MALACHI 4:4. Remember the Torah of Mosheh, My servant, which I commanded in Horeb for all Israel - Laws and right-rulings. [5] See I am sending you Eliyah the prophet before the great and awesome day of Yahweh.

Matthew 17:11. Eliyah indeed comes first, and will restore all.

In Judaism, there is an interesting tradition which holds that "Eliyah will come with Mosheh... (Yahweh speaking) Moses, I swear to you, as you devoted your life to their service in this world, so too in the time to come when I bring Eliyah, the prophet, unto them, the two of you shall come together."⁽¹⁾

This understanding is also reflected in the writings of the apostles, in the account of the transfiguration on the mount.

Mark 9:4. And there appeared to them EliYah with Mosheh, and they were talking with Yahshua .... [7] And there came a cloud overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud saying, This is My Son, the Beloved. Hear Him! [8] And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them, only ucwhy...... [11] And they asked Him, saying, Why do the Scribes say that EliYah has to come first? [12] And He said to them, EliYah indeed having come first, restores all. And how has it been written concerning the Son of Adam, that He is to suffer much and be despised? [13] But I say to you that even EliYah has come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it has been written of him.

The presence of EliYah and Mosheh together on the mount confirms that this Jewish expectation was (and is) correct. These two represent the Law or Torah (Mosheh) and the Nebi'im or Prophets (EliYah), all speaking in harmony with the Messiah. The need for Eliyah to come first is to restore all, but what is he restoring? Namely the Torah, for it has been forsaken. The Law of the Messiah has suffered much and has been despised (see Mark 9:12 above).

Mark 9:1. And (Yahshua) said to them, "Truly, I say to you that there are some standing here who shall not taste of death at all until they see the reign of Elohim having come in power." [2] And after six days Yahshua took Peter and James and John and led them up on a high mountain alone by themselves (which is where they saw Mosheh and EliYah).

So we see that this vision was a glimpse of the Reign of hwhy which was yet to come, meaning that EliYah will come AGAIN, and Mosheh will be with him! Let's see how this will be fulfilled now by taking a look at the Apocalypse.

Revelation 11:1. And a reed (this is a code word which speaks of Messianic fulfillment⁽²⁾) like a measuring rod was given to me, and the messenger stood saying, Rise and measure the Dwelling Place of Elohim (i.e. his assembly), and the altar and those worshiping in it..... [3] And I shall give unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy....

Here we see that the two witnesses of Revelation are prophets, just as EliYah and Mosheh.

[Verse 4] These (witnesses) are the two olive trees and the two menorahs (lampstands) that are standing before the Elohim of the earth.

These olive trees are identified in Romans chapter eleven as Ephraim and Judah -- the Christians (who have a better understanding of EliYah or Messianic prophecy) and the Jews (who have a better understanding of Mosheh or the Law). In Revelation 1:20, the two lampstands are also identified as being two people groups or assemblies.

[Verse 5] And if anyone wishes to harm them, fire comes out from their mouth and consumes their enemies. And if anyone wishes to harm them, he has to be killed in that way.

Here we see that corporal punishment will be executed, life for life according to the Torah which hwhy gave through Mosheh.

Isaiah 54:15. See, they shall indeed assemble, but not because of Me. Whosoever shall assemble against you falls for your sake!.... [17] No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall prove wrong. This is the inheritance of the Servants of Yahweh, and their righteousness from Me, declares Yahweh.

This blessing of protection is given exclusively to Israel, confirming that the two witnesses are representative of Ephraim and Judah - the Christians and Jews - Israel's two houses.

Revelation 11:6a. These possess authority to shut the heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy....

In this, we see that one of the two witnesses clearly comes in the spirit and power of EliYah - the spirit of signs and prophecy.

1 Kings 17:1. And EliYah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As Yahweh Elohim of Yisrael lives, before whom I stand, there shall be no dew or rain these years, except at my word."

1 Kings 18:1. And after many days it came to be that the Word of Yahweh came to EliYah, in the third year, saying, "Go present yourself to Ahab, and I give rain on the earth."

[Verse 42b] And EliYah went up to the top of Karmel, and He bowed down on his knees, and put his face to the ground.....[45] And in the meantime, it came to be that the heavens were black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain....

Now if Scriptural and rabbinical interpretation is correct, the other witness comes with the knowledge of the Torah or the power of Mosheh, which we find confirmed in:

Revelation 11:6b. And they possess authority over waters, to turn them to blood, and so to smite the earth with plagues, as often as they wish.

Exodus 7:19. And Yahweh spoke to Mosheh, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their streams, over their rivers, over their ponds, and over all their pools of water, that they become blood. And there shall be blood in all the land of Egypt, both in wooden and in stone containers. [20] And Mosheh and Aaron did so, as Yahweh commanded, And he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the eyes of Pharoah and in the eyes of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

Undoubtedly these two witnesses are the spiritual representatives of EliYah and Mosheh.

Revelation 11:7. And when they have ended their witness, the beast coming up out of the pit of the deep shall fight against them and overcome them and kill them, [8] and their dead bodies lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Mitsrayim (Egypt or Bondage, symbolic of lawlessness or slavery to sin - the land from which Mosheh came out), where also the Master was impaled. [9] And some of the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations (notice, only SOME... that is, the remnant) see their dead bodies for three and a half days, and do not allow their dead bodies to be placed into tombs (this remnant will not allow them to disappear forever)...... [11] and after the three and a half days a spirit of life from Elohim entered into them, and they stood upon their feet and great fear fell on those who saw them. [12] And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, Come up here, and they went up into the heaven in a cloud (just like the one which overshadowed Mosheh, EliYah, and the Messiah on the mount, and in which the elect will rise to meet Yahshua when He returns) and their enemies saw them.

Now what is this spirit of life which revives Yahweh's two witnesses? Shaul, in his epistle to the Romans, supplies the Torah-based answer.

Romans 8:2. For the Torah of the Spirit of Life in Messiah ucwhy has set me free from the law of sin and of death (the spirit of lawlessness).

Amazing! But this can't mean that the Spirit of life has to do with the Torah, can it? You bet it does. Let's refer back to Malachi now where the coming of EliYah is prophesied.

Malachi 4:4. Remember the Torah of Mosheh My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel (not just Jews) - laws and right rulings. [5] See, I am sending you EliYah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of hwhy. [6] And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

But how will EliYah turn the hearts of the children to the fathers? Since Malachi just got done mentioning the Torah, suppose that we look in the Torah and see what we can find!

Deuteronomy 6:6. And these Words which I am commanding you today shall be in your heart, [7] and you shall impress them upon your children, and shall speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up, [8] and shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. [9] And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Galatians 6:8. For he who sows to his own flesh (he can have MANY lawless children) shall reap corruption from the flesh, but he who sows to the Spirit shall reap everlasting life from the Spirit.

So the hearts of the children are turned to the fathers through the teaching of the Torah. In Deuteronomy we are told that the Torah is to be as frontlets on our foreheads and a sign on our hand. Where in the course of Scripture did Yahweh change his mind? The answer is "NOWHERE". The spirit of lawlessness which we see today is the counterfeit mark on the forehead and the right hand, and this is the mark of the beast (see Revelation 13:16)!

Revelation 22:14. Blessed are those doing His COMMANDS, so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates into the city.

John 6:63. It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh does not profit at all. The Words (or Torah) that I speak to you, they are spirit and THEY ARE LIFE.

This is the EliYah message.

Footnotes:

1. Midrash Rabbah Deuteronomy

2. In Isaiah 42:3,4, Messiah is the reed, the measuring rod which measures out right ruling on the assembly. See footnote 11, p. 58