Been

 

reading up on Elijah a lil bit.

Couple of interesting tidbits:

"He has appeared the world over in the guise of a beggar and scholar."

"In 2 Chronicles 21:12, which will be his final mention in the Hebrew Bible. A letter is sent under the prophet's name to Jehoram of Judah. This is AFTER his ascension into the whirlwind."

 "Elijah the precursor of the Messiah, Elijah zealous in the cause of God, Elijah the helper in distress:..."

"According to later Kabbalistic literature, Elijah was really an angel in human form."

"John the Baptist preached a message of repentance and baptism. He predicted the day of judgment using imagery similar to that of Malachi. He also preached that the Messiah was coming. All of this was done in a style that immediately recalled the image of Elijah to his audience.

"He also frequently preached in wilderness areas near the Jordan River."

 "Catholics believe that he was unmarried and celibate."

He is considered by some to be the father of Eremitism ( a Hermetic) lifestyle, that is a hermit, a RECLUSE, SOLITARY, etc...my son once said of my our old home after he had moved out..."You and your Hermit Kingdom". :-) Yup he sure did...)

 "Islamic legend later developed the figure of Elijah, greatly embellishing upon his attributes, and some apocryphal literature gave Elijah the status of a half-human, half-angel"

"Abdullah Yusuf Ali says, "The third group consists not of men of action, but Preachers of Truth, who led solitary lives. Their epithet is: "the Righteous."

"He is believed to have been a "prophet of the desert—like John the Baptist"

(Sound familiar yet?)

Elijah

Matthew 11:11-15

Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Matthew 17:10-13

The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.

Luke 1:17

Gabriel foretells Johns birth

…Many of the sons of Israel he will turn back to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous— to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Luke 4:24-27

“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

(Oh are we ever gonna get into the Widow at Zarepath and Naaman the Syrian...yup...)

I love you honey...

And no I didn't just read the Wikipedia article, I've also had my nose stuck in "The apocalypse of Elijah" as well as "The Jewish Apocalyptic Heritage in early Christianity", etc...