And now today our Bible study takes us into the last chapter of the little book called Malachi. Now this final chapter is rather short, only six verses in the chapter. Let me read them to you. Malachi chapter four. 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, but unto you that fear my name, shall the Son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings. And ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall. 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. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb, for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. And may the Lord be pleased to bless to every listener the reading of the sacred word. Let us bow for prayer. Our Father, again we've been reading from the inspired scriptures. But thou, by thy Holy Spirit, teach us now the lesson. We'll be careful to give thee the glory for the Lord Jesus' sake. Amen. Now this is our last message from the book of Malachi. And I want you to take notes that here in chapter four, it would appear that the prophet is bringing all the loose ends together and tying them up not only with regards to the truth that is made known in his little prophecy but also from the whole book you will notice that in the opening verse he uses again this important word behold at the beginning of chapter three he used the word Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me. Now, bear in mind again what we've been saying in past studies, that in the day when Malachi was raised up as a man of God, to deliver the message of God, for that is what Malachi means, he is my messenger. And he was God's messenger with God's message. Now, if that is so, then the people should have listened to his message. Anytime that God sends a messenger with a message, we ought to be intelligent enough to listen to the message. I'm sure of this, that if the governor of the state was making some important announcement, we would take note of it. If the President of the United States was to make a speech that would affect the whole nation, we would all be sufficiently interested to listen to what he had to say. In fact, if any of the great leaders of the nations of the world today make speeches then the ears of the world are usually trained to hear what he's got to say, just in case it's going to affect them. That being so, my friend, when God speaks, we ought to be willing to listen to what God has to say. We should never turn a deaf ear to the message of God. From time to time God raised up his prophets in Old Testament times, These men were there to speak God's word. As I have pointed out in previous studies, these men were raised up as emergency men, because from the time that he inaugurated true worship to the nation of Israel, then the word of the Lord was to be made known to the people through the lips of the priests. But unfortunately there was failure with men. Failure in what was called the priesthood. So therefore, when the people departed from the standards, then God had to raise up his emergency men known as prophets. And when God sends his messenger, the people ought to listen to what the messenger has to say. So here again he uses the word behold. as if directing the attention of the people to something that was important. It's like saying in a loud voice, Listen, get the message. Behold, open your eyes and look. Take note of what is being done or what is being said. Now he's saying here, For behold, the day cometh. Now, you remember, we pointed out in a past study that people were saying, now, where is the God of judgment? In effect, they're saying, there's no God of judgment. You'll find that at the end of chapter two. For he's saying to them, ye have weiried the Lord with your words, yet you say, wherein have weiried him? And he says, when you say everyone that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them, or where is the God of judgment? In plain words, they're winking at that which was evil, and they're going further than that. They're actually saying, why, the man that's living an evil life, he's a good man if you only knew him. And that fellow who's supposed to be a good man Actually, he's an evil man. They were calling that which was evil good. And that which was good, they were calling evil. Now let us again examine the condition of things in our own day. You have people today who are boasting, proud boasters, who in effect are telling us that things that are good are not good. They're telling us it's not good today to teach our children the Bible. Why isn't it? They don't want us today to teach that God is the Creator, that God is the upholder of all things by the Word of His power. But whether they deny it or not, He is. God is the Creator, and God is the upholder of all things by the Word of His power. And God is working all things according to His own eternal purpose. And remember, God will have the last word. But people are saying, well, there's no God, there's no God of judgment at all. Alright, he's saying, Behold, remember this, God is not in a hurry, but yet God has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness. And here he's saying here at the beginning of chapter four, Behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven. Yes, the judgment day is coming. And in that day all the proud... Yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble. Now you know what happens, my friend, when you put stubble into a furnace? It's destroyed. It's useless. And he calls them here stubble. These are the proud people who were saying, Where is the God of judgment? The people who were robbing God. The people who were speaking stoutly against God. The people who were blaspheming the name of God. And yet carrying on with all the religious formalities, now he says the day will come when they will be judged. But then he begins here to discriminate. You would always think at the present time that discrimination is a bad thing. My friend, let me remind you that every person discriminates in some way or another. When you go to the grocery store to purchase and you see different makes, different prices, you discriminate. You can't buy them all, so you decide which one will meet your need. And when you discriminate, it means that you choose one and you set the other aside. Surely you're entitled to do that. It would be a bad business if you had to go to a store and forced to buy one thing. Then again when you go to buy clothes to wear, you discriminate. You decide what will suit you and what won't suit you. Oh yes, there is such a thing as discrimination. In many areas of life you discriminate. The bad business if we were told at what time we must go to bed at night and what time we must rise in the morning. No, my friend, the whole of our culture is built up on discrimination, one way or another, and God will discriminate. For he says this, verse two, But unto you that fear my name, shall the Son of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings, and he shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall. You see, He discriminates here when he speaks of that day that there will be two classes of people. There's the proud and the wicked. And these will come under the judgment stroke of God. In plain words, God will judge the ungodly. Those that have spoken stout words against him, that's the language that's used in verse thirteen of chapter three. Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. And these people who have spoken against God will be judged in that day when the Lord camps. There's a coming day when the Lord will deal with those who have sinned with a high hand. The ungodly shall be judged. But over against that, he has told us in chapter three, there was a little remnant. a group of people that feared the Lord. And they weren't speaking against God, why they were speaking to one another about the Lord. The Lord was the very theme of their conversation. And so he mentions them again here in verse two of chapter four. Unto you that fear my name. You see, early on in the little book of Malachi, he had spoken about the priests. and he had said that they had despised his name. Now, if some were despising his name, and all that was associated with his name, thank God over against that, there was a little group of people who placed a value upon the name of the Lord. And I asked you in a previous study, what value you place upon the name of the Lord. For remember, the Bible tells us that there is salvation in his name. Neither is there salvation in any other, said Peter. For there is none other name under heaven given amongst men whereby we must be saved. It was said, Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. And then God hath highly exalted him and given him a name. which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father. I wonder then, do we fear his name? Do we reverence the name of our God and the name of his Son Jesus Christ? Now he speaks here concerning those people who fear his name, those that have reverence for the things of God. But unto you that fear my name shall the Son of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings. Perhaps we should draw your attention right here to the fact that he says the Son of Righteousness. Now the Christians at the present time are not looking for the Son of Righteousness to arise. We are looking for the morning star to appear. You will remember that the morning star appears before the sun of righteousness arises. You see, take it in the physical or natural sense. If you want to see the morning star, you've got to look for it. And you've got to be up looking for it, perhaps while it's still dark. And while... the world at large, those around you may be still asleep. You know, it has often been said that the darkest of the night is just before the dawn, and it's at that time when the morning star shines out at its very brightest. The world is very dark just now. Sin is on a rampage. Evil men and seducers are waxing worse and worse but remember those that know the Lord Jesus Christ are looking looking for the bright and morning star to appear and when the Lord returns for his waiting church he'll come as the bright and morning star but when he comes back to deal with Israel and with Israel's enemies according to this verse in Malachi four he'll come as the son of righteousness and He'll arise with healing in His wings. No, you don't require to look for the sun. You know it's there and you can feel its warm glow. You can know that it's there. But you know the same sun that melts the wax is the sun that hardens the clay. It will have a dual effect. But with them that fear the Lord, the Son of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings. And ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall. It will come with life to them. So when he comes as the Son of righteousness, it will mean the restoration of the nation. Restore to a proper relationship with their God. But verse three says, And ye shall tread down the wicked. For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I will do this, says the Lord of hosts. How will they be ashes under their feet? Well, he says you'll treat them like stubble, stubble that goes into the oven, stubble that will be destroyed by the fire of his presence. Remember, fire in the scripture is always indicative of judgment. A lot of people don't know that. But if you read through the scriptures, wherever you fire, it is indicative of judgment of some kind or another. Now, in the light of this, he introduces two names. And here is where I suggest in these closing verses of Malachi, he sums up the whole trend of teaching in the Word of God. Remember ye the law of Moses, my servant. which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel with the statutes and judgments. Remember, Moses was the giver of the law. Then in verse five he introduces another name, the name of Elijah. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Some people have said, how could he send Elijah? Elijah lived many years ago, and of course, Elijah's gone. Ah, but you must remember this. Elijah, according to the record of the Bible, never died. Elijah was taken up to heaven without dying. And you know, it's appointed unto men once to die. Elijah never died. And so, therefore, God says he's going to send them. and I'm one of those that believes there will be a literal fulfillment of this prophecy because Elijah will be sent it's a strange thing how the name of Moses and the name of Elijah is brought together right here when you come to the first book of the New Testament the gospel according to Matthew you'll find again there's a place where Moses and Elijah are brought together it's on the mount of transfiguration and remember The Mount of Transfiguration was a prefiguring of a coming kingdom. And Moses and Elijah are there on the Mount of Transfiguration, and they're talking with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Moses was the giver of the law, but Elijah was the restorer of the law. Elijah was the great reformer. Now, he seems to be telling us this. So far as the condition of things that prevailed in Malachi's day were concerned, he said you must judge the present in the light of the past. That would seem to be the lesson. Because he says remember. Now when you remember, you're thinking of the past. You're letting your mind go back. And he's telling them what they've to remember. Remember ye the law of Moses, my servant. So go back. and take all the statutes that were given to the nation from God through Moses the great lawgiver. Consider the past. Remember the past. And in the light of the past, judge the present. And then, more than that, you have to view the future. Behold, I will send. And here again is our word, behold. He used it at the beginning of chapter three. He used it at the beginning of chapter four. And here in verse five of chapter four, again he says, Behold, get your eye fixed on this. Consider this. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. You see, my friend, this is not referring... to the coming of the Lord for his church. This is referring to the day when the Lord will come in judgment. There will be at least seven years will elapse between the rapture of the church and the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ in judgment at the time when he shall restore Israel to the true relationship with their God. But before that time he says, I'll send Elijah. Now it's worth noting that when you come to the book of the Revelation, there are two prophets, two witnesses that are sent during that time. We're not told who they are, but it is possible if he says here he'll send Elijah, that Elijah might be one of them. And so therefore, if Elijah comes as one of the witnesses, and here will be the job that will be assigned to him, He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. Isn't it remarkable that the Old Testament finishes with a curse? The New Testament opens with a blessing, when the Lord is announcing all the blessings at the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter five. But look, Here at the close of Malachi, God is giving, as it were, his final word to that nation. And from the end of Malachi to the time that John the Baptist came on the scene, the forerunner of the Lord in his first Advent, there was a period of four hundred years in which the heavens were like brass. There was no clear vision. There was no further message from the Lord. They were left here in Malachi's day with this, Remember the past, and then look forward to the future. There's a prophet coming, and he will be the forerunner of the Lord. Now between the time of Malachi and the time of Matthew then, there was no prophet of the Lord until the day that John the Baptist came on the scene. When you come to the last book of the Bible, God puts his seal of approval and the Amen is said at the book of Revelation and there has been no further revelation from God from the end of the book of Revelation and for over nineteen hundred years there's been a silent heaven and we're waiting now for God to move and when he moves the Lord Jesus Christ will return to take his waiting people home. Just as Elijah was sent in the days to reform the nation of old. Just as John the Baptist was sent to prepare the people for the Lord in his first advent, you and I should be getting prepared now, for remember the end is drawing near.