Rev 8:1-6 Part 2 – Seven Trumpets

[Study Aired June 28, 2024]

Rev 8:1  And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
Rev 8:2  And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
Rev 8:3  And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer [it] with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
Rev 8:4  And the smoke of the incense, [which came] with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.
Rev 8:5  And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
Rev 8:6  And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

Introduction

As always we want to remember that the things written in this prophecy are all “signified” things which we are admonished to “read… hear… and keep” (Rev 1:1-3). In our studies in Revelation 7 on the 144,000 and the great multitude which no man could number, we took note that the assurances of universal salvation found in that chapter are strategically placed between the dire warnings of the sixth seal, where the whole world cries out to the rocks and mountains to “fall on us and hide us from the face and the wrath of the Lamb” and the dire judgments of the seven trumpets which are being introduced to us here in this eighth chapter.

Rev 6:16  And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

God’s wrath is His judgments. That wrath and judgment “first begins at [and comes upon] the house of God” within first, and later, “[when] the thousand years should be fulfilled” (Rev 20:3), “and when the thousand years are expired” (Rev 20:7) then judgment, the “great white throne… judgment”, will come upon all the rest of mankind “at the end of days” (Dan 12:13) in the “great white throne judgment/lake of fire/second death”:

Dan 12:13  But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

Rev 20:11  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

What do God’s judgments produce? Does judgment produce eternal, everlasting torment in literal flames of literal fire? Is that really what God’s judgments produce? No, of course judgment produces no such monstrous condemnation. This is what God’s judgments, including His final ‘great white throne judgment’, always produce:

Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

God’s judgments are expressed through His wrath against our sins and our self-righteous iniquities:

Eze 33:13  When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

So the “great day of [God’s] wrath” against our transgressions and our iniquity is signified by these seven angels with seven trumpets. Before we get into the spiritual significance of these seven trumpet judgments, which reveal “the great day of His wrath” (Rev 6:17), and the destruction of the kingdom of our carnal-minded old man (Rev 11:15), the holy spirit has chosen this point to comfort and strengthen us with the assurance of universal salvation for all in Adam. That inevitable outcome for all mankind is signified by the two groups of Revelation 7. We found in chapter 7 that there is a very small number of all mankind who will be used by God to bring the “great multitude which no man could number” to Christ and His Father. That very small group is symbolized by the number 144,000; twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. On the other hand, the “great multitude which no man could number” is signified by “the dust of the earth.” That outward dispensational day of salvation for “all in Adam” (1Co 15:22) will not come until the sayings of the prophecy of this book have first been “read, heard and kept” within the hearts, minds and lives of God’s 144,000 witnesses, as we are told in the chapter dealing with His witnesses. The number ‘two’ simply signifies ‘witness’:

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

The seventh trump is the seven last plagues, so this proclamation that “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ” is actually the proclamation of the beginning of a process which will end in the stone hewn out of the mountain without hands becoming a mountain that will “fill the whole earth.”

Dan 2:34  Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet [that were] of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
Dan 2:35  Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

The process of the seventh trumpet will take all the time that is needed for the seven last plagues, of which this seventh trumpet consists, to be fulfilled within each of God’s elect. So, this statement that “the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ” is God “speaking of those things which are not as though they were” (Rom 4:17) just as Christ said His disciples “had kept His Words” only moments before they all denied Him and “left Him” to His fate on the cross.

Joh 17:6  I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

The disciples of Christ had not yet “kept His Words.” They weren’t even converted at this time, and immediately after Christ declares “they have kept thy word”, we are told this of the apostles of Christ:

Mar 14:50 And they all forsook him, and fled.

Then we have this concerning this seventh trumpet, in chapter 10:

Rev 10:7  But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

So these trumpets all represent a process that takes time in our lives, and before getting into the events in our lives, which are revealed to us in the sounding of these seven trumpets, the first question we need to ask and answer is…

What is the spiritual significance of blowing a trumpet?

Here is the very first mention of a trumpet in scripture. The sound of a trumpet announces the occasion of Israel preparing to meet their God at mount Sinai. That is the spiritual significance of the events at Sinai which are a type and shadow of the revelation of Jesus Christ in our lives. Notice that even here in Exodus ‘the sound of the trumpet’ is associated with “the third day”; the day of resurrection of our new man (Rom 6:4-5).

Exo 19:11  And be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
Exo 19:12  And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: [“the ministration of death” (2Co 3:7-8, Heb 12:20)]
Exo 19:13  There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
Exo 19:14  And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.
Exo 19:15  And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not at your wives.
Exo 19:16  And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
Exo 19:17  And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
Exo 19:18  And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
Exo 19:19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.

