Christ Commands Teaching and Writing

Then Jesus commanded them to write as He repeated the words that the Father had given to Malachi. After they were written, Jesus explained them. And these are the words that the Father said to Malachi: “I will send my messenger, and He will prepare the way before me. The Lord, whom you seek, even the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, will suddenly come to His temple.

“And who will survive the day of His coming? For He is like a refiner’s fire and will come to cleanse the earth. He will purify Levi’s sons, purging them as gold and silver, that they may offer a righteous offering to the Lord. Then Judah’s and Jerusalem’s offerings will again be pleasant to the Lord, as they once were in days of old.

“I will come to judge, being a swift witness against the spiritualists, adulterers, and false swearers, against those who oppress by withholding wages, who oppress the widows, who turn away strangers, and who have no fear of me. I am the Lord and do not change. Therefore, according to my promises, you, the descendants of Jacob, will not be consumed.

“But even from the days of your forefathers you have strayed from my ordinances. Return unto me, and I will return unto you. But you ask, ‘How do we return unto the Lord?’

“You would not think of robbing God, yet you have robbed me. But you ask, ‘How have we robbed Thee?’ You have robbed me by not paying your tithes and offerings. Because of this, the whole nation of Israel is cursed. So bring all the tithed items into my storehouse, that it may be full. Prove me and see whether or not I will open the windows of heaven and pour out so many blessings upon you that you will not have enough room to receive them all. And I will rebuke the devil for your sake, and he will not be able to destroy your prosperity. All nations will call you blessed, for your lands will be delightful.

“In the past your words have been strong against me. But you ask, ‘How have we spoken against Thee?’ You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God, for how do we profit by keeping His ordinances—by mournfully walking before the Lord of Hosts? Look how happy the proud are, how successful the wicked, and how those who tempt God escape His judgment.’ Then those who feared the Lord, speaking of Him often, were heard by Him, and a book of remembrance was written about them. The Lord of Hosts said, ‘They will be mine in the day that I make up my jewels—when I support my people as a man supports his own son who serves him. Then you will return to me and know the righteous from the wicked, and see who has served God and who has not.”