John the Baptist Bible Study

John the Baptist is Elijah

Christianity Oasis has provided this John the Baptist Bible study on the story of John the Baptist and how the Bible reveals that John the Baptist is Elijah. We will look into that and all aspects of the prophecy, birth, life, death, resurrection and return of Jesus Christ and how it affects you.


Tell Me the Story of Jesus
Bible Study Program

Matthew, Chapter 3

Mark 1:1-11

Luke, Chapter 3

John 1:1-36

John the Baptist Bible Study Quest

The Story of John the Baptist is Elijah

Welcome to our Christianity Oasis Tell Me the Story of Jesus Bible study program. This is our extremely interesting and awe inspiring ... John the Baptist Bible study trek for truth taking an in depth look into the story of John the Baptist and the mysterious interpretation of the phrase ... John the Baptist is Elijah. The comforting message of truth found within this completely compelling and eyebrow lifting, John the Baptist Bible study proving how and why John the Baptist is Elijah, will bring forth understanding and then peace within.

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Let's continue our Tell Me the Story of Jesus adventure, shall we? Most have heard of John the Baptist and know he was a man chosen by God to come before Jesus and preach repentance. John the Baptist was filled with Holy Ghost fire! Let's learn more about this John the Baptist Bible entity, who blazed the trail for Jesus.

The last thing we read about Jesus from the Bible, was that when He was talking with the teachers and doctors in the Temple at age 12. Nothing else is written of Him for the next eighteen years and when Jesus was 30 years old, we find John the Baptist (which is about the same age but six months older) living in the wilderness of Judea.

We discover while sojourning along in our John the Baptist Bible study on the heartwarming and yet tear jerking saga of the story of John the Baptist is Elijah that John the Baptist wore clothes made of camel's hair and a leather belt and he ate locusts and wild honey. The Word of God came to John the Baptist so he came into the country around Jordan and started to preach about the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

Let us take a short John the Baptist Bible study field trip to better explain the story of John the Baptist Baptism aspect as it is very important ... Water Baptism, which was how John the Baptist cleansed the sins of the Jewish people, was a way of cleansing you from your sins prior to Jesus who is now the living water and the only way to truly have your sins cleansed. The act of water baptism found in the story of John the Baptist is still practiced today as a type of physical expression. To learn more on this topic, see the Water Baptism Bible study.

A few Prophets from the Old Testament spoke about John the Baptist arriving before the Lord Jesus came onto the stage of history, as predicted in loads of prophecy. Isaiah called John the Baptist the voice of one that cries in the wilderness (Isaiah 40:3). The prophet Malachi also spoke of John as the forerunner of Jesus when he spoke God's Words (Malachi 3:1), Behold, I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, says the Lord of hosts.

The people of Jerusalem and all Judea and all around Jordan were baptized by John in the Jordan river and they confessed their sins. John the Baptist Bible Study Tidbit of Truth ... This is why he became known as John the Baptist.

When John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees (the religious leaders of the time) come to his baptism, he asked them, O generation of vipers, who warned you to run from the wrath to come? Make your actions worthy of repentance and don't think to yourselves; We have Abraham as our father because I tell you, God is able to make children of Abraham out of these stones. Know also that the axe cuts at the root of the trees: every tree that doesn't produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Let me share a small John the Baptist Bible study tidbit ... John the Baptist as well as all of the prophets were aware that the religious leaders were hypocrites and were not right in the eyes of the Lord. Let us return to the story of John the Baptist and find out how John the Baptist is Elijah.

The people asked John how they should live and John answered, If you have two coats, give one to someone who has none and if you have food, do the same. Then tax collectors came to be baptized too and asked John how they should live. John told them, Collect no more than what you're ordered to. And the soldiers asked, And what should we do? John answered them, Do violence to nobody, don't accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.

The Jewish Religious leaders sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask John who he was, and the people wondered if he was the Christ or not. John declared, I am not the Christ. They asked, Then are you Elijah? John said, I am not.

We just read in this John the Baptist Bible study that John the Baptist was asked if he was Elijah, and he said No, at least in the story of John the Baptist. However, there is Scripture where Jesus says that John the Baptist is Elijah.

