MALACHI'S MESSENGER

“I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord who rules over all.   Malachi 3:1

 
Many people have marveled at how Christianity got off the ground and has endured for twenty centuries. We should see that the origin of the Christian faith is quite distinct from the origin of every other faith. It is one which is not only steeped in historical events, but particularly historical events which were the fulfillment of prophetic prophecies. God spoke through Amos the following: “For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). Bear in mind, the Mal. 3:1 prophecy occurred in the late fourth century before Christ. Judah had fallen into Exile and had returned to the Promised Land, but their hearts were not fully returned to the Lord. Therefore, Yahweh prophesied future favor to be bestowed upon the Jewish people once again. In the gospel of John (1:23) we are told that John the Baptist self-identified as the very one who was a Messenger in the desert preparing the way for Yahweh. Centuries before the Mal. 3:1 prophecy, Yahweh announced through the prophet Isaiah he would send a Messenger (40:3). We see, therefore, that the first part of Mal. 3:1 was fulfilled in John the Baptist’s ministry. A second part of the Malachi prophecy is fulfilled, for Jesus came to the Temple on numerous occasions (Luke 2:41-52; Mt. 21). What’s more, being an observant Jew, he would’ve made an annual pilgrimage to the Temple.

Note that it is Yahweh who says that He will send His messenger before Him. John the Baptist understood himself to be the forerunner of Yahweh—indeed, one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight paths for Yahweh.” This demonstrates that Jesus, who was the Messiah and long-awaited by the Jews, was also Yahweh Himself. Simply put, Malachi 3:1 helps us to see that Yahweh-Jesus foretold his own coming through several prophets, that he would send a Messenger before Himself, and He would finally enter the great Jewish Temple. If that’s not a confirming piece of evidence for Christianity, I don’t know what is.
 
Word for the Way:
Fulfilled prophecies confirm the veracity of Christianity.