The Book of Malachi is the last book of the 12 Minor Prophets, which are called minor only because they are shorter in length than the other longer (major) prophetic books like Isaiah and Jeremiah.
Malachi is also chronologically the last book in the Old Testament just as Revelation is chronologically the last book in the New Testament.
To that end, we find a great similarity between the two in that they both begin with "messages" from the LORD to the House of Israel and to the seven churches respectively.
As with all of the Books in the Minor Prophets, much can be learned in the opening few verses concerning the overall purpose and what it is our Father would have us know from the book.
Here is the first verse of Malachi:
Malachi 1:1
The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
This burden, or warning, is not the word of Malachi but rather the word of the LORD to Israel, but spoken through Malachi, whose name appropriately means "My Messenger".
You see, that is how it works!
His Word from on high, from heaven, is spoken through His servants, His messengers, often translated angels.
Here is Strong's definition of "Malak" which is the base of "Malaki":
malak = CSìÀîÇmal�aòkmal-awk' H4397
From an unused root meaning to despatch as a deputy; a messenger; specifically of God, that is, an angel (also a prophet, priest or teacher):— ambassador, angel, king, messenger.
angel = Tããåëïòaggelosang'-el-os G32
From PããÝëëùaggelloô (probably derived from G71; compare G34; to bring tidings); a messenger; especially an "angel"; by implication a pastor:— angel, messenger.
Here's a quick preview:
Malachi 2:7
For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
Unfortunately, we shall also learn much and read much about those who claim to be His messengers but have gone astray and led their entire congregations astray because they do not study His Word but rather teach corruption through the idolatrous traditions of men.
Malachi 2:8
But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.
That's right!
All it took was 30 short years and things had fallen back in the "pits"!
This great Book of Malachi describes the idolatrous condition of the nation at that time, which would have been about 374 BC, or 400 years (a time of probation) before the coming of Messiah at His first advent.
In fact, when Christ came at His first advent He told His disciples that the scribes and Pharisees (the kenites, i.e. ancestors of Cain) sat in the seat of Moses, meaning they sat in authority in the temple.
If you recall from the 8th chapter of Ezra when they came forth to rebuild the temple, Ezra stopped and took count and discovered that there was not even one Levitical Priest, a true priest of God, to perform the duties in the temple.
So he sent some "Nethinims", temple servants, back to Babylon to get some.
The point is that all the priests
"stayed back in Babylon (confusion)", just as the Christian priests and preachers do
spiritually today.
In other words, the priests and preachers today do not come out of Babylon, which means "the lon(land) of confusion", the state of spiritual confusion and idolatry!
And yes, many do not like to hear it said, but they teach the religion of Babylon which has infested and corrupted Christianity and become tradition in most of the churches of our land. So they do things like rolling "Ishtar's" fertility eggs and put forth her quick-like-a-bunny rabbits and call it cute and then they go and face the sun as it rises (Ezk. 8:16).
Do you know anything about Easter?
The word is not even in ANY of the manuscripts of the New Testament!
You need to check it out because the idolatry and the false sacrifice of Christianity only starts there and goes downhill from there.
It is time for Christians to wake up!
The hour is late and the spiritual condition of our nation has once again become as it was in the days before the first advent. Jesus Christ is not pleased with the majority of the churches in this land as they are today which is fully documented in Revelation chapters 2 & 3 concerning His "message" to the angels, even the pastors, of the seven end time churches. Only two out of the seven churches met with His approval, and that is because they love Him as is shown by the fact that they love studying His Word.
I repeat, It is time for Christians to wake up! You see, it is written
in Isa. 61:2 (first half of the verse) that Jesus Christ came at the first
advent to bring salvation to the world, not to judge the world.
BUT, He is coming the second time to avenge His enemies and to comfort
those who lament and mourn the sad spiritual state of affairs our people
are in. In other words, He is coming to bring judgment to the nations in
the valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3), but first
He will cleanse the temple and bring judgment to the House of the Lord.
So, if you have "ears to hear" what the Spirit saith unto the seven churches
in Revelation 2 & 3, then follow along as we study this Book of Malachi,
"My Messenger".
I feel it is important at this late hour... to consider that we were perhaps given an 11th hour wake-up call on 9-11... that we take the time to understand what happens just before the second advent, not only what spiritual condition our people are in, but what it is God's servants, His true "messengers" whom He has called out of Babylon, will be doing, and are doing, in these last days. Let us continue our introduction by first documenting from the Book of Revelation that the Song of Moses, which is the 32nd chapter of Deuteronomy, was written for this final generation. Why go there and do that? Just hang in there with eyes and ears open and you'll understand why.
Notice that this is a "SIGN" in heaven, a "great and marvellous" sign! John saw "seven" angels having the seven last plagues and in them is filled up the wrath of God. What does that mean, "in them is filled up the wrath of God"?Rev. 15:1-4
And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
In other words, the "7" angels who have the seven last plagues are going to execute His wrath and finish His work. Do you know what the word "angel" means in Greek?filled = ôåëÝùteleoôtel-eh'-o G5055
From G5056; to end, that is, complete, execute, conclude, discharge (a debt):—accomplish, make an end, expire, fill up, finish, go over, pay, perform.
Note for the deeper scholar: Take Strong's and look up the words "done all" in Eph. 6:13 and understand that God's elect are going to "accomplish", "finish", "all the work" for which they were predestined and called and chosen before the foundation of this earth age (Rom. 8)!angel = aggelos, ang'-el-os, Greek 32; from aggello [probably derivative from Greek 71 (ago); compare Greek 34 (agele)] (to bring tidings); a messenger; especially an "angel"; by implication a pastor :- angel, messenger.
The next verse documents that it is those who overcome the beast and his image and his mark and the number of his name, i.e. those wicked "worn stones" (the kenites) who act in his authority, i.e. in his name. (If you have wisdom and understanding, which those of the churches of Philadelphia and Smyrna have because they love and study His Word, then you can count (trace) those smooth stones "666" (Rev. 13:18) from the fig grove to the planting of the fig tree to right now.
They have "gotten the victory" over the beast and now notice the song they sing! (Those victors, those champions of their people, must be very strong willed or something! I have trouble a lot of times just declaring victory over my flesh (a beast indeed) much lest Satan. Oh wait, I remember David and Goliath! God went before David and gave him the victory because he trusted in Him. God was His strength! So, let's see... the flesh may win a few battles over us but Goliath is going down! He is going to get "stoned" to death and have his head cut off with own sword!)[2] And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
Look there! His "great and marvellous works" was the "sign" John saw of those "seven angels" with the seven last plagues in whom was "filled up" the wrath of God. By the way, do you remember what those disciples upon whom the Holy Spirit lighted as a "fire" in Acts chapter 2 were speaking about, even in that cloven language which ALL the people of the various nations understood clearly in their own dialect?[3] And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
All those present from all the "nations round about" (even they are listed here so we know what languages we're talking about) heard clearly and distinctly in their own dialect EXACTLY what those disciples were saying. They just thought they were a little "nutty" because of what they were speaking about!Acts 2:8-11
And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?[9] Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Imagine that! They were talking about the same thing John saw in Rev. 15, His great and marvelous works of the final generation! Those "seven" angels who fill-up His wrath, who finish His work! It is well documented by Peter right there in Acts 2 which you can read for yourself. Here is the reaction of those present from those nations when they heard the disciples speaking about those wonderful works of God, i.e. about the sons and daughters who come forth and serve the LORD in the LAST DAYS![10] Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,[11] Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
Do you know what it meaneth? Peter knew what it meant and he soon stood up and told us exactly what it meant! It was a sign, even an example, of the "great and marvelous works" that the sons and daughters (who are by default "brothers and sisters" - think Philadelphia), the "seed" who would come forth in the final generation and finish the work (Ps. 22:31). You see, it is written that they would see (understand) visions, the visions of the prophets, and "being filled with oil, his Spirit that He would pour out through His sons of oil" (Zech. 4), would prophesy (teach) their brothers and sisters of the House of Israel and turn them back to Him, to His Word.Acts 2:12
And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
They come from heaven... directly from Him.
His doctrine and His truth, do not come from men.Let's just go to Psalm 22 and read the last few verses. Jesus Christ spoke (as in taught to the thief) all the words of this 22nd Psalm as He hung on the cross, beginning with verse one, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" and ending with these last two prophetic verses concerning the "seed" (offspring, i.e. sons and daughters,) of the final generation who would come forth and serve Him and "finish the work"!
If you have a "Companion Bible", on page 741 in the marginal notes, Dr. Bullinger will document for you that "He hath done this" = "It is finished"! Yes, the seed, the sons and daughters, His elect, shall come forth and serve Him and proclaim His Word and ascribe greatness unto Him, unto His WORD, and not unto themselves.Psalm 22:30-31
A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.[31]They shall come, and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
And as it is written in Ps. 22, and in Eph. 6:13, they will "finish (fill-up) the work".Deut. 32:3
Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
OK, we now know that the song of Moses is written for this generation of the overcomers of the beast. It is even the whole Plan of God for this generation, so let's go there and read the first few verses because they tie-in to the Book of Malachi. Stay with us!
Yes, those on earth will hear the words our Father speaks, even has spoken from heaven... which are written in His Word. And do you know how those on earth shall hear those "words of His mouth" in this final generation? It will be through His servants, His elect in this final generation, those 7,000 (7 x 1000 = spiritual perfection (x) the glory of God) of His remnant He has reserved for these last days who will NOT bow a knee to Baal (Rom. 11:4). You see, they shall come forth and serve Him and show forth His glory (i.e. ascribe greatness unto God, Deut. 32:3). They are the vessels through whom He speaks, meaning they are His watchmen and His MESSENGERS who shall open their mouths and speak His Words after the manner of "Thus saith the LORD God", and "It is written", not after the vain traditions of men! (Read Ezekiel 3:4-11 for more on this.)Deut. 32:1-6
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
You may recall from the 4th chapter of Zechariah that God's elect are referred to as His "7 eyes", i.e. His watchmen. You may also recall that they are also called "7 shepherds", who shall stand and feed His people in the great Book of Micah and who shall "waste the land of Assyria with the sword". In other words they shall wield His Mighty Sword (which is His Word which proceeds from His mouth... as per Rev. 1:16), and they shall do some major dragon slaying with His two-edged sword! Let's read what God says through Micah regarding the elect of God, His remnant, at the end of this age (unto the ends of the earth):[2] My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
Again from the Song of Moses, they shall "ascribe greatness unto our God" and so "shall He be great unto the ends of the earth", i.e. they shall declare His greatness unto the end of this earth age. By the way, the word "abide" means "to dwell", "to settle", as in "to marry". The majority of our Christian brothers and sisters shall be "spiritually seduced" and taken in the first wedding, the wedding to the false messiah, Satan, when he comes into our land. But God's elect shall stay married to the LORD, holding firm to the covenant of His Word!Micah 5:4-7
And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall He be great unto the ends of the earth.
