CHAPTER 4

(397 B.C.)

DESTRUCTION OF THE UNGODLY

¹For, behold, the day comes, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yes, and all who do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that comes shall burn them up, says the LORD of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. (For, behold, the day comes, has a double meaning: 1. It refers to the coming Battle of Armageddon, which will precipitate the Coming of the Lord, Who will come with flaming fire; and, 2. It refers to the Great White Throne Judgment, which will take place after the Millennial Reign [Rev. 20:11-15].

The latter phrase refers to the coming day when the entirety of the Earth shall be cleansed by fire. It pertains to the coming New heavens and New Earth [II Pet. 3:12-13]. Neither root nor branch, means that not one vestige of sin nor rebellion against God will remain anywhere in the universe. Peter likened it to a New Earth wherein dwells Righteousness.)

SALVATION FOR THE RIGHTEOUS

²But unto you who fear My Name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His Wings; and you shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. (But unto you who fear My Name, refers to the small remnant of 3:16. It refers to all who, from the very beginning, have truly lived for God. Shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His Wings, pertains to the Second Advent of Christ, when He will come back, bringing healing to every person on Earth, not only for physical sickness, but for Spiritual sickness, as well!

Here, Christ is compared to the Sun, with its healing rays of light coming over the Earth [Isa. 30:26]. As well, the word wings does not refer, at least in this case, as wings would normally be understood, but actually refers to something that is overspreading. The Hebrew word is kanaph, which means an edge or extremity. When Christ comes back in what is referred to as the Second Coming, healing rays will be coming from Him in a way that can only be compared with the Sun.

The last phrase is a symbolism expressing great joy. When calves are released from the stall into a sunny field, they skip for joy.)

THE WICKED TRODDEN DOWN BY THE RIGHTEOUS AT ARMAGEDDON

³And you shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, says the LORD of Hosts. (The proud now treat as dirt beneath their feet the confessors of Messiahs Name. In the future, that position will be reversed. In the day that I shall do this, says the LORD of Hosts, pertains to the coming Kingdom Age, when Righteousness shall prevail, with Christ ruling supremely over the entirety of the Earth. Now, and sadly so, unrighteousness prevails. But, in the coming Glad Day, Righteousness will be the order of all mankind.)

THE COMMAND TO OBEY GODS LAWS

⁴Remember you the Law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the Statutes and Judgments. (Remember you the Law of Moses My servant, addresses the last command in the Old Testament, for Malachi would be the last Prophet before John the Baptist, a time frame of some 400-plus years. When Christ came, the Law of Moses would be abolished and annulled on the Cross [II Cor., Chpt. 3; Gal., 3:19-25; 4:21-31; Col. 2:14-17; Heb., Chpts. 7-10]. Consequently, the remembering of the Law of Moses, with its Statutes and Judgments, was a requirement for the period before Christ, but does not apply to the time of the New Covenant.

Of course, that which applied to moral particulars was carried over into the New Testament and is certainly to be remembered and adhered to. However, the moral law is kept perfectly when one places ones Faith entirely in Christ and what He did for us at the Cross [Rom. 8:1-2].)

THE LAST PROPHECY TO JUDAH BEFORE MESSIAHS FIRST ADVENT; THE COMING OF ELIJAH BEFORE MESSIAHS SECOND ADVENT

⁵Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD (the phrase, Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet, does not refer to the coming of John the Baptist, who only came in the spirit of Elijah. It actually refers to Elijah the Prophet, who was translated about 500 years before the time of Malachi, and who will be sent back to the Earth by the Lord in the midst of the coming Great Tribulation.

At that time, he and Enoch of Rev. 11:3 will be used of God mightily as they prophesy in Jerusalem. Their Ministry will last for the entirety of the last three and a half years of the Great Tribulation. Both will be killed by the Antichrist at the end of the Great Tribulation, when they shall have finished their testimony. However, after three and a half days, they will be resurrected and raptured [Rev. 11:11-12].

As John the Baptist prepared the way for the First Advent of Christ, these two, Elijah and Enoch, will prepare the way for the Second Coming of Christ. Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD, addresses the coming Great Tribulation, and, more specifically, the Second Coming. It will be a great day for Gods People and a dreadful day for His enemies!):

⁶And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the Earth with a curse. (The first phrase proclaims Elijah and Enoch beginning the process, in the latter half of the Great Tribulation, of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. The fathers speak of the Patriarchs and Prophets of old. Lest I come and smite the Earth with a curse, proclaims the obvious fact that there is no word following curse in this last Verse of the Old Covenant, meaning there is more to follow. Thank God!

In contrast, the word Amen follows the last words of the Book of Revelation, closing out the Canon of Scripture, because after Grace, which is the theme of the Ministry of Christ, there is nothing left to be said but Amen. Thank God! The world was not left with the curse, but Jesus Christ came and redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us [Gal. 3:13].

Hallelujah!)