Welcome to Prophecy Q & A with Jimmy DeYoung!
“’For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,’ says the LORD of hosts.”
I am going to take you to John Walvoord and give you his explanation. John Walvoord has a great commentary (Bible Knowledge Commentary) on this passage:
4:1. Malachi here elaborated on the day of the Lord. As in 3:2–3, the judgment on that day is described as a judgment of fire. The fact that it will burn like a furnace stresses not only its intensity but also its judgmental purpose; it is not a fire that burns out of control. Unlike 3:2–3, which emphasized the purification of Israel (in particular, the Levites), this passage emphasizes the destruction of the wicked (cf. Isa. 66:15; Zeph. 1:18; 3:8). So complete will be the judgment that the wicked (the arrogant and every evildoer; cf. Mal. 3:15), compared to stubble, will not have a root or a branch remaining. This does not mean annihilation in the sense of cessation of being (the wicked will be resurrected, Dan. 12:2), but rather the complete exclusion of the wicked from God’s kingdom (cf. Matt. 25:46).
4:2. The day of the Lord, which will be like a fire to the wicked, will in contrast be like sunshine to God’s people. The phrase the sun of righteousness appears only here in Scripture. Though many commentators have taken these words to refer to Christ, the phrase seems to refer to the day of the Lord in general. In the kingdom, righteousness will pervade like the sun. Healing (marpē’, “health or restoration”) in its wings (or rays) refers to the restorative powers of righteousness, which are like the healthful rays of the sun. God’s people will be spiritually restored and renewed.
The righteous are described as you who revere My name (cf. comments on “My name” in 1:6). “Revere” translates the same Hebrew word rendered “fear” in 3:5 and “feared” in 1:14; 3:16. Revering God contrasts with saying “harsh things” against God (3:13). The fact that the righteous rather than the wicked are personally addressed indicates the Lord’s contempt for the wicked as much as His love for His own. The figure of calves enjoying open pasture after being cooped up in a pen (stall) expresses the future satisfaction and joy of the righteous (cf. Isa. 65:17–25; Hosea 14:4–7; Amos 9:13–15; Zeph. 3:19–20).4:3. The righteous will trample down the wicked, who will be like ashes under the … feet of the righteous. This not only indicates the finality of the judgment on the wicked, but it also brings to a sharp conclusion the answer in this oracle to the cynical question asked by the unfaithful Israelites, “What do we gain by carrying out His requirements?” (3:14)
Craig A. Blaising, “Malachi,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 1586–1587.
Jimmy DeYoung was a prophecy teacher and journalist who travelled the country and the world educating the Body of Christ of the future events foretold in God’s prophetic Word. His goal was to equip Christians with the knowledge and understanding of what God’s Word says will happen someday soon, so that they can make better decisions today. Dr. DeYoung went home to be with his Savior on August 15, 2021.