Our palaces are, our high places, which are our places of worship, i.e. our churches which the Assyrian (Satan) comes and treads in (walks to and fro in). And the "seven shepherds", God's elect, shall be raised against him, to "stand (establish) and feed (teach) in the strength of the LORD"! Have you also read in Rev. 11:6 concerning His elect, His two witnesses (sons of oil) and those two candlesticks (churches)?[5] And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men*.
That "fire" is the Holy Spirit (remember Acts 2), i.e. His Words that shall consume. Hebrews 12:29 "For our God is a consuming fire."Rev. 11:5-6
And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
[6]These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
Again, here is what God's elect shall do against Babylon the great of the end times:
Hey, God's elect, those seven eyes, those seven shepherds, those seven messengers, those sons and daughters, are going to kick some major dragon... no... they are going to wield His sword and do some major slaying and "fire breathing" of their own! Now notice the connection with the Song of Moses in this next verse concerning the dew and the showers.Micah 5:6
And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders.
You must dig just a little deeper and look up the words "tarrieth" and "waiteth" to fully understand what is being said here concerning God's elect. The Hebrew word for "tarrieth" means to "twist"! In other words, God's elect do not put their "spin" on, nor do they teach the twisted traditions of men. They do not mince words! They tell it like it is, like it is written, whether it pleases men or not because they seek to please their Father! The word "waiteth" in Hebrew means to "put hope in". Neither do God's elect put their hope in men or in the traditions of men. They trust in Him, in the Word of God. You see, Micah says they shall "BE AS", i.e. be in the midst of the people as, the dew and the showers! "Dew" and "Showers", His doctrine and His truth, do not come from men. They come from heaven... directly from Him.[7] And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.
Let's go back to the Song of Moses and pick it up where we left off, with verse 3.
To "publish" means to "cry aloud", to "proclaim" as in "herald like a trumpet'! God's messengers are ones who "Blow the trumpets in Zion"! Did not His priests blow the trumpets and then "shout" to bring down the walls of Jericho in the days when Joshua (Yeshua) led them into the promised land?Deut. 32:3
Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
This is what they know... for this is what they sing even now in their hearts! He is King of kings (just) and Lord of lords (a God of truth).[4] He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.
This next verse describes the spiritual condition of our people, the spiritual "state of our union" in this final generation just before the second advent. Remember this well for Malachi will be discussing this exact same thing in a little greater detail for our understanding.
What is this "spot" that is spoken of here? The word "spot" in Hebrew is "muwn" and it means "stain, blemish", as in a blemished sacrifice. Malachi speaks in verse six of the first chapter about this "spot" which is a reference to concerning our sacrifices unto God. You see, Leviticus 22"perverse" is "iggesh" in Hebrew which means "distorted, hence false", i.e. they offer "blemished" sacrifices, worthless and false sacrifices, to their Father because of their apostasy. "Crooked is "pethaltol" meaning "crafty, unsavory", i.e. they do not walk in His ways.[5] They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.
So what the Song of Moses declares concerning this final generation of Christians is that their "sacrifice" is false because they do not "walk in His ways", as in keep His Word, even because they are estranged from His Word and dwell with, are married to, another god, a false Jesus! You will understand this more as we go through Malachi. Here is the reference to the spot (blemish) in Lev. 22:
Again, God's children, His elect, do not offer blemished (spotted) sacrifices unto their Father because they have not "corrupted" themselves with the traditions of men.Leviticus 22:19
Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats.[20] But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.
[21]And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein.
[22] Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD.
To "requite" means to repay, to "make a suitable return". In other words, for all that our Father has done for His people of the house of Jacob and for all the blessings He has poured out upon them, even far and above that of brother Esau, where is His due honour and reverence? In other words, what does He get in return for all that He has done for His children? Oh, let's peak ahead a little in our study and see how our Father expresses it through Malachi, i.e. what we just read in Deut. 32:6.Deut. 32:6
Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not He thy Father that hath bought thee? hath He not made thee, and established thee?
There has never been a greater,Malachi 1:6
A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear [meaning reverence]? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?..Those are some good questions, aren't they? Do you know how it is that the priests, even most Christian ministers, actually despise His name? We'll find out next, because they do! Malachi is a very important, and now a very timely, book for this generation which shall witness the second advent. So don't miss any of the studies of Malachi, the book titled "My messenger!"
more blessed nation on earth than the United States of America.
Do you know why she is so great?
Live Link to->>> The Parable of the Fig Tree
Therefore, before the final events of the great spiritual tribulation come upon us and bring to close this flesh age, our Father has some things He would like to say to His children through His Messenger Malachi in the hopes that they will see the error of their idolatrous ways and return unto Him and His ways, loving Him for what He has done for He has surely loved them and blessed as no other people.
The word "burden" means a divine oracle, a "warning" directly from the LORD TO (not concerning) Israel, even to the whole natural seedline of the house of Jacob as evidenced by the following verses 2-5. This oracle "to Israel" immediately separates the men from the boys, so to speak. In other words, it separates the true messengers of God from the apostate messengers, in that so few who teach God's Word today actually know who the true house of Israel is and where those sons of Jacob dwell this very day. In fact, many preachers, mistakenly, do not make a distinction at all between an Hebrew, an Israelite, and a Jew.Is God fair? Is He a God of fairness?
The answer is
"Of course there is no unrighteousness with God"!
He is completely fair.
It is written that God is NOT a respecter of persons.
You get what is coming to you, both good and bad!Malachi chapter 1
Malachi 1:1 The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
But thank God for those few true teachers and messengers of God who do know His Word and who do know the history of the migrations of His people, for many glad hearts have now been turned back to their fathers in the discovery of who they are, of their true heritage, even many, if not most, in this great nation of America being of true Israel, and the joyful knowledge, that bond brings, and turns their hearts ever so more tenderly back to their heavenly Father.
Hear now what the LORD has to say to His people, beginning with "I have loved you!"
Mal. 1:2
I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,
This is another statement that even further separates the men from the boys for this statement brings into question the "fairness" of God. We hear the question asked many times from people, "How is God Fair and Just?" or "How can a loving God allow bad things to happen to people?" or they ask, "How is it fair that some people are born in the USA and others in remote parts of the world?" Unfortunately we also hear these questions asked from many ministers (even very prominent ministers) who should be knowledgeable enough in His Word to give an answer from Him, from His Word! After all, they are His messengers and are supposed to give His answer when asked a question, but you see, they have not studied the Word of God in detail enough to even know about the first earth age and the rebellion of Satan when he drew a third of God's children (Rev. 12:4) away from His mercy seat of truth and justice. You can read all about it in Ezekiel 28.[3] And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
To wit, the entire (Live Link to->>) Plan of God was laid out, as it is written in the stars in the uncorrupted Zodiac beginning with Virgo, even before the overthrow and destruction of that first earth age when God shook the mountains and knocked the earth slightly off its axis and true north is no longer true north and the earth became "tohu va bohu", which means utterly void and waste, and water covered the whole earth (Gen. 1:2). Yes, even the destiny of that "seed" we learned of in our introductory who would come serve Him in this final generation (Ps. 22) was predetermined then according to His purpose (Rom. 8). Of course the scoffers and the non-believers are clueless as to why one is born here or one is born there. They just call it "Life's Lottery"! Too bad, because if you trust in something as uncertain as a lottery in hopes of coming out on top, you're already a loser.
Live link to->>Is there a conflict between the Biblical account of creation and scientific discoveries about the age of the earth? When did dinosaurs roam the earth?
So how is it that God hated (which means to love less by comparison) Esau and loved Jacob? Let us go to Romans chapter nine and learn from our Father's Word.
Notice that the sons were not yet even born! They were still "innocent" little babes yet in their mother's womb, but the plan of God and His purpose concerning the election was already laid out! You see, God already knew both of His sons, Esau and Jacob, from "The First Earth Age" long before He placed their souls in the sacs of water in Rebecca's womb, in this earth age. Again, the destiny of God's elect, His children, was predetermined before the foundation of this earth age. Paul wrote of it in Ephes. 1:4-5 "According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: [5] Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." God also told Jeremiah that He knew him before he was placed in his mother's womb and that He had set him apart to be a prophet unto the nations... as it was so! Jeremiah 1:5: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."Romans 9:10
And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;[11] (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth;)
God knew and knows all of His children and exactly what they did in the "world that then was" (2 Pet. 3:6) before the overthrow of that first earth age due to Lucifer's/Satan's rebellion.
So God made the following statement concerning the brothers of Esau and Jacob.
And why would that be? Because God knew what Esau had done in the first earth age and He wasn't very pleased that he disesteemed Him, had no regard for Him, even as he would again demonstrate in the flesh (Think Russia)![12] It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Again, this example is used both by Paul and by the Lord here in Malachi to raise the question "Is there unrighteousness (injustice) with God?" In other words, "Is God fair? Is He a God of fairness?" The answer is "Of course there is no unrighteousness with God"! He is completely fair. It is written that God is NOT a respecter of persons. You get what is coming to you, both good and bad! Acts 10:34 "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons." You see, most men and women just will not take the time to understand His Word and His plan.[13] As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Let's document why God had little regard for Esau and he deserved what he got, i.e. his lot and his portion. We pick up the story in Genesis where Esau had been out hunting fruitlessly and comes to Jacob claiming he is starving to death.[14] What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Esau could not see past the flesh!Genesis 25:32
And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
He SOLD his birthright, even the double portion of his inheritance that goes to the first born? Wow! I sure hope he got millions of dollars for it![33] And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
Unbelievable! Esau SOLD OUT HIS CHILDREN'S BLESSINGS, even the blessings of the Russian people, for a bowl of red pottage! Won't he be "Mr. Popular" when the truth of matter is reveal to his people! He had no regard for his heritage! He "disesteemed" it! On a deeper level, it is his heavenly Father whom He "disesteemed", as in had no regard or respect for.[34] Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
And so it is written in Malachi 1:3 that God "laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons (jackals) of the wilderness." Just take a look at the land of Esau, the land of Russia, today. The entire country lies north of our northern parallel. They have not been blessed with a fruitful plain as America (Jacob) has, the "bread basket" of the world, and so it is even to this very day Esau comes to Jacob with his bowl held out to be filled with our golden grain.
Can man build without God? Whatever Esau tries to do without God, shall be thrown down. It is written. Read the great book of (Live Link to->>) Obadiah how Esau, Russia, built up a confederacy called the USSR to rival the West, the house of Jacob, and then read how it collapsed exactly as it is written... according to His (God's) purpose.Malachi 1:4
Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.
To be called "the border of wickedness" means that it shall be called the territory or land of the lawless, even a "Red Nation" of communism and oppression, even a land whose godless system despises, disesteems, God's name. Former President Ronald Reagan referred to it as the "Evil Empire"! That does not mean that there are not many good Christians in the land of Esau, but we speak of the ungodly and unholy system of government.
