiah. The Father was untainted by church beliefs, the church doesn’t bother with the Father much, with who He is.  He resides in the part of the book the church believes to be irrelevant.  The Jesus of the church repulsed me because of the ‘thing’ the church was and because of the person that they made Him to be. The church is simple a false object of authority that has been shoved in between God and man. It teaches people how to believe, where to give their money and allegiance. There should only have ever been one man  between mankind and the Father. It’s the Holy Spirit that leads us into all truths  and into the deeper things of Yehovah.  This knowledge definitely does not come the corner community church or any of the denominational divisions.   If  you are wondering I do believe there is only one narrow road that leads to salvation and away from the destruction we were destined for when we stand to be judged in eternity. The issue is that very few (puny) will find the way.

I believe it is that Holy Spirit that has taught me this aspect of Yeshua, because it is part of who He is.

You are probably going to need to break this into small portion and read it over a couple of days. I can’t make it shorter. I shouldn’t make it shorter. All of it is important to get to the truth. I’m going to ask you to lay aside everything you have been taught by any teacher, any church and consider only the scripture and this history. May we all see Yeshua more clearly, amen.

The church teaches that John the Baptist came in the Spirit of Elijah. I don’t believe that to be the case. I believe it was Yeshua who came in the Spirit of Elijah. I believe John to be the forerunner to the one who came in the Spirit of Elijah. John preached repentance for the remission (cleansing) of sins then afterwards baptism/washing of the body. Let’s start with some history about this time period and look at who John the Baptist was.

Who was John the Baptist?

Yeshua’s mother Mary was a cousin to Elizabeth, John the Baptist was a direct descendant from the throne of King David.  Elizabeth is also recorded as being a daughter of Aaron , a Levite.  Levites are general priest who minister in the temple. On John’s father’s (Zacharias) side, John was a direct descendant from the line of Levi, a subdivision of  Cohen, from the course of Abijah. Cohen are those priests who minister in the Holy of Holies. Because of both sides of his paternal lineage John would have been a threat to King Herod.

King Herod Antipas, Israel is ruled by an Edomite (Essau) convert

Herod the Great was born in the land of Idumea or Edom around 74 B.C. He was the son of Antipater of Idumaean, who was a high-ranking official for Hyrcanus II. Herod the Great was an Edomite that had converted to the customs of the Jews. The first time we see the word Edom used is with Essau, he was known by Edom Gen 25:30:

And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.

The land that belonged to Essau became known as Edom:

Gen 32:3, And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother unto the land of Seir, the country of Edom

Gen 36:8 Thus dwelt Esau in mount Seir: Esau is Edom.

It was Edom that refused to let the nation of Israel to pass through their land during the exodus. Nu 20:20-21:4  Remember that Elohim see the people of a nation as a corporate individual body He speaks to them,   judges the heart of each individual:

Deut 23: 7Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land. 8 The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.

Amos 1:11 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue is brother with the sword, and did cast off all pits, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:

In the past, the Edomites were ancient enemies of the Jewish people but they no longer were relevant as a people during this era. Many of the Edomites were absorbed into other cultures of the time. The Jews had conquered these people around 140 B.C. and forced many of them to accept their religion or to leave the region. Many Jewish people didn’t care for foreigners worshipping Elohim and adopting their customs nonetheless Herod the Great was made governor of Judea when he was 25 years old.

His sons Herod Archelaus and Herod Antipas ruled from the throne after his death.  These kings named Herod were that last recorded Edomites

Isa 63:1-8 I believe is about  Herod Antipas, of Yeshua’s day:

1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? 3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. 4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. 5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. 6 And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.

Bozrah in verse one comes from the root word .ב.צ.ר From the Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (EDBH) בצר: protect from other forces 1. fortifying 2 harvesting; securing a home 3 attaining 4 no rain 5 protect gold. Strong’s says: A primitive root; to clip off; specifically to gather grapes (with references Lev 26:5, Jdg 8:2, Isa 24:12, Isa 32:10, Jer 48:32, Mic 7:1); also to be isolated. I would have to go with the Strong’s understanding of the root word to include gatherig grapes. Why? Because the scripture through the Hebrew language explain themselves. Verse two says his garments are red like him that treadeth in the winefat. In verse 3 Elohim says I have trodden the winepress alone.

As will be seen in this writing, Herod Anitpas was a type of Melchizedek. But let’s explore the color of Herod’s garment further to see if there is more that would tell us that Borzrah fit Herod Antipas.

In the book Rarest Blue: The Remarkable Story of an Ancient Color Lost to History and Rediscovered, the author Baruch Sterman writes about Herod Anitpas.

Masada was a secluded spot that Herod had build one of his palaces, it was a luxurious, Roman-style palace complex in the middle of nowhere, situated atop an almost inaccessible plateau on a rugged, barren mountain overlooking the Dead Sea in the Judean desert.  It was here in Herod’s Masada Palace that a small piece of fabric was found inside of complex during archeological digs. The material was purple and originally thought to have been dyed Tyrian purple, but testing showed this purple fabric to have been dyed with red kermes and blue indigo.

Mar 15:16 And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. 17And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, 18And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews

Herod’s soldiers put the robe on Jesus and sent Him to Pilate. Pilate’s soldiers jerked off the robe, scourged Him, and then dressed Him in a robe again – probably the same one used by Herod’s soldiers.

John 19:1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. 2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe

Did Elohim not say in Isa 63: 3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.

King Herod Antipas was a convert to Judaism married to a Hasmonean princess. Being a covert and also being married to a Jewish princess made  Herod palatable to the Jews he ruled as king.  By Torah and by rabbinical Law Herod Antipas had joined himself to the Elohim of Israel, the Sons of Israel, the tribe of Levi, and had become a Melchizedek through marriage to his Hasmonean wife.  According to Isaiah 63 he saw himself as their redeemer or kinsman redeemer.  Essau was ruling Judah.

