The World and the Word

                                                              The Wheat and the Chaff

In verse one of Malachi 4:1-4, the prophet prophesied that a day will come when God will utterly destroy all wickedness. This prophecy can only pertain to the events of Revelation 20:7-10 when God begins to use His consuming fire against evil itself in order to effect a final and complete separation of all that is good from all that is evil. This prophecy cannot be about the battle of Armageddon or the millennial reign of Christ because evil will not be utterly destroyed in Christ's millennial reign. In addition, Christ will destroy the evil army that comes against Israel in the battle of Armageddon with the sword of His mouth which symbolizes the Word of God, not with His consuming fire. Revelation 19:11-21.

Malachi 4:1 also refers to wickedness as being "stubble," which means it is completely useless and destructive deserving only to be burned. The evil that Satan injected into humanity is foreign to humans. God will eventually rescue all living humans from spiritual death, which is the same as evil, cleanse them of all their sins caused by evil, and burn their separated spiritual deaths in the lake of fire forever. God always directs His fiery wrath against evil itself, never against living humans. Hebrews 2:9; Revelation 20:9; Revelation 20:15; I Corinthians 3:11-15; I Corinthians 15:22-23; II Timothy 1:10; I John 3:8; Isaiah 66:22-23. Since Christ has abolished death as stated in II Timothy 1:10, then all that is living cannot permanently die, and therefore, Christ will recover all living humans that He created from spiritual death. Genesis 3:20; Luke 20:38.

As Malachi 4:4 indicates, Malachi directed his prophecy to all Israelites who were faithful to Moses' religion, not to any humans saved by grace. This fact can only mean that Malachi's prophecy in verse two has to be about the great worship service recorded in Revelation 5:11-14. All faithful Israelites confined within the regions of death at that time, including all other living humans, will worship Christ as the Lamb which means that they will believe that only Christ can cleanse them of their sins and rescue them from spiritual death. As all of the Old Testament burnt offerings symbolize, Christ will cleanse them of all their sins and resurrect them to a recreated life as recorded in Revelation 20:5 and Revelation 21:1-5.

These resurrected, faithful Israelites will "grow up as calves of the stall." These calves were special cattle that were kept in a pen and fed the best food to fatten them up. Luke 15:23. Malachi prophesied in verse two that when God resurrects these faithful Israelites and recreates them, they will enjoy a special, earthly salvation as citizens of the only organized nation that God will allow which will rule the earth. God will give these faithful Israelites the very best prosperity that He has to offer. Malachi prophesied in verse three that God will absolutely separate these living, resurrected Israelites from all of their wickedness which means their spiritual deaths. God promises them that their wickedness will be "ashes under the soles of your feet." Isaiah 66:13-24.