How is it though that it is written that God has "indignation for ever" against Esau. You will learn from reading the Book of Obadiah that Esau has a perpetual hatred of his brother Jacob, and as long as that hatred exists the LORD shall have indignation against him.
It shall be Israel (no, not the little country in the middle east that we call Israel today; we mean "THE REAL ISRAEL!", that country in the middle east is only of Judah and Benjamin, and then just in part, having mixed with Kenites when coming out of Babylon) that shall lift up His name in all the earth because that's His plan, according to His purpose.[5] And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.
Let's go to Luke 17 where Christ spoke the following words
during His teaching concerning the signs preceding His
second advent:
Luke 17:25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.
You see, there would come many priests,
many "false" Christian ministers,
who would come in His name,
i.e. claiming Jesus Christ as their authority
and they as the representatives
of His authority (His name),
and they would deceive the multitudes
so much so that there would be a great apostasy
in which the true Messiah, Jesus
Christ, would be rejected
and the false messiah, Satan, worshipped
in His place.
The apostle Paul spoke of this great falling away that would happen BEFORE we gather back to Christ (2 Thes. 2:3).
It is our privilege to now hear in our mind's ear the
words of the LORD Himself
as He explains what He meant in Mat. 24, Mark 13, and
Luke 21 concerning the false prophets
who bring about the deception and the great falling away,
which is the rejection of Christ and the acceptance and
worship of the false messiah by this final generation of Christians.
Mal 1:6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
You see, there is nothing new under the sun
and just as the priests were the cause of the breach
in Israel's covenant,
actually Her marriage to her Husband whereby she went
astray
and committed adultery with another god (read Hosea),
so shall she go astray in this
generation and also commit adultery by jumping in bed in with another,
even the false-christ who she will
think is her husband, Jesus Christ, who has come to take her away!
It shall likewise be the priests/ministers of this generation who are the cause of the great apostasy!
No, there truly is nothing new under the sun
and the priests/preachers today just do not "see" nor
understand how it is they "despise" His name.
They do not think they are doing anything wrong because they just don't get it!
They think that by running around saying "Lord, Lord,
Praise the Lord"
that they are reverencing and worshipping the Lord
and therefore showing that they love the Lord (see Jn.
14:15).
But to "despise" His name is to disesteem His name, which is His authority - His Word!
They come in His name, as one authorized by Him, and they say His name crying "Lord, Lord", but they deny His authority (His name) because they do not allow the Holy Spirit, the words of life, the Word of God, to speak through their lips!
John 6:63 "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."
Again, they speak their own words
through their mouths,
even the polluted traditions and
doctrines of men, which do not come from God's Word(the Bible)
and therefore they are not of God,
e.g.
things like snakes and apples in the garden, Ishtar's day,
the any-moment "Rapture Theory",
and on and on it goes.
[7] Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.
Christ told His disciples to beware of the leaven of the Sadducees and Pharisees!
Don't eat and don't serve that deadly junk food to your brothers and sisters.
Want to actually see what spiritually polluted bread converts to in an earthly image?
Rom. 1:20 says the things which aren't seen, i.e. spiritual things, can be understood by the things that are seen.
Therefore, to help us understand
this "polluted bread"
served in by the false Christian preachers
and priests in more graphic detail,
our Father had His servant, the
watchmen Ezekiel,
bake an analogy before the people,
in their sight!
Here it is:
Ezekiel 4:9,12-13 Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof.[12] And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.
The fact is... this is exactly what the "bread" served in the majority of the Christian churches of our land is laden with... dung!
Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear know that the "man" spoken of here is ultimately that "man of sin", the "son of perdition", the one who leavened the true bread from the beginning, even in the first earth age, with his spiritual "dung" and now his "children of disobedience", the scribes and Pharisees "work in" the same smelly leaven!
And our "Biblically Challenged" Christian brothers and sisters eat that "stuff"!
Why? are we "Biblically Challenged"?
Because our preachers and priests don't teach us what the Bible says, book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, rightly dividing the Word of Truth!
[13] And the LORD said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.
By the way, the nice preachers and ministers who serve them to their congregations usually put so much sugary sweet wordspin into their decorative cakes that the people actually love to eat them.
In fact, many haven't missed a Sunday of going to church and eating dung cakes for a long, long time.
I hate to say it at this point, but you know... you are what you eat!
Seriously though!
Do you study your Father's Word
and check out what you are being taught,
i.e. where the bread you are being
fed comes from?
It better be the "bread of life" which comes directly from the Word of God, not from church quarterlies.
If you do not check things out then you are actually part of the problem and are disobedient to obeying the Word of God (1 Jn. 4:1, 2 Tim. 2:15).
Christ also warned His disciples to take heed and "beware" of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Let's check that out!
Matthew 16:11-12 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
They have no idea that the "starving people" of the great famine in our land are the people sitting in their dung "pews"! or should I say, "phews"?
[12] Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
That is not an opinion for the Word of God tells us that is how it shall be in the last days!
It is the famine which Christ spoke of in Mat. 24 and Mark 13 which is a SIGN of these times, for those with eyes to see, and is explained in Amos 8:11-13 where he says the FAMINE in these last days will not be a famine for bread nor a thirst for water, but for hearing of the words of the Lord. Check it out! You'll get the hang of documenting things.
Amos 8:11-13 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:[12] And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
The lack of hearing God's Word is caused by the lack of His Words being spoken through those who claim to be His messengers!
This "famine" of truth has produced the great valley of the (spiritually) dry bones of Ezek. 37.
In other words, our brothers and sisters are spiritually
dying
as a result of a lack of nutrition and a dearth of the
living water taken from the fountain of life.
Shame on the priests and the ministers who serve intoxicating
wine
with nutritionless junk food like Margaret McDonald's
(I
speak of the any moment,
fast food,
rapture sandwiches served
by on "says-a-me" buns!)
Mal. 1:8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will He be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.
Of course if you choose to offer
that which God says not to,
then do not be surprised when He
does not accept it and does not answer your prayers!
God even draws the analogy to earthly rulers and governors saying, Go try to pay you taxes with phony baloney play money and see if he accepts it.
Or better yet, to keep the analogy closer to how our Father
feels,
go press out some "dung coins" and then go try to pay
your taxes to the governor with them!
Think they will accept them?
Here is the law regarding blemished sacrifice and polluted bread.
Leviticus 22:19-25 Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats. [20] But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you. [21] And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein. [22] Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD. [23] Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. [24] Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land. [25] Neither from a stranger's hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you.
Mal 1:9 And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.
Good luck!
[10] Who is there even among you [i.e. priests and ministers] that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
And you will often hear them lie to our "Biblically Challenged" brothers and sisters by promising them "big investment returns" if they "sow big seeds (code words for "write big checks... to them")"!
Or I'm sure you have heard many times where they try to
"lay guilt trips"
on the "sheep to be sheared" by accusing them of "robbing
God" by quoting (out of context and out of subject)
from the 3rd chapter of this Book of Malachi concerning
"tithes and offerings",
and saying it is speaking of your tithes
and offerings! Yet it is written to them (the ministers,
not to the people in the pews) and it is they (the ministers) who have
robbed God of what He is due.
Our Father wants the "meat" of "His Word" served in His storehouse, not the dung cakes, most parishioners are receiving from their pastor!
He wants His messengers to offer their time doing their homework thereby becoming knowledgeable of His Word because He wants the truth of His Word to be taught and not the polluted doctrines found in most churches.
Malachi 2:7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at His mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
They are not to be "fundraisers" and/or "beggars"!
God has no pleasure in them (Mal. 1:10) so the question is, "Why should you?"
Maybe if some of them started receiving
"dung coins" from their congregations
when they start hounding them for
money... enough to really fill-up their coffers...
maybe they would start to get the
point!
Hey, that's a kindler and nobler act than what our Father says He is going to do with the "dung"! (see next verse)
Hear now the burden of the LORD, O ye priests/ministers!
Malachi 2:3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.
God is not a respecter of persons and since they have been feeding His children "dung cakes" they are going to get a taste of their own medicine... without sugar additives!
One thing is for certain though, because it is written in the Word of God (next verse), the time will come when the polluted sacrifices are going to stop at the hand of the false prophets.
Mal 1:11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same My name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto My name, and a pure offering: for My name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.[12] But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.
The LORD says that they have PROFANED
HIS NAME,
His Holy Word!
They water it down and pollute it with the vain traditions
of men
and they do it for handfuls (felt lined baskets full)
of money.
But you see, they are "killing" our people (spiritually, remember Ezekiel's dead dry bones) and our Father is NOT PLEASED with them, which is saying it mildly.
Live Link to->> Ezekiel's description of Israel's Dead Dry Bones
The entire 13th chapter of Ezekiel also deals with the lying false preachers, the many Christ spoke of in Mat. 24 and Mark 13 who would come in His name and pollute it, thereby deceiving the majority of the people.
Ezekiel 13:19 And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?
Then too, when these false preachers
discover a true teacher of God's Word
who teaches chapter by chapter
and line by line,
offering up the meat of His
Word,
instead of always serving the baby's
milk message of salvation and baptism
(meant for NEW Christians, i.e.
babes in Christ),
they even call that disdainful,
contemptible, even polluted!
So in case you still have a problem
getting the whole picture of the extent of the spiritual "famine in the
land",
this spiritual "valley of the dry
bones", i.e. the idolatrous,
apostate spiritual condition of
this great nation of the House of Jacob,
the United States of America, here
is how it stacks up.
Statistically, according to the
Word of God, according to the words of Jesus Christ Himself in Mat. 24
and Mark 13,
the majority of those who call
themselves His ministers, His messengers,
in these last days are liars (not
necessarily intentionally,
but through the ignorance of His
Word) and thus they offer polluted bread
(false doctrine which deceives
the people) and spotted sacrifices (unacceptable to God) upon His altar.
Think about it!
Mal 1:13 Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.
Besides, "dung" is much more plentiful
and easier to obtain
in the open field than precious
gems which one has to labor and dig deep in the earth for.
Should God accept their "spot"!
Remember Deut. 32:5, from the song of Moses,
concerning the sacrifice to God of this final generation:
"They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the
spot of his children:
they are a perverse and crooked generation."
Should you accept blemished (spotted) sacrifices and "dung cakes" as offerings, from your pulpit?
Then why should we expect our Father to accept them?
It is not OK!
And quite frankly, if one participates
in that kind of trot
and for example tells his brothers
and sisters
that Christ is going to return
at any moment and rapture them away,
that they are not going to be here
when the false-christ comes so there's no need to study the Book of Revelation,
then he betrays His brother and
assists in delivering him up to spiritual death,
even to worship Satan, the spurious
messiah, as God!
It is a serious thing and the penalty is severe against those who deceive His people!
