Malachi 3:1-4 | The Refiner's Fire | Pastor Daniel Banna

Let's turn our Bibles to the book of Malachi chapter three, Malachi three. Pastor Daniel is taking the day off. We have looked so far at the first two chapters of the book of Malachi. Malachi, began his book by telling us that the word of the Lord he received was a burden. That was a burden.

This what what is the the King James, version translate, and this is what the Hebrew says. The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. It was a heavyweight word. It was not a light word. It was a revelation, a word that demanded a response, demanded a change from his people.

And as usual, God begins with the most beautiful thing. He tells the people of Israel, I have loved you. He began by telling them how he loves them, that his promises are true. He began by telling them of his faithfulness, about his his sovereignty, his promises to them that they will never change or alter it. But quickly, he moves to rebuke because there was nothing in them to warranty praise.

In fact, when you read Christ's addresses to the churches in the book of Revelation chapter two and three, you see the same thing. Christ first commends when there is praise worthy reasons to do that, and then he moves to the rebuke. What we see here in the book of Malachi, after he tells them I have loved you, he goes directly to the rebuke because there's nothing, as I said, praiseworthy. He tells them, be ashamed of yourself. You don't even dare to offer the sacrifices you offer me to your earthly governors, and you offer them to me because you offer the cheap, the unsuitable sacrifices, the blind and the lame and the stolen.

Then he tells them in chapter two verse eight, turn aside from the way. You have caused money to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi. But that was not all. At the end of chapter two, we see something else has happened.

They have divorced their wives. And they have added to the sin of divorce another sin, marrying foreign and believing women. Now in the beginning of this chapter, chapter three, we see God's tone changes, but not for a very long. God is answering in the beginning a question that they have already asked in the end of chapter two. What was the question?

Let's look at verse 17 of chapter two. You have wearied the Lord with your words, but you say, have how have we wearied him? By saying, everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them. Or by asking, where is the God of justice? Where is the God of justice?

Are you serious? Alright. You're seeking the god of justice. Let me tell you, he is not very far away. And he begins in chapter three verse one to tell us about this, the god of justice.

Behold, chapter verse one, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek, the God of justice, will suddenly come to his temple. And the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the lord of hosts, who is speaking. Behold, I send my messenger, None but the Lord Jesus Christ himself. The messenger is his messenger, and the temple is his temple.

It says, and the lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. Now if you have been with us from the beginning, you remember the word messenger. Right? What does what the word messenger means? The word Malachi, the writer of the book, means messenger or an angel.

And and as the prophet Malachi was God's messenger to Israel of that day to remind them of God's truth and rebuke them for their sins. So the Lord will send another messenger, a prophet, to prepare the way before him before them and remind them of God's truth, his coming kingdom, and rebuke them for their sins. Who is this messenger? Who is this prophet? We have talked about him not many weeks ago.

What is his role? We will see. But we see here also as we look at this, we will see not just who is the messenger, which we'll be discovering in a minute, but also what was or what is the duty of this messenger. And you see the duty of this messenger is only one. The messenger has only one duty, and it is to prepare the way before the Lord.

Then the Lord will take over, and the messenger will disappear from the scene. Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. The rest of the verse is about the lord, the master, and the lord of the messenger. Now when a king or a head of state decide to visit a town or a city, usually, he sends a delegation, leadership to prepare the way before him. They want to make sure he will be safe during his visit.

They want to make sure the streets are clean, they are protected. Often the streets, we see when when the king comes, becomes very crowded, there's street closures. You have the, CIA everywhere probably, the FBI. I don't know. They want to make sure the king is safe.

The city is prepared. The delegation goes before him to prepare the way. But here, we don't have just a head of state. We have a king. We have the king of kings is coming.

The lord of the universe, the god of the universe as we read in the book of Zechariahs in the beginning, the god of universe is coming, and it's fitting for him to send a messenger before him. But who is this messenger he would sit before him? None but the greatest born of women. Because he's the greatest king of all, he will send the greatest born of women, John the Baptist, to prepare the way before him. Now let us turn quickly to the gospel of Mark chapter one.

I want to read just verses one to three. Now the gospel of Mark is the earliest written gospel. And if you want to organize the gospel in a chronological way, you would put Mark first, Matthew followed by Luke, and then John. So the next book after Malachi is Mark, and Mark begins his gospel with almost the exact last words of Malachi. Look at this.

