Read: Malachi 1:1-2;17; Revelation 21:1-27; Pslam149:1-9; Proverbs 21:10-24
Malachi was the twelfth and last of the minor prophets. He probably lived during the same time of Nehemiah. He had a deep burden for the Jewish people which is probably why God used him to rebuke them and call them to repentance. He began with telling them how much God loved them. Then he rebuked first the priests for bringing diseased animals to be sacrificed and keeping the best for themselves. God told them he would rather them shut the temple doors than to receive their offerings.
If they didn’t repent and set their hearts to honor the Lord, he would send a curse on them and remove his blessing.
Malachi reminded them that the priesthood began with Levi who honored and revered the Lord. The office of the priest was holy. His job was to know God and teach his ways to the people. Instead, they had rebelled themselves and taught others their ways, not God’s.
The men of Judah had left their Jewish wives to marry foreign wives which was symbolic of what they had done with God. They had broken their covenant with him to marry another god. God was tired of them living as hypocrites, thinking that what they were doing was okay.
In Revelation, finally, the end will come. The new heaven and the new earth will appear and the new Jerusalem will come down out of heaven in all its glorious splendor. Pain and tears will be done away with and there will only be rejoicing for the elect. The unbelieving sinners will receive their inheritance also. They will be thrown into the lake of fire.
The temple of the Lord is described in all it’s glory and majesty. There will be no more sun or moon because the glory of the Lord will be the light and Jesus will be the lamp. The gates will stay open and nothing impure will ever enter in - only those whose names were written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Lord, purify our offerings to you and help us to give out of a right heart. All we have is yours.
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