CHAPTER BY CHAPTER, VERSE BY VERSE BIBLE STUDY
[Malachi 2:17]: 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 judgement? (KJV) [Malachi 2:17]
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MALACHI Study #1 [1:1-1:14]

In the first few verses in this first chapter we see prophecy regarding Russia and America mentioned. We then go on in verse six to read of God's anger with the preachers/teachers/priests that deal falsely with His Word. In fact, these first two chapters of the book of Malachi are for the most part written to the priesthood (clergy) who have angered God by what they teach and how they mislead the people.

The following format will be used in our study of the scriptures:

* The actual text of the verses will be in red text, beginning at the left margin.

* Commentary and explanations from the Author regarding the aforementioned embolden, underlined and reference numbered words will be in black text, indented.

* The text of other Bible verses, supplied for documentation of comments and for cross-reference, will be in brown text, double indented.

(The words that are to be expounded on within a verse are embolden and underlined, with an asterisk and a small number (*1, *2, *3,...) following them. By following this numbering system, below the verse, you can find explanations and definitions, as well as cross referenced scriptures).

Let's begin our study with a prayer for wisdom and understanding from our Heavenly Father, in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER 1

Mal 1:1-14

1 The burden*1 of the word of the LORD*2 to Israel*3 by Malachi*4.

Explanations from above verse: *1 burden = A prophetical warning from God. *2 the word of the LORD = That means that these are the words of God through the Prophet. *3 Israel = To the ten Northern Tribes. To the House of Israel, whom are the ten Tribes that migrated north and eventually came to inhabit the Americas. It is speaking of America prophetically. The House of Israel and the House of Judah are split at the time of this writing. See the Malachi Introduction study.*4 Malachi = While Malachi did write the words down, they came directly from God to him. These are the Divine Words of Almighty God Himself.

2 I*1have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye*2 say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,

Explanations from above verse: *1 I = God. *2 ye = Israel, the ten Tribes that migrated north and eventually came to inhabit the Americas. (Us in America as well as others of the Ten 'Lost' Tribes). In the next verse we will explain about Jacob and Esau.

3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

Now lets go back to the book of Genesis and and find out about Jacob and Esau. Below is a scripture in where Rebekah is carrying twins in her womb, we see God tell her that the two children will always be at odds with each other. God will tell her that there are two nations in her womb, and Jacob and Esau are those two children, and their progeny (offspring) would go on to become the peoples of America and Russia, the two final superpowers of the world.

Gen 25:21-27
21 And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to inquire of the LORD.
23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
26 And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.
27 And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. (KJV)

I don't want to digress too far off our study in Malachi, but to document what Esau did, we will cover a few verse down in Genesis:

Gen 25:29-34
29 And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:
30 And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
31 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.
32 And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?
33 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright. (KJV)

To put it simply, Esau did not care about God or his birthright. Esau sold out himself and his children's children's children for a bowl of stew. It may seem like Jacob was being deceitful in acquiring the birthright from Esau, but the deal was fair and Esau agreed to it. It was God's prophecy that had to come to pass.

All of God's prophecies come to pass exactly as they are written. There is much weight that goes along with the birthright, the birthright passes the family name, wealth, and power to the eldest male offspring. That was Esau's birthright because he was born first, but he sold the birthright and everything that goes along with it to Jacob for a mere bowl of mush. This angered God more than we can understand, for it involved God's plan for all His children.

You remember the prophecy that God made to Rebekah in [Gen 25:23]: " And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger."  Well just as that came true then, in this final generation (ours today) it shall also come to pass that: The elder (Russia) shall be overshadowed by the younger (America).

