Hartland Winter Convocation 2018: Preparing the Way

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Hartland Institute of Health and Education

Norbert Restrepo

The Elijah Message

I would like to invite you to open your Bibles to the book of Malachi.

Perhaps for us the book of Malachi is is not 1 of those prominent books in the Bible.

But if you think of it from the following perspective, for the Jews, what was Malachi?

For the Jews, Malachi was the last book of the Bible.

In addition to that, Malachi was the last book added to the Bible And then there was a period of silence.

There was a period of silence when there were no more prophets, at least no more prophets that were registered in scriptures, in the canon of scripture, until John the Baptist.

According to historians, it was a period of about 400 years of no more prophecy.

Malachi, the name Malachi has a special meaning.

And if you take a close look at the book of Malachi, you will find in every single chapter, it has 4 chapters, a reference to the fact that God has a messenger, he's sending a messenger, he has a special message that he will send through a messenger.

So The name of Malachi coincides with the main thrust of the book and the emphasis on a messenger is in the context of the messenger who would prepare the way for the Lord's coming.

Now for the Jews, the Lord's coming was, it was a great expectation.

It was the hope of their consummation as a nation, their liberation from all these foreign occupants so that they could once again be the throne of David.

But what meaning does the book of Malachi have for us today in the time in which we are living?

Now the books of the Old Testament, when we refer to the prophets of the Old Testament, classical prophecy, Classical prophecy has a characteristic among others, but 1 of them is that it had a local application, referring to judgment, to a geographical location, to the Israelite nation.

But this prophecy also was a type of final judgment.

Every classical prophecy was a type of the final judgment.

So in that sense, the prophecies of Malachi have an application to the second coming of Christ.

Now a careful reading of the book of Malachi, you will see that not only do you find the types of Christ's second coming, but you actually find language that is clearly referring to not only the second coming of Christ, but also to His coming into the most holy place, as you read in chapter 3.

This afternoon I want to share briefly from the book of Malachi because just as the book of Malachi was to inspire God's people to motivate them, to admonish them, to be prepared for the first coming of Christ, to be prepared to fulfill that role as a people, as His messengers, to be prepared so that when Christ came, the fulfillment of all those prophecies could take place amongst them.

If God was sending His people the very last prophet, The very last message before He would come as the Messiah, He would send a very unique message to them, wouldn't He?

Given the fact that there would be no more prophets until John the Baptist, the Elijah.

The last message to them in preparation for the actual literal coming of the Messiah.

The book of Malachi must have a lot of it, a lot packed into it because then there is silence for 400 years.

And taking into consideration then that as we look at the book of Malachi and we place ourselves in history and in prophecy, We are, according to prophecy, on the verge of Christ's second coming.

So we should see ourselves, as we look at the book of Malachi, like Zechariah.

When Zechariah went into the temple and the angel Gabriel spoke to him, he said, I am come here to answer your prayer.

And to answer his prayer was more than just the prayer that they wanted to have a son, in terms of they were barren, you know, Elizabeth and Zechariah, and they wanted to have a son.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were praying for the birth of the Messiah.

They were burning with the expectation of the coming of the Messiah.

And Zechariah knew that the time was ripe for his coming.

And when the angel spoke to him and used the language directly from the book Malachi, I am sure that Zechariah recognized it.

Now we are living in the time of Zechariah, but in terms not of this first coming of Christ, but of the second coming of Christ.

And each 1 of us should have the attitude of Zechariah and Elizabeth of asking the Lord, Lord, please fulfill that promise, fulfill your prophecies in our days because we know it is possible.

So with that context in mind, let's open the book of Malachi and Let's read it as God's special message to us today as He seeks to prepare us so that we can at the same time prepare the way for His coming.

Malachi chapter 4 and we will start with the first verses.

Malachi chapter 4 and verses, I will read first verse 1.

For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

But unto you that fear my name shall the Son of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings, and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall." Moving now to verse 5 and 6, "'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." Now, notice the language of verse 1 of chapter 4.

The language is pretty vivid, it's pretty descriptive.

Behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven." Now this is not some metaphorical language.

We know that for Christ's second coming, and we read throughout Scripture 1 of those instances being 2 Peter 3, that just as the world was preserved to be destroyed by a flood and by water, the world is now being reserved to be destroyed through what?

Through fire, when all the elements shall be consumed.

So we know this is not metaphorical language, It is literal.

And all they that do wickedly shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Then in Verse 5, using this type of language, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

So as you take that language as it is, you know that it is referring, you know the Jews could easily confuse this, and in fact they did, the first coming with the second coming.

But now here, when we're living 2, 000 years after the first coming of Christ, we can see that the language clearly is referring to His final judgment, final judgment.

Before that day, He would send His messenger.

How can we understand that special mission that that messenger would have?

Well the best way is to look at that when God sent that messenger the first time, right?

And when God sent that messenger the first time was with John the Baptist.

Now John the Baptist had a great responsibility.

He had a great privilege because he was to prepare the way for the coming of Christ.

But when Christ came the first time, he came in fulfillment of Isaiah 53.

He came in a way that people were not expecting him.

He did not come in glory as the world would expect it.

He came like the Lamb of God and very few recognized him.

Nonetheless, John the Baptist's ministry was so crucial to prepare the way for that coming.

For Christ's second coming, how will it be?

You know, the contrast is so great that no 1, no 1 will have a doubt that He is the King of King and Lord of Lords.

He's not going to come in the guise of the son of Joseph and Mary.

He's going to come as the king of the universe.

And he's going to come in final judgment.

If his first coming required a special messenger to prepare the way.

Don't you think that his second coming, that messenger that will prepare the way will have greater solemnity, greater responsibility upon his shoulders?

So if Zachariah took the book of Malachi to heart in such a special way that Gabriel himself came to him and spoke to him, I am here in answer to your prayer.

Wouldn't you like to be the modern Zacharias?

That God could send his angel Gabriel and say, I am calling you and I'm calling your children because God has selected you to prepare the way for the coming of His Son the second time." You know the attitude that Zechariah had as he read prophecy was real, was intense and I believe that we need to have that same attitude otherwise God will select someone else and we will be like the sleeping virgins.

We will not be able to participate in that great event of fulfilling that prophecy of being that messenger.

So let's open the Bible now in Luke chapter 1.

We will read a few verses from verse 11 through 17 just to see and have a clearer picture of the implications of being the forerunner of Christ's first coming and draw lessons so that we can see the parallel with the privilege and opportunity we have today.

Luke chapter 1 and let's start with verse 11.

It's referring to Zechariah, who was serving at the temple at this time of the year.

And we read in verse 11, and there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias, For thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John." Now it's not frequent that God would send an angel named Gabriel to Tell some parents, you know, your prayer has been answered and you will have a son.

In fact, when we read in the Old Testament the story of Samuel, his mother was praying in the temple and asking God to answer.

Her life was very difficult because she was barren and she felt it was like a curse.

She was crying and asking God, please give me a child.

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The Elijah Message

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