The Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord—Fulfilled!
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, that will leave them neither root nor branch…Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (Mal. 4:1–5, bolding mine; see also Malachi 3).
Many Christians believe this prophecy still needs to be fulfilled. However, the scriptural evidence shows it was fulfilled in the first century.
Compare Malachi’s words to Jesus’s words. In the passage above, which was uttered in approximately 400 BC, Malachi had prophesied that Elijah would come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Mal. 4:5).
And by AD 30, Jesus said Elijah had come: “And if you are willing to receive it, he [John the Baptist] is Elijah who is to come” (Matt. 11:14; see also Matt. 17:11–13 and Luke 1:17).
In saying this, Jesus was warning the people of his day in no uncertain terms that Malachi’s prophecy of the great and dreadful day of the Lord was about to be fulfilled. In fact, Jesus repeatedly warned about this judgment. Here are a few examples:
AD 30: “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I [Jesus] say to you [Jesus’s first-century audience], there are some standing here who shall not taste death [die] till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” (Matt. 16:27–28, bolding mine).
AD 30 “But whenever they persecute you [apostles] in one city, flee to the next; for truly I [Jesus] say to you, you will not finish going through [preaching throughout] the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes” (Matt. 10:23, bolding mine).
AD 30 “Assuredly, I [Jesus] say to you [apostles], not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down…They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory…Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place” (Matt. 24:2, 30, 34, bolding mine). Note: A biblical generation equates to around forty years (Heb. 3:8–10, Num. 14:30–34, Neh. 9:21).
AD 30 “I [Jesus] say to you [High Priest Caiaphas/Jewish Sanhedrin], hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt. 26:64)
Over and over and over, Jesus warned the people of his day that the judgment would happen within their generation. In other words, the great and dreadful day of the Lord prophesied by Malachi was on the verge of fulfillment!
John the Baptist also Warned about the Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord
John the Baptist knew this judgment was about to happen too. In fact, John the Baptist described it using the very same fiery language that Malachi had used; and he coupled that with the imminence Jesus used. For example, John the Baptist said:
“Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire…His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire[1]” (Matt. 3:10–12, italics mine).
John was quoting directly from Malachi’s prophecy, which said that the great and dreadful day of the Lord would “leave neither root nor branch” and “burn up the stubble” (Mal. 4:1–5, italics mine).
Same root. Same branches. Same fire. John the Baptist was clearly referring to Malachi’s great and dreadful day of the Lord.
As for the timing? John the Baptist said the ax was already laid at the root. In other words, this judgment was coming soon, just like Jesus had warned!
The Reason for the Judgment
Why was this judgment happening? To understand the reason for this judgment, all we have to do is read Jesus’s Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers:
“There was a certain landowner [God] who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers [Israel] and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants [the Old
Testament prophets] to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit [good works]. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son [Jesus] to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him [the crucifixion]. Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes [the great and dreadful day of the Lord/second coming], what will he do to those vinedressers?…He will destroy those wicked men [Israel] miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons…Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you [Israel] and given to a nation[2] bearing the fruits of it…Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them” (Matt. 21:33–46).
As this parable shows, God expected Israel to produce fruit (good works) for him. However, throughout much of Israel’s history, they did the exact opposite. In fact, at times, Israel became worse than her pagan neighbors (2 Chron. 33:9, Ezek. 5:6). God had sent many prophets to try to get Israel to repent (turn back to him). But Israel rejected those prophets. So God finally sent his very own Son, thinking, “Surely they will respect my son” (Matt. 21:37). But Israel killed him. (Technically, the Romans killed Jesus, but they did it at the behest of the Jews—see Luke 23:21, John 1:11). This was the last straw. God had had enough. As the parable says, “When the owner of the vineyard comes…he will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers” (Matt. 21:40–41).
This is yet another reference to the great and dreadful day of the Lord—which Jesus and John the Baptist said it would happen within the lifetimes of their audiences (above).
Judgment Hits in AD 70
Did this judgment happen? Absolutely! According to the first century historian Josephus, the city of Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by AD 70, exactly within the timeframe that Jesus and John the Baptist prophesied. Not one stone was left upon another, just like Jesus had predicted (Matt. 24:2). Over 1.1 million Jews were killed, and another 97,000 were taken into slavery.
The great and dreadful day of the Lord happened—just as Malachi, John the Baptist, and Jesus had warned.
For more information about the topics discussed in the article, get my book “The End Is Here: How the New Testament’s Prophecies Were Fulfilled.”
By Alex Polyak, Director of The Bible Fulfilled, 12/27/24
[1] The term “unquenchable fire” means “unstoppable fire”—not “unending fire.” Once God determines a judgment will happen, it cannot be thwarted by anyone. And God’s judgment/fire cannot be extinguished until it finishes its purpose. Some commentators say “unquenchable fire” means “to burn forever,” but that cannot possibly be correct because there were many “unquenchable fires” in the Old Testament (Jer. 17:27; 7:20; Ez. 20:47–48; Amos 5:6), yet these fires are not still burning today.
[2] According to the apostle Peter, this “nation” refers to the church, consisting of the righteous remnant of Jews and Gentiles. “But you [Christians] are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).
