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Have you ever heard someone say, “If only God would appear to me, then I would believe in Him”? In one sense, that is an arrogant request, as if the Almighty God should bow to their demands. But in another, it is a naïve desire, for do they really know what they are asking for?
The thought of coming into the presence of God may seem comforting, but in the Bible the manifest presence of God evokes great fear and trembling. Consider the prophet Isaiah, who had a vision of the Lord high and exalted, seated on a throne. He cried out, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isa. 6:5; cf. also Exod. 20:18; Rev. 1:17).
In Malachi’s day, the wayward people of Israel called for God to appear to them to demonstrate His justice. The Lord, whom ye seek, the God of justice, shall come to His temple, the prophet declares (Mal. 3:1). “But,” he continues, “who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?” (3:2). He will be like “a refiner’s fire”—purifying silver with the heat of His holiness, removing all impurities (3:2). Who can stand in His holy presence? It is a frightful thought.
The Lord is coming, Malachi says. But He does not come without a warning. “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me” (Mal. 3:1). Like an advance team from the White House sent out to make arrangements for the president, the Lord’s arrival will not come unannounced; it should come as no surprise to anyone. That in itself is an evidence of God’s grace. But more than that, the Lord has prepared us for that great day of the revelation of His judgment by sending us a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He has come to provide us with the protective garment of His righteousness so that we can stand on that day. Will you look to Him today, as you prepare for the Lord’s glorious coming? Heed His warning and receive His provision.
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William L. Kynes
Pastor William L. “Bill” Kynes is the Senior Fellow for Pastoral Theology at the C.S. Lewis Institute, and retired Senior Pastor of Cornerstone, an Evangelical Free Church, in Annandale, VA, where he served from 1986 – 2022. He was an undergraduate at the University of Florida with a major in philosophy. There he also played quarterback and was later inducted into the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame. He attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, receiving an MA in theology. He received an MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, before returning to England for a PhD in New Testament from Cambridge University. From 1997-1999, he served as an adjunct professor in New Testament for the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Washington, DC, Extension Program.