And today in our world, has this not come to pass? Communism fell, Russia remains split and on the verge of collapse, while America is stronger and more plentiful than ever before. But do not think that we have seen the last of Russia, for they will play a major role in the battle of Hammon Gog.  Hammon Gog in the final battle between good and evil that is waged at the same time the battle of Armageddon is. But that would be a different study for a different day. But it is necessary that we at this time document that Esau is modern Russia today. Below is a prophecy from the book of Ezekiel, and in it we see:

Ezek 38:1-3
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince*1 of Meshech and Tubal: (KJV)

Explanations from above verse: *1 the chief prince = The head, or leader of Rosh. In the Hebrew it is Ro'sh (Chief = Hebrew word #7218 ro'sh (roshe)) and in the Latin Vulgate it was changed to Russ. In English we have Russia.

We are living in exciting times, with Biblical prophecies being fulfilled one by one like 'ducks in a row'. All God's prophecies will come to pass exactly as they are written, of that you can be sure of! Now lets go back to where we left off in Malachi:

4 Whereas Edom*1 saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places*2; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I*3 will throw down; and they shall call them,*4 The border of wickedness*5, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.

Explanations from above verse: *1 Edom = This is another name for Esau. You remember [Gen 25:30]: "And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom." *2 We are impoverished, but . . . = Russia will try to rise again but will fail. *3 I = God. God is the one speaking here. And God himself shall destroy Russia at the battle of Hamongog. This doesn't apply to all the Russian people, for there are many Christians in Russia. It is talking about the Atheist Russian system and their war machine of oppression. Don't forget that being a Christian in Russia won you a trip to the reeducation camp - not a pleasant place. The Country Russia, not necessarily the people of Russia, made themselves enemies of God. They despised their heritage as children of the living God, just as Esau despised his birthright as the heir to the promise. *4 they shall call them = read as: They shall be called. *5 border of wickedness = When you think of the "border" of wickedness, do you not think of the Iron Curtain, the Berlin Wall, communism and freedom? We can only speculate what the border is, but we know it is a border between God's good and you know who's evil (satan's). There is an interesting phenomena in the etymology of the Hebrew word that was translated into the English word wickedness: Wickedness = Hebrew word #7564 rish` ah (rish-aw'); feminine of #7562; wrong (especially moral). Now this word comes from two different base words, thus we see:

Wickedness:

• Hebrew word #7564 rish` ah (rish-aw'); feminine of #7562:
• Hebrew word #7562 resha` (reh'-shah); from #7561:
• Hebrew word #7561 rasha` (raw-shah'):
• Sounds a lot like Russia, does it not? Words do tell a story.

5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.

Explanation of above verse: God will destroy His enemies at the appointed time in the appointed place. God fights the final battle not us, and it will only last a few minutes. When you study prophecy, you must understand that Israel is wherever the Ten Lost Northern Tribes are. They are not in Israel, they are in America. Confusing the people Israel with the geographical land of Israel has confused many a student of end-time prophecy. The border of Israel in the verse above, is the border of America.

Now in the next verse in our study of Malachi chapter one, it takes a new thought and leaves off from what we have been studying thus far. This verse below marks the onset of God's admonitions to the Clergy. Just as the preachers/teachers of God's Word today have become corrupt, it was also so back then. When you read God's wrathful words against the false teachers/preachers in the next chapter and a half, apply them to many of the false teachers/preachers God's children are stuck with now.

This is the basis for all Prophecy. God shows us the future by the analogy of the past. It is the easiest way to teach someone something. Even today when we teach a child the meaning of the number three, we hold up three oranges and tell them "this is three." God also teaches His children (us) on a very basic but very complete level. Man complicates God's Word with all man's grand theories and vain whimsies, but you can understand the Bible by taking the simple wisdom that came out of Jesus Christ's own mouth:

Luke 18:15-17
15 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein. (KJV)

6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear*1? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests*2, that despise my name*3. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar*4; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible*5.