First verse is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Mark is quoting both Isaiah and Malachi. Both Isaiah and Malachi prophesied about this messenger.

Isaiah, seven hundred years before Christ and Malachi, four hundred years before Christ. Now if we turn to the book of Matthew, the gospel of Matthew chapter three, and I want to read couple of verses there beginning in verse one just to see how John the baptizer, how did he prepare the way before the Messiah? Remember, it's a bible study. Right? So we need to study the bible.

Verse one. In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The first thing John did to prepare the way before the Messiah, he declared the coming kingdom. The king is coming.

Are you prepared? When he saw the Messiah the first day, he told him, behold, the lamb of God. The king is coming. He's going to establish a kingdom. Are you prepared?

But, secretly, repent. He called people to repentance. Look at verse seven. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and the Sadducees came coming to his baptism, he said to them, you brood of vipers. Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Bear a fruit in keeping with repentance. Even now, the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I'm not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit on fire.

His win win fork in his in in is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff, he will burn with unquenchable fire. The third thing he did, he baptized him with the baptism of repentance. He declared the kingdom of God is coming. He told him to repent. He baptized him in water as a sign of repentance.

But John was making also a very clear distinction between himself and the Christ and the Lord who he has come to prepare the way before him. He says that he is unworthy to carry Jesus' sandals. Jesus is Lord and master. I am unworthy slave. This is the difference.

This is the contrast between the messenger and the master. But then he makes another distinction between his own ministry and Christ's ministry. He said, I baptize with water, but Christ will baptize with the Holy Spirit and of fire. And the last thing he did, he warned the people of the judgment to come. The one who is the baptizer by the Holy Spirit, he's also the baptizer by fire.

The same person. He will redeem the elect, the repentant, the good tree, the wheat as we have seen in verse 12, but the unrepentant, the bad tree, the chaff, He will burn with unquenchable and eternal fire. Now, this verse is often, by the way, misquoted. What is the baptism of fire that the baptizer is referring to? I believe the whole context of this verse makes it quite clear that he is talking about the judgment of God upon the unrepentant.

First, look at his explanation in verse 12. You see, his sworn wing fork in is in his hand, and he will clear the his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff, he will burn with unquenchable fire. But even Christ himself confirms this this when he explains to us in Acts chapter one five before his ascension. He says, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. The Lord quoting John, but he mentions only the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but he never mentions the baptism of fire.

Why? Because the believers on Pentecost, they're going to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. The baptism of fire will wait until the end when those unrepentant and regenerate wicked people will be baptized with. And who is the baptizer again? Christ Jesus.

Christ Jesus. Now we must notice this important fact that as soon as Jesus came to the scene and was baptized by John, John's ministry began to fade away. John began to decrease. His ministry began to decrease in order to give prominence to Christ and his ministry. In the gospel of John one thirty five, again, we read, when John was with his two of his disciples, he saw he saw Jesus walking, and he said, behold the lamb of God.

You know what happened then? His disciples heard him and followed and followed Jesus. John was not disappointed. He was not mad. He was not here to just make followers, follow me, no, but follow Jesus.

He was pointing to Jesus, and every true man of God, every true minister of the gospel, every true preacher would point to Jesus. We are not looking for followers of us. We want followers of Jesus. Follow Jesus. Don't follow me.

Not follow pastor Daniel. Don't follow any preacher. Follow Jesus. In god's wisdom, John in god's wisdom, John was taken completely out of the way. Not many days after that, he was imprisoned, then he was killed after that by king Herod.

The messenger is gone, but the king remains. Remember that. Remember that. All of us as messenger will go away, but the king will always forever remain. Now this is what we see here in Malachi two one.

First, we see a prophecy about the forerunner of Christ that was fulfilled in John the Baptist. But secondly, we have a prophecy about the Messiah in the second part of the verse. Let's look at it. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. We see three titles for our savior Christ in this verse.

The first title, he is the Lord, Adon. The second title, he is the messenger of the covenant. He is. And the third title is he is the lord of hosts, Adonai, it's the oath. John Piper thinks this third title refers to God, the father, but regardless.

So he is the lord. He is the messenger of the covenant, but he is also Adonites or the lord of hosts. Let us begin briefly talking about Adon, the lord. Not just Adon. Hebrew Adon means a master, but he is Adon.

