What do the Gospel Words, "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come" (Mt. 11:14) Mean?

    

The great Prophet Elias was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot (4 Kings 2:1–18). According to the Old Testament Prophecy, he will return to the earth before the coming of the Messiah Christ: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD (Mal. 4:5). This will happen at the Second Coming of the Savior. According to St. Andrew of Cesarea, the two witnesses spoken of in the Book of Revelations will be righteous Enoch and Elias: And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will (Rev. 11:3-6). The Jewish contemporaries of the Savior awaited the coming of Elias during their time (Mt. 16:14,17,10; Jn. 1:21). The Lord explained the true meaning of this prophecy of Malachi, saying that it relates to St. John the Forerunner: And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist (Mt. 17:10).

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov)
Translated by Pravoslavie.ru/OrthoChristian.com

8/3/2010

See also
Homily on the Day of the Holy Prophet Elias Homily on the Day of the Holy Prophet Elias
St. Luke, Archbishop of Crimea
Homily on the Day of the Holy Prophet Elias Homily on the Day of the Holy Prophet Elias
St. Luke, Archbishop of Crimea
But I want the thought to reach your heart that not only does this kind of prayer, which works manifest miracles seen by everyone, not only the prayer of the Prophet Ellias, and the prayers of the apostles, prophets, and martyrs work miracles. I want you to understand that any prayer will work miracles.l
Saint Elias Who? Saint Elias Who? Saint Elias Who? Saint Elias Who?
'Elias" is the Greek form of the Biblical name "Elijah". Hence, "St. Elias" is how we refer to the Holy Prophet, Elijah [the Tishbite]. (Fyi, "St. Eliseus" is the Greek form for the Holy Prophet, Elisha.) The name "Elias" (in Hebrew: "Eliyahu") means: My God is Yhwh (the LORD). The Elijah cycle can be found in the Bible at I Kings 17:1 - 22:54 & II Kings 1:1 - 2:18.
The Holy Flame: the Greatness of the Miracle, and the Helplessness of the Skeptics The Holy Flame: the Greatness of the Miracle, and the Helplessness of the Skeptics
Hieromonk Job (Gumerov)
The Holy Flame: the Greatness of the Miracle, and the Helplessness of the Skeptics The Holy Flame: the Greatness of the Miracle, and the Helplessness of the Skeptics
Hieromonk Job (Gumerov)
The skeptics gather “witnesses” in order to cast doubt on the miracle of descending the Holy Fire, they once again display incompetence in basic methods of scholarly and scientific research. Unbelief and skepticism are barren, infertile. “As someone withdrawing from the light does not in the least do harm to the light, but does very great harm to himself, becoming immersed in darkness, so also one accustomed to scorning the power of the Almighty does not in the least do harm to it [His power], but upon himself brings extreme harm” (John Chrysostom).
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