And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. The identification of John as the Elijah who is to come (Malachi 4:5) is qualified by the conditional if you are willing to accept it — the identification requires the receptive listener who can hear the spiritual reality behind the physical event. John did not come as the literal resurrected Elijah but as the one who came in Elijah's spirit and power (Luke 1:17). The willingness to accept it is the willingness to recognize the fulfillment even when it arrives differently than expected.

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