Herod came into his position as a puppet king of Rome after Israel had been freed from Greek rule through Judas Maccabee and his brothers (Hasmonean Dynasty). All of the Maccabee brothers were Levites that had been given by the Jewish people of Judah and Israel the right to rule the country in a combined role of priest and king.  The Maccabee brother’s  had religious and civil govern over the people. However, by the reign of King Herod the position of king-priest was divided into two positions again. Then there was a sitting king who was Herod and there was a different man sitting as high priest, Caiaphas.

In my opinion the Jewish people had looked to their history of Melchizedek or Melech Tzadik (king-priest) of Salem and Abraham,  when they passed authority to the Maccabees to rule Israel in both the religious and the civil positions.

History records that King Herod’s wife Meriamne the Hasmonean princess wanted her husband to place her younger brother as high priest over the Jewish temple.  Remember the first paragraph? Only a Cohen can be a high priest, they oversee the ministry of all aspects of the Temple.  In the Hebrew language the High Priest is called Kohen Gadol. The fact that Merriam wanted her younger brother to be appointed as the High Priest probably led to his eventual death at the hands of her husband, King Herod.  I can see the quick tempered, rebelling and rowdy Jews, as they were noted to be, overthrowing Herod and turning to for a queen Meriamne and her brother as a high priest to rule over Israel. You would again have the Hasmonean Dynasty in place as the civil and religious rule of Israel.   The threat was credible.

The bible shows John the Baptist as a supreme threat to King Herod.  John the Baptist would have qualified as another ‘king-priest’ candidate in the eyes of the people during a time when Israel was then under Roman rule.   John would have been more qualified than the Maccabees.  He descended from King David and from the Cohenim priesthood.  John was asked several times if he was the anointed one (Christ or Mashiach), he always denied being the Mashiach.  But let’s make something clear here.  Many men have been annointed (mashiach in Hebrew, christ in Greek) in Israel’s history.  Every king of Israel and Judah was mashiach but Yeshua is The Mashiach.  And there have been many prophets in Israel’s history, but Yeshua is The Prophet.  However, the people were looking to  if John was to be the next anointed leader of Israel.

John 1:20; Lk 3: 15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not…..

They were expecting another deliverer sent from Yehovah that would free them from their current oppressor as the Maccabees had from the Greeks. There are other things about John that would have made him a likely suspect to the people looking of a deliverer.  As we will get into there was also a prophecy concerning John from the angel Gabriel, there was the miraculous sign that Zacharias was given of John’s impending birth , his miraculous conception much like Isaac’s conception in Sarah and at John’s circumcision his father’s speech is restored and Zacharias immediately prophecied.  Remember the Jews always look for a sign, is it any wonder all eyes were on John with expectation?

When John was imprisoned  Herod would visit with John in his cell. Since John freely admitted in public that he was not the anointed one John also surely must have verbally assured King Herod of the same. It is quite possible that John would have died in prison receiving frequent visits from King Herod if Herod’s niece had not asked for John’s head as her reward.  Or if the king had not feared the people and their will of seeking another deliverer.  It was quite possible that the wife of Herod’s brother Herodius, who was Herod’s mistress, had political backing that believed as long as John continued to live he was a threat to Herod’s throne and John’s lineage was enough to cause civil unrest. He qualified as another king-priest linage, this time  from Judah-Levi linage.  Just as the Maccabean who were Levites had been deliverers and who had caused the uprising that rebelled against and defeated the previous Greek occupation of Israel.  The Jews were looking for another anointed-deliverer from Rome.

Flavious Josephus at the time of John the Baptist and Yeshua

Flavious Josephus, the famous historian was also a Cohen from his father’s side, his mother claimed to be a descendant of the Hasmonean Dynasty (see the above chart).

Both Herod’s wife, Marianme and Josephus traced their linage back to Simon Maccabee making them distant cousins.  Josephus served as General of the Jewish forces here in the Galilee during the Great Jewish War.  His great Grandfather that he shared with Marianme was Simon the Hasmonean (Simon the stutterer).   I believe Simon razed the Temple Mount and built another lesser known temple.  It is interesting to consider Josephus’ father  (a cohen) serving with John the Baptist father Zacharias (a cohen)  in the Temple.  I don’t know in which Priestly Course that Josephus’ father served, but both of their fathers were Cohenim.

Josephus wrote about John the Baptist in Jewish Antiquities

[18.117] For Herod had killed this good man, who had commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, righteousness towards one another and piety towards God. For only thus, in John’s opinion, would the baptism he administered be acceptable to God, namely, if they used it to obtain not pardon for some sins but rather the cleansing of their bodies, inasmuch as it was taken for granted that their souls had already been purified by justice.

[18.118] Now many people came in crowds to him, for they were greatly moved by his words. Herod, who feared that the great influence John had over the masses might put them into his power and enable him to raise a rebellion (for they seemed ready to do anything he should advise), thought it best to put him to death. In this way, he might prevent any mischief John might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late.

[18.119] Accordingly John was sent as a prisoner, out of Herod’s suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I already mentioned, and was put to death. Now the Jews thought that the destruction of his army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God’s displeasure with him.

The Essenes (Qumran Caves/Dead Sea Scrolls) at the time of John the Baptist and Yeshua

The Essenes were a group of Jews said to be Cohenim who quite literally abandoned Jerusalem in protest against the way the Temple was being run by Simon Maccabee , the great-Grandfather of Josephus and Miranme. When the Essenes left Jerusalem they went to the Dead Sea region to the Qumran Caves that are situated in the cliffs above Sodom and Gomorrah. The Dead Sea Scrolls are thought to have been written by the Essenes. The Essenes literally went out in the desert to prepare the way of the Lord, following the commands, as they saw them, of the prophet Isaiah. They were in the desert to get away from what they saw to be the worldliness of Jerusalem and the worldliness of the Temple. The Essenes aren’t a new group in Yeshua’s day, they had been around for a hundred years at that point in time.

