Will Elijah return before the final judgement? I just read this passage and had never heard of this prophecy regarding Elijah.

Malachi 4:5-6 ESV


  “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and
  awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers
  to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I
  come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”



Taking account of this passage in Malachi, will Elijah make a re-appearance on earth at some point in the future, specifically, as it appears from the passage, at the time of or around the time of the final judgement? 
Was this a fulfilled prediction of the transfiguration prior to Jesus's execution? 
Was this prophecy fulfilled at some other point in the past? 
Is Malachi literally talking about Elijah coming back to earth or was he speaking metaphorically?
How is this prophecy regarded or interpreted in dispensationalism (if at all). How so in Catholicism, or any of the other major Christian groups?  
Also, Does this passage inform the beliefs of the people at the time of Christ, when they were confused about his identity.


Mark 6:14-15 NIV


  King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known.
  Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and
  that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
  
  Others said, “He is Elijah.”


Mark 8:27-28 NIV


  Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea
  Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
  
  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still
  others, one of the prophets.”
In Matthew 11:13-14 Jesus says John the Baptist is "the Elijah who was to come" before the Messiah.