Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



He will go before Him in the spirit and the power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the upright, to make ready for the Lord a people perfectly prepared." Verse ConceptsHeraldPower, HumanSpirit, Emotional Aspects OfProphecies Concerning ChristForerunnersDivine MessengerCausing People To TurnPeople Going BeforeAcquiring WisdomFathers And SonsPowerful Individualsparentingdisobedience


They answered, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." Verse ConceptsUnnamed Prophets Of The LordWho He Might Beothers

The disciples asked Him, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" He answered, "Elijah does come and will get everything ready. But I say to you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but treated him as they pleased. Just so the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands."

He answered them, "Elijah does come first and gets everything ready, but how is it that the Scripture says about the Son of Man that He will suffer much and be rejected? But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and people treated him just as they pleased, as the Scripture says about him."

So they asked him again, "What are you then? Elijah?" And he answered, "Of course, I am not." "Are you the prophet?" He answered, "No." Then they said to him, "Who are you? Tell us, so that we can have an answer to give to those who sent us. What have you to say for yourself?" He said, "I am a voice of one shouting in the desert, 'Make the road straight for the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said." read more.
Now the messengers belonged to the party of the Pharisees; so they asked him, "Why are you baptizing then, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?"

Six days after this, Jesus took Peter and James and his brother John, and led them up on a high mountain, by themselves. And in their presence His appearance was changed and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes turned as white as light. Then Moses and Elijah appeared to them and kept talking with Him. read more.
And Peter interrupted, and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here! If you consent, I will put up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, a bright cloud cast its shadow over them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, my Beloved, in whom I am delighted. Keep on listening to Him!" When the disciples heard it, they fell upon their faces, for they were terribly frightened. Then Jesus came and touched them, and said, "Get up and do not be so afraid." They looked up and saw no one but Jesus Himself. And as they were going down the mountain, Jesus warned them, saying, "Never mention to anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man is raised from the dead." The disciples asked Him, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" He answered, "Elijah does come and will get everything ready. But I say to you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but treated him as they pleased. Just so the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them about John the Baptist.

Six days after this, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with Him, and led them up on a high mountain, alone by themselves. And in their presence His appearance was changed, and His clothes were shining as white as white could be, yea, whiter than any earthly bleacher could bleach them. And Elijah appeared to them, accompanied by Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. read more.
Then Peter interrupted and said to Jesus, "Teacher, it is good for us to be here. So let us put up three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." For he did not really know what to say, he was so frightened. Then a cloud came and was circling over them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my Son, my Beloved; keep on listening to Him!" And as quick as a flash, on looking around, they saw no one with them but Jesus by Himself. And while they were going down the mountain, He cautioned them not to tell anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man should rise from the dead. And they held that caution fast in their minds, as they continued to discuss among themselves what rising from the dead meant. Then they asked Him, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah has to come first?" He answered them, "Elijah does come first and gets everything ready, but how is it that the Scripture says about the Son of Man that He will suffer much and be rejected? But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and people treated him just as they pleased, as the Scripture says about him."

Now about eight days after Jesus said this, He took Peter, John, and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while He was praying, the look on His face changed, and His clothes turned dazzling white. And two men were talking with Him. They were Moses and Elijah, read more.
who appeared in splendor and were speaking of His departure which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep, but all at once they became wide awake and saw His splendor and the two men who were standing with Him. And just as they were starting to leave Him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- although he did not know what he was saying. But as he was saying this, a cloud came and was circling over them, and they were frightened as the two visitors entered into the cloud. Then a voice came out of the cloud and said, "This is my Son, my Chosen One; continue to listen to Him!" When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found to be alone. And they kept silence and told no one anything that they had seen at that time.

Then Paul said, "John baptized with a baptism that was an expression of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was to come after him; that is, in Jesus." Verse ConceptsFaith, Necessity OfJohn's BaptismBelieve In Christ!Signs Of RepentanceBaptism

as it is written in the sermon-book of the prophet Isaiah: "Here is a voice of one shouting in the desert, 'Get the road ready for the Lord, make the paths straight for Him. Every ravine must be filled up, and every mountain and hill leveled down; the crooked places must become straight roads, and the rough roads must be made smooth, And all mankind must see the salvation of God.'"

He answered, "Elijah does come and will get everything ready. Verse ConceptsRestoring Things

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah: "Here I send my messenger ahead of you; He will prepare your way. He is a voice of one who shouts in the desert, 'Get the road ready for the Lord; make the paths straight for Him.'" John the Baptizer appeared in the desert and was preaching a baptism conditioned on repentance to obtain the forgiveness of sins. read more.
And people from all over Judea and everybody in Jerusalem kept on going out to him and being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. Now John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he used to live on dried locusts and wild honey. He kept preaching the following message, "After me there is coming One who is stronger than I am, whose shoes I am not fit to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you in water, but He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit."

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must drink no wine nor strong drink, and so he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his birth. And he will turn many of Israel's descendants to the Lord their God. He will go before Him in the spirit and the power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the upright, to make ready for the Lord a people perfectly prepared."

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to make ready His ways, to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. Because the heart of our God is merciful. And so the day will dawn upon us from on high, read more.
to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

He came for the purpose of testifying, to testify to the light, so that everyone through him might come to believe. He was not the light; he came to testify to the light.

John testified to Him and cried out, for this was the one who said, "The One who is coming after me has been put before me, because He existed before me." Verse ConceptsHeraldJohn The BaptistWitnesses, To Jesus ChristWitnessing, Importance OfPreexistence Of ChristThe Existence Of ChristGreatness Of ChristChrist Going BeforeContemporary Witness To ChristSaid To Be The Christ

Then they said to him, "Who are you? Tell us, so that we can have an answer to give to those who sent us. What have you to say for yourself?" He said, "I am a voice of one shouting in the desert, 'Make the road straight for the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said." Now the messengers belonged to the party of the Pharisees; read more.
so they asked him, "Why are you baptizing then, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?" John answered them, "I am baptizing only in water. There is standing among you One with whom you are not acquainted. He is to become my successor, because He has been put before me, and I am not fit to untie His shoestrings." This took place at Bethany on the farther side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

I did not know Him myself, but I came baptizing in water, that He might be made known to Israel." Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit coming down from heaven like a dove, and it remained on Him. I did not know Him myself, but the very One who sent me to baptize in water said to me, 'The One on whom you see the Spirit coming down and remaining, is the One who is to baptize in the Holy Spirit.' read more.
I did see it; and my testimony is that He is the Son of God."

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There is someone else who testifies to me, and I know that the testimony which He gives to me is of force. You yourselves sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. However, I do not accept mere human testimony, but I am saying this that you may be saved. read more.
John was the lamp that kept on burning and shining, and you decided for a time to delight yourselves in his light.

as John, before His coming, had already preached baptism as an expression of repentance, for all the people of Israel. As John was closing his career, he said, 'What do you take me to be? I am not the Christ; no, but He is coming after me, and I am not fit to untie the shoes on His feet.'