The Essenes saw themselves as the new sacred community, waiting for the time, when they imagine that the Temple priesthood would be set right again. When a new and better Temple facility would be built and a new and better priestly group  would take over the Temple in Jerusalem. In the meantime, the wicked priests were still off in Jerusalem, following the wrong calendar, following the wrong purity rules and officiating improperly before the Yehovah while the Essenes in the Qumran caves practiced purity and true holiness that resided only among themselves, in their own community, off beside the Dead Sea.

Knowledge of this history gives a whole new fresh level of understanding to the book of Hebrews speaking of Yeshua as priest after the order of the Melchizedek  (Melech Tazidk, king-priest). It is stunning and amazing when the scriptures jump from the pages in light of history and in the intentions for which they were written. What a teacher the Holy Spirit is to me. I don’t have time to sit under anyone else’s teaching, I prefer to listen to Him.

The idea that the coming kingdom was always to be accompanied by a anointed-king (Mashiach) figure is not entirely accurate for all of Judaism in this period. Some groups who expected the coming change, but never mention a Messiah, or a Messianic figure at all, either as a deliverer figure, or as some sort of heavenly agent. At Qumran written in the Dead Sea Scrolls, we hear not of just one anointed-one, but at least two anointed-ones. Some of their writings talk about a Mashiach of David that is a kind of kingly figure who will come to lead the war. But there’s also a Mashiach of Aaron, a priestly figure, who will come to restore the Temple at Jerusalem to its proper purity and worship of God. In addition to these two major anointed-figures, we also hear of a prophet-figure.  John the Baptist was clearly a candidate for all the people were looking for.

A clearer picture is emerging of who the Jews thought that John the Baptist surely was. We can see that just as the Maccabees had been king-priests, it was an easy reach to assume John the Baptist was the prophesied Mashiach of David-Mashiach of Aaron, in one melech-tzadik person as the Maccabee brothers had each individually already served in both positions as types of melechim-tazdikim.  Yeshua also called John a prophet.  While Yehsua is The Messiah, there have been many judges and kings anointed (mashiach) to lead Israel. The Jews were looking to anoint another that would lead them into freedom from Roman the way the Maccabees had led them into freedom from Greece.

A Detour into the History of Paul

Before we leave the Hasmoneans behind I want to introduce them into the story of Paul’s arrest.

Festus was procurator of Judea, he  inherited the problems of his predecessor Felix in regards to the Roman practice of creating civil privileges for the Jews.  Roman Privileges were  an entitlement to immunity granted by the state or another authority to a restricted group of people, either by birth or on a conditional basis.  Some of the Jews had received these special privileges from Rome.

We see this come into play when Festus asks Paul “But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul, and said, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me?” (Acts 25:9).  Paul had worked closely with the religious Jewish leaders in the persecution and deaths of believers.  He was a Pharisee and a Roman citizen by birth.

When Paul is delivered to Caesarea eventually Herod Agrippa II, the son same King Herod that had Paul executed comes to Caesarea and is persuaded by Festus to hear Paul’s testimony and try to discover some fault in Paul according to the Jewish Law and Torah Law.   Agrippa II was Herodian and Hasmonean.  We can see clearly from Paul’s response that Agrippa II had a firm understanding of the Law of Moses and probably the Law the religious Jew had written, or the Jewish Law.   Listen to how Paul speaks to the last Hasmonean ruler with influence over Israel and see Paul’s story come alive:

Acts 26:1 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself: 2 I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things whereof I am accused of the Jews: 3 Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are among the Jews: wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently. 4 My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews; 5 Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God, unto our fathers: 7 Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. 8 Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead? 9 I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. 11 And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. 12 Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, 13 At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. 14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. 16  But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; 17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. 19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: 20  But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. 21  For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me. 22 Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: 23 That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles. 24  And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. 25 But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.  26 For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.  28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian (a follower of the anointed, The Mashiach).

See Peter’s Sheet and Moses Seat for more on Paul’s arrest and the unlawful association of a Jew with a Gentile.

The prophecy of Gabriel to Zacharias Luke 1:13-17

13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.  14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.  15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.  16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.  17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, 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.

 This is the entire prophecy that the angel gave to Zacharias. Now let’s look at it bit by bit

Luke 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord,

Yeshua, who they often called Lord said in Luke 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. John was great in the sight of Yeshua. This part of prophecy was fulfilled in the mouth of The Messiah.

…and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink…

 John was to live his entire life in Nazarite vow, which was abstinence from all produce that grapes produced. All yeast for raising bread originated from the grapevine or the grapes themselves.   Yeshua said of John:   Matthew 11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say he hath a devil Luke 7:33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread (yeast) not drinking wine (the source of yeast for bread); and ye say, He hath a devil.  The Messiah tells us this part of the prophecy was fulfilled.

…and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb…

Luke 1:41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of they womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of they salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.  Luke tells us this part of prophecy was fulfilled.

…16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God…

Many times in the New Testament Israel is used in a geo-political sense rather indicating a division of the twelve tribes.  Luke bares record that many of the children of Israel were turned to Yehovah.  Luke 3: 7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? 11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. 12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? 13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. 14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. 15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ (anointed-one), or not; 16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: 17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. 18 And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, 20 Added yet this bove all, that he shut up John in prison.

 Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and the Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  

So far we have seen what was prophesied of John by the angel Gabriel was recorded as fulfilled in the scriptures.   Here’s where it gets tricky. People take verse 15 and 16 as a verbatim prophecy about John.   I disagree, first I want to put them together so you can see them and then I’ll explain why I disagree.

