The Messianic Hope

By Warren P. Baker, S.T.M., D.R.E.
Managing Editor, AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, Tennessee

From the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to the events of our day, all of human history sheds light on the ultimate need of the human race: the need to be made righteous before a holy God.

Beginning with the promise in Genesis 3.15 of the seed Who would crush the serpent’s head and ending with the promise in Malachi 4.2, the Sun of Righteousness would come, God has revealed to man and particularly to the nation of Israel, He would meet the ultimate need of man through His Servant, the Messiah. The covenants with Abraham, Moses and David, the sacrifices in the Tabernacle and temple, the promises of an eternal priest, an everlasting throne and an ultimate prophet all point to the Messiah.

The book of Malachi was the last book written of the Old Testament. Following the writing of this book in about 433 B.C., Israel went more than 400 years without a writing prophet. There were no revelations from God until just before the birth of John the Baptist: Luke 1.13. The canon of the Old Testament was completed and the people of God were left to search the Scriptures and await the coming of the Messiah.

The book of Malachi serves as a bridge across those silent years, instructing the people on how to live while they waited, preparing the people for the announcement of the birth of Christ.

Malachi promises the Sun of Righteousness, the Messiah, brings hope to the people of God, a hope of righteousness, healing and victory over their enemies: Malachi 4.2,3. The hope of righteousness is twofold: a hope of salvation through His righteousness being applied to us by faith and a hope of being made righteous when we go to be with Him.

The term, Sun of Righteousness, brings to mind the picture John paints of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21.23, “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it for the glory of God did lighten it and the Lamb is the light thereof.”

The hope of “healing in his wings,” Malachi 4.2, although it symbolizes the eternal spiritual healing coming from faith in Christ is indicative in context of God protecting the Jews from the heat of His wrath during the day that is coming: Malachi 4.1; the seven-year Tribulation period. The hope of victory, when the people of Israel will “tread down the wicked,” Malachi 4.3, is a prophetic promise regarding the Lord’s deliverance of Israel and the Millennial Kingdom to follow.

The other side of Malachi’s message was the warning, “Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse,” Malachi 4.6. Unless the Messiah comes to fulfill the Old Testament promises, there is no hope for the future.

As the Jews waited for the advent of the Messiah, they were instructed to “remember…the law of Moses My servant…with the statutes and judgments,” Malachi 4.4. The Messianic hope of Israel, like the hope of the Church for the Rapture, answers the question, “What is life all about?” It is about putting our faith in God, obeying His word, receiving the completion of our faith and enjoying Him forever.