The last few verses of the Old Testament are the voice of God that society at large wouldn’t hear again for 400 years. The next time God spoke was to Zacharias and Elizabeth and Mary and Joseph. God’s Son would be on his way to the earth. The Jews didn’t realize it, but this ending was the foretelling of what was to come. Malachi told of a soon-coming day, the Great Day of the Lord. Just as it seemed a long time before the first advent of Jesus, it seems a long time coming for his next return. The first one was on time and rest assured the next will be too. No day can happen without a sunrise. This lets us know that a Sun rise to a new day is coming. Are you ready?
Malachi 4:1 “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. 2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.”
We can use the word “Sun” or “Son” for this message. It doesn’t change its meaning. Verse two uses a capital “s” and calls the Lord the Sun. God likens the coming of his Son to the most beautiful moment of every day—the sunrise. Regardless of the weather, whether it’s forecast correctly or not, the meteorologists always get the time of sunrise and sunset correct. Creation has a pinpoint action and timing with the earth. Sunsets are pretty, but there is something special and majestic about a sunrise. Right before it happens the birds sing and a breeze stirs. The world seems so fresh and new. It signifies the beginning of a new day and the ending of the night.
We have the promise of a coming day when the Sun will rise and rise forever. There will be no end; it will never be followed by another night. That Sun rise will be the final one. What the day will be for you is determined by what you do with the Son right now. This is the reason Jesus came, died, and rose that first Easter morning at sunrise. He’s our salvation. Because of Him we can have an eternal day where the darkness of life will be gone forever.
We are the children of light, but the darkness tries to invade us all the time. Sometimes our faith gets weak due to the encroaching darkness. The devil is in this world. Darkness is in this world, but Jesus is the coming Sun rise. In Revelation the Bible promises us there will be no night there because the Son reigns.
To some, this is scary. Those who have rejected Jesus to remain in the darkness will find a day the opposite to that of the believer. Verse 1 says “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.” This is the Sun rise of eternal retribution. Jesus will change each individual’s world forever. Our own little sphere of life will change. I’m looking forward to the change. The end of the dark spots that enter our lives will be gone when the Sun rises. If you love darkness more than light, more than your own soul, God will burn your little world as an oven in an eternal burning way. If there is ever a day to be saved, it is now.
If you get up early, you can see the sunrise approaching. We have to be blind not to see how crazy a shape this world is in and how close it is to the Sun rising. His rays are starting to shine. Jesus is about to come over the horizon.
Malachi said “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.” We who receive Jesus into our heart will see the Sun rise and bring us a better day that will remove us from this current darkness and aggravation we have to endure. No matter how bad things get, keep living for the Lord. When we get to that Sun rise, the darkness has to let go.
In Revelation Jesus said “I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” In the mornings we can see Venus, the morning star. Its reflection is in the light of the sun. Even though the sun has not risen, we know it will soon because the morning star is shining. Jesus is that bright and morning star who will transition to the very Sun.
The same rising which will burn as an oven will take us to the eternal day. His wing span is big enough to encompass all of us. While wings are used for gathering, their primary purpose is to fly. Every believer, dead or alive, will be brought together and made to fly on His wings. We have a Savior that will heal the scars of this darkness we now live in. In a glorified body we’ll go to a new world in eternal healing.
In verses 5-6 we find the final words in the Old Testament. “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.” The promise of the coming of John the Baptist in the spirit of Elijah was made. It came through loud and clear. The gospel is strong. It’s here right now. The trumpet is about to sound. Get ready. You’d better hurry; it’s almost Sun rise.
Are you of the day or the night? Are you a believer or an unbeliever? Have you accepted or not accepted Jesus into your heart and soul? The day is at hand. Get ready for the Sun rise.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 