Matthew 17:10-13 “And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.”
Malachi 4:5-6, referred to here, simply means that an Elijah type character would precede the first advent. Many literal fulfillments of Scripture have been (and will be) seen by God’s people. However, occasionally the prophecy is more or less figurative and the fulfillment is in danger of being over-looked because of inaccurate expectations. On the other hand, very often the true meaning of Scripture is missed because the reader insists on interpreting almost all prophecy in a figurative way when the correct and normal way is to interpret the Scriptures literally.