In the End, God is Still God

Malachi 4:1–6 (NKJV)

4:1 “For behold, the day is coming,

Burning like an oven,

And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.

And the day which is coming shall burn them up,”

Says the Lord of hosts,

“That will leave them neither root nor branch.

² But to you who fear My name

The Sun of Righteousness shall arise

With healing in His wings;

And you shall go out

And grow fat like stall-fed calves.

³ You shall trample the wicked,

For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet

On the day that I do this,”

Says the Lord of hosts.

The Lord, through Malachi, sums up this final prophetic book with a message of judgment and grace. There is coming a burning in which all that is wicked will be annihilated by fire. However, the Sun of Righteousness will come with healing and provision and you will walk upon the ashes of the wicked if you fear the name of the Lord. This eschatological word is not specifically attached to a timetable, but speaks of God’s judgment of the wicked and protection of the righteous.

⁴ “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant,

Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel,

With the statutes and judgments.

⁵ Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet

Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

⁶ And he will turn

The hearts of the fathers to the children,

And the hearts of the children to their fathers,

Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

This last passage is a warning to remember and keep the law of Moses. He then promises to send Elijah the prophet to warn them before the day of the Lord. This prophecy was fulfilled in John the Baptist, who warned the people of the need to repent as a forerunner of Christ. Also, Elijah appeared with Jesus Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration, a further fulfillment of this prophecy.

Finally, there is a promise of hope that there will be a reconciliation of fathers and children. This could symbolize many things. Perhaps it speaks of a coming together of generations that may have been estranged by the sin or idolatry of one or the other. Perhaps it is simply a coming together under Christ that will happen in the end times. The possibilities are myriad. One thing that does speak through this word, though, is this: God will bless unity, and He will curse division. Let’s come together and serve God as one. The Lord our God is One, let us serve Him as one.