John the Baptist is identified as the Elijah to come, as declared by Jesus on two separate occasions in Matthew 11:13-15 and Matthew 17:10-13. The angel foretold before John's birth that he would go before Him 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 a people prepared for the Lord, as recorded in Luke 1:17. This indicates that John resembled Elijah in revealing the true God through a ministry devoted to preaching repentance and the certainty of things regarding Christ, though he accomplished his function without miracles. Jesus emphasizes the significance of John being the Elijah to come, urging His audience to pay utmost attention to this revelation, and notes that if they are willing to receive it, John fulfilled the prophecy of Malachi 4:5-6. Despite expectations of a literal Elijah, John clarified he was not the actual Elijah but fulfilled the role in spirit and power. Jesus gives no indication of another Elijah to follow John in that office. Through his preaching of repentance, John restored right conceptions about the Messiah and fostered right relationships within human families and the Family of God, preparing the way for the Messiah's coming before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

Elijah serves as a profound type of John the Baptist, illustrating critical lessons in humility and focus on God's will. In the prophecies, Jesus identifies John as the Elijah who is to come, as noted in Matthew 11:14. While Elijah stumbled over self-centered thoughts, believing God's gifting was limited to himself, John overcame this tendency by declaring that Christ must increase while he must decrease, as recorded in John 3:30. Elijah's assumption of singular importance contrasted with John's recognition that God is not constrained in His gifting, affirming that a man can receive nothing unless given from heaven, per John 3:27. Ironically, Elisha, Elijah's successor, requested a double portion of his spirit and performed more recorded miracles, demonstrating God's limitless power. Though Elijah was a great prophet, his focus on self hindered him, whereas John, the greatest among those born of women according to Matthew 11:11, maintained an effective ministry by prioritizing God's will over personal position. John's lack of mighty miracles may have aided his focus on divine matters rather than displays of power, earning him God's favor as one who is poor and of a contrite spirit, trembling at His word, as promised in Isaiah 66:2.

The prophecy in Malachi 4:5-6 declares that God will send Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful Day of the Lord to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to their fathers, lest the earth be smitten with a curse. Jesus explained this prophecy in Matthew 17:10-13, stating that Elijah shall indeed come to restore all things, but He also revealed that Elijah had already come in the person of John the Baptist, though the people did not recognize him and treated him as they pleased. The disciples then understood that Jesus spoke of John the Baptist as fulfilling this role. Luke 1:17 further clarifies that John went 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, preparing a people for the Lord. Though John was not literally Elijah, who had died centuries before, he was empowered by the same spirit that guided Elijah to direct Israel's focus to the true God. Jesus also indicated that another Elijah is yet to come before the great and dreadful Day of the Lord, serving as a forerunner to His second coming, just as John was to His first, fulfilling the commission of Malachi 4:5-6. The world did not recognize John as coming in the spirit and power of Elijah, and similarly, it will not recognize the one God sends in that same spirit and power before the terrible Day of the Lord, when Jesus Christ will intervene to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.