Top 4 Verses in Malachi That Reveal Jesus’ End Times Plan
- Dr. J. S. Nadoli
- Apr 7
- 6 min read
“The New Testament speaks of the return of Christ; it speaks of it in two different dimensions. On the one hand, it is the day of final salvation for the people of God. On the other hand, it will be the day of final judgment, where God’s long-suffering and patience with wickedness will come to an end. And so, it will be a two-edged sword, won’t it? For those who are saved, it will be the time of exquisite delight. For those who are not, it will be the ultimate time of judgment and doom. What will it be for you?”
R. C. Sproul
Bible students recognize allusions to Malachi's prophecy in the quote above. Sproul, one of contemporary history’s great theologians, summaries the prophet’s record detailing the message given to him by the Lord, Jesus Christ.
Malachi closes the Old Testament Canaan foretelling of God’s New Covenant (John 13:34-35) through His incarnation. It depicts a final judgment and resurrection.
Jesus is the resurrected two-edged sword R. C. Sproul references, who returns to separate the wicked from His remnant with swift judgment. God’s patient endurance ends, resulting in a final “great and dreadful day,” which consumes the arrogant and wicked.
He separates them from us. God does not turn those who serve Him to ash. The remnant finds healing and restoration under Christ’s wings. The mighty sword cuts both ways in an instant to heal and destroy according to God’s will for His creatures, us.
Read These Couplets
Yeah, I know the title says four verses in Malachi and nothing about Matthew or Mark. I’m not trying to fool ya. I just didn’t want to overwhelm you before even getting started.
Besides, I need to show how Malachi reveals Jesus’ plan, and using the couplet formula seems like a good way to do that. Let me know what you think in the comments. Anyway, there’s no better way for us to learn than from the Lord Himself, agree?
Let’s continue. We’re going to look at Malachi’s eschatology roadmap and confirm its accuracy with Jesus’ last things plan. We’ll start with the Lord’s messenger and who’s telling Malachi about him.
(Spoiler alert)
It’s the Guy they've been waiting for, and they’re about to learn what’s going to happen when He gets there. Right after that, we’ll investigate if they need party clothes or skin lotion upon His arrival because it's going to get Hot! Hot! Hot!
Then we’ll learn what farmers mean when they say, “they’re kickin it up,” and what real freedom means. After that we’ll scratch our heads a bit while figuring out what the Lord wants to teach us by sending Elijah to “turn our hearts.”
We’ll finish pondering the delay and answering the question that started this whole thing: What’s it gonna be?
Looking Ahead:
Prepare the Way: Malachi 3:1
Malachi records the Lord Jesus Christ telling post-exilic Israelites—you know—those muckrakers and scoffers the prophet wrote about earlier, they’d better hold on to their hats.
He’s about to send the messenger on ahead to clear all obstacles and prepare the way for His arrival. He’s had it with their obstinate ingratitude and constant whining (Mal 3:1). The Lord lets them know who they eagerly await comes suddenly.
When God uses the word sudden, it’s like when your parents call you by your full name—sounding like it’s in all capital letters—ya just know nothing good comes after that.
In Matthew's Gospel, we read Jesus quoting this very verse as a type of bridge to His salvific plan, which comes in two stages: starting with service and ending with judgment (Matt 11:10).
It’s the desert herald, John, God’s messenger recorded by Malachi, who is the last of the Old Testament prophets to appear before the New Covenant messenger, Jesus Christ.
Salvation and Fire: Malachi 3:2
In Malachi 3:2, the prophet continues to record the Lord’s response to the people and the Sons of Levi—the priesthood—who just can’t stop second-guessing the one who brought them out of Egypt.
These skeptics and scoffers don’t understand God’s purification process is like burning the dross out of gold; it’s His way to separate the wicked (dross) from the righteous (gold).
They can’t see the Lord is talking about them to them. The wicked’s sin and corruption separate them from the remnant’s faith and righteousness.