Matthew 11:7-15

7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?
8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.
9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.
10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias [Elijah], which was for to come.
15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

It appears that we have an interpretation issue. Jesus said that John the Baptist was Elijah and John told the wanna be Pharisees that he was not Elijah. Which is truth? They both are. The answer is Spiritual and that is why Jesus finished with "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" ... If you would like a more in depth study on John the Baptist is Elijah, you can check out our Spirit of Elijah Bible study.

Let us return to this John the Baptist Bible study as we seek more Spiritual truth about the story of John the Baptist is Elijah study. So they asked him, Who do you say you are, so we can tell the people that sent us? John said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said.

The messengers asking John who he was were Pharisees and they asked him, Why do you baptize if you're not the Christ or Elijah? John answered, I truly baptize you in water, but there is one of your own people who you don't know, it is He, who will come after me who is preferred before me, whose shoes I'm not worthy to unloose.

He'll baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire. His fan (used to separate the grain from the waste) is in His hand and He'll thoroughly clean His floor and gather the wheat into His garner, but He'll burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. John is referring to God separating the good from the bad during the End Times.

Throughout the story of John the Baptist where we seek evidence to prove that John the Baptist is Elijah, he preached many other things to the people. He also criticized king Herod because Herod married Herodias, who was Herod's brother Philip's wife, and for all the other evil things he had done in his life and this angered the King, but moreso ... His wife.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John. When John saw Jesus he said, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This is who I spoke of when I said, After me comes a man who is preferred before me: because He was before me. I didn't know Him, except that He would be made known to Israel, so I have come baptizing with water.

We are going to step aside from our John the Baptist Bible study for a moment, since we have confirmed that John the Baptist is Elijah, and focus on how John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Back in the story of John the Baptist ... John said to Jesus, I need to be baptized of you, and you come to me? Jesus answered, Allow it to be. We must fulfill all righteousness.

John the Baptist told Jesus at the baptism of Jesus that it was Jesus who should be baptizing John. Jesus told John that they needed to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:13-15).

Let's take another John the Baptist Bible study field trip ... Most do not understand what Jesus meant when He said that He and John were to "fulfill all righteousness" ... He was referring to Spiritual fulfilling of a prophecy concerning a Holy day known as Day of Atonement described in (Leviticus 16:21-31).

On the 10th day of the seventh month the Levite priest of Israel at the time (which was John the Baptist at this point in time), was to confess the sins of the people and put these sins onto an he goat and send the he goat into the wilderness. This he goat would then have all the sins of the people on him.

John the Baptist was a Levite priest and Jesus did take the sins of the people upon Himself. After the baptism of Jesus, He went into the wilderness for 40 days and was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11).

This also means that Jesus' ministry began when He was baptized on the 10th day of the 7th month and lasted until Passover which is the 14th day of the 1st month. There are 360 days in a Jewish year.

Jesus was 30 when he began His ministry ... Luke 3:22-23 ... His ministry lasted three years plus. The Gospel of John describes three different Passover feasts over the course of Jesus' ministry. This implies that Jesus preached for a period of three years ... John 2:13, John 6:4 and John 11:55 ... It began at the Day of Atonement and ended on Passover which is 6 months apart. So Jesus' ministry was 3½ years long.

John the Baptist Bible Study Summary

Back to the story of John the Baptist is Elijah ... So, John baptized Jesus and when Jesus came up out of the water, the Heavens opened and the Spirit of God came from Heaven like a dove and remained on Jesus, and a voice from Heaven said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Our loving Heavenly Father gave us prophecy of this event in the Psalms of David (Psalms 2:7). The story of John the Baptist confirms that John the Baptist testified that when the Word of God came to him, in the wilderness, that God had spoken this to John ... The one that you see the Spirit descending upon, is the one who baptizes with the Holy Ghost.

Oh, the John the Baptist Bible study exploring the many events within the story of John the Baptist is just getting started. There is so much more to learn other than how John the Baptist is Elijah ... Come find out ...