…16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.  17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just (The Just); to make ready a people prepared for the Lord….

 The first thing that has to be acknowledged is that John in and of himself could do nothing. He could not cause the repentance of men. Like every prophet before him, he functioned under the power of the Holy Spirit of Yehovah.   It was by the Holy Spirit, His  wisdom and power that He imparts. That was the power and conviction in the John message of repentance that the people accepted.  1 Corinthians 3:7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

The first part of the prophecy Gabriel told Zacharias was that John would be filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb of Elizabeth, then he told him that John, or the Holy Spirit in John would turn the hearts of the children of Israel to their God and that the result is that the hearts of the Fathers (Yehovah and Yeshua) would be turned to the children.  Here are some verses about the heart of Yehovah turning to the people, there are many here are a few Ex 34:6,7 , 2 Chronicles 34:9  ,  Micah 7:18 , Ps 86:5

Acts 7: 52 tell us who the ‘just’ was in verse Gabriel’s prophecy:  Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One (The Messiah); of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers.

I believe that the ‘in the spirit and the power of Elias’ was a phrase that was used in Gabriel prophecy that would give an exact clue of whom John was to be a forerunner of, whom John was to prepare the people to receive….the One, the Lord, the Messiah, that came demonstrating the miracles and power that Elijah demonstrated in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.   Elijah never ministered to the Southern Kingdom of Judah, he was only sent to the Northern Kingdom. Yeshua was to be the Elijah to the Southern Kingdom of Judah.  How appropriate that Judah was now called Israel.  Because just like her sister Ephraim (the Northern Kingdom of Israel), Judah had become everything her sister was, all those things had cause Ephraim to be divorced and set-out of Jehovah’s household.

Paul was famous for stringing prophetic scriptures of the Old Testament from various prophets together into one expression, like I believe the angel Gabriel did when he prophesied to Zacharias.  Let me give you two of Paul’s examples from the ninth chapter of Romans.  Romans 9: 12-18 , Paul is quoting from Gen 25:23 , Mal 1:2-3, Ex 33:19, and Ex 9:16.  In Romans 9:25-31 Paul is quoting Hos 2:23, Hos 1:10, Isa 10:22, Isa 1:9.  In fact in the ninth chapter of Romans the flow of Paul’s letter is peppered fourteen verses taken from throughout the Old Testament.

Now back to verse 16 and 17:

…16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.  17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, 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….

I’m suggesting that there are two prophecies that are being given in these two verses.  That there are two people being spoken of in one telling.   One would happen then the other, therefore the prophetic subjects were related.

In fact, it is only to Zacharias that the phrase ‘in the spirit and power of Elias’ is used and then Zacharias mouth is sealed shut by the angel until John’s birth and Mary’s pregnancy is well into the sixth month.

The prophecy of Zacharias Luke 1:68-79:

68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, 69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; 70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; 73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, 74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. 76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; 77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, 79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

I want to take these verses apart like we did Gabriel’s words to Zacharias.  I’m going to be giving you the location of the prophecy when it was originally spoken by  prophets in the Old Testament

Luke 1:68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, 69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David…

Yeshua was the Redeemer sent to Zion. Isa 59: And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. 21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever

Yeshua is the horn (strength) of salvation. Ps 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust: my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

 …70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began. 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant…

Found in Isa 54:7,8, 10 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little while I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills shall be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee; neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed; saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

…73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham 74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear 75 In holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life:…

 Found in Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 14 And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

…76 And thou, child, shalt be ‘called the prophet of the Highest’: for thou shalt go out before the face of the Lord (Master Yeshua) to prepare the way.  77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins

Interestingly here the phrase ‘in the spirit and the power of Elias’ is left out of what Zacharias was prophesying.   I don’t think he made a mistake. I think he in this little sentence Zacharias was speaking directly to John and was repeating only the words that applied to John.  John preached repentance for the remission (cleansing) of sins then afterwards baptism/washing of the body.  John the Baptist was Isaiah 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for out God;  Here again  in Zacharias prophecy we see that style of blending references together in one passage.  First Zacharias was speaking about The Messiah to come, then he switches to John without mentioning his name, and now he is going to go back to speaking about The Messiah:

78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, 79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace…

Daystar is shakhar or שכר in Hebrew which means dawn, we see this verse in many places in the Old Testament.  Here’s the verse we need to understand the context of this verse.  Isa 8:19, 20 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? 20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light (Daystar is shakhar or שכר) in them.  We can see here a veiled reference to the Word made flesh and it follows with   Isa 9:2 “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” the same as in the Zacharias prophecy.  It’s all very fitting and beautifully descriptive.

Other scriptures on John the Baptist we find in the bible:

The only way to get through this next section is to just pick the verses off one at a time.  If any reference text from the Old Testament is needed it will be provided

 Luke 1.5 John was born in the days of Herod

Luke 3.3-6 And he came unto all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance of remission of sins; 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

I want to take this passage apart a little bit with you using the reference for the Luke passage which is found in Isaiah.  Comparing to Isaiah 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert.

In Galatians 4:22-25 Jerusalem is compared to the Sinai or the desert: 22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

I believe this next portion of the verse is speaking of Mt Zion. This subject will be for later study but I believe Mount Zion was razed during the Hasmonean Dynasty.

