Friday | 05 June 2020
Through the prophet Malachi, the Lord declared, ‘Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.’ Mal 4:5‑6.
‘The great day of the Lord’ refers to His judgement upon the seventh world kingdom in the time of the end. The book of Revelation reveals that this judgement will commence at the opening of the sixth seal. Rev 6:12‑17. The point for us to recognise is that the ministry of Elijah precedes this judgement. It is a prophetic mandate that is given to the presbyteries in the right hand of Christ to be proclaimed to God’s covenant people during the establishment and commencement of the seventh world kingdom. By receiving and responding to this prophetic ministry, the church will be sustained in the day of trial, and will be prepared for the coming of Christ. This time is upon us, and the Lord, by His Spirit, is addressing the church concerning the cultures of our families. 1Pe 4:17.
Speaking of John the Baptist, the Angel of the Lord said, ‘He will also go before [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah, “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.’ Luk 1:17. John the Baptist’s ministry was an expression of the spirit and power of Elijah, but it was not the complete fulfilment of Malachi’s prophecy. As we have just noted, this prophecy will have its final fulfilment as we approach the time of the end.
Further Study:
MALACHI 4
Daily Proverb:
References:
Mal 4:5-6
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.
Rev 6:12-17
I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’
1Pe 4:17
For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?
Luk 1:17
He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘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.