In his Gospel account Mark shows the first of Jesus’ two Temple clearances—that’s right, Jesus cleared out the merchants and money changers twice—once at the beginning and again toward the end of His ministry; betcha didn’t know that, or did ya?
Let me know in the comments. That’s a topic for another day, though. Should I write that one up for you guys? Let me know and I’ll put on the schedule.
Anyway, Mark’s depiction isn’t just a holy tantrum; it signals the end of the Jewish epoch and inaugurates a new era with Jesus at its center (Mark 11:15-17).
Now Read These Couplets:
Sun of Righteousness: Malachi 4:1-2
Both Malachi and Matthew depict a last things scenario showing mankind’s separation into two groups: one for salvation, another for destruction. Mankind’s Sun of Righteousness’ healing power restores the people’s spiritual and physical health.
This restoration is why Jesus willingly orchestrated and followed through with His plan for the cross. His righteousness ends spiritual and physical sickness in Believers forever. It’s the death of death John Owen talks about.
Real heavy reading, but worth the effort; I’ll link it for you below. The unquenchable fire Matthew writes about (Matt 3:12) reflects on the day of the Lord Malachi records in his prophecy (Mal 4:1).
Jesus, depicted in Malachi as the Sun of Righteousness, restores the repentant to their original created state—both spiritual and physical—while muckrakers, mumblers, mockers, and scoffers burn up like chaff in unquenchable fire.
John the Baptist: Malachi 4:5
The second to last verse in the Old Testament, recorded by Malachi, is the Lord’s statement about sending the prophet Elijah before His arrival (Mal 4:5).
Malachi has already told us about the Lord’s prophesied messenger (Mal 3:1) who prepares the way for the coming Messiah.
Most believers connect the Lord’s messenger with John the Baptist (Isa 40:3; John 1:23).
Linking the Baptist to Elijah’s prophetic return before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
But is this correct? When asked, John denied being the prophesied Elijah (John 1:21).
Luke describes the Baptist’s ministry as possessing Elijah’s power, not Elijah himself (Luke 1:17).
After Herod had John’s head chopped off, Jesus explains Elijah is still on the schedule to arrive (Matt 17:11).
It’s up for debate: does John’s coming in the power of Elijah fulfill Malachi 4:5, or does the verse mean Elijah comes later in the last things events (Rev 11:1-13)?
What do you think? If you would be so kind as to respond in the comments, I will happily reply. Be the first to get the conversation started; this should be a good one!
God’s Last Appeal
God’s rebuke of the Jewish people and their Levitical priestly class doesn’t bode well for their long-lasting covenant relationship with Him. Malachi confronts the Jewish people’s moral rot, adultery, and corruption.
They’ve abandoned both stages of the law God commands them to live by—the Decalogue—love God (Exo 20:3-11), love your neighbor (Exo 20:12-17). Even though they deserve immediate justice, God grants a 400-hundred-year stay, which the Jews squander (Luke 27:47-48).
During Jesus’ reign, He rules with an iron rod, ending all wickedness and injustice, and the world flourishes for a thousand years (Rev 19:5, 20:4-6).
Why Delay Judgment?
During the intertestamental period, God’s quiet time (400 years of silence), the New Covenant's providential activity moves ahead unabated.
Paul calls it the fullness of time (Gal 4:4).
During this period, koine Greek becomes the dominant language throughout the Mediterranean, hunger for the Messiah increases, the Pax Romana occurs, and translators produce the Septuagint, making God’s Word available throughout the world.
What’s it Gonna Be?
Malachi’s post-exilic exhortation calls out and reminds us of our own complacency, spiritual dullness, superficial gratitude, and worship practices. Look around; you know things aren’t right. The war between good and evil rages all around us today. We’re not going to change the world, but we can improve it by putting God first before everything we do while living in it. Start today; it’s easy to do. Call Him. He will be there with you before the words stop coming out of your mouth.
Love People | Do Kind Things | Teach Truth
So, what do you think???????