Explanations from above two verses: *1 fear = Reverence. The word fear is a terrible translation by the King James Scribes. We do not fear our Heavenly father, we revere Him. *2 O priests = And here we see who God is speaking to. When you study the Bible it is important to follow who is speaking to and of whom. Sometimes it is difficult to follow, but it is absolutely necessary for any profitable Bible study. *3,*4, &*5 that despise my name & Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar & ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible = These all refer to the corrupting by the false teachers/preachers of God's Word, and the changing of His laws and commands into some mish-mash of compromise. This we see in every major Christian denomination on the face of the earth today. Remember, God is not talking to the heathen people here, He is talking to the Priests of His chosen people Israel. They have gone astray from teaching the truth as they have today. It is ironic but in our Exposing The Emergence Of The First Beast Of Revelation Chapter Thirteen page of this Web site we have in the first three expositions the below study titles. When you get a chance, read these studies of current events and compare them to what we just read in Malachi. It should prove eye-opening, to say the least!

1. The growing interfaith movement desecrates the communion Sacrament with the Heathen.
2. Clergy compromising the Christian Churches into ungodly abominations, in the very name of God.
3. Idol Worship in Christian Churches, in violation of the 1st and 2nd Commandments of God.

8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?*1 offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts*2.

Explanations from above verse: *1 if ye offer the . . . = this is referring to offerings to the Lord. For an offering to be worthy of God it had to perfect, blemish free, it had to be the best of your crop or herd. This is what got Cain into trouble with the Lord in the Garden of Eden, Able brought the best of his heard to offer to the Lord, but Cain brought not the best of his crop. Thus held God in low esteem. That is also why Jesus Christ had to be the Perfect Lamb for the slaughter.

Christ was a man who lived 33 years without even one sin. It was because of His perfection of sacrifice that our imperfections could be forgiven. It was considered an insult to God to offer to Him a blind or lame sacrifice for sin. You must of course remember that we are in the Old Testament here. Since Christ's once and for all sacrifice on the cross, God no longer wants animal sacrifices from us. In fact, to offer an animal sacrifice to God now is an abomination in that it insults the sacrifice of all sacrifices - Jesus on the cross.

It would be interesting to point out that recently in Jerusalem the sacrifices of animals to God has been resumed by the Jews on the Temple Mount. Of course this also was prophesied to come about in the end times. Like I said, we are living in exciting times, but we must study God's Written Word so that we know that we are on the right path, and not being misled by satan's false teachers/preachers that infiltrated God's House. God hates nothing more than a false teacher/preacher! *2 offer it now unto thy governor. . . = God is basically saying that: "You dishonored me , who is Almighty God, with your lies and false offerings, go ahead and see if even the flesh men leaders in your corrupt little world would accept it." Needless to say, God is very angry with the false teachers/ preachers of His Word. He will remind them of that on Judgement Day in a very simple, direct, and final way.

9 And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.

Explanations from above verse: In other words, they brought this upon themselves by their own actions. God tells them to ask themselves if God will regard them as special because they are the Clergy, they are "men of God." But we know the answer to that, for we know that God is not a respecter of men. God loves and esteems to most "basest" of people the same that he does the "greatest of all" of mankind, for we are all His children, even the bad ones are His. All souls belong to God:

Ezek 18:3-4
3 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (KJV)

Acts 10:34-35
34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. (KJV)

10 Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought*1? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought*1. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.

Explanations from above verse: *1 nought = In vain, in emptiness, false empty words spoken by false empty teachers/preachers. God does not honor the promises made by false teachers of His Word. God hates lies in His name, we have all seen the beggars on 'religious TV' falsely claiming to heal people by slapping them on the forehead. And the false preachers who teach prosperity sermons that are only designed to separate the people from their money. You've heard their message: "Just make a financial vow to God and send it to me, and God will make you rich quick." And the greedy people who sent those false teachers money to buy God, deserve to be bilked, their heart was not pure when they sent to money to the rip-off reverend in the first place. They are just as guilty as him for helping him stay on the air with his lies, where-by he can mislead others! Then the people wonder why God won't bless them:

2nd Jn 1:9-11
9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. (KJV)

11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles*1; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen*2, saith the LORD of hosts.

