Title: Prophecy of the Messiah
Contents
- Download #1 : Pyeonggang Church Service 1.ppt (4.19 MB), Download : 76
Bible text: Mal 3:1-3, Matthew 11:10-11
Messiah's Prophecy
Prophecy is the revelation of God's will through the prophet. A prophet is called Nabi in Hebrew, which means “to be inspired” or “to speak with enthusiasm.” The source of prophecy is the Spirit of God. A prophet is a person who has received the Spirit of God and passionately preaches the will of God.
Why does God prophesy? The purpose of prophecy is to enable God's people to look ahead and live in preparation. To know the coming future and prepare for it.
There are two sure prophecies in the Bible. The first prophecy is the birth prophecy of the Messiah, and the second prophecy is the prophecy of the Second Coming of Jesus. 2 Peter 1:9 says, “We have a more certain prophecy, like a lamp that lights up a dark place...” This is the more certain prophecy of the Second Coming. The birth of Jesus is a prophecy that has already been fulfilled, and the second coming of Jesus is like a lamp that lights up a dark place. Malachi prophesied the birth of the Messiah, and that prophecy was fulfilled.
I will send a messenger ahead of you.
“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me” (verse 1). A messenger is a person who obeys God's command and delivers the word to people.
“The voice of one who cries out, saying, Prepare ye the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make straight in the desert a highway for our God; every valley shall be raised up, and every hill shall be made low, and the rough places made level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it, saith the mouth of the Lord” (Isaiah 40:3-5). These words were prophesied by Isaiah, not his own, but “the words of the mouth of the Lord” (Isaiah 40:3-5). “He said. A lion should not be a speaker of his own words, but a speaker who conveys the word of God.
In the New Testament, the angel Gabriel appears in advance, announcing the birth of the Messiah (Luke 1:26). And it records John, who was born six months before Jesus was born.
“There was a man sent from God, and his name was John, and he came to bear witness, that he might testify of the light, and that all might believe through him; and he was not the light, but came to testify of the light.” (John 1:6-8) The purpose of his coming into this world is to testify of Jesus. When he comes into the world, his job is not to reveal himself, but to testify of the Messiah.
The Jews sent men to John, "Who are you?" When asked, the answer is, “I am not the Christ.” I ask again, who are you? Are you Elijah? “No” Prophet? “No” Then who is it? What do you say to those who sent us to you? I said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness to make straight the way of the Lord,” as the prophet Isaiah said (John 1:19-23).
Sound has no form. It is formless, but it is the sound that breaks the silence. His voice was a sound that awakened the conscience and pierced iniquity. The sound was a simple cry, with no moles at all. It was a heartbreaking sound. That sound is not the sound of avoiding face. It was just a piercing arrow that flew in a straight line.
When they saw the Pharisees and scribes coming to the baptism, they shouted, “You brood of vipers, who taught you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7).
He is a prophet. Prophecy always goes against the times. Because prophecy is always ahead of its time. But the prophecy touches the fate of mankind. Prophecy should not be confused with scientific prediction. Scientific foresight is the future that scientists see. Prophecy is the foreknowledge of the eternal God. John the Baptist was indeed the greatest of all women born. He paved the way for the Messiah.
he will come suddenly
“...and the Lord, whom you are seeking, will suddenly come to his temple” (v. 1b). “What you are asking for” here refers to the people of Israel waiting for the Messiah. This is the long-awaited idea of the Messiah of the nation of Israel. “Lord” refers to Jesus Christ, the Ruler (Adon) of the “Messiah” kingdom. “Suddenly” refers to something that appears at an unexpected time.
It means that you come suddenly when you don't think about it. No one knew in advance when the Messiah would come to this earth. However, the wise men from the East saw the stars from thousands of miles and came to Bethlehem, the land of Judea, where Jesus was born, and offered gold and treasures to worship (Matthew 2:1-12). The nearby shepherds came to the baby Jesus and worshiped him (Luke 2:8-20).
According to the Gospel of Luke, Grandfather Simeon, who prayed without leaving the temple, followed the instructions of the Holy Spirit and went to the temple. He was moved into the temple by the Holy Spirit, and just then, he saw Mary and Joseph entering the temple holding the baby Jesus. Simeon was so moved that even if he died now, he held the baby in his arms and praised God.
