According to Andrew Skinner, Jews regard the prophet Elijah as the “messenger of the covenant” (Malachi 3:1), and a chair is to be provided for him at circumcision ceremonies. This belief is based on rabbinic reasoning as may be found in passages like one from the medieval text entitled Pirqe de Rabbi Eliezer
The sages have instituted the custom that people should have a seat of honor for the messenger of the covenant, for Elijah, may he be remembered for good, is called the messenger of the covenant, as it is said, And the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in, behold he comes (Malachi 3:1)
Jews also regard Elijah as the forerunner of the Messiah or Messianic age, and a seat is again provided for him at the Passover Seder table, along with a cup of wine--the cup of Elijah. The words of the Passover Haggadah importune God to send the prophet and, thus salvation: “May the Compassionate One send us Elijah the Prophet of blessed memory, to bring us good tidings of sympathy and salvation.” (These words are part of the Grace after Meals recited after every formal meal by traditional Jews.)
One popular Haggadah suggests the following:
This is the cup of Elijah the Prophet, for our legends tell us that Elijah enters every house where a Seder is taking place. Why Elijah? Of all our Biblical Prophets, it is Elijah who became the kindly mediator between Heaven and Earth [see the video reference below]. The Bible stories tell us of a fiery chariot sent to carry him up to Heaven. And from Heaven, he was to return to help prepare mankind for the dreamed-of time of the coming of the Messiah, the time of judgment and redemption. The prophet Malachi foretold this about Elijah, when he said,
Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet, before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord, And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers.
Text and tradition show us that the Jewish people believe that Elijah is both the messenger of the covenant and the forerunner of the Messiah. These two propositions are grounded ultimately in the Torah--specifically Malachi’s prophecies. The former belief relies on Malachi 3:1, while the latter on Malachi 4:5-6, part of which was just quoted in the Haggadah excerpt. But what is also true, though perhaps not emphasized as much, is that both beliefs are inextricably tied to the temple. According to the complete texts of Malachi, the messenger Elijah--the keeper of the covenant in Jewish belief--is sent as a preparer so that the Lord-Messiah, who is continually sought after, may come to his temple. The full texts of Malachi 3:1, followed by Malachi 4:5-6, read:
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts… .
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse [emphasis added].
The connection between Elijah, the Messiah, and the temple is implied in Leo Trepp’s explanation of the progression of the Seder service as it encompasses for its participants past, present, and future aspects of Passover.
The Future enters. A child opens the door, a welcome for Elijah. By this time, tired and a little drowsy, the child may actually feel him, coming in and taking a drop of the wine from his cup; did you not notice the ripples? … The door is closed again, and Psalms are recited: Praise the Lord for He is good, His goodness endureth forever. The hymn whose tune became the theme song for Pessah is sung: God of Might build up Thy Temple soon.
It is very interesting that in the LDS canon of scripture--the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price, only the words of Malachi 4:5-6 are to be found quoted in all the books. LDS doctrine is built upon the idea, among others, that Elijah is indeed a messenger of the Lord’s covenant, the keeper of the powers of the fullness of the priesthood, and the forerunner of the Messiah. Not only did the Lord say to Joseph Smith that he was going to reveal the priesthood through Elijah the Prophet (D&C 35:4), he declared that Elijah possessed the power to direct the efforts of turning the hearts of the children and fathers to each other (D&^C 27:9). On 27 March 1836 the Latter-day Saints dedicated their first temple in Kirtland, Ohio. One week later on 3 April 1836--the second day of Passover that year--Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith in the temple (see D&C 110). Thus the concept of Elijah links the Latter-day Saints with the authority of past prophets and sages in ancient Israel, with the temples, with the Abrahamic covenant and the promises made to future generations through that covenant, including:
1. the promise that Abraham (his posterity in other words) would be become a great nation (Genesis 12:2)
2. the promise that through him all families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3),
3. the promise that Abraham’s descendants would inherit designated lands (Genesis 13:14-15),
4. the promise that Abraham’s descendants were to become as numerous as the stars of heaven (Genesis 13:16; 15:5),
5. the promise that kings and nations would come from his posterity (Genesis 17:6),
6. the promise that the covenant between Abraham and Jehovah would be everlasting (Genesis 17:7).
One Latter-day Saint Church leader, whose doctrinal explications carry considerable weight in the LDS Church, has said of the covenant of Abraham:
These same promises were made to Isaac and to Jacob and to their posterity after him. They are “the promises made to the fathers,” which by the hand of Elijah the prophet, have been planted in “the hearts of the children.” (D&C 2:1-3) These are the promises that make us “the children of the covenant, the covenant made with our fathers, the covenant into which we are privileged to enter, the covenant of eternal life, of eternal lives, of a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.” And in order to fulfill this covenant, Jehovah promised to gather Israel. (Bruce R. McConkie, The Mortal Messiah--Book 4, pp. 338-39)
When he is married in the Temple for time and for all eternity, each worthy member of the Church enters personally into the same covenants the Lord made with Abraham. This is the occasion when the promises of eternal increase are made, and it is then specified that those who keep the covenant made there shall be inheritors of all the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, p. 508)
[Andrew C. Skinner, “Inextricable Link between Temple, Covenant, and Chosenness,” in Covenant and Chosenness in Judaism and Mormonism, pp. 80-84] [See the commentary on 1 Nephi 22:9; Helaman 8:18; 3 Nephi 20:25, 20:27, 25:4-5; Mormon 5:20; Ether 13:11]
3 Nephi 25:4-5 Elijah (Video): John A. Tvedtnes, “Elijah and the Priests of Baal,” FARMS, 2001.