“God answered [Moses] by a voice.” Moses here typifies those with whom Christ is communicating, and “God answers by a voice” those who are given ears to hear. However, this is what happens to the great multitude which no man can number.

Exo 20:18  And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
Exo 20:19  And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.

Because the people did not want to die, in the end 3000 of them did die on this the first Pentecost observed by Israel in Exodus 20.

Exo 32:28  And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.

On the other hand, this is what happens when Christ in us is willing die to the things of our flesh and the things of this world. This is what happened on the first Pentecost at the founding of the New Testament church.

Act 2:1  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
Act 2:2  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Act 2:40  And with many other words did he [Peter] testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Act 2:41  Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

This account just proves the truth of these words of our Lord:

Mat 10:39  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Three thousand souls lost their physical lives at the first Pentecost at Mount Sinai, and three thousand found their spiritual lives at the first New Testament Pentecost.

Here now is…

The purpose and function of trumpets in scripture

Num 10:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 10:2  Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.
Num 10:3  And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Num 10:4  And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee.
Num 10:5  When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward.
Num 10:6  When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.
Num 10:7  But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm.
Num 10:8  And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations.
Num 10:9  And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.
Num 10:10  Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I [am] the LORD your God.

The only time Israel journeyed was when the Cloud they followed would move. When the Cloud moved, they moved, and that was accomplished by “blowing an alarm for your journeys.”

Num 10:6  When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.

The call “to war in your land” was also by the alarm of the trumpets. “And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.” That is what is taking place in the eighth chapter of Revelation. There is war in the land against the enemy that oppresses you.”

But…

Only “the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets.”

No one else but the priests, the sons of Aaron, is allowed to even touch these two silver trumpets. The fact there are “two trumpets” signifies the Lord’s witnesses are those He uses to call His people together and call them to war against their enemies. “You are His witnesses of these things:”

Isa 43:10  Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

Isa 43:12  I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.

Isa 44:8  Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.

Act 10:41  Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.
Act 10:42  And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

According to the shadows and types of the Old Testament, trumpets were to be blown only by the “seven priests”, and the seven priests, like the seven angels with the seven trumpets, are a type and a shadow of God’s elect.

Num 10:8  And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations.

These seven angels are those “who stand before God.”

Rev 8:2  And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

We saw that they “stand before God” because they are “in Christ’s right hand.”

Rev 1:20  The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

These ‘seven angels’ are the same “seven angels” who are sent to the seven churches, and these seven angels are those to whom this entire prophecy is addressed.

Rev 2:1  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

Rev 2:8  And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

Rev 2:12  And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;

Rev 2:18  And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

Rev 3:1  And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

Rev 3:7  And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

Rev 3:14  And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

It is these same seven angels who tell us that they are our fellow servants and those who keep the sayings of the prophecy of this book. If we are God’s elect, we are these seven angels to the seven churches. It is these seven angels who are given the priesthood to “perform the service of God.” The promise of being kings and priests is not just to the leaders and elders  of the body of Christ. That promise is to the entire body of Christ:

Rev 1:6  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Rev 19:10  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Rev 22:8  And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
Rev 22:10  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
Rev 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

We will stop here for today and finish part three of our study of these first six verses of Revelation 8 in our next study.

Mal 1:1-5  The burden of the Word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi

[Study Aired December 14, 2023]

A true prophet, as Malachi was, does not shun to declare the whole counsel of God’s word (Act 20:27), and if it is a true message being brought, it should be seen as “The burden of the word of the LORD” to the Israel of God (Gal 6:16), meaning this story we will read in the pages of Malachi. It typifies for God’s elect the burden the elect are to bear in this age if we have been called and chosen and are blessed to remain faithful to the end of this life bearing His word and each other’s burdens, which are understood and supported through the power of God’s holy spirit that quickens us in our service to one another through Christ (Rev 1:3, Joh 6:68-69, Pro 7:1, Joh 14:23, Joh 6:63, Joh 8:31-32).

Gal 6:16  And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Joh 6:67  Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
Joh 6:68  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

Pro 7:1  My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. 

Joh 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, [Rom 5:5] he will keep my words: [1Jn 5:2-3] and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

God’s word is a burden to our first old man in Adam but a joyful and light burden to the second Adam, Christ, our hope of glory within (Mat 11:30, Col 1:27) who gives us the ability to endure through this life (Php 4:13, Php 4:19). As we bear that necessary burden by the spirit of Christ (Gal 6:5) we can, as one body, grow together in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, bearing each other’s burden along the way through Him (Gal 6:2 , Php 2:12-13). 

Gal 6:5  For every man shall bear his own burden.

Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

As we will read in this section of the gospel of Peter (2Pe 3:1-18), it would be catastrophic for us to not do our part in bearing the burdens of others, and our own burdens (Gal 6:10), as a fitly framed building of God of which we are told we should “beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.”

(That error is to stop being zealous toward God and being more concerned with zealously building bigger barns for our  own purposes, to lay up carnal store instead of laying up treasure in heaven as  one of the many joints that supplies, to the building up of the body of Christ in love Mat 25:25-27, Luk 12:18, Eph 4:16).

This section of Peter’s writings (2Pe 3:1-18) parallels very well with the opening chapter of the book of Malachi and the message that was written for God’s elect today to whom He has made known “what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” also called “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints” (Col 1:26-29, Joh 10:16).

So to reiterate, we’re reading this section of Peter that reminds us what the body of Christ has to look out for as we learn to bear “The burden of the Word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi”.

2Pe 3:1  This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
2Pe 3:2  That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, [Jas 5:10] and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
2Pe 3:3  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4  And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation [Gen 1:1].

[Humanity has been worshiping the creation from the beginning and not the Creator (Rom 1:25) being under the sway of Satan whose spirit has been deceiving humanity from the foundation of the world into not believing what God has promised.] 

2Pe 3:5  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God [Gen 1:1] the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
2Pe 3:6  Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished [“Where is the promise of his coming?” (Luk 17:26)]: 
2Pe 3:7  But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

[Still talking about that judgment which will commence with a rod-of-iron-ruling body of Christ who will flood the world with the knowledge of Christ to see that word or seed come to fruition in the lake of fire (Isa 26:9)] 

2Pe 3:8  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [still talking about judgment]
2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness [“Where is the promise of his coming?” (Luk 17:26)]; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance [each man in his own order (Rom2:4, 1Co 15:22, 1Jnn2:2, 1Ti 4:10)]. 
2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up [that day is described with these verses (2Th2:5-8)]. 
2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 
2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness [according to His promise (2Th 2:13-14)]. 
2Pe 3:14  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
2Pe 3:15  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation (Rom 2:4); even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

[We fall seven times in the wilderness in order to learn that we are completely powerless over sin without Christ making war against the beast (Pro 24:16, Rev 13:4), and God will multiply us every time above our fathers of Deuteronomy 30:5 who represent our old man which we thought was blessed in the earth but ‘had even that which he had thought he had’ taken away (Mat 13:12). It seems counter-intuitive, but when our old man is decreasing through judgment, God also makes a way for us to bear that judgment and forget what is behind us as we press “toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” which brings about the increase of the Lord within us (Php 3:14, Joh 3:30)]

2Pe 3:16  As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
2Pe 3:17  Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
2Pe 3:18  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

As we learn of His faithfulness to hold us up through each other, we grow in our confidence in regard to the exceedingly great and precious promises (2Pe 1:4) that tell us all our suffering in this life has been and will be accompanied by His saving grace through faith, so that at the end of the day we will truly learn that His burden is light (“the burden of the word of the Lord” Col 1:24). When we wholly dedicate ourselves to the Lord in His service, He will be faithful to fulfill (Mal 3:10) that which He tells us He will do if we are granted to “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.“

Mat 11:30  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Mat 20:12  Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.

Gal 6:5  For every man shall bear his own burden.

The book of Malachi is a book that has been written to reveal the day of the Lord in those who have been called out of spiritual exile, the captivity that all flesh must go into and come out of by grace through faith (Eph 2:8). Conversely, it also reveals how the true gospel message is rejected in this age, and warns the elect specifically to not be high minded by losing sight of who it is that he delivers first in this life, by becoming proud because of what we know (1Co 8:1), instead of being crushed and humbled by our circumstances (Rom 8:21-25, Mat 21:31-32).

Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 
Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 
Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope [Col 1:27, Rom 8:9, 1Ti 1:17, Joh 14:20]: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it [Col 1:27, Rom 8:9, 1Ti 1:17, Joh 14:20, Luk 21:19]

Malachi is the messenger of God, which is what his name means, and his message is no different than any of the other prophets who tell the people to repent and turn from sin. “The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi” is expressed in these verses of Ezekiel (Eze 33:1-29)  and parallel the seriousness of Malachi’s message to a backslidden nation whose bondage and deception is even greater than what it was when they were in physical captivity (“seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there”  Mat 12:45). That is the message for the body of Christ today, that we are not to build the temple and then rest in those works and defile the temple by not continuing on in our service to God which requires our one hundred percent devotion to Him, the bringing in of all of our life (Mar 12:30-31) represented by the tithe that goes into the temple to His glory and for His service (Mal 3:8-10). 