He is the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, the only Lord and savior Jesus Christ. This is a prophecy about Christ's first coming. He came as a humble servant, as a lamb. Nevertheless, he was adon. He was the Lord.

In John thirteen thirteen, Jesus told his disciples, you call me teacher and lord, and you are right, for so I am. I am. Yes. Jesus was always, and he will always be Lord. He never, listen to this, he never emptied himself of his divine, divine attributes.

Never. He never ceased to be divine. He proved again and again his divine powers in the gospel when he calmed the storm, when he commanded nature, when you commanded evil spirits, he cast out demons and evil spirits. He proved his divine nature. In him, we read the fullness of deity lives in a bodily form.

In the fullness of time, he became a man. He he he took he put on our humanity. He emptied himself of his divine privileges, not divine attributes. He veiled his glory as the only begotten son of God. In his incarnation, Jesus was truly man, but he was always truly God.

He took our human nature apart from sin, but he remained truly God. I say truly because I think Archist Pro, if you if you listen to him, he says truly we say fully, but Archist Pro one time, even he corrected, I believe, John McCarthy say, truly God and truly man. This is a basic Christian doctrine that we need and we must all, understand and believe. But look at the rest of the verses, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. Suddenly means unexpectedly and announce.

He will be he will come suddenly to his temple. Now as many Old Testament prophecies, you will see the first coming of Christ and his second coming often they are intermixed together, and the students of the bible have to pay very, very close attention to be able to see these two comings and to divide or separate between them. Now Jesus, during his life on earth would have visited the temple in Jerusalem many times as a young kid, later as an adult by himself, and then later with his disciples. But at at least in two different occasions, Jesus visited the temple, and he did something very, very different no one else ever did. First, we see that in the gospel of John chapter two, that was in the beginning of his ministry.

But, again, he did the same thing at the end of his ministry in Matthew chapter 21. Now the holy temple in Jerusalem is called the temple of God, the temple of God. But here we see Jesus as the owner of the temple. The temple is called his temple. In John chapter two, again, early in his ministry, as Jesus entered the temple, This what we read in verse 14 in John chapter two.

In the temple, he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons. We know the story very well. And the money chair just sitting there and making a whip of cords, he draw them all out of the temple with the sheep and oxen, and he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, take these things away. Do not make my father's house a house of trade.

My father's house, and let me tell you, my father's house is my house. When I dwell in my father's house, I say this is my house. It is the same. My father's house, it is my house. Jesus had the authority to do what he did.

No one else had the authority because the house was his house. In Matthew twenty one thirteen, he has said, it is written, my house shall be called the house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers. He quoted Isaiah fifty six seven, the lord god is speaking there, and he's quoting the same verse saying, it is written, my house shall be called the house of prayer. The temple is his. The house is his.

Jesus had every authority to do that. Now his coming was sudden. His coming was unexpected. Now the word suddenly in the scripture often used to indicate calamity and judgment, especially if you read the Old Testament. Now his act in the temple, it was but a glimpse of his future coming in judgment on all the disobedient.

He will come to execute justice. Look at the verse now. And the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. First, he is called Adon, the Lord. Secondly, he is called the messenger of the covenant, mal'akh habrit.

Now this is God's final message. Delivered by whom? But God by God's final messenger, Christ himself. This is the greatest message of all. It could not be delivered by a prophet.

It could not be delivered by an angel. It has to be delivered by the messenger of the covenant himself, Jesus Christ. What is the message of this covenant? This is the message. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

That is the message. That is the message. There is salvation. There is forgiveness of sins through the blood of the covenant, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the last and the better govern covenant made by Christ's own blood for his own people, for us.

Let us look at verse two. But who can endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire, unlike fuller's soup. I think there is a shift here.

The shift from her his first coming that we saw in verse one to his second coming. Who can endure the day of his coming. Now it's true that many Jews during Christ's earthly ministry could not endure his own teaching. Right? Even the disciples, once he said, we have difficulty accepting your teaching.

This is hard saying. Who can endure it? But I don't think the reference in this verse to that this is not what is communicated in this verse. I believe this is a different picture, a different scene. This is Christ as the judge.

