Malachi 4:6Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Furthermore, when proclaiming Christ, the prophet stated, “and the girding of His loins shall be truth, and the girding of His thighs shall be truth” (Isaiah 11:5). This is not to suggest that God possesses physical attributes—after all, the Divine essence is incorporeal—but rather, it signifies the incorruptibility and unwavering accuracy of the Judge’s judgement. In His presence, there is no room for slander, wrongdoing, bribery, or deception. Often, the innocent suffer while the guilty escape justice due to the distortion of truth; however, when the righteous and immutable Judge arrives, clad in the truth around His loins and enveloped in truth upon His ribs, all will receive what is rightfully theirs with precision. “And with the rod of his mouth he shall smite the earth” (Isaiah 11:4). To emphasize that he refers not to the literal earth but to the sinners, he continues, “and with the spirit of His mouth He will kill the wicked.” Do you not see that here, too, sinners are identified as the earth?

Prior to this, the blessed John the Baptist came ‘in the spirit and power of Elijah’ (Luke 1:17). As he proclaimed, ‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God’ (Isaiah 40:3; Matthew 3:3), likewise, the divine Elijah will announce the presence of the One who is and will soon be, for the purpose of judging the world in truth (Psalm 9:5).

In our current age, there are divisions among people, where father and son may stand apart (Matthew 10:35): some have embraced faith in Christ, while others have aligned themselves with various factions, creating rifts fueled by animosity, relentless anger, and rivalry over earthly matters. Yet the prophet will set in order and unite those once fractured in faith, encouraging reconciliation among neighbors, lest he declare, ‘I will come and smite the earth utterly,’ meaning entirely. Behold the compassion of the Lord of all. He warns the inhabitants of the earth through the voice of Elijah, anticipating the Judge's arrival, so that those who choose to transform their lives and seek a righteous path might not face the stern judgment that leads to destruction, but rather hear the invitation: ‘Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’ (Matthew 25:30, 34).

During the transfiguration on the mountain, the Lord Savior conversed with Moses and Elijah, both clad in bright robes, who informed Him of His impending suffering in Jerusalem (Mark 9), for the law and all the prophets foreshadow the passion of Christ.

Therefore, prior to the day of judgment, and before the Lord strikes the earth with a curse—whether at the end or suddenly, as indicated by the term ἀρδήν—the Lord will send Elijah, which translates to "my God," coming from the city of Thebes, symbolic of conversion and repentance. He will summon all the prophets to turn the hearts of the fathers, namely Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the patriarchs, so that their descendants might place their faith in the Lord Savior, in whom the patriarchs also believed, for Abraham beheld the day of the Lord and was filled with joy (John 8:56).

This also conveys the turning of the heart of the Father toward the Son, meaning God’s heart toward all who are open to receiving the spirit of inspiration, and the hearts of the children toward the fathers, so that Jews and Christians, who are currently in discord, may find unity through the shared affirmation of Christ. Thus, it is said to the apostles, who have cultivated the seedbed of the gospel throughout the world, "Children have been born to you in the place of your fathers" (Psalm 44:17). Indeed, if Elijah does not convert the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers before the significant and dreadful day arrives—great for the saints and dreadful for the sinners—the true and righteous Judge will smite not heaven or those in heaven, but the earth, meaning those who perform earthly deeds.

The Jews and certain Jewish sects believe that Elijah will appear before their awaited Messiah to restore all things. Consequently, in the Gospel, Christ is questioned about why the Pharisees assert that Elijah has come. Christ replied to His interrogators: Surely Elijah will come, and if you believe, he has already come (Mark 10:12), referring to John the Baptist.

At the Jordan River, he directly pointed to the Savior, stating, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29). John was the first to be martyred by Herod, yet he also proclaimed the good news to those in hell, becoming a forerunner there as well, announcing the coming of the Savior who would rescue the souls of the saints from death’s grip.

