Malachi 4:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Furthermore, in another context, speaking concerning Christ, the prophet declared, ‘and the girding of His loins shall be truth, and the girding of His thighs shall be truth’ (Isaiah 11:5). This metaphor does not imply that God has physical form, as the Divine is incorporeal; rather, it signifies the unerring and incorruptible nature of the Judge’s assessment, where there is no room for deception, wrongdoing, or corruption with money, nor a lack of understanding about the truth. In worldly judgment, often the innocent suffer while the guilty evade consequences due to the distortion of truth; however, when the righteous and omniscient Judge arrives, equipped with truth around His loins and enshrouded in truth upon His ribs, all shall receive their rightful due with precise accuracy. ‘And with the rod of his mouth he shall smite the earth’ (Isaiah 11:4). To ensure clarity that He is not speaking of the literal earth but of sinners, the prophecy continues: ‘and with the spirit of His mouth He will kill the wicked.’ Observe how this reaffirms that sinners are once again likened to the earth.

Before this moment, the blessed John the Baptist emerged 'in the spirit and power of Elijah' (Luke 1:17). As he preached, urging, 'Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God' (Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:3), so too will the prophet Elijah herald the arrival of He who is and is to come, that He may administer justice to the world (Psalm 9:5). Currently, there exists division among people; fathers may be estranged from their sons, and sons from their fathers (Matthew 10:35). Some have embraced faith in Christ, while others remain affiliated with the apostles, and many are fractured by animosity, relentless anger, and rivalry over worldly concerns. Yet, the prophet will bring together those once divided, restoring each person to his neighbor, warning, 'lest I come and smite the earth utterly,' meaning entirely and completely.

Observe the mercy of the Lord of all creation. He forewarns the inhabitants of the earth, as though through the voice of Elijah, of the Judge's approach. This is so that, by transforming their lives toward a more righteous path, they will not stand before the stern Judge, who casts them into the flames and 'into the darkness beyond,' but instead, they will hear, 'Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world' (Matthew 25:30, 34).

The law and the entire essence of the prophets proclaim the suffering of Christ. Therefore, prior to the day of judgment and before the Lord unleashes a curse upon the earth—be it at the end or unexpectedly, for this is the meaning of the term ἀρδήν—the Lord will send Elijah, which denotes "my God," hailing from Thebes, symbolizing conversion and repentance, heralded by the multitude of prophets. They will direct the hearts of the fathers—namely, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the patriarchs—so that their descendants may place their faith in the Lord Savior, in whom even the patriarchs believed, for Abraham rejoiced at the sight of the Lord's day (John 8:56). This also signifies turning the heart of the Father toward the Son, that is, God’s heart toward all who accept the spirit of divine inspiration; and turning the hearts of the children toward the fathers, facilitating reconciliation between Jews and Christians who currently stand in disagreement, bringing them into unity through a shared faith in Christ.

It is thus declared to the apostles, who have nurtured the growth of the Gospel throughout the world, “Children have been born to you in the place of your fathers” (Psalm 44:17). If Elijah does not turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and vice versa before the coming of the great and dreadful day—great for the righteous and dreadful for the wicked—the true and just Judge will bring a curse upon the earth, affecting those who engage in worldly deeds, not upon heaven or its inhabitants.

The Jews and their heretics expect Elijah to arrive prior to their awaited Messiah to restore all things. Accordingly, when questioned about this by the Pharisees, Jesus answered them: “Indeed, Elijah will come, and if you can accept it, he has already come” (Mark 10:12), referring to John the Baptist.

Later at the Jordan, he directly identified the Savior, exclaiming, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He was the first to suffer martyrdom at the hands of Herod and also proclaimed the gospel to those in Hades, becoming a forerunner there as well, announcing the Savior’s advent to rescue the souls of the saints from death.

However, since the Savior marked the beginning of resurrection for all humanity, it was essential that He alone rise from the dead. For through Him comes judgment for the entire world, ensuring that those deemed worthy may receive their rightful crowns from Him, the exemplary ascetic, the pioneer who journeyed forth, ascended into heaven, and now sits at the right hand of God the Father, destined to return at the end of time as the judge. It was necessary for His forerunners to emerge first, as the Lord declared through Malachi the messenger: “I will send you Elijah the Thessite before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord, who will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Malachi 4:5-6; Luke 1:17). Upon their arrival, they will announce the appearance of Christ from heaven, performing miracles and signs to inspire at least some to repentance amidst their surging iniquity and wickedness.

