Chapter 882 of 1163

MALACHI 4

Burning (1). The day of the Lord will be a time of fierce judgment on the earth, and the wicked will be burned like stubble. The fire of God’s jealousy will burn (Zeph. 1:18).

Healing (2–3). “Sun of Righteousness” is a title for Jesus Christ (Ps. 84:11). He is to His people what the sun is to our galaxy: the center of all things and the source of life and light (John 1:4). The same Sun that brings burning to the lost will bring blessing to the saved.

Obeying (4–6). Malachi pointed back to the Law and commanded Israel to obey and be prepared for what God was going to do. Then he pointed ahead to the ministry of Elijah, which was fulfilled in a spiritual sense in John the Baptist (Luke 1:16–17; Matt. 17:10–13). It may be fulfilled literally if Elijah is one of the two witnesses described in Revelation 11:1–13.

The Old Testament ends with the awesome word curse. At the close of the New Testament, the promise is, “And there shall be no more curse” (Rev. 22:3). What made the difference? On the cross, Jesus Christ was made a curse for us (Gal. 3:13).

Fire

In Scripture, fire is often associated with judgment, for it is a symbol of the holy wrath of God. Fire consumed God’s enemies (2 Kings 1) as well as His servants who disobeyed Him (Lev. 10:1–3). He has reserved the world for a judgment of fire (2 Pet. 3:10), and hell is compared to a lake of fire (Rev. 20:10, 14; 21:8) and a furnace of fire (Matt. 13:42, 50). Jesus often spoke of the fiery judgment that awaits those who do not trust Him (Matt. 5:22; 18:8–9; 25:41; Mark 9:44–48). When He returns to judge the world, He will come “in flaming fire” (2 Thess. 1:8). It behooves us to be ready and to share the Gospel with others.

“Men are not in hell because God is angry with them: they are in wrath and darkness because they have done to the light, which infinitely flows forth from God, as that man does to the light of the sun who puts out his own eyes.”

William Law

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