Given that the Savior is the source of the resurrection for all humanity, it was essential for the Lord to be the sole one to rise from the dead. Through Him comes judgment for all, enabling those who earnestly strive to be rightly rewarded by Him—the first who ascended on high, who now sits at the right hand of God the Father, and who will return at the end of days as the righteous Judge. The appearance of His forerunners was also necessary, as the Lord declared through the prophet Malachi: ‘I will send you Elijah the Thessite before the coming of the day of the Lord, great and enlightened, who will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, lest I come and smite the earth to the end’ (Malachi 4:5-6; Luke 1:17). Upon their arrival, they will proclaim the revelation of Christ from heaven, performing miracles and signs to inspire repentance among the people in response to their deepening sins and unrighteousness.

For John proclaims, ‘And I will give my witnesses, and I will give them both my witnesses, to prophesy for a thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in raiment’ (Rev. 11:3), signifying half of the seven days mentioned by Daniel (Dan. 9:27).

However, Elijah does not return after dying but rather after being taken up; he is not restored to a body from which he was not removed but is instead sent back to the world from which he was taken. This occurs not through the right to reclaim life, but through the fulfillment of prophecy—preserving his name and identity. In what sense is John considered an Elijah? The angel proclaims, “And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17), which indicates not a transfer of his soul or body. Each person's soul and body are unique to them, while the spirit and power can be imparted by God's grace, enabling their bestowal upon another in accordance with God's will, as was the case with the spirit of Moses.

In response to the disciples, Christ affirms that indeed, Elijah will come prior to the Messiah's arrival, and he will prepare all things (Matthew 17:11). According to the interpretations of Chrysostom and Theophylact, Christ's statement pertains to His second coming, which will be preceded by Elijah and Enoch's appearance. Yet, Christ further states: I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but have treated him as they wished. The Evangelist notes that the disciples understood He was referring to John the Baptist (Matthew 17:12-13). In discussing John and offering praise, Christ remarked, ‘For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come’ (Matthew 11:13-14). Malachi speaks of Elijah as the forerunner of the singular coming of the Messiah, which is identified as His second coming. Jesus relates Malachi's prophecy regarding Elijah to both His first and second comings, designating John as the Forerunner in the former instance. What does this imply? How can we comprehend Jesus referring to Elijah as the forerunner not only of His second coming but also of His first, for which John served as the forerunner? To reconcile this, we must accept that Elijah will independently precede the second coming, while for the first coming, he will not act alone but through the figure of John. This does not suggest that Elijah will rise as John; rather, it indicates that John would fulfill his mission, as foretold by the Archangel Gabriel, in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17), which means he would operate with the same unwavering fervor and strength that defined Elijah in his battle against evil. A parallel in the prophetic tradition can be found in references to David, where prophets (Ezek. 34:23; Ezek. 37:24; Jer. 30:9; Hos. 3:5) use David's name to signify Christ, whose image is that of David. The connection between Elijah and John is not solely due to their roles as forerunners of Christ’s first and second comings, united by a similar zeal for God's glory but also by the likeness in their missions. According to Malachi's prophecy, prior to Christ's second coming (the great and glorious day of the Lord), Elijah will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. This implies that Elijah aims to foster reconciliation between the older generation of God's Kingdom (the fathers) and the newer, Gentile Christians, who learn of Christ's faith through the Jewish Apostles, thereby resolving enmity and uniting them within one Church. This is to prevent the Lord from swiftly coming to judge and punish those who defy Him with severe judgment. The prelude to Elijah's mission before Christ's second coming finds its reflection in John's work as the forerunner of His first coming. Like Elijah, John prepared the people to receive Christ by declaring an end to discord between Jews and Gentiles, inviting the latter into God’s kingdom alongside the Jews. He admonished the Jews, who prided themselves on their heritage from Abraham, asserting that God could create descendants for Abraham from stones (Matthew 3:9-10), metaphorically referring to Gentiles as stones. Here, one can perceive the inception of Christ's message regarding the inclusion of Gentiles, who were spiritually barren. Just as Elijah warned those who disobeyed the Lord of impending judgment, so too did John herald the coming of the Lord's day, foretelling of His judgment towards unbelievers and those unrepentant, employing metaphors of winnowing and fire (Matthew 3:10-12). This forewarning came to fruition with the destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of the Jews, with a similar fate awaiting all who remain in disbelief and unrepentance during the final judgment. Given that this parimia holds a prophecy concerning John the Forerunner, it is evidently clear why it is recited during celebrations honoring the Forerunner.