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| Matthew 17:10-13 |
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Lesson # Matt. 17:10-13 Study Material - Matt. 17:10-13 You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Matt. 17:10-13 10 And [kai] his [autos] disciples [mathetes] asked [eperotao] him [autos] , saying [lego] , Why [tis] then [oun] say [lego] the scribes [grammateus] that [hoti] Elias [Helias] must [dei] first [proton] come [erchomai] ? 11 And [de] Jesus [Iesous] answered [apokrinomai] and said [epo] unto them [autos] , Elias [Helias] truly [men] shall first [proton] come [erchomai] , and [kai] restore [apokathistemi] all things [pas] . 12 But [de] I say [lego] unto you [humin] , That [hoti] Elias [Helias] is come [erchomai] already [ede] , and [kai] they knew [epiginosko] him [autos] not [ou] , but [alla] have done [poieo] unto [en] him [autos] whatsoever [hosos] they listed [thelo] . Likewise [houto] shall [mello] also [kai] the Son [huios] of man [anthropos] suffer [pascho] of [hupo] them [autos] . 13 Then [tote] the disciples [mathetes] understood [suniemi] that [hoti] he spake [epo] unto them [autos] of [peri] John [Ioannes] the Baptist [Baptistes] . KJV-Interlinear Matt. 17:10-13 10 And His disciples asked Him, saying, 'Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?' 11 And He answered and said, 'Elijah is coming and will restore all things; 12 but I say to you, that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands. ' 13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist. NAS Everyone was looking for the Messiah, but first they expected Elijah to come in advance of Messiah, Mal. 4:5-6, 'Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. 6 'And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.' And of course Elijah will come in advance of Messiah, but Messiah's coming will be in a 'great and terrible day.' That day will be when Jerusalem is surrounded, under siege, in the middle of battle, and about to fall to an extremely bad enemy such as in Sennacherib's day. That story is in Isa. 36-37. You recall that the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the night, struck down all of Sennacherib's army of 185,000. No one woke up that following morning. Such is the case at the Second Advent, 'the great and terrible day of the Lord.' Sennacherib had surrounded a virtually defenseless and helpless Jerusalem, and was notorious for conducting torture (actually skinning alive male prisoners) and rape and slavery of the females that please him. So that day then, certainly qualified as 'terrible' and terrible prospects for the inhabitants of Jerusalem who were about to fall to the merciless Assyrians. More than enough to make ones heart sink and anxiety levels shoot way off the chart. And again the Jews in Jesus' day were selective in their reading of the Bible. Many passages spoke of the First Advent and the sacrifice of the Son for all of mankind. The sacrifices and offerings spoke of it and taught the principles of salvation (the various animal offerings) and the spiritual life through fellowship (the washings and such). Suffering before blessing was and is a common theme of the Old Testament. All throughout history God always gives a forewarning of impending events. The calm before the storm. The Romans were terrible, but the city was not under siege, nor were the Jews in danger of immediate torture and death. They just had taxes and their noses (pride) bent a little out of shape. So where is Elijah? He is in paradise and not on earth - not yet. Malachi is generally interpreted as the literal return of Elijah. But here Jesus gives another interpretation - the pattern of Elijah. He was speaking of John the Baptist who was His forerunner, but not the literal Elijah. In the Tribulation, that may well be the case for the person who will simulate the pattern of Elijah, but most believe that the real Elijah as well as the real Moses will be the two witnesses which will return bring peoples attention, not only to themselves but to God as well. The disciples knew their scriptures, but they just had some of the chronology mixed up as well as the circumstances of the 'time. The disciples were obviously free to travel at will and under no real threat from Rome or others. The country was not in the middle of a war, nor in great peril. So it is throughout history. Many know some history, but they are unable to interpret history. Too often people interpret their contemporary times from strictly human views - good guys, bad guys, oil or wealth, or politics, or just plain egos or lusts or delusions of greatness. But there is a higher interpretation of history and that comes from He (Jesus Christ), who controls history and drives it and is driving it, to a certain conclusion. Along the way individuals (the level for you and me), and nations even regions of power, are molded and shaped for their purpose in history. As we all sit in wait for this next vote in the UN, and then for the deadline of the 17th (presumably this is the next deadline for Iraq), we have our own individual lives to live, regardless of what path the world takes. Our path is Bible doctrine and our individual spiritual lives. We each have a destiny (in eternity) which will be totally unaffected by the war or lack of war, or whatever outcome will come out of the Middle East. Iraq may well be defeated and a new government installed. They may be able to avoid the war with some witty maneuver. The difference of this event is that those people over there, may have more free access to the Bible, and may be able to obtain their own spiritual opportunities. If they are positive then God will bring Iraq and its ruthless government to its knees. If they are negative, then God may well allow them and the region to suffer in even more misery, even preventing a successful outcome for the allied forces. Well just have to wait and see. Regardless of the outcome of today's events, history will resume and continue toward the pattern of nations which will be in existence when the Rapture occurs and the Tribulation begins. Again, our priority is to advance in our spiritual lives. For that is what our eternal life is going to be based on - not the outcome of this world event or that one. Likewise our eternal life depends on our spiritual growth, and not on the opinions of people around us nor even the circumstances in our immediate periphery. John the Baptist came and he was killed. Many prophets came and they were killed. Elijah will come again and he too will be killed. The world is notorious for attacking and trying to destroy that which is good for it and the world embraces that which is bad for it. 'Elijah is coming again.' History is advancing on a solid course to a preset conclusion. There will be a Rapture (the next prophecy to occur in history). There will be a Judgment Seat of Christ. There will be a Second Advent, a Millennium and a final judgment, and a termination of human history. There will be a destiny for you. Once you realize that (the disciples haven't quite yet caught on), then the various details in your life will seem less important, and your spiritual responsibilities will take on a greater level of importance. But then when will this happen??? 
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
