brucebohn (@brucebohn)

The Prophecy of Malachi – Part 3, Universalism Rebuked In the opening verses of the prophet Malachi we see that Jacob and Esau are compared in an allegorical dialogue where Jacob is told that he is loved, and in turn he asks why while expressing a greater concern for Esau. We have asserted that this is prophetic of the very times in which we live, where Christians of European heritage, who are for the most part descended from the ancient Israelites, typically show greater concern for the accursed Edomite Jews than they do for their own people. That is the transcendental, or far-vision fulfillment of this prophecy, as we have before described of the prophets of the Bible that many of their prophecies have a dual fulfillment, one for the closer future of the time of the prophet, and one for the distant future. We hope to have most clearly illustrated this phenomenon of prophecy in our commentary on the prophet Zechariah. However, in order to set the stage for the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy, which today is right before our very eyes, there must have been an earlier and more immediate fulfillment. But the immediate fulfillment has a history which is not so clear, since perhaps as many as 300 years after the prophet had written these words, the remnant of Judah in Jerusalem thought it fitting to forcibly convert all of the Edomites in Palestine to their own religion, circumcising them and converting them into what had became known as Judaism. The Edomite King Herod later built many great cities throughout Palestine, and that seems to represent an immediate, albeit incomplete, fulfillment of the prophecy. However if the Edomites had not been infiltrating into or converting to Judaism, the later end of this prophecy we cannot imagine happening as it is before our very eyes, materializing in what we have termed as Christian Zionism. Before 129 BC the Edomites were being driven out by the predecessors of John Hyrcanus, and their cities were burned. But a process of converting the Edomites to Judaism began around 129 BC, and it was fully completed within a few decades, long before the birth of Christ. By the time of His ministry these Edomites had already long dominated the society of Judaea, as the Herodian rulers who usurped power under the Romans were all Edomites. The early portion of this history of the Edomite absorption into Judaism is not so clear because with the coming of John Hyrcanus into the role of high priest, which is when it began, the accounts in the Books of the Maccabees end. There being no other records and Josephus not informing us – ostensibly because he had no records – we cannot know why such an anti-Scriptural policy came about, but only that it was implemented. We know the policy was implemented successfully because the expected results are recorded by both Flavius Josephus and Strabo of Cappadocia as well as by the New Testament writers, as we have already explained in earlier portions of this presentation of Malachi. This process resulted in the formation of the modern Jews, who are of predominantly Edomite blood, who are the enemies of Christ whom Paul of Tarsus later described as those who had killed the Christ, killed the prophets, and were contrary to all men. As Christ had told them, “ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep”. But here we may ask, how did they kill the prophets? Now, as we proceed through Malachi chapter 2, we believe that question will also be answered. After the brief dialogue between Yahweh and Jacob, and Jacob’s answer concerning Esau in chapter 1, the prophet began to address the priests, and here in chapter 2 he continues to address the priests, chastising them and promising to spread dung on their faces and corrupt their seed for their punishment. The King James translation is unclear, so we shall read verse 3 from the New American Standard Bible: “Behold, I am going to rebuke your offspring, and I will spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it.” The Septuagint Greek is also different, where Brenton reads it to say: “Behold, I turn my back upon you, and I will scatter dung upon your faces, the dung of your feasts, and I will carry you away at the same time.” But the reading is uncertain, since the Hexapla of Origen reveals that in ancient times the Greek manuscripts were also divided between the readings. https://christogenea.org/podcasts/biblical/prophecy-malachi-%E2%80%93-part-3-universalism-rebuked