Luke 3:5: Every valley shall be filled (G4137 to make replete, literally to cram, level up) exalted and every mountain and hill shall be brought low (G5013 humiliate); and the crooked (G4628 warped; winding) shall be made straight (G2117 straight, level, true at once), and the rough ways (G5138 uneven rocky) shall be made smooth (G3006 level)

There is so much here let me write it out with my understanding.  “Every valley around the City of David will be filled up with the debris from the tearing down of Mount Zion until the whole thing is a level plain between mountain ranges.  When this happens then you should know the coming of making  the crookedness of the priesthood of Yehovah ‘strait and narrow’ again is near, the uneven path, difficult path of the Pharisees that burden men, will be made smooth.”  There are so many verses I could attach here to prove my point.  But let’s move on.

This was part of Luke was taken from Isaiah 40:5 Every valley shall be exalted (H5375 to lift) and every mountain and hill shall be made low (H8213 sink, humiliate): and the crooked (H6121 a knoll, fraudulent, tracked) shall be made straight (H4334 level, plain, concord, straightness, justice, justly), and the rough places (H7406 mountain ridge, tied summits) plain (H1237 a split, valley between mountains).

Luke 3:6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God

Isaiah 40 verse 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Glory in Hebrew and Greek has to do with weight, value, strength and ability. Yeshua was the Glory of Father Yehovah.   Yeshua was the vessel through which Yehovah the Father redeemed mankind 2 cor 2: 5 16, 17 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

I believe that this passage was another clue provided to us of why the people were in expectation.  Besides the prophecies looking for their three deliverers, they also had an area of Jerusalem that had once been Mount Zion, the great city of King David and King Yehovah;  now made a plain, like the Valley of Jezreel, a wide plain between mountain ranges. Look at what was said to Zerubbabel when he was in the process of building  the second temple:

Zechariah 4:7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof (Yeshua) with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. And again in Isaiah 28:16 Therfore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, at tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

Mount Zion was razed in an attempt to cleanse the true Temple Mount of the defilements from the foreign armies that had entered into the Holy of Holies many times.  Although the single most noted and recorded event was when Judas Maccabee and his brother’s rebelled against the Greeks, however this was not the only defilement of the Zerubbabel Temple.    Herod had built his temple on to the temple that Simon Maccabbee built after he had Mount Zion razed to the bedrock and  Simon’s temple would later been partially destroyed. Herod’s temple too was built for destruction so that when the Son of Yehovah came and yielded to crucifixion He became the Corner Stone of the Temple not made by hands in whom the Holy Spirit dwells.  He became the High Priest after the order of Melech-Tzadik.

One last thought of Simon’s razing of Mount Zion to the bedrock.  This act would have been supported by their history 2 Chron 29: 15 And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD.  16 And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, and brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron. 17 Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end. 18Then they went in to Hezekiah the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD.  In Simon’s case he not only cleansed the Temple, he cleansed Mount Zion.  This is exactly where the uncleanness of Mount Zion had been carried.  The Kidron and surrounding valleys contain the dirt and debris from the tel known as Mount Zion and the City of David.  Before it was David’s City it belong to the Jebusites, before the Jebusite had it Egyptian history records it as being called Roo-shall-lee-mom when they briefly possessed it.  Razing Mount Zion and the City of David to the bedrock insured it was cleansed from all defilement from past civilizations and more recent defilement by the Greeks.

The area where Mount Zion was had been had become as Egypt and as Sodom (Gal 4:22-25).   The other part of the plan of salvation through Messiah that was fulfilled was the prophecy in Samuel to take the priesthood away from the Levites.

Next reference:

Luke 3:16-18 John answered, saying unto them all. I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worth to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire 17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge (cleanse perfectly G1245) his floor (threshing floor/temple ), and will gather the wheat (Shavout, the bride) into his garner, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable And many other things in his exhortation (call near, invite, invoke) preached (announced) he unto the people

 Did you know the piece of ground that David bought to sacrifice to Yehovah on was a threshing floor?  Do you know what the last temple, Herod’s Temple, was destroyed by? Fire. A fire so great that almost all of the plain-city of Jerusalem was burned to the ground. The gold in the temple melted and seeped into the spaces between the stones.  The majority of the Levites lost their lives rushing into the fire to save the temple and or the golden articles of service. The Roman soldiers used the remaining Jewish population to dig the gold out of the foundation stones of the temple and homes.  Jerusalem was totally turned over,  even the foundation of the buildings in search of melted gold.   Not one stone was left on top of another in the quest for the gold of the Temple. You can read about it in the War of the Jews written by Josephus.  This is one of the many reasons I do not believe the Al Asqa nor the Dome of the Rock is where the Temples of Israel once stood.

Mat 3.1-12 He came out of the wilderness of Judea; he preached repentance

John 1.19-23 He said, (John) I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

John knew who he was, he never calls himself ‘the one who is to come in the Spirit of Elijah’. And yet many, many have been taught and believe he was the one prophesied to come in the spirit of Elijah. Do we not realize we call John a liar by insisting him to have come in the Spirit of Elijah after he himself denied it and said of himself that he is”the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord”?  Dare we to call this a false witness that has been perpetuated against John and The Messiah?  By not ‘rightly dividing the Word of God’ we call John the Baptist a liar and insist him to be the one who came ‘in the spirit and the power of Elias’.

Mat 11.10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold I send my messenger before they face, which shall prepare they way before thee.

 Again, notice that the ‘spirit of Elijah’ was left out of this quote by Yeshua. So far, Gabriel is the only one that used it in speaking to Zacharias so that Zacharias would know that his son would herald the immediate appearing of The Messiah who would come in the spirit and the power of Elias. Let’s look at the passage in Malahi 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. 2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: 3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

 Verse one of Malachi is the same as Yeshua quoted of John, but the next verse reads very much like 70 C.E. when the Temple and the Priesthood were physically destroyed.  Again we see two subject combined into one telling.   John the Baptist is being spoken of in verse one part a and in part b on The Messiah is being spoken of.

