Title Before That Day Comes
1 Behold, the days are coming, saith the LORD of hosts, like a fiery furnace, and the proud and all those who do evil will be like stubble, and the day that comes shall slay them, and it shall leave no root or branch, 2 but to you who fear my name. The sun of righteousness will rise with its healing rays, and you will go out and leap like calves out of the stall 3 and you will trample the wicked, and they will be like ashes under the soles of your feet in the day I have appointed, says the LORD of hosts. Remember the law, which I commanded Moses my servant for all Israel at Horeb, 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, will turn their hearts to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse if they do not.
3:18 tells us to separate the righteous from the wicked. The righteous serve God, and the wicked do not serve God. The day of this separation is the day of the LORD of hosts. Therefore, on this day, judgment and salvation occur at the same time, and the appearance of judgment is like a fiery furnace in verse 4:1. The furnace fire refers to the fire in the forge that forges iron! It's like the fire in a furnace today. The temperature of this furnace is said to be at least 1,000 degrees. If it is more intense than this furnace, there is nothing that cannot be extinguished by such a fire.
In Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar was angry that Daniel's three friends did not bow down to the golden image, so he ordered the furnace to heat up seven times more than usual. Such fires are called ferocious fires. So the people who threw them into the fire were burned to death. However, even in the fire, Daniel's three friends kept it from being burnt, leaving no trace or smell. Besides the three, one man, like the son of the gods, was walking with them in the fire. It is the day of the Lord that this fierce fire will precisely separate the wicked from the righteous.
It is said that Jehovah God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24). Therefore, in judging, some people are judged. In verse 4:1, they are called proud people and evildoers. In other words, being proud before God is evil. Proverbs 16:5 says that it is a sin to have high eyes, a proud heart, and the prosperity of the wicked. Therefore, God says that such people, those with high eyes and a proud heart, will surely be destroyed (Psalm 101:5). There are many prosperous people in this world among those with high eyes and proud hearts. In the world, he seems like a very strong person. But in the face of God's judgment, they are like dry straw. In the day that comes, even its roots and branches will not be left behind.
This is verse 2. It is said that on this fiery furnace-like day of judgment, for those who fear the name of Jehovah, the sun of righteousness will rise with its healing rays. The rising of the sun of righteousness is spoken of in Isaiah 60:19. “The sun will no longer be your light by day, nor will the moon give you light by day; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.” A righteous year is that Jehovah be the everlasting light and glory. Therefore, it is said that for those who fear the name of the Lord, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing rays.
These words foreshadow the Messiah. Isaiah 60:1-3 also prophesies about light, but look at Isaiah 9:1-2. “1 There will be no darkness for those who have afflicted themselves. In the past the LORD made the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali despised, but later he glorified the sea road and the Gentile Galilee beyond the Jordan. 2 The people who walked in darkness will see a great light. The light shines on those who see it and dwell in the land of the shadow of death.” We see the fulfillment of these words in the Gospel of Matthew.
Matthew 4:12-17. “12 When Jesus heard John’s arrest, he withdrew to Galilee. 13 He left Nazareth, and went to live in Capernaum, which is on the shores of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah, saying, 15 The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, Beyond the Jordan, by the way of the sea, and Galilee of the Gentiles 16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and to those who sat in the land and shadow of death, a light has shined.” 17 From that time on, Jesus began to preach and said, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He said yes.”
When the righteous sun rises and shines with a healing beam, the word beam is translated here as wings. Therefore, it is said that if you dwell under that healing wing, it will be like a calf from the stall being released and running. Have you ever seen a calf come out of the stall and run? I saw it a lot when I was young. The calf in the stall has not yet sewed a cottour. As soon as I followed the mother cow out of the gate, I saw how all four legs jumped and jumped back and forth in the air. It is a wonderful expression of the joy of salvation.
Acts 3:6-10. “6 Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 He took his right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankles gained strength 8 and he ran and walked with them in the temple. As he entered the temple, he walked and ran, praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they knew that he was the one who used to sit begging at the beautiful gate of the temple, and they were amazed and amazed at what had happened to him.”
We walk and run, in the name of Jesus. Thus, the day of the Lord becomes a day of intense judgment, but the joy of salvation is also a day of joy, like a calf running free from the stall.
This is verse 3. The wicked will be trampled underfoot like ashes under the soles of the feet of the Lord on the appointed day It must be so because it is the word of the Lord of hosts. Therefore, before that day comes, turn around. The last prophet of the Old Testament is warning us to turn back before the coming day of the Lord, the day of judgment. Since Malachi is the last prophet of the Old Testament, we must remember the ordinances of Moses in order to restore them.