Your Father DOES NOT LIKE IT!
Woe!
[14] But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the LORD a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and My name is dreadful among the heathen.
You just read that Father doesn't like their polluted bread which deceives His children and when He returns those who have caused His little children to stumble and fall and worship before the abominable one would be better off dead!
Here is how Christ puts it:
Take a Strong's Concordance and check out the word "offend" in Greek.Matthew 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
offend = skandalizoô skan-dal-id'-zo Strong's #4624
To "scandalize"; from G4625; to entrap, that is, trip up (figuratively stumble [transitively] or entice to sin, apostasy or displeasure):—(make to) offend.
The great Book of Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament and written by the hand of one whose name appropriately means "My Messenger", describes the idolatrous spiritual condition of our people just prior to the first advent, even as a type of how it shall be in these last days just before Jesus Christ's second advent.
And although the people themselves are not absolved from all responsibility, even as they shall be reproved in the second half of this second chapter, the priests, the preachers and pastors, must be held to the higher degree of accountability in that they are the leaders who guide and shepherd God's people and who are therefore entrusted with great responsibility.
To that end, there is an old proverbial saying which states that "A fish smells from its head down!", which simply means as the head goes, i.e. as the leader goes, so go the people who follow after him... and people especially follow after those in whom they trust and believe.
The fact is, we are here, during this earth age, dwelling in these lowly flesh bodies and walking under the sun for precisely that very reason.
You see, there was once a great prince and high priest who walked up and down in our midst and who our people dearly loved and trusted and admired for his brightness, for indeed he was a bright morning-star (Isa. 14:12).
We can learn in great detail what this "wise and beautiful"
one did in that first age, the "world that then was" (2 Pet. 3:6), from the Book of Ezekiel where he is referred to
as the king of Tyrus in the 28th chapter.
Ezekiel 28:12-15
Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
So do not be trapped into believing that he walks around in long-handled red underwear sporting horns and carrying a pitchfork.
[13] Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
He was also present in Eden, the Garden of God, in this flesh age as that beautiful angelic creature (a handsome man not a snake...) who seduced mother Eve in the fig grove.
[14] Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
In other words, he was to protect the truth and justice which emanated from that mercy seat.
God appointed him (as in anointed him) to that entrusting position which was high in the mountain (symbolic of government) of God.
As it is written, he walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire who are God's children, "Israel".
[15] Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
Do you KNOW what that iniquity was (iniquity is "evel" in Hebrew pronounced "eh'-vel")?
It was unrighteousness,
a departure from the truth!
Let's see what happened next:
Ezekiel 28:16-19
By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence [i.e. corruption], and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
Here it is:
Sinned = àèÈç˜chaòtÖaò�khaw-taw' Strong's #2398
A primitive root; properly to miss; hence (figuratively and generally) to sin; by inference to forfeit, lack, expiate, repent, (causatively) leadastray, condemn:—bear the blame, cleanse, commit [sin], by fault, harm he hath done, loss, miss, (make) offend (-er), offer for sin, purge, purify (self), make reconciliation, (cause, make) sin (-ful, -ness), trespassive.
God does not like those who cause His children to err.
This is serious business,
"O ye Priests/preachers"!
Here's what happened to this once great self-exalted star who fell and took many with him:
[17] Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
[18] Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
That is why he is even called the "son of perdition", because he is the son who will perish.
[19] All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
But for Satan, there is no turning back nor space given for repentance.
He has already been judged
and sentenced to die.
Hear now what the Creator of the Universe and the Father of our souls has to say to those who are supposed to be His messengers.
Mal. 2:1 And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. (Next we will learn what that commandment to our preachers/ministers is.)
"O ye priests (ministers), this commandment is for you!" HELLO!
Mal. 2:1 And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
[2] If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
In other words, exactly how do priests "give glory unto His name"...
by saying "Praise the Lord" and "Great is the Lord"? NO!
Here is how our people truly learn
to love the LORD.
Deut. 31:12 Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:[13] And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear [i.e. love] the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
All they know about loving God is what they have learned from the traditions of men.
What a lamentation (a sad song) indeed!
Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Romans 10:2 "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge."
And so it is written in Mal. 2:2,
if those who claim to represent God
will not lay to heart His Word
and do as He commands His priests/ministers to do,
and teach His Word instead of following
traditions and teaching fairy tales,
then He has cursed them already...
for the curses were written of long ago (Deut. 28:15-68).
Mal. 2:3
Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.
In other words, He is going to put a stop to their idolatrous ways of misleading His people and drawing them away from His Word, from the mercy seat where Christ dwells!
To wit, the next phrase in this verse denotes how our
Father feels
about what they teach and has reference to the refuse
(dung)
of the blemished spotted unacceptable sacrifices they
bring to Him.
[4] And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.
I mean, how much plainer can it
be stated...
"O ye priests
(Christian
Ministers), this commandment is for you!"
HELLO!
For sure it is graphically portrayed enough as to be self
explanatory... and then... after their "fling" with the Lord,
those idolatrous priests shall be hauled off along with
the refuse...
even sporting it on their faces as their new make-up!
Let's repeat that part of Mal. 2:3 ...and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts;...
Then shall the priests/ministers know that He meant business in His message to them in this Book of Malachi.
We repeat: Mal. 2:1 And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. [2] If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. [3] Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it. [4] And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.
What is the covenant God made with Levi, the priesthood? You will find it in Num. 25:10-13 and in Deut. 33:8-10. The command of a true priest of God is to teach His people and to pray and to present unblemished "unspotted" sacrifices acceptable to Him.Here is more on that covenant:Deut. 33:8-10
And of Levi he said...[10] They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.
Life and peace come from hearing and knowing the Word of God. The priests were in charge of imparting His Word, and therefore life and peace, unto the people. But alas! They went astray and caused our people to stumble and fall (vs. 8)! In fact, it is written in the 8th chapter of Ezra concerning the Levite priests that NOT ONE of them went forth with Ezra and Nehemiah to rebuild the temple when Cyrus gave the decree. They all stayed back in good old prosperous Babylon where life was a piece of cake (filled with leaven of course). Ezra actually had to send a Nethinim, a temple worker, back to Babylon to obtain some true Levitical priests to perform the duties in the temple.Mal. 2:5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear [reverence] wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.
[6] The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.
Here is what God expects from His messengers and anyone who tells you that you don't need to study God's Word because all you need is to have (emotional) love in your heart, is a liar and speaks the words of men, not God.
Here ye the Word of the LORD:
Now you know the problem and the reason for the great famine in our land in these end times (Amos 8:11-13). The priests (many of our ministers) do not study His Word and they are not knowledgeable of His laws and so they do not speak for Him as His messengers! HOWEVER, you should now know from the introductory to pamphlet Live Link to->> #1807 that that is not the worst of it! The WORST OF IT is that because they have departed out of the way, and iniquity is found in them, they therefore LEAD OUR PEOPLE ASTRAY![7] For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
Not enough can be said about this verse which contains the whole cause of the deception of the majority of our people that Christ said WOULD HAPPEN in Mat. 24, Mark 13, & Luke 21! Matthew 24:5 "For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." You see, they use the name of Christ, i.e. they claim His authority as one who represents Him, and they abuse the authority of the ROCK of our salvation to teach their non-Biblical traditions and cause our people to stumble at His Word! That is how Christ becomes a "stumbling stone and a rock of offence" as IT IS WRITTEN!Mal. 2:8
But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.
The word "confounded" in Greek means to be "shamed" or "disgraced"! If you know and believe in Christ, in the Word of God, then you shall never be ashamed. But if you allow preachers to use Christ's name and they pull you away from the ROCK, His Word, then you shall be ashamed at His coming! (See Mat. 7 where they cry Lord, Lord.)1 Peter 2:6
Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded.
The English is much too kind in translating the word "offence". In Greek it is "skandalon" from which we get the word "skandal" which is exactly what it is, a scandal, when one uses the name of Christ but does not speak His Words!, i.e. teach the Bible, book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse.[7] Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,[8] And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
Mal. 2:9
Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.
Here is an example given by Christ Himself of the seriousness of using His name to offend ("skandalize") His children.
The disciples of Christ, yes those major NT disciples, came to Him and asked Him who was the greatest, meaning who is the most important in the kingdom of heaven, i.e. in the family of God. As always, when His disciples (are you one?) come to Him, seeking Him, asking of Him in order to hear His voice and learn the truth from His lips (His Word) and to receive their answers from Him, from the very Word of God, He never disappoints them. Open the book and try it! In this case, He simplifies His answer by use of an analogy.Matthew 18:1
At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
Here is what He did:
Got the picture? Jesus called and then set a little child in the midst of the family of God, i.e. in the midst of these elders shall we say![2] And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them,
Now, the subject Christ brought to their attention was "conversion"! He said that unless a person who is converted becomes as a little child on a spiritual level, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. In other words, when a person is truly converted, perhaps "hitting bottom" in his or her life, and comes to Christ humbling himself before Him and accepting Him as His Lord and Savior, he becomes as vulnerable as a little child. In other words, he or she becomes one who must now trust and rely on his or her family elders for "spiritual dependentspiritual protection" and for "spiritual food" and for "spiritual clothing", etc., just as a little child is dependant for its physical needs.[3] And said,Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
So who is the most important in the family of God? The new babes in Christ! The newly converted and humbled little spiritual children... they are the greatest in the kingdom of God, the most important ones! That's the simple analogy and it makes perfect sense, like all of God's Word. To wit, let me ask you a question: "Who is most important in your family... you or your children?" If someone comes into your house to do harm to your family, who is foremost on your mind and whom do you seek to protect first, yourself or your children? If you only have enough food for one, or one coat when it is cold... who would get it, you or your child?[4] Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
If you receive (take under your care) a newly converted and humbled babe in Christ, who is now the most important one in the family of God, and you receive that one in His name, i.e. giving glory to Him after the manner of the covenant of Levi (surely you understand by now), then you receive them, take them, to Christ. BUT...[5] And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
[6] But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
offend = óêáíäáëßæùskandalizoôskan-dal-id'-zo Strong's #4624To “scandalize”; from G4625; to entrap, that is, trip up (figuratively stumble [transitively] or entice to sin, apostasy or displeasure):—(make to) offend.
[7] Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
*Betray, to give or hand over to another (as a torch in a torch race, one’s son to a tutor, a purchase to a buyer, etc.) then to deliver up, surrender; to give a city or person, etc. into another’s hand. (Dr. Bullinger’s Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament.)Matthew 24:10
And then shall many be offended [skandalizo], and shall betray* one another, and shall hate one another.
Have you heard what the Word of the Lord has commanded you, O ye priests (ministers)? Come out of Babylon now and get busy being His messenger by speaking His Words unto His people and turn their hearts back to Him, else you perish!Mal. 2:1
And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.
upon
whom the ends of the world are come (1 Cor. 10:11),
which
means this final generation.