Similarities between Elijah and John

John wore Garment of camel’s hair and a leather/skin belt (Mat 3.4; Mar 1.6) ate locust and wild honey. John dwelled near and was baptizing in the Jordan River (Luke 1.80; John 1.28; Mat 3.1). Elijah was a hairy man (disheveling hair) (2 Ki 1.8), girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. Elijah dwelt by the Jordan (1 Ki 17.5)

This similarity needs to be addressed here because it is what many people believe point to John coming in the spirit and the power of Elias.   I know I said it once but it bares repeating.   John did not turn the hearts of the sons to the Father, the Holy Spirit that resided in him from his mother’s womb did this work.

Of Elijah’s demonstration of fire from heaven falling on the altar it says: Yehovah turned the hearts of the sons to the Fathers with a demonstration of fire from heaven 1 Ki 18.37-39  “Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.“

But I promise you, this was not the component that singled out what the spirit of Elijah was.  Let’s continue you are going to see it in just a little bit.

Difficult verses that mention Elijah and John

Mat 11:7-14 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

Let’s take it apart.

Mat 11:7-14 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken (G4531 waver, agitate, rock, topple, destroy) with the wind?

Compare this to the prophesy about Messiah Isa 42:1- 3 Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. I would be bold enough to say that Yeshua was making a Messianic reference in this verse.  The bible study, Linen, the Word made Flesh will help you understand this reference.  Of worthy note is the priesthood wore linen in service to Yehovah.  Yeshua wore linen, he would become our Cohen Gadol, high priest.  This part of the verse is the reference to the priest that was expected.

Verse 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.

 Remember at the beginning of this article we learned that John the Baptist had a direct lineage to King David?  The people were also looking for a king.

9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

 The Jewish population was expecting three persons according to who the Essences believed would come.   The Essences were looking for a King from David.  A priest from Levi.  AND a prophet. What was it that Moses said Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;  They were looking for that prophet to be someone with a similar spirit to Elijah. They did not yet realize that they had everything they were looking for in Yeshua, they were looking at the Son of Man not the Son of Yehovah.

10 But what went ye out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say unto you, and more than a prophet

What made John ‘more than a prophet’? I believe these verses from the Messiah will tell us the answer.   Matthew 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Luke 16:16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.   The difference that made John greater is that he was alive at the time when the kingdom of God was preached by The Messiah.  He prepared the way of The Messiah.  John spoke face to face with The Messiah.  Speaking in faith the other prophets  only told of a day when salvation would come to Israel.  John announced The Messiah’s arrive “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world” John 1:29.   John was born to be The Forerunner of the immediate entrance of the one that came ‘in the spirit and the power of Elias’.

 11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Least: G3398 small (in size, quantity, number or (figuratively) dignity)

Who was least in dignity the kingdom of heaven in this moment? I believe it was The Messiah. Not in a spiritual sense of the word but from the stand point of the people in Jerusalem and Israel. Not many wanted a thing to do with The Messiah. He was the supposed illegitimate son of Mary. He had lineage back to King David, but John the Baptist was a much better candidate than Yeshua to lead the people from a humanistic perspective. They didn’t see the messianic prophecies of the three individuals as being about Yeshua.   They saw Him as least, or less than John.  Isa 53: 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Yeshua made himself a servant.  In a household those who serve are the least under the roof.  Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto (G1247 to be an attendant, wait upon), but to minister (G1247 to be an attendant, wait upon), and to give his life a ransom for many.

 What is the Kingdom of Heaven? It started out as the twelve tribes. Jer 12:7-11 I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. 8 Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.9 Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour. 10 Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. 11 They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.

 The Messiah says now the Kingdom of God is within us Luke 17: 20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Luke 10:9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you; Mark 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Matt 12:28 But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.  From the day that Yeshua walked into the Galilee and started preaching the Kingdom of Heaven became something that would be carried in the hearts of men.

I also see being ‘least‘ as a reference to Micah 5:2  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.   The sub-division of Judah known as Bethlehem Ephratah was ‘little among the thousands of Judah’ and Bethlehem Ephratah is where Yeshua was born.  John the baptist was from the greater tribe of Judah.

  12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

Have you guys read the Old Testament as a history book? The Northern and Southern Kingdoms were constantly in wars, skirmishes’, being occupied and being carried into bondage to other countries. Why? Disobedience to the covenant they agreed to obey.  Disobedience equal curses, even the curse of violence by war.

 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

 Why only until John? Because every prophet that walked the earth prophesied about the Messiah. When John came Yeshua followed immediately, there was no longer a need to prophecy of The Redeemer, He came when John came.   Luke 24:25-27 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.; Psalms 40:7 Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me.; Revelation 19:10 The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.; Luke 24:44 “…all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me; Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself; Acts 10:43 To Him give all the prophets witness

 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

Now the Messiah has given us the key to what IS the spirit of Elijah.  It’s just so concrete.  Everything that is mentioned before verse 14 speaks of the disobediences which led to the curse of wars, skirmishes’, being occupied and bondages in foreign countries.  The physical follows the spiritual, the more they disobeyed the more spiritual bondage to false gods they slipped into until at last they themselves were in bondage to a foreign king in a foreign land.  This is what happened to the Northern Kingdom.  Now the SOUTHERN kingdom of Judah needed the ‘false priests’ cleansed from Temple and to have correct worship of Yehovah established by example of The Just One.  Just as Elijah did in the NORTHERN kingdom of Ephraim so the Messiah did in the Northern Kingdom of Judah.

Let’s keep going, next reference:

Mat 17:10-13 And his disciple asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?   11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.

I just have to ask you. Can a man restore anything spiritually? Yet this ‘Elijah’ is going to restore. What was to be restored? What needed restoring and what was promised to be restored?  A broken covenant. A people to their Elohim. Joel 2:25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. Jer 30:17 For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.  Hos 1:9 Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.  10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. 11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.  Acts 1:6,7 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

            Matt 17: 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.