Christ as the lion of Judah who comes again to judge in power and his in in majesty. And this is what the prophets of old have talked about in so many prophecies in the old system. You see this again and again and again and again. Let's look at just one prophecy in the prophet Joel two eleven. Just the second part of the verse, Joel two eleven.

It says, for the day of the Lord is great and very awesome. In the King James, it says terrible. Very terrible. Who can endure it? Who can endure it.

This is a day of judgment. But listen, it's also a day of refining. It's a day of judgment and a day of refining, for he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. Fuller's like a launderer's soap that use a soap that you use, okay, to clean yourself or to remove any stains. Some people need more washing than others.

Some are more stained than others. They have more been being soiled by this world more than others, need more cleansing, more a longer cycle. He's like the refiner's fire and like fuller soap. Verse three, he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. And verse four says, then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old as and as in former days.

This did not take place yet. This is still future, that there's a great truth for us here even today, us as Christ's bride. We will look at this a little bit later, but we must first look at the people in the center of this prophecy. Who are the people in the center of this prophecy? The sons of Levi, the Jewish people.

He's talking directly to them. Now we know Israel as a nation has rejected their messiah. Did they? They did. They did.

His own received him not. It's true that the early church, at least the first eight years, consisted almost exclusively of Jews. But as a nation, the leaders of Israel rejected their messiah and crucified their messiah. Even to this very day, the nation of Israel as a whole, as a nation, still in disobedience and rejection of their messiah. But did he, the messiah, rejected them?

Did he reject them? Or did he replace them with someone else? The apostle Paul make very clear answer, and he says in Romans eleven one, by no means. And I believe in the King James says, God forbid. God forbid.

Then he says in Romans eleven twenty six, all Israel will be saved. Now many people find it difficult to accept God's love and mercy toward Israel, but they have no problem accepting God's love toward us who are often disobedient. Listen. He did not forsake Israel, for the gifts of God and calling are irrevocable. And because of this fact, he who called you will never forsake you, will never reject you.

For the same fact that he never rejected Israel, he will never either reject you. The one he he saves, he will secure forever. Aren't you glad? Aren't you glad that his promises are true? He would never reject you.

He never rejected Israel even though Israel has rejected God. Now it says he will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. And look at verse five. Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I want you to see the contrast.

I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, swear falsely, against those who oppress the high the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who trust aside the sojourner and do not fear me, says the lord of hosts. Can you see this? There is a purification, and there is judgment. There is a refining, and there is condemnation. Who is the one who refines Christ Jesus?

He's the one who refines and purifies and cleanses. And who who's the one who who who judges is the Lord Jesus. The purification, the refining, the cleansing is the work of Christ in us, in the believers, in his bride. His judgment is upon the wicked, the underpinnent, the undergenerate. There are two types of fire.

A fire that burns, A fire that does not discriminate. A fire that destroys. A fire that leaves nothing behind. No deliverance. No hope.

This is what we see in Malachi, by the way, what we just read in verse five. In Malachi four one, we'll talk about it in in maybe in few few months. It says this thing. It says, for behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven when all the arrogant and all the evildoers would will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

This is not a fire of refining. This is a fire of complete destruction. It is the fire of God against all the evildoers. It's unquenchable and it's an eternal fire. But in verses three, we see a good fire, a beneficial fire, a a a fire for good value, great value, and that is the refiner's fire.

But nevertheless, remember, it is a fire. It's still a fire, but it's a refiner's fire. It has a different purpose. It has a different goal. It's for different reason and for different people.

Who are these people? The one he loves, he refines. The one he loves, he purifies. The ones he love, he cleanses. It's not fire to destroy us.

It's fire to refine us. Listen. The fire of judgment of God has fell already on Jesus Christ on our behalf, So there is no fire of judgment on you, believer or child of God. Zero. Never.

If you're trusting in Christ Jesus, there is no there is no fear of the fire of God of judgment. This fire we see here is a different fire for your own good. For my own good is fun, but for my purification. Now we see here Jesus sitting. He says he sits.

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver and gold. Remember, it's silver and gold. This is how God looked at the sons of Levi on that day. This is how we will look at them, as silver and gold. This is how he looks at you today, as silver and gold, a precious metal, expensive equality, something you keep, something you treasure, something you protect, something you invest in, something you value.

