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Now for the anti-climax. After having denied the conditional nature of the Lord's
statement, after having had recourse to such an idea as that Malachi, who said "Elijah
THE Prophet", meant no such person: after having confused the time of fulfillment, and
taken prophecies which deal with the great and dreadful day of the Lord as applying to
the ministry of John Baptist: after having spoken of "this assumption" as being one of the
main props of the "post-Kingdom" theory--"M." finishes his argument by saying:--
"The view we have here presented does not, of course, exclude the possibility that
there may be yet another `Elijah' who will accomplish a further and final fulfillment of
Malachi's prophecy. Hence any who wish to do so are free to look for such a further and
final fulfillment. All we have to say about that is that we see nothing in Scripture to
support such expectation."
Is this what the writer means by "simple and unambiguous" language? On page 63 of
"G.P.K." the writer speaks once more of Elijah. He there quotes I Kings 18: 36. In
this Scripture Elijah is definitely called "Elijah the Prophet", identifying him with the
Elijah of Malachi. He quotes Elijah's prayer:--
"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" (verse 37),
and says:--
"It was then a far off look to the time when the nation Israel shall gaze upon Him
Whom they pierced, and shall turn indeed, never to apostatize again. But that day is
drawing near."
If ever a man was compelled by the force of Scripture to acknowledge truth in spite of
his own misunderstandings our brother is so compelled here. The ministry of
John the Baptist, which is so linked with that of Elijah, had to do with the turning back to
God the apostate NATION ISRAEL, and that day is drawing near! "M." believes the
"postponement theory". He believes John Baptist's ministry was to the Nation Israel, and
not to or concerning the Church, and that the long postponed completion of that
germinant fulfillment, when John went before the Lord "in the spirit and power of Elias",
is drawing nigh.
We rejoice in the confirmation of the truth to ourselves by those who set out thus to
oppose it, and trust that its reconsideration may prove a blessing to our critic himself.