John the Baptist's Prediction of Christ's Imminent Second Coming
Below is the third of multiple excerpts of commentary from Parts I and II of The Parousia , the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell. The initial 31 posts on this blog deal with the Book of Revelation, which is cogently interpreted in Part III of Russell's magnum opus. (For all blog posts, see russellparousia.blogspot.com) "THE PAROUSIA [SECOND COMING] IN THE GOSPELS. "THE PAROUSIA PREDICTED BY JOHN THE BAPTIST. [Identity of John the Baptist with the Elijah of Malachi] "There is nothing more distinctly affirmed in the New Testament than the identity of John the Baptist with the wilderness-herald of Isaiah and the Elijah of Malachi. How well the description of John agrees with that of Elijah is evident at a glance. Each was austere and ascetic in his manner of life; each was a zealous reformer of religion; each was a stern reprover of sin. The times in which they lived were singularly alike. The nation at both periods was d...