"Now I AM sending MY messenger ahead of ME, to clear the way; then, suddenly, the LORD, for whom you long, will enter the Sanctuary. The envoy of the Covenant which you so greatly desire, already comes, says YAHWEH of hosts. Who can bear the day of HIS coming and remain standing when HE appears? For HE will be like fire in the foundry and like the lye used for bleaching.
HE will be as a refiner or a fuller. HE will purify the sons of Levi and refine them, like gold and silver. So YAHWEH will have priests who will present the offering as it should be. Then YAHWEH will accept with pleasure the offering of Judah and Jerusalem, as in former days." - Malachi 3:1-4
(Now I AM sending MY messenger. To those complaining that GOD does not reveal HIS justice nor reward sufficiently those who serve HIM. Malachi responds by declaring that the LORD will come soon. He announces the coming of a messenger of GOD who will be responsible for preparing the way for HIM, and that will be the sign of HIS coming soon.
Paragraphs 3:1-2 and 4:22-24 complement each other, and point to John the Baptist. The Gospel will recall them in Luke 1:17; 7:27; John 3:22. Also see Mark 9:11.)
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