Verse 4. It is to remember the laws and ordinances that God's servant Moses commanded at Mount Horeb. By remembering the law and the ordinances, they realize their sins and turn to the Lord. Those laws and regulations are waiting for Jesus Christ after all, so prepare Jesus Christ.
However, they cannot properly understand the meaning of the law on their own. Therefore, it is said that the Lord will send Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. Because Elijah was received into heaven alive, the Jews were expecting Elijah to return before the Messiah came. However, when Elijah and Moses were talking about the passing of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, only Peter, James, and John witnessed it. Just as the prophecies about Moses and Elijah appeared in verses 4 and 5 we just saw, Moses and Elijah appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration. Look at what Jesus said about this.
Matthew 17:9-13. “9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell no one what you have seen until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” 10 The disciples asked him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 Jesus answered He said to them, "Surely Elijah will come first and restore all things. 12 I tell you, Elijah has already come, but people did not know it, and treated him arbitrarily. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer from them." 13 Then the disciples said, realized that it was John the Baptist.”
Therefore, the role of Elijah on earth, not on the Mount of Transfiguration, was played by John the Baptist. The Jews really expected Elijah to come again, but the evidence in the Bible is that John the Baptist is Elijah.
Luke 1:17. “And he will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and will prepare a people prepared for the Lord.” The angel will give birth to a son to the priest Zacharias. It is a prophecy about the work of This son is John the Baptist, and he will work in the spirit and power of Elijah.
Therefore, John the Baptist is carrying out the ministry of Elijah. Elijah's appearance is similar to that of John the Baptist. In 2 Kings 1:8, King Ahaziah became ill and while Elijah was sending his servants from Baal-zebub to inquire about his condition, Elijah said that the king would die. At this time, when the king inquired about the shape of the prophet, he reported that he was a hairy man and had a leather belt. So, you're wearing leather clothes. John the Baptist was also dressed in camel's hair, with a leather belt, and ate locusts and lime (Mark 1:6).
Not only this appearance, but also the background of the ministry. Just as there were the evil king Ahab and the worse Jezebel during Elijah's activities, the background of John the Baptist's ministry was the evil king Herod and the worse Herodias. John the Baptist was beheaded because he attacked Herod and Herodias. However, just as Elijah cried out to the Israelites who were hesitating between them, how long will they delay, so did John the Baptist cry out to return to the Lord. Repent, they shouted that the kingdom of heaven is near. The ax has already been laid at the root of the tree, so unless you repent, you will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
Then who came at the end of the cry of John the Baptist? Jesus Christ has come. The great and dreadful day of the Lord has come. That day has come. When that day comes, according to 3:18, we will be able to distinguish the righteous from the wicked. It is to distinguish between those who serve the Lord and those who do not. Those who serve Jehovah are those who hear the words of Jesus Christ and believe in Jesus. But those who do not believe in Jesus do not serve Jehovah.
But even John the Baptist, who tried to turn their hearts to the Father while crying out for repentance, had doubts about Jesus' work. For the day of the LORD, foretold by the prophets, is like a fiery furnace, and a dark, dreadful and dark day will come. Judgment and salvation should happen at the same time, but it doesn't seem to be the case. But Jesus was clearly fulfilling the work of Christ.
John 3:18-21. “18 He who believes in Him will not be judged, but whoever does not believe has already been judged because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 20 He loved the darkness more than the light. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest their deeds be exposed. 21 Those who follow the truth come to the light, so that their deeds may be shown that they have been done in God. ”
In this verse that begins with verse 16, we see only the news of salvation. But clearly there is a message of judgment. That judgment is not believing in Jesus. This judgment is synonymous with condemnation. Light has come into the world. The sun of righteousness has shone. But people did not come to the light because their deeds were evil, and they loved darkness rather than light. This is condemnation and judgment. Therefore, Jesus' ministry is already a dreadful and dreadful day. Jesus’ parables of the kingdom of heaven are divided into two parts, and the standard is Jesus.
In our concept of time and space, it seems that it started a long time ago and there is still a lot of time left in the future, but this time called today is the great, dreadful and dreadful day of Jehovah. Of course, there is the Second Coming, but the Second Coming is an event in which salvation and judgment are confirmed. Therefore, as we saw in Hebrews 3 last week, at this hour called today, we are to exhort one another not to fall from Christ.
Therefore, if we do not turn to the Lord Jesus Christ today, it will be a day of dread and dreadful judgment. It is not something to put off until tomorrow. Therefore, may our hearts be turned to the Lord Jesus Christ right here and now.