How do Christians reconcile this, when even Jesus believed it? Here is my short version...?

in any case, please allow me to clear-up your misunderstanding on this issue. Below are the two passages of the gospels that you cite:

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. (Matthew 17:12,13)

Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ." They asked him, "Then who are you? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" He answered, "No." Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'" (John 1:19-23)

Your claim is that because Jesus said that John the Baptist was Elijah and John disavowed this claim, that the Bible is contradictory and thus: "Game over Christianity!!!" Okay, this is actually very easy to explain and understand. Was John the Baptist Elijah or not? The answer is no... and yes. If we look at this third Gospel passage, this apparent difficulty evaporates:

But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth. Many of the people of Israel will he bring 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 1:13-17)

From this passage we see a few things.

One, John was born through Elizabeth, a relative of Jesus' mother Mary. Thus, unless you believe in the concept of reincarnation, John could not have literally been Elijah. The man Elijah had already been born many hundreds of years prior. And he is still alive, as he was taken directly up to heaven alive in a chariot of fire according to the Scriptures (2 Kings 2). He will come again before Jesus' Second Coming (Malachi 4).

The second thing we see is the prophecy of the angel: "He will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah". Jesus (who was John's cousin), knew that John would have a ministry that would function in the spirit of Elijah. But John was not literally Elijah. The ministry of the real Elijah is understood as returning to the earth just prior to the return of Jesus the Messiah and prepare the people of Israel to receive Him. John the Baptist's ministry was a foreshadowing of Elijah's ministry in that he prepared the people of Israel to receive the first coming of their Messiah. Do you understand now? When Jesus said to his disciples that Elijah had already come, he was speaking figuratively, not literally. Again, Jesus knew that John was his cousin, born by Elizabeth. And as a Jew who believed the Old Testament, obviously Jesus did not believe in, nor teach reincarnation. This is simple common sense.

But there is another very important message that Jesus was conveying here that must not be missed! When Jesus referred to John as Elijah, He was not simply making a point about who John was, but rather Jesus was pointing to who HE was! For anyone who knew that prophecies about Elijah, Jesus was clearly making the point that He was Yahweh - God Almighty. When we examine what the prophetic passages say, this becomes obvious.

"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty... "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. But who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver... So I will come near to you for judgment." (Malachi 3:1, 4:5)

So Elijah would come before "the Day of the LORD - The Day of Yahweh". And in this day, the LORD HIMSELF would come to HIS Temple. Whose Temple does it say it is? God's Temple. Jesus came the first time and went into the Temple and purged it. When He comes the second time, He will do the same - although in a far more complete way. This time, no one will doubt that Jesus will come as God Himself and He will judge among

In Malachi 4 the scriptures refer to Israel. It talks about the great and terrible day of the Lord. Now this day was not when Jesus Christ was born in a manger, nor before he died on the cross. This day is spoken of in the Book of Revelations. This day is what Christians call the Second Coming.

As a group, Israel denied Christ. In their point of view the messiah has not come to them yet. The hearts of the children have not been turned to their fathers yet. The hearts of the fathers have not been turned to their children yet. Now you ask has Elijah came? Sure, the same spirit as Elijah's came in John the Baptiste. However, is Elijah to come literally again? Remember the transfiguration when the disciples saw Moses and Elijah with Jesuss? Afterwards the disciples began to ask questions about Elijah. Jesus said:

Matthew 17

11Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12But 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."

Jesus says that Elijah is still coming, and that he has already came (John the Baptist). Now where will Elijah come again. Go to Revelations 11. Could it be that Moses and Elijah are the two witnesses. Revelations 11:6 says

6These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

Doesn't that sound like Moses and Elijah again? Read Revelations 11, and I hope it helps to answer your question.

Consider in Revelations 144,000 Israelites become evangelists for

Christ and then we have Moses and Elijah appearing again, and then Christ's Second Coming during the climax of the Battle of Armageddon. Would not all that be quite an outreach to Israel?

Fellow, you seems to know the answer you will except before asking.

In Matt. 17: Yahshua / Jesus caused both Moses and Elijah to appear with him.

They were both dead men as you know death to be, but they were there with him in the Mount alive.

