Prepare God's People

Malachi 4:5-6 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
 
MALACHI’S final words are God’s final promises to Israel for 400 years. Are these hopeful words or ominous warnings – or both? What is the meaning of I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. How could that be God’s future plan if Elijah lived some 400 years before Malachi? What is the great and dreadful day?
   Faithful Jews believed Elijah could return because of the way Elijah left earth. 2 Kings 2:11 As Elijah and Elisha were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated Elijah and Elisha, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Further, God had anointed Elijah’s ministry with powerful, Messianic demonstrations of provision, healing, suffering, resurrection, judgment and salvation. He was, indeed, a specially chosen prophet to display God’s glory on earth. Elijah would be an appropriate messenger to come from heaven and announce the coming kingdom. You could compare the Jews’ expectation of Elijah’s return with our expectation of Jesus’ return.
   The great and dreadful day of the Lord is a promise and a warning. God’s great day will be his grace to call the Jews, then the world to salvation. The dreadful day is his final judgment of those who reject Jesus.
   Malachi’s “Elijah prophecy” was fulfilled in the messenger John the Baptist. We see a specific repetition of Malachi’s prophecy as the angel spoke to John’s father, the priest Zechariah, in Luke 1:17 And (your son to be born) will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” God’s final words to Malachi were the first words to Israel through Zechariah to announce the coming kingdom.
   Jesus later confirmed John was the “Elijah” to come: Matthew 11:13 “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.” John’s life’s purpose was to prepare the Jews for Jesus’ redemptive ministry. Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
   John was the blessed prophet to physically point to the Savior and say, “See, the Messiah is he!” Today your role as a Christian is as John’s. You are a blessed child of God, chosen to spiritually point to Jesus and say, “See the Savior is Jesus.” Be a Spirit-anointed messenger to prepare people for Jesus’ great and dreadful day of the Lord. Demonstrate God’s truth. Declare the Savior’s way of forgiveness. Help people to be ready for the King to fully establish his kingdom on earth.
 
Elijah Prayed: 1 Kings 18:37 “Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”