From your link:
>>>In this case, Jesus is speaking metaphorically. John the Baptist is not literally Elijah, but his heralding the arrival of the Messiah fulfills the messianic prophecy concerning Elijah.<<<
Jesus did not say or imply he was speaking metaphorically, nor did he deny it: so that is a reasonable assumption. I do agree that John the Baptist was the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy, in its entirety. To believe otherwise would require me to spiritualize the scriptures, which is a no-no.
Anyway, thanks for the link.
Philip