Jesus said something amazing in Matthew 17
Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
We are placed in His Kingdom when we are Born Again so this means that we are greater than John.
John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ’s first Coming. He Iived out in the wilderness totally separated unto God and people came out to him there and He told everyone of the coming Christ.
John later died at the hands of men, which was a prophetic picture of how Christ would end his life on the cross. He came as a lamb to the slaughter.
Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.” Matthew 17:12-13
Jesus is coming again and just as John was before His 1st Coming, so shall there be a ‘John’ for His 2nd Coming.
Jesus said that John was ‘The Elijah’ who came before him, but inferred that that there was still another who would restore all things. If John was the one who prepared the way for His 1st Coming then there will also be ‘An Elijah’ before the 2nd Coming. This time He will come as a conquering King and not as a Lamb. This Elijah will not die at the hands of men be victorious like their coming King.
“For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet.”
Malachi chapter 4 says that the wicked shall be like ashes beneath our feet. I say ‘our’ for I believe that the future ‘Elijah’ is none other than the Spirit filled Church doing the works that Jesus did. The task now is to the whole world and not just the nation of Israel.
When the original Elijah came onto the scene at Mount Carmel, he was far from weak. He called down fire from heaven and slew the prophets of Baal, starting a revival in the nation.
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
Just as John was a prophetic picture of Jesus the Lamb of God so shall the ‘Elijah Church’ be a picture of the powerful, victorious coming King.
We the Church are born again, and have Christ within us, which John never had. We have everything when we have Christ and are filled with God in our union with Christ. As great as John was, he was not born again and that is why Jesus says we are greater than he. Our greatness is not based on what we have done like John the Baptist but on what we believe like our Father Abraham whose faith was counted unto him as righteousness.
For many in the Church today, we don’t realise who we are and what we have in Christ. We have millions in the bank don’t know it.
The Devil has been working hard to distract the Church in these End Times so that she doesn’t have the time to meditate on these truths so that they become a reality in our lives.
We now have the same Spirit in us that raised Christ from the dead which is the true ‘Spirit of Elijah.’ We have the potential to do the works that Jesus did and even greater.
Church wake up and realise who you are and your great calling before the Lords 2nd coming.