He looks at us as silver and gold, precious metal. This is how he would look at the sons of Levi in the future, at least at some of them. The fire burns the stubble and hay, but has different effect on a precious metal, doesn't it? We have a picture here of a silversmith. Silversmith would put crude silver or in a crucible in a smelting furnace and was subjected to intense heat in order to liquefy the solid ore.

And as the silver become liquid, the impurities, the dust will go up to the surface. So the silversmith will skim it off, will take it off. Now when the silversmith is able to see his face clearly in the mirror, he knows now the silver is pure. Only then he knows when all the druss, all the impurities are taken. Now he knows the silver is pure, but only under intense heat.

Listen how Warren Wiersbe describe this process of divine testing. He writes, when God puts his own people into the furnace, he keeps his eye on the clock and his hand on the thermostat. He knows how long and how much. If we rebel, he may have to reset the clock. But if we submit, he will permit us to suffer not one minute too long.

The important thing that we learn, the lesson he wants to teach us to bring glory to his name. The furnace can only make the gold and silver purer. Remember that? The furnace of god's refining can make you only purer. Silver and gold only purer.

God has created me and you in his own image. He has purchased us with his own blood, and he has desire for us to reflect everyday his own image in our lives, in our walk, in our talk, in our conduct, in our behavior, but we often fall short. All of us often fall short. We become defiled, entangled with the things of this world. God's image in our life becomes slightly distorted.

We don't reflect it the way we should. God in his love and glory turns on the oven, his oven of refining. And as Werthes said, he keeps an eye on the clock and his hand on the thermostat. If we need 250 degrees, he'll keep it there. We might need two seventy five.

We might need the 300. Others might need three fifty or even 400. But all when the grass are gone, when you're pure, he turns off the oven. But remember, this oven of refining is only to make you pure, is not to punish you, is not to judge it's not about punishment. It's about making you pure, to reflect his own image in your life.

The writer of the Hebrews tells us, for the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later, it yields the peaceful fruits of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. In verse 10 of chapter 12, he says, he disciplines us for our good that we may share his holiness. This is god's love in action. We often think of God's love in action when he bestows on us blessings and blessings and blessings when everything goes with us so very well, but we don't think God's love in action when he purifies us in his oven. We should think about it this way.

That's God's love in action. Listen what it says in verse four. Then the offering of Judah. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former days, then their offering will be pleasing to God. How was it in the days of Malachi?

It was rejected. God despised it. God told him, shut the doors of the temple. I don't need your worship. I don't want your sacrifices.

I'm not pleased with them. Shut the door of the temples. That how was in their days. How is the sacrifices of Israel even today? They have no temple since seventy AD.

But even if they had sacrifices, it will be no longer acceptable either because Christ has offered himself once for all. He does away with the first, all the sacrificial ceremonial systems in order to establish the second, the offering of the body of Christ once for all. And then it says the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord. I love this word then. Then what a beautiful promise.

What a beautiful future prophecy about the nation of Israel. Then as a nation, as we have said already, Israel has rejected their messiah, but this is only temporary. Temporary and partial has been two thousand years, still in rejection, still in disobedience. And every generation, we see some Jews who come to know Christ as savior, but as a nation, they're still far away from God. But Paul tell us and confirm this promise that we see in the book of Malachi.

He says in Romans eleven twenty five, a partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way, all Israel will be saved. As much as I love the word then, I love the word until, until the fullness of the Gentiles come in, until you and I come in. I understand this to mean when the last elect from the gentiles will come in, then god will look at his old people as ancient people Israel, and he will visit them again. They will return back to him, and they will be saved, but not without a smelting furnace.

Fire that will refine the gold and silver and fire that will burn the chaff and hay from among them. The rejection as a nation for their messiah will continue until what until they will go to what the scripture calls the great tribulation, which is throughout scripture associated with what the bible calls the day of the Lord. In Jeremiah 37, we see the great tribulation is called with a very particular unique name. It's called Jacob's trouble. Jacob's distress.

It says, alas, that day is so great. There is none like it. It's a time of distress for Jacob, yet he shall be saved out of it. Jesus describes this seven years of tribulation in Matthew chapter 24. In verse 21, if you turn with me to Matthew twenty four twenty one, he says, for then there will be a great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now.

No. And never will be. This is not reference to seventy AD. It was great tribulation on Israel those days, but it was not this is not what Christ is talking about here. This is still future.