Explanations from above verse: *1 & *2 Gentiles & heathen = These are both from the same Hebrew word. It means Nations, Gentiles, Ethnos', all manner of ethnicity. This word does not mean what we normally think of when we call someone a heathen. This verse is speaking of the first day of the Millennium (not Y2K) when Jesus returns at His second advent. At that time all will know that He is Lord. The Millennium is the thousand year time of teaching in [Rev 20:4-6].

Gentiles & heathen: Hebrew word # 1471 gowy (go'-ee); apparently from the same root as 1465 (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile. KJV-- Gentile, heathen, nation, people.

12 But ye have profaned it*1, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.

Explanations from above verse: *1 it = In the primitive Manuscripts this reads "Me" as in Jehovah (God). In the later Hebrew Manuscripts, out of mistaken reverence, they took the Hebrew word othi (Me) and made it otho (him, or it). Also in 134 places they made Jehovah into Adonai. The Jews thought (and to this day still do think) that to utter God' name Jehovah is a blasphemy. But apparently, denying His only begotten Son isn't a blasphemy to them.

What God is saying here is that because they change His True Word, they disrespect it, it is as though they think they know better than God. And what is "the table of the Lord," and "the Friut," and " the Meat" of God? It is His Word, The Word of God. Jesus is the living Word, and the Bible is the Written Word of Almighty God, but the false teachers/preachers corrupt and pervert the Word of God to fit in with their own agendas. The worst thing of all is that they mislead God's beloved children, whom He created, with their lies. This is probably the fastest way to get yourself sent to "Hell". That's not my words, it's what God says; God begins Judgment at the pulpit, meaning that he will judge firstly and harshly those that lie about His Word.

13 Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed*1 at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.

Explanations from above verse: *1 snuffed = Complained by sniveling and whining. Not only do they cry-baby about God, they insult Him with cheap superficial offerings and empty words of praise, all the while lying and cheating as though God can't see them.

Jer 23:19-32
19 Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.
20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
23 Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?
24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;
27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.
29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.
31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.
32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD. (KJV)

14 But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the LORD a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen*1. (KJV) 

Explanations from above verse: *1 heathen = Gentiles, nations, peoples. Once again we must point out that this form of sacrifice has been replaced once for all by the Passion on the cross. But back at the time of this writing a big, strong, healthy male animal was the choicest sacrifice, but they offer the runt of the litter, the sick, dying. Do not be offended by the implied sexism that may appear in the fact that the male sacrifice was preferred. It is just a fact of life that in the majority of cases, the male of a species is the largest and strongest gender. But remember, Christ became that perfect sacrifice for all, big and small, heathy and sick, living and dying, male and female, righteous and sinner alike, for we all sin. And since the crucifixion all blood rituals are done away with. Even circumcision is now of the heart and is for men and women:

Rom 2:24-29
24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. (KJV)

Well if you think God was hard on false teachers/preachers so far, wait until next chapter. God is very angry with false teachers of His Word. It is because God loves you so much that He gets angry with the false teachers. God wants you to obey Him and follow the ways that he instructs you through this letter of love, written from a Father to a child -- The Bible. But the false teachers/preachers rob God's beloved children of the truth and place them in jeopardy of the Judgment.

Why don't you commit yourself to study a little of your Heavenly Fathers Word on a frequent basis. Through the Word, God tells us all things. You don't have to become a religious fanatic, that's not of God, but do study a little every day or so, even if only for ten or twenty minutes. God truly does bless those that study His Word. I guess it's kinda like a reward or something. He loves you, show Him a little love in return, he doesn't ask for much really.

Click on Malachi Study #2 [2:1-2:17] to go on to study #2 of the great book of Malachi.
Click on Malachi Introduction study to go back to the introduction to Malachi study.
Click on Chpt by Chpt, Vs By Vs Study Of The Bible to go back to study menu of Bible books.

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In His Service:
Nick Goggin
Watchmen Bible Study Group

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