“...my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before all peoples, a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel” (John 2:25-32).
His coming was like a light suddenly appearing in darkness. It was the amazing joy of those who met the Messiah. The light came on in an instant. Jesus is the light of the world. It is a light for both individuals and families. He is a light to the country and the whole world. “The Lord is coming suddenly.”
Heaven is like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. The time when the bridegroom will come has not been set. Five are foolish, and five are wise. The foolish went out with no oil and only their lamps, while the wise went out with oil and lamps. The groom was late, so they all fell asleep. In the middle of the night there came a voice, saying, “Bridegroom, come out to meet me.” All the virgins got up and prepared their lamps, but the foolish ones said to the wise, “Our lamps are going out, so please share some of your oil.
At that time, the sensible ones answered, It seems that we and you will not all be enough. Rather, go to a selling house and buy what you need. Belatedly, five foolish virgins came and knocked on the door, saying, “Lord! Lord!” But the bridegroom said, “I do not know you.”
This is what Jesus said. “Watch therefore, for you do not know the day or the hour” (Matthew 25:1-13) The Messiah will come suddenly! This is the message.
“Brothers, you have no need of writing to you about times or seasons, for you yourselves know fully that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”
“When they say, ‘Peace and peace,’ then sudden destruction will come upon a pregnant woman, as the pain of childbirth, and she will never escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).
I will make you clean.
“He will be like the fire that refines gold, and the lye that bleaches” (verse 3). The Messiah will be like the fire that refines gold. It means someone like a blacksmith who melts metal with fire to make new tools.
Jesus said he came to cast fire. “I have come to cast fire, and if it were already kindled, what would I want?” (Luke 12:49) The fire produces heat and melts the iron. He casts himself to melt and refine the soul and remove impurities to make pure gold.
“The furnace refines gold, but the LORD tests the heart” (Proverbs 17:3).
Trials sanctify us. Metals such as gold or iron are thrown into a fire and then taken out and beaten to become purer. This is called a podium. Fire refines gold, and the Lord is fire. “The certainty of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, even though it is tried by fire, will be found to be praise, glory, and honor at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7).
Gold is refined by fire. This is to increase the purity by removing impurities. We also contain impurities. Christ removes impurities and improves purity to create a new person. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, but behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The process of refinement is naturally accompanied by pain. The fire is hot and the hammer hurts. I asked a certain blacksmith when will we know that the gold has been purified. “I can tell when I can shine my face on that metal,” he replied.
The Messiah said, “It will be like bleaching lye.” The old detergent is lye. When we were young, we poured water into a bowl of ashes, washed our clothes with lye from the ashes, and washed our hair. Soap was replaced with lye when soap was not yet available.
“Come, let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). It is a paint, but once watered, it is not easily removed. Crimson symbolizes sin as red as blood.
How do you make it wool as white as snow? The only thing you need to do is meet God and argue. Arguing is about revealing reason and arguing about right and wrong. Through pleadings, the error is well established. Arguing refers to a trial in a court of law by disclosing a dispute or revealing a crime. However, the pleading is not intended to be a procedure for condemnation, but to make people realize and turn around.
“I, even I, am the one who blots out your transgressions for my sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25). To remove it so that it no longer exists.
When you meet Jesus, you become a different person. It melts into his words, and as you listen to his words, you turn around. Convince people, people are moved. He is like fire that melts iron, like lye that bleaches.
Malachi prophesied that the Messiah would come. He was a prophet. Malachi means “my messenger” in Hebrew. Based on the words, “Behold, I will send my messenger” (verse 1), some scholars interpret Malachi as his title, not a person's name. The title of Malachi is “The warning the Lord spoke to Israel by Malachi” (Malachi 1:1). Malachi prophesied that the Messiah would come.
He is going to send messengers before the Messiah comes. Advent is the season of waiting for the Messiah who has already come, the Second Coming Lord. Let's all get ready for the week. When the Lord comes, He purifies us. When he comes, you will have faith like gold that has been refined by fire. You will be cleansed by washing with the precious blood compared to lye.