The subject of today's burden (warning message) from the LORD to Israel and to her priests through His messenger Malachi ["My Messenger"] is all about their "treachery" which simply means their "unfaithfulness".
We learned earlier how the priests and ministers had forsaken the LORD their God by being "unfaithful to the covenant of Levi" whereby they were to be knowledgeable of and teach and instruct His people in His Word and to walk in His ways.
The important thing for us to know is the fact that their "departing out of the way" whereby they "caused many to stumble" at His Word (Mal. 2:8) is written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come (1 Cor. 10:11), which means this final generation.
In other words, their actions in forsaking His Word and leading His people astray before the first advent were a type of how it is and how it shall be in these last days just prior to Christ's second advent.
Let us take the time to do some due diligence and examine the definition of the word "treacherously" which we will find used numerous times throughout the remainder of this second chapter:
treacherously = ãâ‡a˜ baògad baw-gad' Strong's H898
A primitive root; to cover (with a garment); figuratively to act covertly; by implication to pillage:—deal deceitfully (treacherously, unfaithfully), offend, transgress (-or), (depart), treacherous (dealer, -ly, man), unfaithful (-ly, man), X very.
You will even find this expression used in the analogy of Ezekiel 16:8 explaining how God "took to wife" the city of Jerusalem, choosing that location as His favorite location on earth and soon to be headquarters of the universe.
Ezekiel 16:8
Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.
In other words it is what we call CHEATING ON YOUR VOWS, which is to be DECEITFUL and UNFAITHFUL in your covenant!
When you do that, when you cheat on you marriage vows, you become an adulterer and play the role of an harlot and a whore!
Take some time and read all of Ezekiel 16 which is very graphic and portrays the emotions of our Father concerning whoredom, which is symbolic of idolatry!
Then read the great Book of Hosea (which means "salvation") and learn about Israel's "treachery" when she and her sister Judah went whoring after strange gods.
Live Link to->> Hosea
Mal. 2:10
Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? [11] Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which He loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.
See pamphlet Live Link to->> #1577
The two houses of Israel, Judah with Benjamin (House of Judah) and the 10 northern tribes (House of Israel), are separate "sticks" (Ezek. 37) at this time, i.e. they are two separate branches! And Ezek. 37 declares that they SHALL NOT be joined back together UNTIL Christ returns! So how is it that when Christian ministers speak of Israel they speak only of Jews? Go figure.
Remember again to whom this Book of Malachi, My Messenger, is written... even to true Israel today, i.e. the Christian nations of our present world. So the question is, if we are all of one earthly family and God is our heavenly Father and the Creator of us all, then how is that we are so unfaithful one to another? How is it that "many shall be offended (skandalizo) and shall betray one another" (Mat. 24:10)? It is because of the polluting and profaning ("chalal" = to break one's word) the covenant of our fathers, even His Word?Mal. 2:10
Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
ISRAEL from the Entering of Promised Land and History and Happenings while there under Judges, Priests and Kings and the Captivity of:
First. The northern kingdom, "House of Israel", along with many from the southern kingdom, "House of Judah" were taken by Assyria in 745-721 BC, well over eight hundred thousand Israelite men 2 Samuel 24:1 - 9 and their families from ten different tribes (2 Kings 17, 18, and 19). In 2 Kings 19:32-34 we learn that only Jerusalem was spared. Vast numbers of these Israelites, soon after the power of the Assyrians was broken, began several migrations, with the main two groups moving west under the Black Sea, and north through the Dariel pass of the Caucasus mountains into the steppes of south Russia.
A large group also moved east. These were called Sakka (Saka) and Iskuza by the Medes and Persians. The Japanese name Sakai is but a step away from Saka. There are many strange customs of unknown origin in Japan that can only be explained by recognizing that some from the east Jordan tribes of Manasseh, Reuben and Gad, Manasseh being pre-eminant, made their way to that far eastern Island, while their cousins headed west to populate northwest Europe and the far western island of Britain and later on into the Americas.
Some of these migrations were undertaken all the way into the 17th century when, in the final migration, some from the tribe of Manasseh sailed the north Atlantic to Plymouth to fulfill Isaiah 49:20, which was prophesied to the hegemony of the House of Israel, some from the tribe of Ephraim (England).
You see, the crux of the whole Lost Tribe subject is that the names we want to look for to trace the Israelites are not the names that historical accounts and archaeological finds give those same folks.
To more confuse the issue, large groups of Israelites called themselves by different names. Some of them called themselves the House of Isaac, which is pronounced e-sahk with the emphasis on the last syllable. How natural for the Persians to call them the Sakka (Sacae in Greek), while the Assyrians called others, the House of Omri, after the sixth king of Israel. This name sounded like Khumri, and was variously pronounced Ghumri, Gimri, Gimira, Gammer, all of which turned into the Greek Kimmeroii, our English word Cimmerians.
The Israelites weren't lost, their name got lost. That fact coupled with the erroneous search for the Jews' fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies has held the Lost Tribes teaching in virtual obscurity these millenia since 500 BC
and Second. from the southern kingdom, "House of Judah" one hundred and thirty five years later, in 586 B.C, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon carried more than one half million Israelite men 2 Samuel 24:1 - 9 and their families from the other two tribes, of Benjamin and Judah (the Jews), away to Babylon. 2 Kings 25:1 - 21.
The rest of "Judah", the majority of them, went north over the Caucasus Mountains with the other tribes from the "House of Israel" and to this very day most of true Judah and Israel do not know who they are. Though they basically comprise the Christian nations of the world, in their ignorance they call themselves gentiles.
[11] Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which He loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.
Even so, both houses have "dealt treacherously"! Though they do it in ignorance (for they lack the knowledge of His Word), most Christian's have been unfaithful to the One to whom they claim to be betrothed. In other words, they profess to be Christ's, to belong only to Him, yet they have committed an abomination by whoring after the abominable one, i.e. by embracing the religion of the false messiah partaking of his unholy covenant... Mystery Babylon the Great, mother of harlots! And so it is they "marry the daughter", the harlot, the religion even of someone else, a strange god indeed, the false messiah!
Our brothers and sisters do stumble at His Word because of the "mystery of iniquity" (2 Thes. 2) which is the "musterion", the deceptive indoctrination into religious rites, of "iniquity" which is the traditions of men, i.e. lawlessness because they are contrary to His Word. Since this religion (disguised as Christianity) of iniquity is already at work it shall cause God's people to stumble and fall in the great falling away (the apostasy) when Satan comes to this earth claiming to be God. In other words, they shall be "taken" by the false messiah who appears first because they will believe he is Jesus Christ, their bridegroom who has come for them. They shall be as the first one "taken" in the field, wed out of season, seduced by the false-christ, Satan. "Woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!", Christ said in Matthew 24:19. He was speaking not about the flesh but about those who will have been spiritually seduced (taken) and spiritually impregnated (in their minds) by the false messiah who appears first. Therefore, take heed to your spirit and stay in His Word, trusting and believing in that Word, else you will be ensnared and stumble and fall with both houses when the abomination of desolation comes to Jerusalem because you cannot tell one rock from the other. "Their rock is not as our Rock! (Deut. 32:31)."
Again, they stumble and fall and are taken (wed) to the "abomination of desolation", the abominable one (the false-christ) spoken of by Daniel the prophet, who shall come and stand in the holy place claiming to be God. This is the "abomination committed in Israel and in Jerusalem" we just read of in Mal. 2:11. Israel is to be the virgin bride of Christ (2 Cor. 11:2) but most Christians will have been found "unfaithful" having dealt treacherously! It is a fact, for it is written, that not all those who claim to be Christian are going to "be His" when He returns. Why not? They will have already attended the wrong wedding, the first one, to Satan!Isaiah 8:14
And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.[15] And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
The word "ready" comes from the old noun "heteos" which means "fitness"! These Christians who were "ready" were still faithful virgins who had not dealt treacherously, i.e. had not been unfaithful to the bridegroom by jumping in bed with false-christ at the first wedding!Matthew 25:10
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Christ did not know them for they never spent any time with Him (in His Word) and therefore they did not know Him! What then shall happen to those who "commit the abomination" in Israel?[11] Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.[12] But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Mal. 2:12
The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.
And those treacherous priests (calling themselves Christian ministers), the false prophets Christ warned of us who bring those blind and lame and blemished spotted sacrifices to the LORD of hosts, shall also be cut off. Here are some details of that "cutting off":
Those virgins who remain faithful to the covenant, to His Word, shall enter the kingdom. Those Christians (unfortunately the majority) who have strayed from Him (His Word) and have been "unfaithful", i.e. dealt treacherously, shall NOT enter the kingdom during the first resurrection to eternal life.Matthew 7:21
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Were all those things listed above contained in the covenant God made with Levi, or was it to keep knowledge upon their lips and teach His laws and commands, His Holy Word, and to educate His people that they might come to KNOW HIM through His Word and glorify His name (even His authority)?[22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
I know it offends some, but we make no apology for teaching His Word as it is written. You see, you will never find a preacher stand up and say, "Hey, I'm a false prophet... one of those MANY Christ spoke of!" No, of course not! The vast majority think that what they do is GOOD and pleasing to Him and what God wants them to do! And you know... false prophets are such nice friendly people and many are even well meaning, but that is NO EXCUSE for one who comes in His name to "deal treacherously" and not know His Word and speak with His voice! Shame on them for teaching iniquity instead of His Word for they shall lead many of God's children to fall and worship before the false-christ!
[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Not every one that claims they are a Christian shall enter into the kingdom of heaven:...
Matthew 7:21
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
[22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Our loving Father wants us to hear His message and
warning from His messenger in this Book of Malachi before it is too late.
Having just read some of the details of the crying out "Lord, Lord" and the mourning in Mat. 7, this verse 13 is easily understood. The point is, do not offer blemished (spotted) sacrifices to God. It is written... He will not accept them? Those unfaithful, unfit, unprepared virgins (symbolic for Christians waiting to be wed to Christ) are NOT acceptable to Him. WHY? Look at the sacrifices they brought to Him. Look at all those things they did in His name that their preachers told them would be pleasing to God. Their preachers LIED to them! You see, the priests spoke iniquity through their lips (i.e. the traditions of men) to the ears of our brothers and sisters... dealing "treacherously" with them indeed! And they did it in His name, as those claiming to have the authority to be His messenger. And the people listened and believed those lies and swallowed that bad fruit hook, line, and sinker, even sharing it with their loved ones thereby betraying them, i.e. delivering them up to the same spiritual death!Mal. 2:13
And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that He regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.