Moses came before Joshua / Yahshua of old time to prepare the way and turn their hearts to Yahweh / God or Jehovah.

So in those times: Moses was in the spirit of Elijah by principle.

Then you have Elijah and Elisha ( Elisha means: Yahshua ) Thus Elijah then was before Elisha or by principle: Yahshua.

Thus John was born full of the holy spirit as was Moses, as was Elijah, therefore, it's the SAME spirit in all of the men with same purpose.

Moses at the Red Sea to the Jordan, Elijah at the Jordan and John at the Jordan.

The reason, John / Elijah could not say plainly that he was Elijah or even the Messiah that he was the Messiah is because: The Prophets foretold that Israel would NOT! know the day of their visitation.

Thus they answered in a dark saying : " I am a voice crying in the wilderness " If that had been understood, they would have known he was Elijah.

Are you the Messiah ? " Even as I told you and you understood me not: The works I do bare record of me that the father sent me " If that was understood by them who asked,( He preached to the poor, raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, all the things Messiah would do ) If they had known he was the Messiah; They would not have killed him, a thing they must do.

He Built the the 3rd. Temple and lead his disciples victoriously in battles. ( but the battles was against the very people to know him and did not ( Messiah put them to silence, by the great words he spoke, the sword of his mouth ) a spiritual battle, thus they missed him again.

While they look for some physical Temple, Messiah's Temple was the body of believers who it was given to believe on him.

His kingdom was a Spiritual everlasting kingdom set up in Jerusalem ABOVE and not physical Kingdom on the earth.

Everything they looked for, they were blinded not being able to look to the end of what was spoken, blinded by the flesh seeing only physical things even unto this very day.

Thus, they missed Elijah, they have also missed the Messiah, and Christian have it wrong too.

Juce

I think you missed one of the things Jesus said about "Elijah" when coming down the Mount of Transfiguration (probably Mt Tabor in Galilee). He indicated that John was actually the "Elijah" to come, but wouldn't be accepted just as the prophecies said. Also you missed what was said about John the Baptist in Luke 1 by an angel prior to birth and his father, under inspiration, after John's birth. They hook into the Old Testament prophecies clearly.

I think John the Baptist was a somewhat modest individual. He did not necessarily know all of the prophecies applied to himself, and so didn't trumpet his status. He may have thought of Elijah's miracles and thought himself somewhat less elevated, although his persecution by Herod's wife was very like that of Elijah and Jezebel in many features. The prophecy that he did recognise about the 'forerunner of the Lord' (Isaiah 40) was not one the Jewish law experts of the time seem to have been aware of.

I hold out the belief that many things could have been "back-written" into the New Testament. Many allusions to reincarnation were censored. The letter of the Word lost all meaning when the message changed languages, so loosen up some.

Say (for the sake of friendly disagreement) that Jesus was NOT Jesus "Christ." Does that in any way change the beauty of what he said and did? Not in my book. Why must he be evil if Christians are mistaken? The Truth is bigger than our minds can embrace.

Mat 17:13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

You are correct. But remember the denunciation made by John the Baptist was put fourth by a Church wishing to deny reincarnation. They compiled the scriptures as they saw fit. They created Christ as they saw fit. They wished to forward their own ideas about a concept of Christ that they felt was correct. You have just noticed one of the many inconsistencies in the works of the Bible. Therefore read the Bible with a grain of salt. You are not willing to accept a prepackaged, prearranged and predetermined concept of God that another wishes to impose on you. I say good for you! God is as you understand him to be. Don't let anyone tell you any different. I do not accept the prepackaged Christ or God of the Proto-gospel set. Why should I accept another's understanding of what is before me?

I believe in your first comment fully, I say also that Christ is not coming at any time soon, because Elijah, or Elias must first come as Christ said or anything prior is an falsehood

It may be allegorical. John the Baptist's message was the same as Elijah's.

So you do believe Jesus cast out demons. Why would a 'demon' cast out other demons?

JESUS NEVER SAID THAT JOHN BAPTIST WAS ELIJAH, THE DISCIPLES JUST ASSUMED AND INTERPETED THAT FROM WHAT HE WAS SAYING.