The book of Malachi, the last book of the Old Covenant age, was also the last word from God for some four hundred years.
The Lord’s voice returned through John the Baptist and his herald,
“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11 NASB).
After four centuries of silence—4,800 months where God’s voice is quiet—John speaks of the Christ’s coming. But, comparatively speaking, how long would be the wait? Just how long would it be before He would come who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire? For the Jews hearing John’s proclamation, “…but he that cometh after me…” surely met with an honest inquiry, “Just how long does after mean? Another four hundred years!?!”
What struck me as interesting was the “quick” work that followed John’s Messiah herald—four hundred silent years and then just months until the fulfillment of the voice crying in the wilderness.
Such a thought then prompted me to think of how I respond to a Word from the Lord, whether it is canonical or via the Holy Spirit.
Or better yet, what exactly does “quick” mean anyway?
The word quick only appears 4 times in the New Testament (see Acts 10:42; 2 Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 4:5) and means to live. Thus, quickly is the New Testament word that would aptly apply to my question; and it appears seventeen times, most notably in Revelation 22:20 (KJV):
“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
And then I understood: quickly is not about time as much as it is about attitude and awareness.
Peter penned, “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8 ESV). So why then do I try and put a “time” on what He says rather than to simply be prepared and look for the word’s fulfillment?
Father, may I ask that You anoint our eyes to see the fulfilling of Your word that is all around us—quickly!