Verse 22. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. Now the book of Revelation deals with this period in in in very great length, and this seven years of tribulation period begins likely, after the rapture, of the church. I know there are many, many views that I very much respect, but, I think I hold to the right view. And as I read the book of Revelation, chapters four to 18, you see the intensifying and the increase and the severity of this tribulation until Christ comes again in glory.

He comes to establish his kingdom and reign with the saints for a literal one thousand years. Now this would be a universal tribulation, but specifically, it's Israel's tribulation, Jacob's trouble, Jacob's distress. And if you look at Matthew two and four, you see the focus there. All of it is Israel mostly. So the focus is Israel, but it's a universal tribulation.

Now the main distinction between the future great tribulations and all other tribulations the church went through and we will go through is this. All tribulations are man's wrath, man's war, man's or the world persecution against the church. The great tribulation is God's wrath against the world. That's difference. There's a two difference.

The big the big huge difference. The the great tribulation, it's god's wrath. God's wrath poured poured on the evil and the wicked world. Now no one wants to be there at that time. Now you have said if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved.

But remember, those days are numbered, are determined by God to be seven years. And the Bible divides them divides them into two, two, three and a half years, two forty two months, two two twenty four two forty two months and two one thousand two hundred sixty days. And I take this to be literal because of the repetition of the numbers. Let us jump to the conclusion. Two important reasons for this future catastrophic time on earth that God himself will be orchestrating.

The first one, God finalizing his judgment upon the unbelieving world, but secondly, and that's of particular interest for us tonight, is the return of Israel back to her god, which is a fulfillment of this prophecy as we see in the book of Malachi and in many other places in the in in the scripture. The 144,000 identified in the book of Revelation chapter seven, twelve thousand of each tribe, again, make declare speaking about the nation of Israel. There can be no doubt about that. Now in that furnace of Jacob trouble, they will come to realize that Jesus is their promised messiah. The one Zechariah spoke about in chapter 12.

Listen to what Zechariah said in chapter 12 verse 10. He said, and I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and please of mercy. When they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him. As one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. In chapter 13 verse eight, he continues to say, In the whole land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive.

And I will put this third into the fire. We just read about it in the book of Malachi. And I will put this third into the fire and refine them. As one refined silver and test them as gold is tested, they will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say they are my people, and they will say the Lord is my God.

And then Malachi ends this paragraph with this statement in verse six. For I, the Lord, do not change. Therefore, you, oh, children of Jacob, are not consumed. If he changes, he would have consumed him. If he changes, he would have consumed us, but God does not change.

His promises are always true. Israel has to go through the furnace as we have read. And when they go through the furnace, the elect will be refined. The chaff will be burned. But he will have the nation of Israel as a nation come back to him in repentance.

They will look at him, the one they have pierced, and mourn and mourn. If I deserve anything, it will be a complete destruction, but both god says, I am the lord. I do not change. I remain the same. My promises are always true.

I cannot deny my own promises. A remnant shall be saved. This remnant will go to the fire, and they will be found a silver and god and gold. And do you think the god who never changed his mind regarding Israel, will he change his mind regarding you? He will not.

Let's pray. We thank you, our god, and our savior. Because what you have told Israel before, you would tell us even today I have loved you. You would tell us I love you with an everlasting love. Love that cannot be compared to any other love.

Love that's everlasting. Love that's unchanging. Love that's eternal. Love that's secure. Though we thank you that you have loved us even with our old dross and impurities, you loved us and you died for us on that cross.

Lord, how we how thankful we are. How thankful for what you have done for us, that you are unchanging. Your promises are forever true. Your word is true. Lord, what you have promised to Israel, you have promised even more to us.

We thank that we are your church, secure and safe in your hand and even the hand of the father. We thank you for the seed of the Holy Spirit, for the indwelling Holy Spirit that is in us, lord god. That with with him, we can cry, Abba, father. What a great privilege we have. Lord, as your people, help us be truthful to your word.

Help us reflect your image in our lives day by day, and help us, lord god, not complain when we see the refining fire turned on. Help us endure even, lord god, when we are in that purifying furnace to know that it is for our good. It is because you want us to be like silver and gold, pure, nothing less. Help us, lord god, seek that purity. Seek that holiness.

Seek that life of perfection that's only available in you. Lord, we praise you and we worship your holy name. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.