Mal 3:8  Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Mal 3:9  Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Mal 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

At the end of the book we are encouraged to see that God has made the bride of Christ ready, spoken of in Revelation 19:7, and typified by that remnant who came together often and spoke to one another about God and Christ, and a book of remembrance was laid up for them who were granted to do this (Mal 3:16-17). That book represents the books of the elect which God purposed to be written that way in ‘this age’ for the saving of the nations (Rev 20:12-15).

Rev 19:7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 
Rev 19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 

Mal 3:16  Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. 
Mal 3:17  And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. 
Mal 3:18  Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. 

Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 
Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. 

Being freed from the spiritual and physical bondage of sin is typified by the exodus by Judah from Babylonian captivity, but now years later the prophet Malachi comes on the scene to warn the nation of Judah, who typifies God’s people, that they have defiled this newly built temple of God which temple represents our bodies (1Co 3:16) and have taken for granted the deliverance God has brought them as a nation (2Pe 1:9). This is all typical language that reveals to us today how God alone can start and finish the work of faith within us through Christ (Heb 12:1-2, Luk 21:19) Who takes us from the bondage of sin, and even after we are freed and seven spirits more wicked enter (Luk 11:26), then the Lord, if we are His in this age, pours out the seven last plagues upon the body of Christ so we can ‘come out of her my people’ and escape the judgment that is going to come upon the rest of the world (Rev 15:8, Rev 3:1, Rev 18:4). In other words, the book of Malachi is a book that reveals God’s judgment in ‘the day of the Lord’ to those who are granted to have their whole life offered to God as a living sacrifice that is bound to the altar today (Mal 3:9-11, Rom 12:1-3, Psa 118:27).

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Mal 3:9  Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
Mal 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Mal 3:11  And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. 

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 
Rom 12:3  For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 

Psa 118:27  God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. 

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Mal 1:1 The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. 
Mal 1:2  I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,  

These opening verses set the stage for the entire book of Malachi that is about two men, the old man of sin [Esau] and the new man in Christ, represented by [Jacob]. The burden of the LORD is speaking of the destructive fiery word of God that burns up Esau who represents our sinful nature that God destroys by the brightness of Christ’s coming into our lives so that in time we overcome the hypocrisy of our flesh and become comfortable in that fire (Isa 33:14-15). None of this could be possible unless God set his love upon us, “Jacob have I loved“, by way of shedding it abroad in our hearts so that we can be more than conquerors through Christ’s love that abounds in His body, the church (Rom 5:5-6, Rom 8:37-39, Col 1:24).

Isa 33:14  The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? 
Isa 33:15  He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

Rom 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Rom 5:6  For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 
Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Col 1:24  Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

Mal 1:3  And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. 

God goes on to show us that His hatred toward Esau, by laying “his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness”, is a demonstration of His love toward us as we are received through His chastening and scourging grace that puts off our former conversation, typified by Esau (Heb 12:6).

This laying waste of Esau’s heritage also represents that time in Babylon where the “dragons of the wilderness” that represent the forked tongue of the devil, abounded (Rev 13:11), leaving us without any stay of bread and water to the point of perishing, had God not delivered us from that bondage of deception when we were “deceiving and being deceived” (Luk 15:17-18, 2Ti 3:13, 2Pe 2:17-19).

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

Luk 15:17  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Luk 15:18  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

2Ti 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 

2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water [Isa 3:1], clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 
2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

Mal 1:4  Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever. 
Mal 1:5  And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.

God’s word progressively shows us how we journey out of Babylon and how our old man does not die with a ten-second sinner’s prayer, not even nearly. What happens after we are chastened of the Lord and we are brought to that point of seeing ourselves as prodigal sons, is that we want to build again and go back to the captivity of sin, much like the Israelites wanted to go back to Egypt after they began to realize what an arduous and tribulation-laden walk this was (Act 14:22) in the wilderness of sin [sinful flesh] they were called to endure. We must endure “until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory”, a purchased possession being represented by the promised land, which typifies our then newly resurrected bodies in Christ. So we read this hope-filled statement, “Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.” This statement is reminding us that, despite ourselves, if we are sealed of God He will “throw down” our wickedness, and we will call our actions what they were, “The border of wickedness“, acknowledging our sins (Jer 3:13) that God will always be against, “The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever” (Psa 7:11, Psa 32:2).

Jer 3:13  Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. 

Psa 7:11  God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. 

Psa 32:2  Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

We are encouraged with scripture to realize that all of this process God is putting the body of Christ through will succeed in bringing us to a point where “…your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.” This same sentiment is described at the end of the book of Malachi in this verse (Mal 3:18), and is a good point to conclude this opening study on the book of Malachi with.

Mal 3:18  Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. [within ourselves first as God’s kind of first fruits (Jas 1:18)]

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