 They didn’t know Elijah, then he was not John the Baptist. John the Baptist they knew they even asked John if he was Elijah. Yeshua is using terms they were familiar with to describe himself to them. He was the one that came and will come in the spirit of Elijah, he was the Son of Man, he was the Son of God, he was the least in the kingdom of heaven from the tribe of Judah of Bethlehem of Ephratah , he came to suffered and die. He will return with fire and purge the earth.

Matt 17: 13Then (at this time) the disciple understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist…my added emphasis

Without a doubt, in this moment they thought Yeshua was referring to John. Have you ever understood something different than the person speaking intended?  I certainly have. But remember who the scriptures that we just read say The Restorer is. Act 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. 1 Cor 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

This is the same story in Matthew and Mark.

Matthew17: 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.

Mark 9:12 Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. 13 But I say unto you, that Elias in deed come and they have done unto whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.

What was written that they would do to John the Baptist if he had come in the Spirit of Elijah? I know not one thing.  But look closely at the details in these two sections.  In Matthew they did ‘whatsoever they listed of the Son of Man’ and in Mark they did whatsoever they listed of Elias’! Elias and the Son of Man are the same person …. ‘as it is written’ part of this verse is found in Isa 53, 54. Look what was written of Messiah.

Isaiah 42:13-53:12 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. 14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: 15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider. 53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 2 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

The Son of Man who is the Son of God came in the Spirit of Elijah and they did whatever the wanted to Him.

So what is the Spirit of Elijah, how can we be sure?

 In a lot of ways we are launching into another story now. I have to take you back to the time that the twelve tribes were divided to understand the spirit of Elijah and the similarities between Elijah and the Messiah.

The twelve tribes were divided into two Kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom, who we will refer to as Ephraim for clarity; and the Southern Kingdom who we will refer to as Judah.  Each kingdom had their own seat of government.  Ephraim’s seat was in Samaria, Judah’s seat was in the City of David or Mount Zion.

The spirit that Elijah carried was the Holy Spirit. Most of the works that Elijah preformed by the Holy Spirit were repeated in Elisha’s ministry. But there was an uniqueness about Elijah’s anointing and story.

Elijah ministered to the Ephraim about 150 years before it fell.   He ministered to the Ephraim in a time of tremendous evil; King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim had allowed the worship of Baal and the Groves.  Elijah’s work was to reveal to the nation of Ephraim exactly who is the true God of Israel.  Ephraim had lost their spiritual compass. They were a nation in a crisis of physical drought and famine.  Elijah never went to the Kingdom of Judah;  he was only called to the Kingdom of Ephraim to cleanse the wicked priests from within their borders and to demonstrate by his example the correct worship of Yehovah when he rebuilt the altars of Yehovah before the priests of Baal, the Grove, their rulers and the people.

Until the ascension of Yeshua, only Elijah, Elisha and Yeshua were recorded to have raised the dead. Elijah work was was not like the other prophets. In their stories we see Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos and many others speaking many words of prophecy, writing many words given to them by Yehovah. Elijah’s prophecy was more what he did than what he said, he never wrote out one prophecy.

 Elijah cleansed the Kingdom of Ephraim of their pagan priests. 1 Kings 18:40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

Elijah, by the Holy Spirit called fire down from heaven 1 Kings 18:37  Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

 This is the one work that Elijah doesn’t share with any other of the prophets. This was the spirit of Elijah.  It was only accomplished in the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim.

Similarities between Elijah and Yeshua

Now I want to pair the Elijah story with the story of the work of Yeshua.

Elijah ministered to the Ephraim about 150 years before it fell.   He ministered to the Ephraim in a time of tremendous evil; Ahab and Jezebel had allowed the worship of Baal and the Groves. Elijah’s work was to reveal to the nation of Ephraim exactly who the is true God of Israel, they had lost their spiritual compass. They were a nation in crisis of drought and famine. Ephraim had committed all the sins of the Amorite nation. Elijah never went to the Kingdom of Judah;  he was only called to the Kingdom of Ephraim to cleanse the wicked priests from their borders and to demonstrate by his example the correct worship of Yehovah before the priests of Baal, the Grove, their rules and the people.  After this Ephraim was carried away to a foreign nation.

Yeshua ministered to the Kingdom of Judah about 40 years before it fell. He too ministered in a time of tremendous evil. The High Priest was not from a proper priestly course. The Sadducees and the Pharisees had added to the Law of Yehovah. Judah too had lost its spiritual compass. They were a nation in crisis with a spiritual drought and famine.

Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: When Yeshua laid His life down he ascended to heaven to make intercession as a high priest before the Father Yehovah. That’s what the whole book of Hebrews is about; the change in the priesthood and the doing away with the temple offering and sacrifices. Yeshua became a priest after the order of Melech tzadik. It was then He took their authority over His kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven.   As prophesied in Samuel 1 Samuel 2: 31 Behold, the days come, that I will cut off thine arm (Eli’s two sons), and the arm of thy father’s house (the house of Aaron, the Levites), that there shall not be an old man in thine house. 32 And thou shalt see an enemy in my habitation, in all the wealth which God shall give Israel: and there shall not be an old man in thine house for ever. 33 And the man of thine, whom I shall not cut off from mine altar, shall be to consume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart: and all the increase of thine house shall die in the flower of their age. 34 And this shall be a sign unto thee, that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas; in one day they shall die both of them. 35 And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever. 36 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thine house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests’ offices, that I may eat a piece of bread.

