In the 4th chapter of Zechariah, the prophet had a vision in which he saw a golden lamp stand with seven lamps upon it and two olive trees standing by, feeding it continually with oil. This vision takes us back to the days of Zechariah when Zerubbabel had laid the foundation of the Temple and the message from God was to finish the job. The prophet then with great interest turns to the two olive trees and asks what (or who) they are.
“And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” (Zechariah 4:12-14 KJV)
They are called the “two witnesses” in Revelation 11, represented by most theologians to be Moses and Elijah throughout the pages of the Bible. Even though in this passage they are not named, it is obvious that they represent Moses (on behalf of the law) and Elijah (on behalf of the prophets). In Revelation 11:4 the Bible tells us that these two witnesses correspond to the two olive trees spoken of by Zechariah. One has “power to shut up heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy,” and the other has “power over waters to turn them to blood.” These are the precise characteristics of both Moses and Elijah. Do we see them elsewhere in the Bible?
We do. What is ever more interesting, is that we see Elijah again in the New Testament as well as a brief appearance by Moses.
The personal history of Elijah is somewhat clouded and the Bible does not tell us much about him. After King Ahab’s death, Elijah appeared before his son Ahaziah who had succeeded his father as king. Take note of his appearance:
“And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words? And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins, And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.” (2nd Kings 1:7,8 KJV)
Elijah appeared to be a man of sparse needs and simple tastes, dedicated to the Lord. It is interesting to note going forward in time that this is a very similar description of John the Baptist:
“In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoke of by the prophet Esaias (Isaiah), saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.” (Matthew 3:1-6)
John traveled down the Jordan River, just the same territory as Elijah had, dressed in simple garb and eating only the necessary foods to keep him alive.
John the Baptist was later imprisoned for his criticism of Herod Antipas’s incestuous relationship with the woman called Herodias, pronouncing their union to be unlawful. For this, and at the whim of his daughter, he was beheaded.
Not very long after his death, Peter, James and John accompanied the Lord to a mountain top (believed to be Mount Hermon) where they saw Jesus in His glory. It is known as the Mount of Transfiguration. To the astonishment of the disciples, both Elijah and Moses appeared with Jesus in this moment and began to speak with Him. Jesus then explained the amazing event to them coming down:
“And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias (Elijah) must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, that Elias (Elijah) is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise, shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.” (Matthew 17:9-13)
What did Jesus mean by this? Without trying to examine Jesus’ words in depth, here is the New Testament order of events:
John the Baptist came as the Lord’s messenger, to announce the arrival of Messiah. He baptized Jesus. He was arrested, then killed. Next, the disciples experienced the presence of Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration. In taking Jesus words literally, Elijah came in the person of John, then after John’s death, he appeared unto the disciples as himself. Jesus restates this also in Matthew 11:12-14.
Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi were all contemporaries and wrote their final prophecies in the Old Testament. Then there were no more prophets for 400 years until the birth of Christ. But the source of the disciples’ questions of Jesus about the coming of Elijah are found in Malachi’s final verses. Malachi refers to both Moses and Elijah whom he states will prepare the remnant of his people for the Day of the Lord:
“Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord;
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:4-6)
When John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah, his ministry was cut short. He was not allowed to turn the “heart of the children to their fathers” nor did he usher in the Kingdom Age. Therefore, the Lord followed through on His threat and smote the earth with a curse driving the Jewish people out of the Land for almost 1,900 years before Israel was reborn in 1948.
But when Elijah appears the next time as one of the two witnesses found in Revelation 11, he will succeed in helping bring revival to the nation of Israel. And Jesus will not curse the earth at that time, instead He will establish His glorious Kingdom and rule for a thousand years, otherwise known as the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ.