Malachi IS the last book in the Old Testament. Although in it God reaffirmed His love for His people and promised that their Messiah would arise with healing in His wings, the book in general and Chapter 2 in particular contain some of the harshest indictments God has against the Jews.

But the primary object of those indictments was not really ancient Israel. When God commissioned Isaiah three centuries earlier, He already said: "Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed" In other words, God had long given up on national Israel. Rather, these things are written for our admonition (I Cor. 10:11).

Indeed, a careful look at Malachi 2 leaves little doubt that God is talking about the corporate church of our day. He begins in the first two verses:

And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.

Knowing that their hearts are too hardened to repent, God declares in the last sentence there that He has already started to curse them.

I. False gospels.

Why is God so displeased with the end-time church? For starters, He says in verses 7 and 8:
 

For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts.

If there is one word that differentiates Christianity from all other religions, it is "grace"meaning an unmerited gift from God. This Bible declares that there is none righteous, no not one. By nature, we are all sinners deserved to be eternally condemned. The Good News is: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8,9).

If there is one group of people who should know and teach this simple truth, it is the priests, the pastors and the Bible teachers of the church. Instead of doing that, though, they are now preaching false gospels, causing people to stumble. We see this today in all four major sectors of Christendom:

The Catholics. The most conspicuous offender is the Roman Catholic Church. While it embraces the Lord Jesus as the Savior, it nevertheless insists that man has to perform all kinds of works in order to assure his salvation. It was against this and other heresies that Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation movement back in the 16th Century. That movement has since come a long way, but the Roman Catholics remain the largest single Christian denomination today.

The mainliners. The Reformation movement made a good start. It's teaching of relying strictly on the Bible for truths soon spread through much of central Europe. By the late 1700s, Protestant missionaries had spread the movement into most of the world.

Here in the U. S., names like Congregational, Methodist, Episcopal and Presbyterian soon became the leading denominational pillars of the Christian community. Doctrinal differences notwithstanding, they all taught the gospel of the Bible faithfully.

Not so anymore. While there are individual exceptions, churches in these denominations are now by and large denying the Lordjust as God has warned in II Peter 2:1. Seldom is Jesus even mentioned from their pulpits; never is His salvation plan proclaimed.

The evangelicals. In a more subtle way, evangelical churches have also been increasingly denying the Lord Jesus in recent decades. The Bible clearly declares: "According as (God) hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will" (Eph. 1:4,5). But instead of giving God full credit for salvation, more and more churches now teach that one has to make a free-will decision to receive or accept Christ. The absurdity of this teaching is detailed in the lead article of this issue titled Free Will Myths.

The charismatics. Perhaps the most dangerous "leaven of the Pharisees" today, though, is the charismatic movement, epitomized by the Pentecostal churches and the Assemblies of God, although it has spread into almost all other denominations. These false prophets come with signs and wonders and the speaking in tongues. Jesus warns against them when He answers a question about the end of time, saying: "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (Matt. 24:24).

What makes the charismatics so abominable is that their teaching is the very antithesis of Christianity. The hallmark of a true believer is humility. Knowing that we are sinners saved by grace, we walk humbly before God.

The charismatics, however, urge their followers to seek special spiritual gifts so that they can be superior to other Christians. Instead of being content with whatever lot God has for them, they are taught to expect health and wealth and everything else that makes them better than others.

II. Worldly influences.

Besides false teachings, Malachi 2 indicts today's church also for adopting worldly practices. Verse 11 reads:

Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.

The church is supposed to be the Israel of God set apart to serve, worship and glorify God. But now, it has profaned the holiness of the Lord by adopting worldly ideas and practices into its activities.

This is truly an end-time phenomenon. For nearly two thousand years, churches had jealously maintained decorum in their worship services. While different denominations might follow different ceremonial rituals, they all aimed at praising and honoring the God of the Bible with great reverence. Now, one church after another employs worldly music, dramatic sketches, frivolous sermons, and other visual aidsnot to honor and praise the Lord Jesus Christbut to ensure that people sitting in the pews are well entertained.

III. Widespread divorces.

Yet another act of rebellion peculiar to churches of this end-time era is addressed by verses 13-15:

And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.

It was probably true that Jewish men of old did at one time or another wantonly divorce their wives. Remember the Pharisees once asked Jesus why Moses had allowed them to put away their wives? The Lord told them it was because of the hardness of their hearts, but that it was not so from the beginning. "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder," He added (Matt. 19:6). On hearing that, even the disciples remarked, "If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry."

Nevertheless, the command proscribing divorces was faithfully observed by the New Testament church for nineteen centuries. As recently as two generations ago, hardly any denomination would allow members to divorce or marry divorced people. Things have since deteriorated rapidly. Today, churchgoers are putting away wives and husbands no less rampantly than the unsaved. The sanctity of marriage is hardly ever preached.

This is not just another example of churches falling away. More than any other human relationship, God has liken the intimacy between husband and wives to that of Christ and the church. So, when Jesus says, "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder," He was assuring believers that He would never leave or forsake them. By the same token, those flouting the command against divorce may have estranged themselves from Christ much more than they've ever been taught.

IV. Misrepresentation of God.

Malachi 2's indictments against the end-time church are not limited to just congregations. They include para-church ministries. Verse 17 says:

Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye
say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?

This is a direct reference to those evangelistic ministries that go around in college campuses and other public places telling everyone, "God loves you" or "God has a marvelous plan for your life." Notice how such statements conflict with what God Himself says in Malachi 1:2,3:
 

I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

By His sovereign grace, God had elected Jacob to be one of those upon whom He would shower His mercy, love and care. But God hated Esau and all other sinners. And it is His hatred for the wicked that will result in all of the latter to be cast in hell on Judgment Day for eternal punishment. To say "God loves you" to everyone, therefore, is to misrepresent our Holy God and to pervert His justice.

Summary

Can you now see how specifically Malachi 2 relates to the church of our day? But unlike the many invitations to repent that God sent to Israel through other prophets, this is not just another warning of eventual judgment to come. As I called to your attention right at the outset, God says in verse 2, "I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart." In other words, these are the prevailing conditions of the church with God having already begun His judgment against it.

For true believers, this is a time of great tribulation. Never before have we seen the church we love so hopelessly rebellious. Thankfully, this judgment process wonít last very long. Jesus has promised, ìExcept those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the electís sake those days shall be shortenedî (Matt. 24:22).

Meanwhile, we would do well by seriously pondering the question God posts in I Peter 4:17: ìFor the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?î May we all be led by the Holy Spirit to heartily obey the gospel of God. o

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