WERE THERE PROPHETS AFTER JOHN?
(PART I)
Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
St. Matthew 11:13-14 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
As we consider both these scriptures we learn that there was a prophecy for a prophet to precede the coming of the “great and dreadful day of the Lord”. We also see that the scriptures refer to John as that prophet which was prophesied. But then questions arise in our minds. The “great and dreadful day of the Lord” has not yet come, and there are other scriptures in the bible which tell us that there were other prophets in existence after John the Baptist went off the scene.
We read in the book of Acts in the New Testament, in chapters 13 and 15 of named prophets such as Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, Judas and Silas who taught and prophesied to the people in the days of Peter, and Paul. Agabus is another prophet who prophesied to Paul specifically of what was to befall him when he went up to Jerusalem. As he prophesied so it came to pass. These men were all accepted as prophets in the time of these apostles.
St. Matthew 5:17
– “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”
St. Luke 13:33
– “Nevertheless I must walk to day,
and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet
perish out of Jerusalem.”
These verses show us that Jesus supported the work of the prophets.
His mission was to carry out exactly what was foretold by the prophets
that He should do. He further stated that a prophet would always be in
Jerusalem; the habitation of peace; the place where His teachings are
carried out.
The “great and dreadful day of the Lord” is still to come. This means that Jesus is on His way back. Just as when He came to the earth before, He was preceded by Elias (John the Baptist), so in these last days He will be preceded by Elias again. Elias truly must first come and restore all things. (St. Matt. 17:11) John the Baptist when he was around did not restore all the teachings given to Israel. He prepared the way for the Lamb of God, proclaiming His coming and preparing the hearts of the people to receive Him. He declared the necessity for the people to receive the Lamb of God into their hearts and to be baptized for the remission of their sins. Yet he did not restore all things. There has to be restoration before the return of the Lord Jesus. Stay tuned for the continuation of this article.