Promise in the Prophets 446: The Lord will Come

446. Lord will Come

Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.

This is an Advent prophecy concerning the coming and appearance of John the Baptist, God’s messenger, who will prepare the way before the Lord Himself comes. Then the Messiah will come from God and as God. Jesus is the “messenger of the covenant,” who has suddenly come to His temple. He is the one in whom we delighted. We sought Him; we waited patiently and anxiously; we hoped and dreamed of His coming; we yearned and longed for Him to come. John announced His coming. Jesus proclaimed His appearance. Both said, “The kingdom of God is at hand.” “God is here; there He is; behold!”

The temple is the presence of the heavenly God on the earth. Jesus came suddenly to His temple: when He was 8 days old; when He was 12; and several times Jesus preached and healed at and near the temple. But the temple changed, for the person of Jesus Christ replaced the Jewish temple. Then the temple became the body of Christ, the Church of all believers in Jesus. The temple of God is now the group of believers as a whole and when they meet in assembly on the earth. The temple is also the body of the individual believer, which houses the Holy Spirit.

The promise inherent in this prophecy is that the Lord will come to me, He will come into me, and He will come for me. We can count on His coming when we call on Him and when we need His Presence. Indeed we believe when we pray, “Thy kingdom come.” We believe God hears our prayers: Jesus will come to us and rule our lives for good. He is in charge, and He knows what He is doing. The Holy Spirit, dwelling within, is already within and the Kingdom is within. He moves us to ask and pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.” And He does. Believe the promise: He will come when we ask Him. We knock on the door and He opens to us. Jesus knocks on the door, and we, by the power of the Gospel, open the door. 

Jesus has come. Jesus will come. And Jesus comes to us in the present moment. Like the resurrected Lord appears in a locked upper room, He is already here, but He reveals Himself as one who is going to do something, to act on our behalf, and to bless. Ask! He will come!