Birth & AdventClear Fulfillment
Preceded by a Forerunner
Written: ~430 BC→Fulfilled: ~AD 27
Malachi prophesied that a messenger would prepare the way before the Lord, fulfilled in John the Baptist.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
Old Testament Prophecy
Malachi 3:1
"I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the Lord Almighty."
New Testament Fulfillment
Mark 1:2-4
"As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way", "a voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness."
Commentary
Malachi's prophecy, the last in the Old Testament, promised a forerunner who would prepare the way. Jesus himself identified John the Baptist as this messenger (Matthew 11:10). The 400-year silence between Malachi and John the Baptist makes this fulfillment all the more striking.