Why? You ask why won't He regard your offering and accept it? Because the Word of God is witness to the fact that you have all dealt treacherously! You are all unfaithful, a bunch of adulterers (symbolic of idolatry) and have left your first love, the wife of your youth. Have you not read the history of our forefathers who "dealt treacherously", committing adultery and breaking their covenant as His wife! God cut them off! He divorced them! It is written![14] Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
They went and married the daughter of a strange god.Jeremiah 3:8
And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
Note: If you understand this then you will know that Christ was divorced (Jer. 3:8) and upon His death Israel became free to re-marry, to enter into a New Covenant with whomsoever she will. The question is: "Which Christ will you marry, the first one who comes, i.e. the false messiah who comes at the sound of the 6th Trump, or will you remain a virgin and wait upon the Lord who comes at the sound of the 7th Trump?"
Consider now the following:
The whole point to this verse is that God is FAITHFUL to His promises, to His covenant, and to those to whom He made it! You can count on it so do not depart from it! Understand the plan of God and the beautiful heritage of His people and "take heed" that you do not "deal treacherously", unfaithfully, against His people Israel with whom He made His covenant! They are not gentiles even though there is nothing wrong at all with being a gentile, and one's race has nothing to do with salvation or accepting Jesus Christ and becoming a Christian. Salvation is open to all! God loves all of His children of all the races He created and it is His desire that non should perish but that all come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9). In fact, even a kenite (descendant of Cain) can turn to Him and receive salvation and henceforth be no longer a son of Cain but a partaker of the covenant.Mal. 2:15
And did not He make one? Yet had He the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
If you do some research you will discover that this verse is considered by some "higher critics" to be a difficult and corrupt passage. That would actually make sense since the minds of the higher critics are themselves corrupt. (A is a"higher critic" "high minded one of self importance" who makes his living off of God's Word, not by teaching it according to the covenant of Levi, but by sowing the seeds of discord and doubt as to the accuracy of the scriptures and the authenticity of their authors.)
However, this verse (Mal. 2:15) is not corrupt nor difficult to understand if one simply knows the plan of God, the understanding of which comes by studying His Word to learn from Him. "Did not He make one" in the above refers to the fact that God gave Adam one wife and declared that they two should become one (Gen. 2:24)! He could have given Adam more than one wife because He had the residue of the spirit, even the remnant waiting to be born from above. But the plan was that through these two, from umbilical cord to umbilical cord, the godly seed, even the Messiah, would be born. And even though Satan seduced Eve and tried to corrupt that seed, and later his son Cain would try to destroy that seed by murdering Abel, God was faithful in raising up Seth to bring forth His people.
"And wherefore one?" in the above verse refers to Abraham to whom God made His covenant to bring forth that godly seed and whose seed He would "multiply as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore" (Genesis 22:17). And it would be through his seed that "all the nations of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen. 26:24). Can God's Word fail? God forbid! Even though Abraham sought to bring forth the godly seed after his own manner by taking Sara's handmaid, Hagar, God fulfilled His covenant, His promise, and Isaac was brought forth. Many today are descendents of 'Saacs Sons, i.e. Saxons.
"Have we not all one father?
hath not one God created us?
why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother,
by profaning the covenant of our fathers?"
The God who created Adam is the same One who created Abraham to whom He gave the promise of the covenant that His seed would be blessed (unconditionally) and would become as numerous as the stars of heaven!
God's Word is true and sure and He did bring forth that godly seed and His children Israel just as He said He would.
Therefore, this nation has only one Father, only ONE GOD, and it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob!
The message is: TAKE HEED TO YOUR SPIRIT!
Don't you deal treacherously with His people, the wife of His youth, Israel.
And do not let some preacher with
iniquity on his or her lips
cause you to leave your husband
and break His covenant
and follow after another god,
even the false-christ, Satan,
the false bridegroom who shall
come and take to wife most pro-claiming Christians!
Mal. 2:15 And did not He make one? Yet had He the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
[16] For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that He hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
Remember, He himself divorced His first wife who went whoring after other gods! (See Jer. 3:8)
So the message is: Take heed to your spirit, my friend, that you deal not treacherously, that you do not become unfaithful!
Why?
Have we not already read?
Because if you do take to wife the daughter of a strange god, He will cut you off!
You can count on it!
[17] Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
His children of the covenant are being "dealt with treacherously"!
Many, even most, are being "skandalized" (offended) by a bunch of Biblically unknowledgeable, self serving hirelings, who claim to represent Jesus Christ as His messengers!
Don't you DARE call what they do "good" in the sight of the LORD.
The first warning He gave us concerning these last days
was
that MANY would come in His name and deceive MANY (Mat.
24, Mark 13, Luke 21)!
What they do with their traditions of men is evil, iniquitous, and it is NOT good in the sight of the LORD and He does not delight in them.
They are unfit and they are unacceptable to Him!
He is wearied and He is disgusted and He soon will put an end to it!
Yes, the God of Judgment is soon
coming to this earth
and that judgment will begin in
the pulpits of this land!
Christ did say that the "skandal" of Christianity, call
it churchianity,
would come as a result of the many false prophets,
but "Woe unto him that has offended
(skandalized) and causes His children to stumble and fall!"
Luke 17:1 Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!
Does He delay His coming (2 Pet. 3:4)?
God forbid!
"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
In other words, He allows plenty of time for His people to "Take Heed" and turn to Him and remain faithful.
The great Book of Malachi is His final message to the "messengers" and to "His people", the final burden (warning message) just before the second advent (His Return)!
It parallels the final message from Christ in Revelation chapters 2 & 3 to the messengers of the 7 churches and to His people!
"Where is the God of Judgment?"
Make no mistake about it... He's coming!
We will find out about it next.
"If there is a loving God, a just God, why does He allow bad and evil things to happen to people?"
This is not a question just asked
by the atheist and the non-believer but by many Christians as well.
and
Many Christian ministers who claim
to be God's messengers.
Many people who carry the responsibility of speaking for Him as His spokesman (ministers), declare that they have no idea why God allows evil things to happen to people.
That is an embarrassment and shameful indeed for it shows their true lack of their understanding of God's Word and what the love which comes from free will is all about and what His plan of salvation is for His children!
Of course this is just part of the scoffers' unbelief because they know not the Word of God wherein true wisdom and knowledge dwell!
You see, our Father is completely fair and just and so don't worry...
NO ONE who commits evil is going to go unrewarded, i.e. unpunished, as may "seem" to be the case to man's way of thinking!
The God of Judgment IS COMING and as it is written concerning that day, it will be "a day vengeance of our God" when He will execute justice in all the earth and comfort all those who mourn (Isa. 61:2)!
Don't these preachers know that?
Earlier we were left with the question asked by the false teachers of our people, "Where is the God of Judgment?"
Since Peter also addresses this in his second epistle, let's go there and see what he has to say regarding this matter.
2 Peter 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
scoffers = dìðáßêôçò empaikteôs emp-aheek-tace' Strong's G1703
From G1702; a derider, that is, (by implication) a false teacher:—mocker, scoffer.
[4] And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
How can you give evidence and support to the promise of His coming, i.e. to the fact that Jesus Christ is going to return and bring judgment upon the earth?
OK, how about the FACT that He did it once before, just as His Word declares... or haven't you read that part?
That's right, God's Word declares that He brought about judgment and destroyed the first earth age, the age when the dinosaurs once roamed the earth.
And you know what else?
The fossil records and all the upheavals in the layers of the earth's crust document that cataclysmic event as a witness sure and true.
So all things do NOT continue as they were from the beginning... from Genesis 1:1!
Open your eyes to the Word of God and come out of darkness!
Peter continues:
[5] For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
Note: The heavens weren't destroyed in Noah's flood![6] Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
Here is a record of that overthrow, written in the Book of Jeremiah all this time!
Jeremiah 4:19
My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trump, the alarm of war.
It is plainly evident that it pained Him greatly and hurt Him deeply to have to destroy the beautiful home He had created (Gen. 1:1) for His children to inhabit (Isa. 45:18).
[20] Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.
All the dwellings (the inhabitable places) were wiped out and the heavens did yield its water canopy and the earth was reduced to the state of utter waste and desolation as described in Gen. 1:2.
[21] How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
[22] For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children [sottish = stupid], and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
You see, it was by no accident nor without just cause that it happened, for the Word also declares His reason which we just read in Jer. 4:22.
His children angered Him by following after the ways of the wicked one, Satan, and so He poured out His fierce wrath (Jer. 4:26) upon the earth and it became "tohu va bohu" in Hebrew, "without form and void", which means a total waste and desolation!
And as it is written, there was "no light" for "darkness" covered the face of the deep waters, and so we see what transpired from the time of the beautiful creation in Gen. 1:1 to the waste and desolation it became in Gen. 1:2.
Jeremiah 4:23
I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void [tohu va bohu]; and the heavens, and they had no light.Note: Their was light during Noah's flood! Genesis 1:2
And the earth was without form, and void [tohu va bohu]; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
You see, it is also written that God did NOT create the world "tohu", in a state of desolation.
He created it as a dwelling place to be inhabited by His sons, His children.
But following the rebellion of Satan when that iniquitous one drew 1/3 of the "stars of heaven" (God's children) away (Rev. 12:4) from the mercy seat of truth and justice, He, GOD, chose to DESTROY that earth age and implement His marvelous plan of salvation in this flesh age.
Here is your documentation that He did not create the earth in the condition of Gen. 1:2:
Isaiah 45:18
For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain [tohu], He formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
Then too, further details of that rebellion of Satan and how it all came about can be understood by reading Ezekiel 28.
Let's repeat 2 Pet. 3:6 where Peter speaks of the destruction of the first earth age:
2 Pet. 3:6
Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
Don't be a fool!
He did it once before, as it is written in His Word, and He will do it again, as it is also written in His Word!
[7] But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
Again, don't be foolish!
The same Word of God that declared His judgment in the first earth age has declared the day of His judgment in THIS PRESENT ONE!
How is it one can be ignorant concerning BOTH?
Where is the God of Judgment?
He's coming... and He shall appear suddenly to those who dwell in ignorance, which is darkness indeed!
2 Peter 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
To wit, God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29).
"Do you know where the God of Judgment will begin His judgment when He comes?"
The answer is in the temple,
in the house of God!
As Christ told His disciples, He is coming to destroy the temple built up by Satan with those "stones worn smooth over a long period of time" (Rev. 13:18).
And you know what?
Preparations for His return are already underway!
Mal. 3:1
Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
John the Baptist, who we shall discuss in our last study, came as a forerunner and in the spirit of Elijah.
[2] But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' sope:
(Mark 9:3 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.)
The question is: "Who shall be able to withstand the scrub-down?"
1 Peter 4:17
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
Mal. 3:3
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
Again, they are the priests and the preachers and the pastors, etc.
He is going to put His fire to them and spiritually purge them in like manner as silver and gold are purified.
You see, the same exact "fire" which consumes and turns to ashes both straw and stubble actually purifies the precious metals of gold and silver by causing the "slag" to surface that it may be skimmed off!
The point is, after the cleansing, after the purification, there shall be no idolatrous priests/preachers and therefore NO MORE unacceptable sacrifices shall be presented to Him.
