Malachi 3
New King James Version
The Coming Messenger
3 “Behold, I send My messenger,
And he will prepare the way before Me."
JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS THE FIRST FULFILMENT
OF THIS PROPHECY-- MAT. 17 : 10-13.
Matthew 17:10-13 describes the disciples asking Jesus why the scribes say Elijah must come first, and Jesus explains that Elijah did come (as John the Baptist) but was not recognized and suffered, just as the Son of Man (Jesus) would suffer, leading the disciples to understand Jesus was referring to John
BUT OFTEN MISSED IS JESUS SAYING ELIJAH WOULD COME IN THE FORM OF A MAN AND WILL RESTORE ALL THINGS. THIS IS THE PROPHECY OF MALACHI 4 AND ANOTHER MAN COMING IN THE POWER AND MIGHT OF THE ORIGINAL ELIJAH, BEFORE THE DAY OF THE LORD. SO AT THE VERY END TIME OF THIS AGE.
"And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,"
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT AGE HE WILL COME, AND HIS TEMPLE UNDER THE NEW TESTAMENT IS, FROM THE WRITINGS OF PAUL, THE CHURCH OF GOD----
In 1 Corinthians 3:16–17, the apostle Paul hit on the true nature of the church as the body of Christ when he asked, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (NKJV).
We are the temple of God means that we—Christians, believers in Jesus Christ—who are joined together in one family as “the church” are a holy dwelling place for God’s presence.
The Greek word translated as “you” in verses 16 and 17 is plural. So when Paul said, “You are the temple of God,” he was referring to the believers as a group—the local church. The temple in Jerusalem was a sacred building dedicated to the worship of God. According to Paul, the church was the equivalent of the temple. God’s presence resided in the church, and the church was to maintain holiness.
THIS IS AN END TIME PROPHECY AS THE FOLLOWING VERSES MAKE PLAIN----
"Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming,
Says the Lord of hosts."
IT IS AN END TIME PROPHECY BECAUSE; HEAR THE WORDS----
2 “But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And [a]purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the Lord
An offering in righteousness."
THIS IS NOT A FIRST TIME COMING PER SE. BUT THE
SECOND COMING, WHEN JESUS THE MESSIAH WILL BE AS THE WORDS ABOVE GIVE-- A MIGHTY PURIFIER AND FEW WILL BE ABLE TO STAND-- A WARING KING TO RULE OVER THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH.
4 “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
Will be [b]pleasant to the Lord,
As in the days of old,
As in former years."
YES SACRIFICIAL OFFERINGS WILL AGAIN BE PERFORMED BY ISRAEL. MANY OTHER PROPHESIES TELL THAT TRUTH, ONE BEING ZECHARIAH 14.
5 "And I will come near you for judgment;
I will be a swift witness
Against sorcerers,
Against adulterers,
Against perjurers,
Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans,
And against those who turn away an alien—
Because they do not fear Me,
Says the Lord of hosts."
AGAIN PROVING THIS TO BE AN END TIME PROPHECY AND INTO THE AGE TO COME, WHEN RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL BE THE LAW OF THE LAND.
6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change;"
GOD DOES NOT CHANGE IN CHARACTER AND HOLINESS.
"Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
7 Yet from the days of your fathers
You have gone away from My ordinances
And have not kept them.
Return to Me, and I will return to you,
Says the Lord of hosts.
But you said,
‘In what way shall we return?’"
THE SONS OF JACOB [ISRAEL] HAVE FOR NEARLY 3 THOUSAND YEARS, NOT OBEYED THE LORD. THEY HAVE GONE THEIR OWN WAY, DONE THEIR OWN THING; FOLLOWED THE WAY THAT SEEMED RIGHT TO THEM BUT ALWAYS ENDED IN SIN AND DEATH.
Do Not Rob God
8 “Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
‘In what way have we robbed You?’
In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,
Says the Lord of hosts;
12 “And all nations will call you blessed,
For you will be a delightful land,
Says the Lord of hosts."
THE BIG TEST GIVEN THAT ISRAEL FAILED IN, HAS BEEN AS NATIONS, NOT TITHING TO GOD. YA WHAT YOU DO WITH YOUR WEALTH, GIVING TO GOD, IS THE BIGGEST TEST OF ALL TO SEE IF YOU WILL SERVE HIM.
THE PROMISE HERE IS FOR THE NATIONS OF ISRAEL NOT FOR INDIVIDUALS. FOR AS MANY KNOW INDIVIDUALS TITHING TO GOD, DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN YOU WILL BE RICH IN A PHYSICAL WAY.
The People Complain Harshly
13 “Your words have been [c]harsh against Me,
Says the Lord,
Yet you say,
‘What have we spoken against You?’
14 You have said,
‘It is useless to serve God;
What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance,
And that we have walked as mourners
Before the Lord of hosts?
15 So now we call the proud blessed,
For those who do wickedness are [d]raised up;
They even tempt God and go free.’ ”
THE ISRAEL NATIONS HAVE ALL KINDS OF EXCUSES AS TO WHY THEY SHOULD NOT FOLLOW GOD. AND IT WILL ALL GET THEM IN HUGE TROUBLES IN THE LAST YEARS OF THIS AGE.
A Book of Remembrance
16 "Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another,
And the Lord listened and heard them;
So a book of remembrance was written before Him
For those who fear the Lord
And who [e]meditate on His name.
17 They shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts,
On the day that I make them My jewels.[f]
And I will spare them
As a man spares his own son who serves him.
18 Then you shall again discern
Between the righteous and the wicked,
Between one who serves God
And one who does not serve Him."
WHEN IT IS ALL DONE, AND GOD MAKES UP HIS JEWELS AT THE COMING OF THE MESSIAH, FINALLY THE NATIONS OF ISRAEL WILL DISCERN BETWEEN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND WICKEDNESS, BETWEEN ONE WHO SERVES GOD AND ONE WHO DOES NOT SERVE HIM.
WE NOW ENTER, AS THE APOSTLE PAUL TERMED IT, THE AGE TO COME.
AND WHAT A GLORIOUS AGE THAT WILL BE.
WE CONTINUE TO PRAY, THY KINGDOM COME, THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
Keith Hunt [January 2026]
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