Who Can Endure The Day When He Comes? The One Who Sees Himself As He Is, And The One Who Sees The Lord As He Is.

12.5.21 Malachi 3:1–7 (EHV)

1 Look! I am sending my messenger! He will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord, whom you are seeking, will come to his temple! The Messenger of the Covenant, in whom you delight, will surely come, says the LORD of Armies. 2 But who can endure the day when he comes? Who will remain standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, like launderers bleach! 3 He will be seated like a refiner and a purifier of silver. He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and like silver. They will belong to the LORD and bring him an offering in righteousness. 4 Judah and Jerusalem’s offerings will be pleasing to the LORD as they were in the days of old, in years long ago. 5 I will approach you to judge you. I will be quick to give testimony against those who practice occult arts, those who commit adultery, those who swear false oaths, those who cheat workers out of their wages, those who wrong a widow and a fatherless child, those who turn away a resident alien—all those who do not fear me, says the LORD of Armies. 6 Certainly I, the LORD, do not change. That is why you, sons of Jacob, have not come to an end. 7 Since the days of your fathers, you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of Armies.

Who Can Endure the Day When He Comes?

The One who Sees Himself as He is, and the One who Sees the LORD as He is.

When a married couple is expecting their first baby, they have seven to nine months to prepare for the arrival. They will probably buy baby clothes, decorate a room, get a crib or a bassinet, and do everything they can to make sure they are as prepared as they can be for this complete change in their lives. You would expect them to be excited and a little bit scared.

Advent is similar to that. Malachi talks about TWO different messengers. One PREPARES the way for the Messiah and announces that the SECOND more important Messenger of Salvation is coming. About 400 years later, God sends John to publicly preach, a few months up to what, a half a year, before Jesus publicly comes on the scene and is baptized. I don’t think the Bible is specific about the exact time. But it was long enough for people to start thinking about and start preparing for the Messiah to come.

Advent is meant to prepare us for the coming of the Messiah as well. Jesus has come once into this world, and He is coming one more time. You couldn’t have two more different arrivals, as a helpless baby through a virgin in a little cattle stall and in the clouds for all to see. Both can be humbling in a sense. It’s humbling to think of what God had to do to come and save us, and it’s also humbling to think of what He will do at His Second Coming. It evokes different emotions in us: emotions of humility, fear, hope and joy all at the same time.

How do we prepare properly? Think of how we sometimes prepare for a gathering around Christmas. If you have a Christmas party to go to, you only have to prepare yourself on the outside and set aside the time to go. If you have a party at your house, it’s a completely different story. You have to clean your entire house, and that’s a lot more work. So we don’t like people coming to our homes as often, because it takes more work. And maybe that can be a little picture of how we try to prepare ourselves for Jesus to come. We can make ourselves look nice to people in public or on a Sunday morning, put on our nice clothes, sit, smile, and sing. But our behavior at home might reveal a completely different persona. Maybe you’ve become kind of nasty to your spouse and children. Maybe you are rather perverted on the computer or at work. Maybe, over time, you’ve become rather lazy in your prayer life and devotion life. How are you preparing for Jesus to come? Are you treating it as if you can just show up and put on a nice suit? Or are you trying to clean your house?

Sometimes when I come to my shut-ins homes, they are apologetic about the condition of their homes. I honestly don’t care how their homes look. I tell them, I’m not coming for a fashion show, I’m coming to give you the Word and the Supper. I don’t want them to feel like I’ve come to judge how clean their houses are. And that’s a popular thing that we say, “Don’t judge.” But it’s interesting to note that that is EXACTLY what God warns the Messiah WILL do when He comes at the Final Judgment.