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“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze”, says the LORD of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root or branch.”
But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing”, says the LORD of hosts. “Remember the Law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel.
Behold, I am going to send Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.” (Malachi Chapter 4)

And with those words, the book was closed. The Old Testament was finished. And the word of the Lord was silent. For generations, nothing again was heard from God. He promised an “Elijah”, who would come and restore His people, lest they be smitten with a curse. Note the significance that the Old Testament came to a close with its last word being the word “curse.” But years went by. Nothing more was heard from God. Not for the next generation. Not for 100 years. Not for 200 years. For 400 years, NO word was heard from God. To put that in perspective, the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 — 400 years have not quite gone by from the time those first settlers landed in Massachusetts until now. So for as a great time as from the settling of America by the pilgrims until today — about 400 years — no word came from God. The Hebrews knew from the Old Testament that one day a Messiah was coming. They knew that before he came, an “Elijah” was going to come to get God’s people ready for Him. But since then they had heard not a word from God. For 400 years, the heavens were silent. NOTHING.

Until: “In those days, John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea.” He was clothed in a garment of camel’s hair. His diet was locusts and wild honey. And what did he say? After 400 years of SILENCE from God — do you think that his message might be of some importance?

Verse 2 of Matthew 3 tells us that the message God gave him was: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” It was the message that after 400 years, Israel needed to hear most of all. And it is undoubtedly the message that God’s people today need to hear most of all as well! Continue reading →