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Mal.3:1. Behold, I send My Angel, and he will look upon the way before Me; and suddenly the Lord, whom you seek, and the Angel of the covenant, whom you desire, will come to His church. We find this prophetic testimony given in the sacred gospel. And blessed Zechariah, the father of the divine John, taking him in his arms, said to him: “And you, as a child, were called Prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways” (Luke 1:76). And here, through the mouth of Malachi, God spoke: “Behold, I am sending My angel, and He will look upon the way before My face, and suddenly the Lord will come to His church, and He is the one you are looking for.” For the saving birth took place in such a way that everyone did not know about it. But, in addition to the first coming of Christ, the Prophet also foretells His second appearance. Behold, says the Lord Almighty. Mal.3:2. And who can endure the day of His coming? Or who will stand in His vision? So Zechariah said about the second coming: “They will look at the nan who has perverted. And the land will mourn for families and families” (Zechariah 12:10, 12). Then the Prophet announces what He has done. Zane Toy enters like the fire of a furnace, and like the soap of those who feather. Mal.3:3. And he sits, boiling and purifying like silver and gold. So Blessed Paul says: “Before it is revealed by fire: and anyone’s work, as it is, will be tempted by fire. And even if his work endures, he will accept the reward again. But his work will burn up and be lost” (1 Cor. 3:13-15). I think that not only does this mean what the Prophet said, but also cleansing by the Holy Spirit. For with Him the Lord mysteriously boils those who come to Him, and renews them with the fire of the Spirit. For this is what the great John says: “He who you baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11). And also with divine grace, like some kind of herb, it cleanses sinful filth. And as blessed Jeremiah says to Jerusalem: “If you wash yourself with nitre, and multiply for yourself herbs, you are depraved in your iniquities, says the Lord” (Jer. 2:22); because Jerusalem had only the herbs of the law, and not of grace; so here the prophetic word shows us that the Lord, like a certain artist, washes away sinful filth like some kind of grass, and like some kind of fire, delivers our souls from this poison. He will do this also to the Levites who believed in Him. And from among them was blessed Barnabas, as the history of the Acts informs; and many others, having believed with him, also received salvation. For it is said: The sons of Levi will purify, and I will be poured like gold and like silver: and the Lord will sacrifice in righteousness, - not a legal sacrifice, about which the Lord said: “neither will I accept sacrifice at your hands” (Mal. 1:10), but a verbal and bloodless sacrifice. Mal.3:4. And the Lord will be pleased with the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem, as the days of the world, and as the former years, because it is not temporary, but eternal. After this, God again begins to threaten those living in wickedness with punishment. For he says: Mal.3:5. And I will come to you with judgment, and I will be a quick witness against the sorcerers. I will soon impose punishment for the evil deeds that I have seen; I don't need any other witnesses; I myself am a witness of deceit. And against adulterers, and against those who swear by My name as lies, and against those who deprive a hired hand of wages, and against those who rape widows, and against those who consume orphans, and against those who avoid the judgment of the stranger, and against those who do not fear Me, says the Lord Almighty. I will punish both for sorcery and similarly for adultery, I will punish those who dare to swear falsely, those who take advantage of the labor of mercenaries and those who do not want to give them wages, in one word, I will punish everyone who acts in a sovereign manner towards those mourning orphanhood and widowhood, who decides to judge strangers and strangers wrongly, and who does not fear My judgment; I will not tolerate the offended to remain neglected. Mal.3:6. Because the Lord is your God, I do not change. My nature does not allow change; You know how I delivered your ancestors to beatings and sent them into captivity as slaves. And you are the sons of Jacob, you do not depart from the sins of your fathers. Mal.3:7. Turn away from My laws, and you will not keep them. If you dare to do the same as your fathers, endure the same as they did. God adds an accusation of another crime. Turn to Me, and I will turn to you, says the Lord Almighty, and ask: Where shall we turn? Mal.3:8. Will food deceive the man of God? You are already deceiving Me. And rest: why is this deceitful Thyself? Aquila and Symmachus translated the words: “by deceiving Thee”: will a person deceive God’s expectations, because you are deceiving, and they said: in what way have they deceived You? For tithes and firstfruits are with you. Mal.3:9. And you gaze upon them, and you deceive Me. Mal.3:10. The summer is over, and you have brought all the fruit into treasures, and the poor will be spoiled in your houses. The Law commands that the firstfruits and first tithes be brought to God, and then that which is left be taken for oneself; and you took it all together to your storehouses, not considering that it is stealing from the poor if you deprive them of their firstfruits and tithes. For this is why I did not give a plot of land to the priests, so that, constantly performing divine services and making sacrifices for you, they would eat the firstfruits and tithes brought to Me, and from them they would supply the poor who do not leave the divine church. Therefore, put an end to this covetousness, give what was legalized to the priests, and see if your abundance of goods will increase. For the words: “concern about this,” Aquila translated: “learn by experience.” I will give you an abundance of rain, fertility of the earth, and as a result of this, contentment. Therefore, your neighbors will begin to call you worthy of envy and blessed, as those who benefit from such providence for you from Me. He also heals another illness from which they suffered, and says: Mal.3:13. Make your words burdensome to Me, says the Lord Almighty. And rest: what are you talking about slandering Ty? Mal.3:14. Reste: it is vanity to work for God, which is more, as if we preserved His preservation, and as if we died in prayer before the face of the Lord Almighty. Mal.3:15. And now we bless strangers, and all those who do lawlessness are created, resisting God and saving themselves. Guided by a perverse understanding, you called My rule useless and unprofitable, and said that those who live lawlessly live in prosperity and complacency, and you, who are under My care, remain deprived of all success in business, and please the well-being of others. Mal.3:16. This is the message of those who fear the Lord, each one to his sincerity: and the Lord listened and heard, and wrote a book of remembrance before Him to those who fear the Lord and revere His name. Having heard, says God, that those dedicated to Me murmur among themselves about this, I give a written promise of good things to those who fear Me. For this is what the words mean: “And she wrote a book of remembrance before Him to those who fear the Lord, and to those who revere His name.” Therefore, those, says God, who value pleasing Me as great, are afraid to do anything displeasing to Me. Mal.3:17. There will be Mi on the day, I create it as a supply. I will make them my companions on the day of judgment: And I will choose in the same way a man chooses his son who works well for him. As a father, he is well-disposed towards a grateful son, and prefers him; so I will prefer them to the ungrateful and to those who plot the opposite. The word: “I will choose,” Aquila translated: “I will spare, as a man spares his son.” Mal.3:18. And turn and see between the righteous and the wicked, and between those who serve God and those who do not serve Him.