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Exposition of the Divine PrinciplePart 044.10

The Sense in Which John the Baptist Was Elijah

Sun Myung MoonSpeaker
Exposition of the Divine PrinciplePart 04 · The Messiah: His Advent and the Purpose of His Second Coming
Chapter 58 of 121 · Part 04, 10 of 10
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2 min · 6 ¶
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Exposition of the Divine PrinciplePart 04 · 4.10
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ark:/68749/the-sense-in-which-john-the-baptist-was-elijah
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6 texts
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1

We have stated previously that John the Baptist was to inherit and complete the mission which Elijah had left unfinished on earth. As recorded in the Bible, he was born with the mission to go before the Lord, “in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared” (Luke 1:17). Hence, in terms of his mission, John was the second coming of Elijah.

2

Furthermore, as will be discussed in greater detail (cf. Resurrection 2.3.2), Elijah in fact returned in spirit and was trying to help John the Baptist accomplish the mission which he himself had failed to complete during his earthly life.

3

John the Baptist concurrently served as Elijah’s body, through whom Elijah worked to complete his mission. Therefore, in terms of their common mission, John may be seen as the same person as Elijah.

01Our Attitude toward the Bible

4

We have learned that John the Baptist’s ignorance and disbelief in Jesus brought about the Jewish people’s disbelief, which eventually led to Jesus’ crucifixion. Until today, no one has ever uncovered this heavenly secret, because we have been reading the Bible based on the unquestioned belief that John the Baptist was a great prophet.

5

Our new insight into John the Baptist teaches us that we should dispense with the conservative attitude of faith which makes us afraid to question conventional beliefs and traditional doctrines. Would it not be an error to regard John as having failed in his mission if he actually succeeded? Likewise, it is certainly wrong to believe that John fulfilled his mission when in fact he did not.

6

We should constantly make effort to have the right faith by searching both in spirit and truth. Even though our discussion of John the Baptist has been based on an examination of the Bible, those who are able to communicate spiritually can see the condition of John the Baptist and confirm that the above revelation about John is entirely correct and true.

END OF BOOK CHAPTER

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Connections

Where this book chapter is cited, and what it cites
CITED IN · 6 REFERS TO · 2 At a Field Service, 1958The Status of Korea, Ja…True Family, 1982True Love And One…, 1993 Thisbook chapter BibleLuke 1:17
Encyclopedia termSermon or textLibrary scanOther page

Cited in6

  • TEXT
    At a Field ServiceSermon · 11 May 1958 · ¶ 6…glory, but to have final negotiations, having put down the cross in front. He came to discuss with Moses and Elijah the matter of his imminent crucifixion.
  • TEXT
    The Status of Korea, Japan, and the United States from the Providential ViewpointBook chapter · ¶ 48We need to take this definitive prophecy, which appears at the very end of the Old Testament. Elijah was the prophet who ascended to heaven in a chariot of fire nine hundred years before the coming of Jesus.
  • TEXT
    True FamilySermon · 2 Jul 1982 · ¶ 171Christianity has centered upon the bride and bridegroom story because this is the foundation. John the Baptist and Jesus were in the Cain-Abel positions, in the adopted son and true son positions. Centered upon Jesus,…
  • TEXT
    True Love And One Unified ThoughtSermon · 25 Apr 1993 · ¶ 225One of the reasons the people denied Jesus as the Messiah was that they did not understand the coming of Elijah. They expected Elijah to literally descend from the clouds of heaven, but that never happened.
  • TEXT
    Our Activity From Now OnSermon · 23 Sep 1978 · ¶ 203…at the Washington Monument rally. The 127 nations where we are doing missionary work are in the role of John the Baptist.
  • TEXT
    Who Will Break Through the Fortress of Fated Han?Book chapter · ¶ 35As I concluded, I was the only one left. Like Elijah, like Jesus, like God Himself, I say, “Only I am left.” Even God, with no recourse, says, “Only I am left.”

This book chapter refers to2

  • TERM
    Bible1 encyclopedia term
  • BIBLE
    Luke 1:17Bible

Also in Part 04

All chapters →
  1. 4.08The Direction the Jewish People Would Choose3 min
  2. 4.09The Faithlessness of John the Baptist7 min
  3. 4.10The Sense in Which John the Baptist Was Elijah2 min

Cite this book chapter

APA 7

Moon, S. M., Eu, H. W. (n.d.). The Sense in Which John the Baptist Was Elijah [Book chapter]. True Parents Legacy Archive (J. Auror, Ed.). https://n2t.net/ark:/68749/the-sense-in-which-john-the-baptist-was-elijah

MLA 9

Moon, Sun Myung. “The Sense in Which John the Baptist Was Elijah.” True Parents Legacy Archive, https://n2t.net/ark:/68749/the-sense-in-which-john-the-baptist-was-elijah.

Chicago 17

Moon, Sun Myung. “The Sense in Which John the Baptist Was Elijah.” Book chapter, n.d. True Parents Legacy Archive. https://n2t.net/ark:/68749/the-sense-in-which-john-the-baptist-was-elijah.

BibTeX

@misc{moon,
  author = {Sun Myung Moon and Hyo Won Eu},
  title = {The Sense in Which John the Baptist Was Elijah},
  howpublished = {True Parents Legacy Archive},
  url = {https://n2t.net/ark:/68749/the-sense-in-which-john-the-baptist-was-elijah},
  note = {Book chapter}
}
.ris.bib
Text bySun Myung Moon, Founder of the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity; Hyo Won Eu, The first president of the Unification Church of Korea and a key early disciple of Sun Myung Moon.
TranslationWorking translation from the Korean. Official editions are reproduced verbatim.
Editorial scopeTexts are not abridged or paraphrased. Paragraph numbers are stable for citation. Report an error