spirit and power of Elijah' (Luke 1:16,17).  When John was asked by the

priests and Levites, `Art thou Elijah?' he said, `I am not' (John 1:21).

The Lord, however, when He had vindicated John the Baptist, as we have

already seen in Matthew 11, spoke of the kingdom of heaven suffering violence

and opposition.  Then alluding to John, He says, `And if ye will receive it,

this is Elijah, which was for to come' (Matt. 11:14).  That this was a

cryptic or parabolic utterance seems certain by the added words, `He that

hath ears to hear, let him hear' (verse 15).

When the Lord descended from the mount of Transfiguration, the

disciples raised the question of Elijah's coming:

`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' (Matt. 17:10,11).

Here is a plain answer, endorsing the belief that Elijah himself must

come before the restoration of all things can take place.  But the Lord then

proceeds to bring the spirit of the passage to bear upon the time then

present, continuing:

`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' (Matt. 17:12,13).

While there were, therefore, at the first coming of the Lord,

provisional arrangements sufficient to remove all idea that the non-

repentance of Israel was predestined, and for which they were without

responsibility, He Who knew all things in a manner we cannot even imagine,

knew that the Messiah would be rejected.  John the Baptist was not Elijah,

but he came in the spirit and power of Elijah.  Except in a typical,

anticipatory fashion the kingdom was not set up.  The great work of

redemption was accomplished, but the real coming and restoration of the

kingdom await the day of days toward which all the prophets point.

Those who teach that the church began at Pentecost, often question the

validity of the appointment of Matthias, and teach that it was Jewish

prejudice that prompted the question of Acts 1:6.  But what are the facts?

The Lord had spoken to the apostles about the baptism of the Spirit that they

should receive `not many days hence' (Acts 1:5), and the next verse records

their question which we are considering:

`When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying,

Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?'

(Acts 1:6).

It is essential to keep in mind that during a period of forty days, the

apostles had received intense instruction as to the Old Testament passages

that spoke of Christ and His kingdom.  Among these, the following from Isaiah

would make plain the connection between the outpouring of the Spirit, and the

restoration of Israel: