We have now written eight articles under the above heading. With this article, I hope to complete the series as it relates to the Old Testament. We have made this series on the Old Testament short, in fact, we are about “30,000” articles short on the Old Testament. But, we must move on with this concluding article. As the old saying goes, “we have not yet reached the hem of the garment.”
Let us start with verse four of chapter four which reads: “Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgment.” This is often overlooked but it needs our attention. It is one last reminder to the children of physical Israel: “Remember ye the law of Moses!” Many years, in fact, about 2,500 years, are covered from Mount Sinai to Malachi and finally to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. So, what does this mean? It means the “law of Moses,” of which Malachi addresses: “Remember ye the law of Moses,” was in force as the Old Testament closes. This is an important point to remember! It might be said, “The law of Moses” ran right on through the end of recorded inspiration, as the Old Testament ends.
Next, the prophecy of Malachi reads: “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” (Mal. 4:5-6). This is a great mystery! That which started in Genesis three, fifteen, has not yet been fulfilled! The Old Testament ends in hope and in promise; “Malachi the prophet” wrote of two things: 1) “I will send you Elijah the prophet;” and 2) “the coming of the great dreadful day of the LORD.” Was Malachi writing about a resurrected Elijah” or did he have another in mind? Then, what was this “dreadful day of the LORD,” of which Malachi wrote? Whatever he was addressing, the Old Testament books end with these two questions that must be answered!
Can a “day” be both “dreadful” and “notable?” If we can answer this, “yes,” then we will be heading in the right direction. Once more, the inspired writers will help us just here. Let us back up and read what Joel wrote about a coming event. He wrote: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come” (Joel 2:28-31). Did you see the words? They are: “the terrible day!” So, what do we have to this point? We have: 1) a “dreadful day of the LORD;” 2) “the terrible day;” and 3) “the notable day.” Are they pointing to the same “time period,” or three different days? Peter did make it clear, that Joel’s prophecy started to be fulfilled on that great Pentecost day recorded in Acts two! We do know, that Joel’s “terrible day” is Peter’s “notable day.” The right conclusion is that all three words refer to the same events! This “day,” a period of time, which covers “The Acts of the Apostles,” the four gospel accounts, and the other books of the New Testament. Without going into “great detail,” there is a seventy-year period, from just before the birth of John, the one who baptized, and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. It has always been interesting to me, that not one word in the New Testament addresses the destruction of Jerusalem, as an already happened event! But, this event would mark the end of Jewish state, as they were thrown to “the four winds!”
This period, wherein the “terrible,” the “dreadful,” and the “notable,” events would take place but God never left Israel without “hope;” as Malachi wrote: “I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.” Who is this “Elijah?” We will let Jesus answer our question. You do remember that great “transfiguration?” It is recorded in Matthew seventeen when “Moses and Elias talking with him” (Jesus, frw). Was this Elias the one that Malachi prophesied of? Hear the words of Jesus: “But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them” (Matt. 17:12). Clearly Jesus was speaking of John, who baptized!
What did Malachi write, as the inspired writings of the Old Testament conclude? If I may, allow me to write, part of this played out as recorded in the four gospel accounts, then, from Acts through Revelation! The Bible records the prophecy and history records the destruction of Jerusalem, and truly it was a “terrible,” dreadful,” and the “notable” DAY!
— Frank R. Williams