For John proclaims, “And I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for twelve hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth” (Rev. 11:3), which signifies half of the seven days referred to by Daniel (Dan. 9:27).

However, Elijah is not prophesied to return after dying but is taken up, and he is not to re-enter a body from which he has not departed but is to return to the world from which he was taken; this occurs not because of a right to return to life but as a fulfillment of prophecy—bearing his name and identity. But in what manner is John considered to be Elijah? The angel's message reveals: "And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17)—not in his soul or in his physical form. Each individual possesses their own body and soul, but the spirit and power are bestowed from above through God’s grace, and can be shared with another by God’s will, as exemplified with the spirit of Moses.

In response to the disciples, Christ affirmed the truth that Elijah would indeed appear before the Messiah's arrival, stating that Elijah would come first and prepare all things (Matt. 17:11). According to the interpretations of Chrysostom and Theophylact, Christ’s words pertain to His second coming, which will be heralded by the appearances of both Elijah and Enoch. Moreover, Christ added, "I say unto you, that Elijah is come already, and they know him not, but do of him whatsoever they will." The evangelist then notes that the disciples grasped He was referring to John the Baptist (Matthew 17:12, 13). Additionally, Christ, while extolling John, remarked, "All the prophets and the law had spoken before John. And if you want to receive, that is Elijah, who is coming" (Matthew 11:13-14). Malachi describes Elijah as a precursor to the Messiah’s one coming, specifically the second coming. Jesus connects Malachi’s mention of Elijah to both His second and first comings, wherein the term Elijah refers to John the Forerunner in the latter context.

How should we understand this? It is essential to recognize that Christ identifies Elijah as the forerunner not just of His second coming, but also of His first, with John fulfilling this role. One must consider that while Elijah will independently precede the second coming, he does not function alone prior to the first coming; rather, he does so through the person of the Forerunner. This does not imply that Elijah is resurrected as John, but that John will undertake his ministry as foretold by the Archangel Gabriel, operating in the "spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17). Thus he will exhibit the same unwavering zeal and strength that inspired Elijah in his battle against prevailing wickedness.

An illustration of this identification is seen in the prophetic references to David, where the prophets (Ezek. 34:23; Ezek. 37:24; Jer. 30:9; Hos. 3:5) use David as a symbol for Christ. The distinction between Elijah and John lies not solely in their shared role as forerunners of Christ’s first and second comings, but also in the parallels of their missions. According to Malachi’s prophecy, before Christ’s second coming (the great and glorious day of the Lord), Elijah will turn the hearts of fathers toward their children and the hearts of individuals towards their sincere neighbors. This indicates that Elijah will work to foster reconciliation among the elder members of the Kingdom of God (the fathers, namely the Jews) and the younger Gentile Christians—who have received the faith of Christ from the Apostles—thereby ending hostility between them and uniting them into one Church. This reconciliation serves to deter the Lord from swiftly visiting judgment upon the earth, preventing punishment for the disobedient and unrepentant through a frightful reckoning.

The prefigurement of Elijah's mission before Christ’s second coming parallels John’s role as the forerunner of His first arrival. Similarly to Elijah, John prepared hearts for the Messiah, preaching reconciliation between Jews and Gentiles and inviting the latter into the Kingdom of God on equal footing with the former. He admonished those Jews who took pride in their physical lineage from Abraham, asserting that God could raise children to Abraham from stones (Matthew 3:9-10), referring to the Gentiles as those lifeless stones in their spiritual lives.

Just as Elijah threatened the disobedient with harsh judgments, John, the forerunner of the coming day of the Lord, warned unbelievers in Christ and the unrepentant of divine wrath and impending fire (Matthew 3:10-12). This warning came to fruition for the Jews who opposed Christ during the destruction of Jerusalem and their subsequent scattering across the earth, and this echo will resonate for all nonbelievers and the unrepentant at Christ’s dreadful judgment. Since this parimia contains a prophecy concerning John the Forerunner, its reading during the feasts honoring him is evidently clear.