Matthew 3: 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor (temple), and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Luke 3:16 John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: 17 Whose fan is in his hand, and   he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

Fire fell in Herod’s Temple Acts 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Yeshua  only came to the Kingdom of Judah (he didn’t seek out any of the Southern Kingdom) to demonstrate by his example the correct worship of Yehovah before the priests wicked priest of the Temple, their rules and the people. Then in 70 CE 40 years after Yeshua was crucified the Temple was burned with fire, many priests lost their lives in the fire and the temple has never been rebuilt. At that time He cleanse the wicked priests from their borders.  (Josephus, War of the Jews)  The Jews, the Southern Kingdom was carried out of Israel.

But there are many more similiarities than this.  Let’s hit the highlights

Elijah performed miracles; Yeshua performed miracles. John preformed no miracles John 10.41

1 Ki 17.5 Elijah dwelt by the brook Cherith that is against Jordan (country) to escape Ahab, an angel ministered to Elijah. Yeshua dwelt in the same wilderness there where he was baptized by John, angels ministered to Yeshua Mark 1:13. Again in Mar 1:12,13 Yeshua dwelt beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized and there he abode to escape the Jews at the feast of dedication John 10.40

Elijah: In the Northern kingdom of Ephraim had every sin of the Amorites 1 Ki 21.26; Yeshua: In Southern kingdom Judah had all of the Roman gods in Jerusalem, Roman emperors were as gods over them;  in addition there was much Roman and other pagan symbolism displayed within the synagogues.  (see Peter’s sheet and Moses seat)

Elijah: In the Northern kingdom of Ephraim the people didn’t know the ways of YHVH they followed the gods of Jezabel.  Yeshua: In Southern kingdom Judah the people didn’t know the ways of the Fathers, they followed the corrupt Sadducees and Pharisees

Elijah: In the Northern kingdom of Ephraim Elijah ascends without dying 2 Ki 2.11.  In Southern kingdom Judah Yeshua ascends and still lives

Elijah: Northern Kingdom they sought him 3 days.  Yeshua: Southern Kingdom  Yeshua gave the sign of Jonah -3 days and nights in death.

Yeshua raised the widow’s son in Nain Luke 11:7-14.  In Elijah’s version of raising the widow’s son I see a prophetic shadow type of the woman being Judah and her only son (Yeshua) is dead three days before he is raised:

1 Kings 17:10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman (Judah or the Jews) was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. 12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks (Ez 37:15-34), that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. 13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. 14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. 15And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 16And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.  17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. 18And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? 19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. 20 And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?21 And he stretched himself upon the child (three days), and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. 22And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. 24And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.

In Luke 4:24 Jesus mentions the widow of Elijah’s day “ And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in how own country. 25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months; when the great famine was throughout all the land; 26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarpeta, the city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. 27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed saving Naaman the Syrian

Let’s return for one minute to 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. 2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: 3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. While we are looking towards the next temple when the priesthood will be purged and will make offering to the Lord in righteousness, today we are the priesthood.  1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;  We were purged with fire at Shavuot and now worship Yehovah in Spirit and in Truth.

Yeshua is the one who came in the spirit of Elijah; He will come again with fire as Elijah and this time fire will be more than spiritual, it will be unquenchable.  The final battle of the Messiah will be fought in the Jezreel Valley, the battle of Har Meggido or in the KJV bible Armageddon.  This is where Elijah faced Ahab.  By the way, the Jews today refer to the location they call the temple mount as Har HaBeit (mountain house).  Armageddon  a 35 acre knoll is situated in front of an incredibly large valley plain, Yeshua will defeat the false prophets, Satan and his forces; the kings of this earth.  In the same way and in the same location Elijah destroyed the false prophets of Jezabel (those of Baal and the grove) 1 kings 18:24 . I believe this was the fire Yeshua meant when he said Luke 12:49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with (death): and how I am straightened until it be accomplished! 51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three 53 The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter in law, and the daughter in law against the mother in law. (also see Mat 10:34-36) 2 Thes 2:17 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance of them that know not God, and the obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power

The transfiguration. The three men all of Israel was looking for: a king, a priest and a prophet

In a prophetic sign of fulfillment we see Moses (a Levite/priest/prophet) and Elijah (a prophet) on the mount of transfiguration with The Messiah.   Remember in Mat 17 Yeshua referred to himself as a prophet which represented Elijah;  a Levite which Moses was, and a king David was. At time of the transfiguration Yeshua was the Prophet like unto Moses and Elijah and he would soon become the high-priest at His death.

I want to show you the similarities between Yeshua, Moses and Elijah.  Briefly.  Moses and Elijah both ascended the mountain of Yah (Sinai/Horeb) and saw the pre-existent Messiah.  Both Moses and Elijah show up on the Mount of Transfiguration during the Messiah ministry on earth.   Yeshua was taken up to a high mountain: Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him (Yehsua) up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

 Moses fasted 40 days and night Ex 43:8: Elijah fasted 40 days and nights I Kings 19:8; Yeshua fasted 40 days and nights Mat 4:2

This is so long and there is so much more I could give you on this subject, let me end with just this.  There is one man of the three anointed-ones expected by the Essenes that are not on the Mount of Transfiguration.  King David is missing.  Yeshua is the one that will reign forever on the governmental throne of David.  Why was David not on the Mount with Yeshua, Moses and Elijah?   David was not present because it is not until Yeshua death that He is seated on the throne in heaven  Mark 16:19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 1 Cor 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.  In Rev 19 we see Yeshua as the KING OF KING, LORD OF LORDS.  When Yeshua returns He will reign as king.

Kids, I hope you will study this.  Tear it apart.  Check and double check me.  I want you to see for yourself that it is the Messiah that came to the Southern Kingdom of Judah in the same manner that Elijah was sent to the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim which was to take away the wicked priesthood from both kingdoms.  Of course it was only through the body of Messiah that both kingdoms could be come one new man and be restored to the Fathers.  Blessed be the name of Yehovah forever.  Amein.