The gospel of Mark claims that John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy given in Malachi. But the
Malachi prophecy says that God will send Elijah before "the great and dreadful day of the LORD" in
which the world will be consumed by fire. Yet John the Baptist flatly denied that he was Elijah
(Elias) in John 1:21 and the earth was not destroyed after
John's appearance. 3:1, 4:5