Surely the Day Is Coming!

2nd Sunday of End Time, Last Judgment, 11/11/18
Malachi 4:1-2a


Surely the Day Is Coming!
I. When God’s righteous anger will burn
II. When God’s righteousness will shine


I believe we started seeing them this past June. They mercifully ended last Tuesday. I’m referring to the political ads that drenched media, especially TV. Is it just me, or did these ads appear to sink lower than ever before? And as we suffered through them, the only solace we had was that we knew we would no longer see a single one of them once the calendar turned to Nov. 7.

But that leads us into another unsettling situation: when will our elected officials finally serve as we want them to? When will they always do what is best for us and right in the eyes of God? Don’t hold your breath.

And here’s another “when” situation: When will the senseless violence in our society end? Another horrific mass murder occurred last week. Every time such a tragedy occurs in our country, we hope and pray it will be the last, but who knows? When will it end?

Meanwhile, the Christian church on earth continues to suffer. When will the next crime of clergy abuse be uncovered? When will we hear about Christians in another part of the world suffering martyrdom? And when will it all end?

When? When will the scales of justice balance? When will the wicked receive their just punishment? When will God finally do something about the atrocities being committed daily in our world?

Do you find yourself asking those same questions? If so, then God’s word this morning has just the thing for you. Today we observe what God has revealed to us about the judgment on the Last Day. Judgment Day is God’s final answer to all those questions we just asked. And even though it might seem as if God doesn’t care about the evil in our world or that he has changed his mind about calling people to account for what they’ve done, that day is surely coming.

That was the message God’s prophet Malachi had for God’s people 400 years before Jesus was born and it’s God’s message for us on this Sunday of Last Judgment. Malachi lets us know in no uncertain terms that surely the day is coming. Let’s see what that means for our world and for us as ponder God’s holy word this morning.

Part I.

“He jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.” Have you used that observation recently? Maybe so. It’s an appropriate way of describing a situation which goes from bad to worse and the person has no one to blame but himself. He jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Malachi doesn’t use that phrase, but it accurately describes what had been happening spiritually among God’s people during the time Malachi served them. The Jews of Malachi’s day were just a few generations separated from one of the Jews’ darkest periods—the Babylonian captivity. For 70 years God’s people lived in exile from the Promised Land and they had no one to blame but themselves. Their sinfully hard hearts and their stubborn worship of false gods caused the only true God to unleash his righteous anger against them.

Eventually, God led them back to the land of promise, and, for a while, things went well, but not for long. Their priests became corrupt and the people soon followed suit. They ignored God’s law and did as they pleased. Meanwhile, they charged God with being unjust as they observed “evil” people prosper and “good” people suffer. It took only a few generations, but God’s people had jumped out of Babylon’s frying pan and into Israel’s fire.

So, what was God to do? Sit idly by? Allow things to sink into the abyss of corruption? Change his mind about what he expected from his people? Watch in aggravation as Group A oppressed Group B and Group B charge God with being unconcerned or even being the cause of evil?

Absolutely not! This was his response: “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire.” In the wee hours of last Friday morning a devasting fire scorched Paradise, CA. Thousands fled the inferno. Some say it happened in minutes without warning and now everything is gone. Nothing left but ashes. As horrific as it was, it pales in comparison to what the Lord is describing here. This fire is worldwide. This fire will consume “all the arrogant and every evildoer.” Bottom line: God will not be mocked. His absolute holiness cannot and will not stand for sinful rebellion against him. He will call all people to account. And those who thought they could get away with it will find out to their eternal shame and dismay that they were dead wrong. Justice will be served.

Surely the day is coming when God’s righteous anger will burn.

And our initial reaction is, “Go get ‘em, God!” Finally, no more evil. Finally, no more oppression. Finally, divine justice will be served. And that’s true.

But God is also looking for us to take that judgment to heart. How so? If you think you can get away with something or that you, in fact, are getting away with something, and that God won’t mind, think again. God demands accountability. “The soul that sins is the one who will die” (Ez. 18:20). He did not say, “The soul that is less evil or the soul that is basically good will live.” “The soul that sins is the one who will die.” He calls each of us to account and it won’t do any good for us to point to others more wicked than we are to claim that we’re the ones who try to do what’s good and right. “The soul who sins is the one who will die.” So, what’s a sinful soul to do? Flee to God and beg him for mercy, because no matter how good you think you might be, you’re not good enough. Deep down inside, we’re no better than anyone else. Surely the day is coming when God’s righteous anger will burn!

Part II.

Pretty rough to hear, isn’t it? But that’s often the way it is with the truth. The truth about ourselves can be dreadfully painful. That’s why it’s a good thing Malachi’s message to you this morning doesn’t end there. There IS hope for us. There IS help for us. There IS good news for us—eternal good news. And that good news centers in God’s love for each sinner, God’s love for you! Malachi continues, “But for you who love my name…”

I believe it was Shakespeare’s Romeo who asked the question, “What’s in a name?” Romeo’s plight was caused by the fact that the love of his life had the wrong last name. Romeo contended that names don’t matter.

But God’s name surely does. Again, Malachi addresses people who love God’s name. Just what does he mean? In holy Scripture, the name of God is his revelation about himself. God’s name stands for everything he is and does. God’s name is what he’s all about.

And in his word he informs us, “God is love” (1 John 4:16). I’ve never read the Koran, but I’ve been told by people who have that the Koran never states, “Allah loves you.” How different is the only true God! His love for us is evident in the opening chapters of the Bible in which he creates all things for the human race, and, as soon as that human race utterly ruins the perfect world which he created, in love he seeks out his newly sinful creatures and announces a Savior from sin. Now what kind of divine Being would do such a thing?

Your God would…and did. Yes, it’s true that God will not look the other way at our sins. He will not change his mind about what violates his holy will. He will call all people to account. But God is not in the business of damning sinners; he’s in the business of saving them. Recite it with me silently, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Your God loved you so much that he paid the price for your sins. In fact, he sacrificed his greatest treasure for you—his only Son.

I imagine some of you are already planning on how you’ll enjoy this Thanksgiving. If you’re hosting dinner that day, imagine spending a great deal of time and money placing before your guests the finest to eat and drink. Imagine doing so, and then having your guests abruptly push themselves away from the Thanksgiving dinner table and rudely exclaim, “Is that it? Can’t we have hot dogs and potato chips?” You’d be insulted, wouldn’t you?

Don’t insult the holy God when he sets before you his only Son as the Savior of the world.

In love for you God offers his best—his only Son. That Son willing lived the perfect life that you and I can’t live and don’t live. Then he drags his cross up Calvary’s hill and sacrificed himself on it for the sins of the world—your sins and mine. And in place of our sins, he gives us his righteousness or holiness (2 Cor. 5:19). That’s God’s great exchange, and that’s what he’s done out of his great love for you.

So, in the judgment on the Last Day, as people who love Jesus and trust in him as our Savior from sin, this is what our God will say to us, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Mt. 25:34). On that day, God will announce his judgment concerning us. And because of Christ, we have nothing to fear. By faith in Jesus our hearts are filled with confidence. That will be the most glorious day in history for all of God’s people. That will be the day when your everlasting glory will begin. In Malachi’s words, that will be the day when “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.”

Surely that day will come! What a day it will be for God’s people! What a day it will be for you! Spend all your days until then praising your God for it! Amen.