Special Ministry of Reconciliation for the Prophet

“There is hope for every man to return to his Maker.”

Lailah Gifty Akita

POWER TRUTH

and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:32 NRSV

HE SHALL TURN THE HEART OF THE FATHERS TO THE CHILDREN

The Old Testament begins with an account of God creating order from chaos to provide a home for His children. 152 The children of Adam and Eve, on the other hand, turned their hearts away from the Father through disobedience. As a result, they became estranged from God, and God cursed the ground regularly.

The Old Testament concludes with the Lord telling the world through the prophet Malachi that if children’s hearts do not return to their fathers, and fathers’ hearts do not return to their children, the earth will be cursed or destroyed once more:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

Malachi’s prophecy is one of the most profound and far-reaching in the Bible. Although the prophet Malachi uses the term fathers, and the Scriptures, in general, use male gender terms such as father, son, and his to refer to both men and women, it is possible that the prophet was using the specific masculine term father because fathers’ connections to their children are generally weaker than mothers’.

Malachi’s prophecy refers to two types of connections or ties in opposite directions. Children to fathers are one connecting direction, a link that points the current generation back in time to their forefathers, both living and deceased. The other is that of fathers to their children, indicating a concern for them and their children.