One of the great prophecies about the coming of the Lord that I discuss in The Seven Living Prophecies comes from the prophet Malachi.
Most Christian scholars agree that in Malachi 3—where the Lord said, “I will send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.” (Mal. 3:1a)—is talking about John the Baptist—”The voice of him who cries out, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness, make straight in the desert a highway for our God'” (Isa. 40:3).
There was a prophetic call for Israel to return to the Lord if they wanted to live in the unlimited blessing and promises of God. After having just come out of Babylonian captivity, they needed God to show them how to keep from experiencing that type of defeat again in the future.
They responded to God’s call and for the next 400 years lived in relative obedience to the Lord. We know this because in Jesus’ time Jewish people still came from every nation to worship in Jerusalem at the appointed times. This was happening right up to when John the Baptist came on the scene to prepare them for the Messiah’s first coming.
Now let’s look at a little-known characteristic that distinguishes the Lord’s Second Coming from the first.
Malachi 3:1b says the Lord “will suddenly come to His temple.”
Nothing was sudden about Christ’s first coming. Micah must be referring to His Second Coming which, according to Scripture, will be sudden—in the twinkling of an eye.
Just before the Second Coming, God will send a messenger(s) to prepare the way. So the question is: Who is this messenger(s)?
I believe with all my heart that it is you and me! We are the people who love Israel; we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, reclaiming the Jewish roots of our Christian faith. We desire to be used to fulfill Bible prophecy and work toward a great restoration between Jews and Christians.
We are preparing the world for the coming of the Messiah! Be sure to listen to the latest episode, God Is Birthing Something Extraordinary to learn how you and I will be part of it!
Your best is yet to come. {eoa}
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