Malachi prophesied at a time when things were tough in Israel and the people expressed a longing for God to arrive in the form of his anointed one.

Malachi assures the people that God would be coming and soon. In fact, Malachi is at pains to tell the people they are not really ready for God’s arrival. They like the idea, but the reality would be different from what they were hoping.

Rather than it being a walk in the garden, God’s arrival would be more like a refiners fire! The people would undergo a process in which they would be purified and made fit-for-purpose.

How does Jesus fulfil this word?!