What a glorious and happy time that will be!
[4] Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
Do you remember why?
The people they present to Him are "blind" and "lame", etc!
In other words, they do not have "eyes to see" because they are kept in the dark through man's vain traditions and they walk not in His ways because the preachers have profaned His Word and drawn the people away.
Therefore their offering is UNFIT and UNACCEPTABLE to Him and God is defrauded!
Note (to those who have eyes to see): The "former" years in verse 4 refers to the "ancient" years, even the years before the overthrow in that first earth age before Satan profaned the sanctuary (Ezek. 28).
So "Where is the God of Judgment?"
The whole world will find out soon enough but "take heed" if you fit into one of the categories below (vs. 5), because if you do and unless you repent and return unto Him you are destined to be the first one placed on the HOT SEAT when the God of Judgment comes as He has promised!
Woe!
Mal. 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
For sure we have more than adequately made the point in our study of Malachi thus far that the MANY supposed men of God who come in His name claiming to be His representatives are not busy being "about their Father's business", but are busy being about their own "business" speaking vain words, serving themselves, and not speaking His Words, thereby serving Him!
That is because they are "undisciplined" in His Word which quite frankly makes them non-disciples of Christ for they do not follow Him.
We are not judging anyone but rather bringing to light that which is already written.
Here is how James puts it:
James 1:26
If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
[27] Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
And who are they to be a "watchman" to?
To the fatherless, who are the orphaned children of the "lost tribes of Israel", and the widows, those lacking an husband... even those who have been estranged from their true husband!
You see, those who are truly knowledgeable (disciplined in His Word), His watchmen and His messengers who speak His Word, will "visit" and reunite the children with their "fathers", their true heritage, even the patriarchs of Israel, and return the widows to their true husband, Jesus Christ, the Word of God.
However, the message we have just read in the Book of "My Messenger" (Malachi), is that God is not going to fool around with those "false teachers" and "adulterers" who have jumped in bed with the false messiah and have left His children "blind" and "lame" and wandering about in the wilderness without food or water!
All one can say is that it is a good thing our Father has given us His covenant and the "promise" of His coming!
Mal. 3:6
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
He sent His Son to be the Savior of Israel and to redeem them and He has promised to return.
You see, Christ did not come at the first advent to bring judgment but rather to bring salvation.
However, at His second advent He is coming as the King of king and Lord of lords to execute justice and rule all nations with a rod of iron.
There is no need to guess or wonder why curses and pestilences have come upon our land?
Now listen real carefully to His message, O ye priests and His people!
Mal. 3:7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
You "see", the priests and the preachers do not think they have gone astray.
They think that what they do is GOOD and the Lord delighteth in them (Mal. 2:17)!
WRONG!
The truth IS...
they have forsaken His Word
and have substituted church and
worship services and the teachings of traditions
instead of feeding the people the
meat of His Word,
i.e. teaching His Word book by book, chapter
by chapter and verse by verse.
So they say, "Wherein shall we return?" Here is their answer from Almighty God!
Mal. 3:Mal. 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
To wit, how many times have you heard a preacher or minister teach the entire Book of Malachi chapter by chapter and verse by verse in context as it is written?
Not many for sure!
Probably none!
Now how many times have you heard some minister or preacher quote Mal. 3:8 through his or her "unbridled lips" to the congregation in order to lay "guilt" upon THEM for not giving money, or enough money, to God (meaning to them as His representatives)?
First of all, one who does just a little homework will discover that this verse is NOT talking about the QUANTITY of tithes and offerings given by the parishioners of the church at all!
It is talking about FRAUD, i.e. what was done by the minister or preacher with the tithes and offerings!
God is simply asking what He got out of the deal?
To wit, the word "robbed" is a RARE
word
and is used only three times in
the scriptures,
two of them being here in vss.
8 and 9!
It means to "defraud"!
Here is Strong's definition:
robbed = òá—÷®qaòba€kaw-bah' Strong's #H6906[9] Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
A primitive root; to cover, that is, (figuratively) defraud:—rob, spoil.
The command of a true priest/preacher is to keep knowledge on his lips and to teach His people His laws and His ordinances (His Word) and present unblemished "unspotted" sacrifices acceptable to Him.
"Blind and lame" sacrifices will not be accepted!
Question: "When the priests/preachers
do their job
and God's Word flows like a river
throughout the land and the people HEAR HIS VOICE, what is the result?"
Blessings galore!
Deut. 28:1-2 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: [2] And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
Deut. 28:15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
You can simply thank the preachers
for the latter day famine (Amos 8:11-13),
Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the
Lord GOD,
that I will send a famine in the land, not
a famine of bread,
nor a thirst for water, but of hearing
the words of the LORD:
for defrauding God by accepting the tithes and offerings from the people and then teaching the traditions of men like "fly away" theories and stories of "apples and snakes" and for teaching our people to keep the pagan sex goddess Ishtar's day complete with all her fertility symbols of eggs and quick-like-a-bunny rabbits!
At the same time avoiding any controversial topics that are actually found in the scripture when you correctly divide it; they being afraid of offending a contributor to the church coffers.
SHAME ON THEM!
The
priests and preachers think that what they do is good in the sight of the
LORD!
But it is written... they "weary our Father with their
words by calling evil good in the sight of the LORD" (Mal. 2:17).
What is the purpose of bringing the tithes into the storehouse? For one thing, the main thing, is so that the truth, the meat of His Word, is TAUGHT according to the covenant of Levi so that the "blind" see and the "lame" walk and they become acceptable unto Him! You see, only Jesus Christ, the Word of God, can heal the blind and cause the lame to walk again! Haven't you read? You priests... STOP defrauding God and start showing the orphaned children the path back home to their Father!
If you teach the truth of His Word and turn the hearts of His children back to Him, to His Word, and teach them to walk in His ways, you just cannot imagine the blessings that He will pour out! And they aren't just financial for they include peace and freedom both of the nation and of the mind.Mal. 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
The "devour" is "the eater" which is the locust that consumes the vineyard and the fruit thereof! In other words, God will completely rid the land of the kenites and He will "set thee on high above all the nations" (Deut. 28:1)![11] And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
Deut. 28:43-44 "The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. [44] He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail."
Live Link to->>> Who owns the Federal Reserve Bank
Live Link to->>> The Hidden Dynasty of the Economy
And so it is we suffer this curse but it would not be so if those who received the tithes would feed His people the MEAT from His Word that they come to know Him and love Him and walk in His ways. Then we would receive all the blessings of Deut. 28:1-14!
But alas! So very many have come in His name in these last days and have defrauded, even "betrayed" Christ, the one whom they claim they serve, and have deceived many of His children with their iniquitous words![12]And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.
Again, the priests and preachers think that what they do is good in the sight of the LORD! It is written... they "weary our Father with their words by calling evil good in the sight of the LORD" (Mal. 2:17). It is NOT GOOD![13] Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
They cry "Lord, Lord" and say "Jesus is Lord, Praise the Lord" and then they teach the traditions of men and at best bring forth the milk of salvation and baptism, that which belongs to babes in Christ!
But, from that point on they provide NO MEAT whereby our people can grow and become STRONG in the Lord and learn to discern between good and evil, the ability of which babies lack!
Paul speaks of this in the great Book of Hebrews:
It seems fitting that the generation of the fig tree would be called "Baby Boomers" for they indeed have remained "babes" according to Heb. 5! Their preachers speak with unbridled tongues the traditions of men which are "contrary to the Word of God". Therefore they speak AGAINST HIM but they themselves are so blind they know it not!Hebrews 5:11-14
Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. [12] For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. [13] For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. [14] But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
They claim it is vain, i.e. that there is no need or added value to study God's Word in depth and go to all that effort! All you need, they say, is to believe (All together now... say "I believe") and to have love in your heart for everyone and go to church every week and oh... don't rob God by failing to put your tithes and offerings in the basket we pass before your nose!Mal. 3:14
Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?
Those crooked fraudulent liars!
And they call that GOOD
in the sight of the LORD?
To be "set up" means they sit in the high places. This is just like it was when Christ came at the first advent and He told the disciples that the scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat (Mat. 23:2), meaning they are in charge of the temple. Today, the many false prophets sit the high places of worship and they are in charge of His temple, His many membered body! Unfortunately, they serve themselves and thus keep the dry bones dry, instead of breathing His Spirit, His Word, into them that they might come alive and live![15] And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.
Fortunately, God has promised a "seed" in these last days who would love Him and come and serve Him, sons and daughters who would "understand the visions of the prophets" and would speak them, teach them, to their brothers and sisters of the true house of Israel (Acts 2:17-18).
God hears the words and the prayers of His elect, those who fear (love) the LORD (John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments.", John 14:23 "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." They are not cursed with the curse and they have nothing to worry about when the God of Judgment comes, for they are His children indeed whom He shall spare from His wrath because He is not angry with them![16] Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.
Do you know how to tell the difference between a righteous man of God who is one of His messengers and a wicked man who claims to be His messenger? Hint: You cannot tell by what nice people they are![17] And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.[18] Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
In this final book of the Minor Prophets which is written to true Israel* (Mal. 1:1), our Father, Yahveh (Mal. 1:1), has given His final message, His final "warning" (burden) to His people with particularly strong emphasis directed specifically to the priests and preachers who are "set up" (Mal. 3:15) in the "high places", the houses of worship in our land (the good old USA)! Christ warned us concerning those who would come in the last days and sit in authority in the churches claiming to be His representatives yet keeping His house in disarray, in a state of famine and confusion (babel), because they do not speak His Words as His messengers are commanded according to the covenant of Levi. Our Father has severely warned them about their fraud in defrauding Him of acceptable sacrifices (which are not to be blind and lame), in that they take the tithes of our people into His storehouse yet they provide no "meat" (Mal. 3:10) for His children to nourish them that they may grow and mature and learn the ability to discern between good and evil.
Hebrews 5:14 "But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil".
You see, "babies" cannot discern between good and evil! Therefore it is only fitting and proper that they receive His final message because as it is written, "judgment" begins at the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17).
Alas, our Father's final warning message
by His Messenger (Malachi) is simple and direct and can even be summed
up in the "timely" words "echoed" several years ago by the then President of the
United States, the prince of the leading nation of the so-called "lost
tribes" of the House of Israel*. His message to all tribes and nations
concerning the "global war on terrorism" is to "Get your house in
order!" Why? Because justice is at hand and it SHALL be served
upon all those who do not! It is NOW TIME for ALL HOUSES to shape up or
get ready to feel the HEAT of justice!
"Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping? Brother John, brother John!" Wake up children! And stay awake you watchmen of our people! It is time to "Take Heed" because the fact is that the final hour glass has been tipped and the final grains of sand are about to run out on this generation of the fig tree which began on May 15, 1948. Yes, we know that the "abomination of desolation", the desolator (antichrist, Satan) spoken of by Daniel the prophet, must yet come and stand in Jerusalem claiming to be God and deceive the whole world into believing his false claim, his big lie!
