S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

Malachi 3:1 begins with the promise of a future messenger important in the plan of God: "'See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking w...

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July 01 2013 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter Arizona Bible College & Dallas Seminary graduate, Pentair

In Hebrew the phrase “my messenger” is מַלְאָכִי (mal’akhi)—[always you have to read Hebrew from right to left, unlike English and other languages which are read from left to right], the same form as the prophet’s name. However, here the messenger appears to be an eschatological figure [--a yet future figure] who is about to appear, as the following context suggests. According to Malachi 4:5, this messenger is “Elijah the prophet,” whom the NT identifies as John the Baptist (Matt 11:10; Mark 1:2) because he came in the “spirit and power” of Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:11-12; Lk 1:17).

See this hymn based on Malachi 3:1, “The Great Forerunner Of The Morn” (Author: The Venerable Bede):

The great forerunner of the morn,
The herald of the Word, is born:
And faithful hearts shall never fail
With thanks and praise his light to hail.

With heavenly message Gabriel came,
That John should be that herald’s name,
And with prophetic utterance told
His actions great and manifold.

John, still unborn, yet gave aright
His witness to the coming Light;
And Christ, the Sun of all the earth,
Fulfilled that witness at His birth.

Of woman born shall never be
A greater prophet than was he,
Whose mighty deeds exalt his fame
To greater than a prophet’s name.

But why should mortal accents raise
The hymn of John the Baptist’s praise?
Of whom, or e’er his course was run,
Thus spake the Father to the Son?

“Behold, My herald, who shall go
Before Thy face Thy way to show,
And shine, as with the day-star’s gleam,
Before Thine own eternal beam.”

All praise to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee,
Whom with the Spirit we adore
Forever and forevermore.

February 06 2022 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Leslie Coutinho Supporter

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, who ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. 

The Lord of Hosts, our God the Father, revealed unto the prophet Malachi that He would send “His messenger in the time of our Lord Jesus.” In the beginning, for the messenger to be sent, in the days of Herod, the king of Ju-dae’-a, a certain priest Zach-a-ri”-as and his wife Elisabeth were the righteous before our Lord God. They were walking in all the commandments and ordinances and were blameless before the Lord our God and had no children and were stricken in years. (Lk 1:5-7) Zach-a-ri’-as the priest, when he went to the temple, the whole multitude of the people were praying, and there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord, Gabriel. Zach-a-ri’-as, when he saw the angel, he was troubled, and fear fell on him. The angel then said unto him, "Fear not, Zach-a-ri’-as, for thy prayer is heard and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord and shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, being born in his mother's womb." (Lk 1:9-15) 

After those days Elisabeth conceived, and the child the messenger was then born, John the Baptist, and given the power of E-li’-as, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and to the disobedient, to the wisdom of the just, to make us ready to be prepared for the Lord in repentance. (Lk 1:17/Mat 3:1,11) As John the Baptist grew up, who was born six months before our Lord Jesus was born (Lk 1:24,26), at the age of thirty, he then began preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. (Lk 3:3) For the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, John the Baptist, was to prepare the way of the Lord, to make it straight through repentance in the desert a highway for our God the Father through His Son our Lord Jesus. (Isa 40:3) For then went out to him Jerusalem and all Ju-dae’-a, and all the region round about Jordan, who were then baptized, confessing their sins, in repentance. (Mat 3:5-6) The messenger John the Baptist, the next day, as he began preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, he witnessed our Lord Jesus coming to him, and he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (Joh 1:29)

When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Lord Jesus also was baptized, for He himself began to be about thirty years of age. (Lk 3:23) John bare record for he saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, that abode upon Him. (Joh 1:32-33) Lord Jesus then began preaching in the synagogues, being glorified of all. (Lk 4:14-15) The messengers of the covenant in whom we delight are the two witnesses, Moses and Elijah, who appeared unto the disciples with our Lord Jesus, for God the Father then said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; Hear ye Him, who shall then be sent on the earth during the end times.” (Mat 17:1-3,5) For the Lord shall then give them power unto His two witnesses, and they shall prophesy, a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. (Rev 11:3) Then when He comes in the clouds (Lord Jesus), in that day to make up His jewels, to spare the creation, as man spareth his own son that serveth him, is for the rapture, to return. (Mal 3:16-18) Then during the end times of His coming, He shall send His messengers who witnessed Him, of His covenant, sent by God the Father. (Mal 4:4-5/Mat 17:3-5/Rev 11:3) 

Revelation 11:3: And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

3 days ago • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jeffrey Johnson Supporter

Who is the promised messenger of Malachi 3:1ESV?

"Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire, behold, he cometh, saith Jehovah of hosts."

In fulfilment of Malachi 3:1, John the Baptizer appeared as the messenger who prepared the way before Jehovah by getting the Jews ready for the coming of God's chief representative, Jesus Christ.​—Mt 11:10, 11; Mr 1:1-4; Lu 7:27, 28.

When you sit with Malachi 3:1, the verse feels like it is pointing toward someone specific, someone meant to step into history at just the right moment. The line about a messenger preparing the way is not vague or poetic; it carries a sense of intention, like God is setting the stage for something bigger. The prophets often spoke like this—hinting at a figure who would come ahead of God's own arrival, someone who clears the path, someone who gets people ready.

Over time, people reading the Hebrew Scriptures wondered who that messenger might be. Some thought it could be a priestly figure, someone who would restore order in the temple. Others imagined a prophet rising after a long silence. Malachi does not give a name, just a role: a person who prepares, who announces, who stands at the threshold of a new moment.

When you move forward into the New Testament, the early Christian writers look back at Malachi and say, "That is John the Baptist." They see John out in the wilderness, calling people to repentance, urging them to turn their lives around, and they hear echoes of Malachi's words. John is not the main event; he is the one who gets people ready for it. His whole life seems shaped around that idea—clearing space, waking people up, pointing beyond himself.

And it fits the tone of Malachi. The prophet speaks into a weary community, telling them that God will act again, but before that happens, someone will come to prepare the way. John steps into that role with raw simplicity. No temple authority, no political power, just a voice calling people to pay attention because something is about to break open.

So when people ask who the promised messenger is, most traditions settle on John the Baptist. Not because Malachi names him, but because his life matches the shape of the prophecy. He is the one who stands between the old expectation and the new arrival, the one who does not claim the spotlight but directs it toward someone else.

In the end, the messenger in Malachi 3:1 signals that God is about to move. And in the Christian story, that figure is John—standing in the wilderness, calling people to prepare for what comes next.

Summary of the whole topic:

Malachi 3:1 points to a figure God intends to send ahead of a major moment, someone who clears the way and gets people ready for what God is about to do. The verse does not name the person; it only describes the role: a messenger who prepares, signals change, and stands at the threshold of something new. 

In the Christian story, this role is understood to fit John the Baptist, whose work of calling people to readiness matches the shape of Malachi's promise.

7 days ago • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report