John 1: 15:17

15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Key Observation:
This passage is dealing with one of the two themes of the first chapter: 1) The testimony of John the Baptizer, and 2) The beginning ministry of Jesus with the calling of his disciples.

Devotion:
John is a type of Elijah: “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and terrible day of the Lord comes.” (Mal. 4:5) Had the offered kingdom been accepted by the Jews, John the Baptizer would have been the Elijah sent to turn the hearts of people back to God. The kingdom was rejected, as our Lord foreknew, and John, though he acted in the spirit of Elijah, was never able to fulfill this role.

Thus, the prophecy of Malachi, which nearly came true, has not yet come true, and it is in the great day of the Lord that many Bible scholars feel Elijah himself will return. Some say, and I think so also, that Elijah and Enoch will be the two great prophets that come to turn the hearts of Israel back to their God. The reasoning for this is that Elijah and Enoch stand alone in all of mankind as the two people who never experienced death. Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind, and Enoch was not, for God took him.

I think that they may be literally sent back for that great time of Jacob’s trouble, but I also think that the Scripture may be fulfilled by God’s sending two prophets in the spirit of Elijah. What is the spirit of Elijah? Elijah confronted major disbelief and idolatry in his day. He stood almost single-handed for the Lord, who rewarded him with great signs and wonders to turn the hearts of Israel back. Whether it is the actual flesh of Elijah, I know not, but the job of these prophets will be to confront disbelief and idolatry. They will stand almost singly, with the aid of a 144,000, and they will be the prominent ones through whom God will send signs and wonders. I believe that their deaths and even perhaps their subsequent resurrections will be on world wide television, since Revelation tells us that the whole world will rejoice over their deaths. At least in the sight of those present and gloating over their deaths, the two prophets will be raised again to life, and their bodies taken up to heaven.

Unless I see John the Baptizer in this prophetical light, I miss the expectation of the Jews. Time and again the gospel of John makes it apparent the people following Jesus tried to come and make him a king, not understanding that because the kingdom was rejected, that the offer would be deferred to a later date. One day soon we will have two prophets raised up who will testify again: “This is He, the Messiah.” Now that gives me a Chris Matthews’ tingle up my leg!

Sound the Trumpet

Sound the trumpet, oh people of God!
Sound the trumpet, oh people of God,
And let his glory be known, and let his glory be known!

Sound the trumpet, oh people of God!
Sound the trumpet, oh people of God,
And let his glory be known, and let his glory be known!

For the Lord, our God, is a great God,
Great King of all the earth!
For the Lord, our God, is a mighty God,
Oh, sing of his excellent worth!

Sound the trumpet, oh people of God!
Sound the trumpet, oh people of God,
And let his glory be known, and let his glory be known!

Lyrics: Unknown