However, Jesus Christ shortened (Mat. 24:22, Mk. 13:20) the time of Satan's defacto reign to at most a 5 month period as is documented in Revelation 9.
Therefore, know this, the coming of the God of Judgment is nigh at hand, even at the doors (Mark 13:29). In other words, make no mistake about it and do not listen to the false teachers and those who scoff at His Word because the "Day of the LORD" IS COMING! Is that a frightful thing? Not at all if you are one who loves and serves the LORD, but for those who work "iniquity", which is "lawlessness", which means they work (speak and do) those traditions of men which are contrary to His Word (and therefore outside His law) it shall not be a happy day at all! Why not? Because His "Fire" shall burn them as stubble (Mal. 4:1) while at the same time those that love Him (vs. 2) shall feel the warmth of that same "Fire" like as the rays of the Sun, even the Sun of righteousness, beaming down upon them surrounding them with warmth!
Malachi 4:1For, behold,the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Malachi chapter 4
Again, remember that this message is given unto Israel so let us understand what this word "wickedly" means in Hebrew. It is the word "rishah" which is the same word used in Mal. 3:15 when referring to the "wickedness" of the "lawless ones" who are "set up" in the high places of worship. In other words, ALL their evilness and wicked deeds shall be consumed as in "burned up" when Jesus Christ returns and they shall be left with neither "root nor branch" and they shall be naked and utterly ashamed!.Malachi 4:1
For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
"The day [which] cometh" spoken of in verse 1 is that "great and dreadful Day of the Lord" spoken of a few verses hence in Mal. 4:5. It is the day the God of Judgment returns to this earth according to His promise, exactly as it is written so many places in His Word with so many illustrations describing that great day. However, do not let the symbolic language which is used by the Holy Spirit to paint graphic "pictures" in our mind's eye to make clear His truths, pull you away from the simplicity of the teachings in God's Word. Do your homework and understand what the "earthly symbols" represent that are used to describe those things which are "spiritual".
For example, His Word is likened to a two-edged sword (Rev. 1:16). You "see", a person can "see" a sword slice through a man's flesh body but one cannot "see" words slice through a man's heart or soul!
Likewise, our Father is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29) and His Truth, His Holy Spirit, is likened to "fire" (Acts. 2)! You "see", a man can "see" fire burn straw and hay but he cannot see truth burn lies and consume away wicked deeds. Here is a verse concerning the two olive trees and two candlesticks in Rev. 11 to illustrate the point:
These words cause our flesh minds to "picture" flames spewing forth from one's mouth like a flame thrower burning up an individual, doesn't it? But the analogy is put forth to simply show us the effect of the "fire" of the Holy Spirit, His Truth, as it consumes the lies and injustice (hurt) of our enemies! Peter uses the same analogy of "fire" and its quality of "heat" and its ability to "melt" things down when he speaks of the same day, the day of the LORD we just read of in Mal. 4:1.Rev. 11:5
And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
Again, do some homework and you will find that the word "elements" does not refer to the periodic table of earth's material elements. It means "principles" and "rudiments" such as evil ideologies and false doctrines and all the evil works of the present "order" of things on earth... not the surface of the planet!2 Peter 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Malachi 4:2
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
If you have eyes to see and ears hear and you are one of those spoken of in verse two who love and serve Him, then pay close attention to verse 3 because it is written to YOU!
Malachi 4:1
For, behold,
the
day cometh, that shall burn
as an oven; and all
the proud, yea, and all that
do
wickedly,
shall be stubble: and the day
that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts,
that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Malachi 4:2
But unto you
that
fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with
healing
in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the
stall.
Malachi 4:3
And ye
shall tread down the wicked; for they shall
be
ashes under the soles of your feet in the day
that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
To "tread down" means "to squeeze out juice" as if "to trample" in a winepress. And to be "turned to ashes" means it was "consumed by fire", doesn't it?
Did we not just read in Rev. 11:5 concerning the two olive trees** and the two candlesticks*** that "fire would proceed out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies".
**The two olive trees are those "sons of oil", the "two anointed ones" spoken of in Zechariah 4.
***Candlesticks are symbolic
of "churches" (Rev. 1:20) and the only two out of the seven churches in
this final generation that do God's work are the churches of Philadelphia
and Smyrna (see Rev. 2 & 3).
Note the one thing they have in common!
And what is the one thing the churches of Philadelphia
and Smyrna have in common? See pamphlets #1834
,
#1835, #1837,#1840
Our Father loves them very much because they "fear His name" as in they "love Him" and they show forth their love by keeping His Word (Rev. 3:9-10).
John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
We have now come to the final three verses which close the Minor Prophets and the great Book of Malachi and look... behold... we have both Moses and Elijah mentioned (My Messenger)(in verses 4 and 5 respectively)! These two men represent "the law" and "the prophets" both of which give their testimony to both "the glory" of the first and "the glory" of the second advent of our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ. Note: I did not say they were the two witnesses spoken of in Rev. 11, but that they both prophesied and give witness and testimony to the glory of the great and marvelous works of His coming. Matthew 11:13 "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John."Elijah the prophet, not Elijah the the Tishbite, shall be sent unto His messenger's in the last days just BEFORE the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD! Malachi 4:4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
To that end, you may recall that it was Moses and Elijah who "appeared in glory" to certain of the disciples, Peter, John and James, on the Mount of Transfiguration where they spoke "of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem", which was His FIRST advent and "the reason" He came at the first advent. Luke 9:30-31"And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: [31] Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem."
Following the "vision" they saw of Moses and Elijah and in understanding that this was His first advent and not the "restoration of the kingdom", the disciples asked Jesus the following question concerning the scribes:
Of course the scribes didn't "get it" concerning the first advent. They still await messiah as king... and their messiah, their rock, shall soon come and not disappoint them.Matthew 17:10-13
And his disciples asked Him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
Elijah the prophet shall come first, before the great and dreadful day of the LORD, and as we shall see in the last two verses, he shall "turn the hearts of the children back to their fathers" and (come with me now) restore all things, as in restore the temple (Rev. 7:1-4) (prepare a people) that it may be made manifest on that great day! Had the people received Christ and not rejected the kingdom at His first advent, then the kingdom would have been "restored then" and so John the Baptist would have been accounted as Elijah who would come in the last days just before the restoration! Matthew 11:14 "And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come."[11] And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
John the Baptist was not Elijah (he said so himself in Jn. 1:21) but rather he came in the spirit of "Elijah the prophet" and was a forerunner of "His messengers" who would come in the spirit of Elijah in the last days. If you have studied the Minor Prophets (like Zechariah) and have you been paying close attention to this Book of Malachi, translated the Book of "My Messenger", then you will understand what is written concerning the ministry of John the Baptist:[12] But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
The disciples then "got it" concerning John the Baptist!Luke 1:17
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
And so it is in these last days, as it has been written and declared in His Word these thousands of years, Elijah the prophet shall be sent unto His messenger's in the last days just BEFORE the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD!Matthew 17:13
Then the disciples understood that He spake unto them of John the Baptist.
BEHOLD! Pay real close attention now! To whom is He speaking? To whom shall He send Elijah the prophet, not Elijah the Tishbite, i.e. the person of Elijah (see note in Companion Bible on pg. 1301). He shall send Elijah the prophet to you, you who are alive in the final generation, the generation alive in the flesh just BEFORE the great and dreadful day of the LORD! Certainly you can "see" that this is NOT speaking of John the Baptist and the first advent for he did NOT precede the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And what shall be the result of His "sending you Elijah the prophet"?Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
What is the "curse" He shall smite the earth with? It is the smiting of the king of Babylon, the curse of Satan, the false messiah whom He shall send at the sound of 6th Trump (Rev. 12:7-9).[6] And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers(Plural), lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Notice also that the word "father(s)" is plural because at the same time the hearts of the children of disobedience shall be turned to their father, Satan claiming to be Jesus, the false father, the false rock!
And so it is written that there shall come a "seed" in the final generation (Ps. 22:30-31), who are the sons and daughters of the promise, upon whom our Father shall pour out His Spirit whereby they are able to "see" (understand) the visions of the prophets (Acts 2) and they shall teach the law and the prophets (His Word) to their brothers and sisters in love, speaking after the manner of the covenant of Levi, "Thus saith the Lord" and "It is written"! And through the power of His might, through the light of truth of the Word of God, many blind shall "see" and many lame shall learn to walk in His ways and many "lost children" of the House of Israel shall be freed from their captivity and find their way back home to the house of their fathers, even to the House of their loving Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who shall welcome them with open arms!
The question is so often asked concerning the coming of Elijah in these last days. Knowing what he shall do when he comes (vs. 6) should be sufficient to answer that question to those with eyes to see and ears to hear.
What shall we say then in conclusion to the great Book of Malachi besides "Get your house in order, for behold, the day cometh"?
That's easy: "Thank you Father for your love and for your Word. In Yeshua's precious name."
Amen.
is
Published by:
Rhine
Publishing Co.
If you would like to have your essay
published
as part of the American Wisdom
Series
submit your manuscript to Rhine
Publishing Co
at the address above for consideration,
or e-mail us
at the address shown on our home
page.
Click Here to Return to "The American Wisdom Series" home page.
745BC
to 1776AD = 2520 years - Check it out!
Coincidence? Not a chance!
God's
plan and His timetable are perfect.
First,
it is written in the Book of Leviticus
that
God made a covenant with His people at Mt. Sinai in the wilderness
and
the conditions of the covenant were these:
Leviticus 26:3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
Leviticus 26:14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
Furthermore,
God
stated that if they "would not hearken unto Him"
that
He would chastise them for "seven times"
and
would scatter them among the nations.
A
"time" is a solar year of 360 days,
just
as the "time, times, and half a time" of Dan. 12:7
is
the same as
1260
days in Revelation.
Then
we learn from the great prophet Ezekiel in chapter 4, vs. 6,
that
when the subject is Israel's punishment,
then
a day is given to represent one year.
So "seven times" would be 7 x 360 years (not days, in this case) or 2520 years.
Here is the prophecy announcing that period of chastisement:
Leviticus 26:28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.Leviticus 26:33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
Missing Links Discovered In Assyrian Tablets E. Raymond Capt 256
pages
When you add 2520 years to this date, you arrive at July 4th, 1776.
Coincidence?
Not
a chance!
God's
plan and His timetable are perfect.
I
have often said that the Industrial Revolution could not,
and
did not, occur until the American Revolution had occurred.
Why?
The
2520 years had to expire and begin the time when true Israel
would
no longer be the "tail", but would become the "head" of nations,
which
is to say the superpower of superpowers.
See
The
Birthright and the Sceptre
Birthright Withheld 2,520 Years
#7059And
#7065
For more information see The Stone Kingdom