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Throughout the Old Testament Jesus Christ is referred to by many names and titles. And each one of them reveals something about Him. Two of these names appear in one of the final chapters of the Old Testament. Malachi declares of Him: “But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.” (3:2). Here the prophet uses powerful imagery to emphasize the judgment aspect of Jesus’ ministry.
First, Malachi compares Jesus to a refiner’s fire. In ancient times a refiner or metalworker would use fire to purify ore (silver, for example). “The ore was heated in a pot until it turned to liquid and the dross or waste material rose to the surface. Then the metalworker used a ladle to skim off the dross, leaving the pure and uncontaminated silver.”[1] Similarly, Malachi also says that Jesus is like fuller’s soap. “A fuller, or launderer, made his living by washing and dyeing clothes or cloth. Soap as we know it did not exist in Bible times, so the fuller used a strong alkaline substance to get clothes clean. It was made from a plant that was reduced to ashes to form potash or lye”[2] (See Jeremiah 2:22). Interestingly, “The cloths are thought to have been first trodden by the feet [and] also rubbed with the knuckles.”[3]
“But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.”
Malachi 3:2
Both of these images powerfully portray Jesus’ role as Judge. And as George W. Knight points out, “This image of the Messiah must have been a surprise to the Jewish people of Malachi’s time. They expected the Messiah to come as a conquering hero who would restore Israel to its glory days as a political kingdom. But the prophet informed them that the Messiah would come in judgment against Israel because of its sin and rebellion… [As a matter of fact,] His second coming will bring judgment against all who have refused to accept Him as Savior and Lord (see 2 Peter 2:9).”[4]
Though Malachi warned us that Jesus will come as the Judge of the whole world (both of the living and of the dead) God also promised that He would first provide a means of escape for us through this same Jesus. And He delivered. After Malachi penned his final words, there was a four-hundred-year intermission, but these four-hundred-years of silence were finally broken by the cries of a babe in a manger: Jesus Christ, the Saviour, God Himself in human flesh, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. And now anyone who believes and trusts on Him will be saved and escape the coming judgment (See Matthew 1; John 1:29, 3:16-19).
Ryan Hembree is a daily co-host, speaker, and writer of Bible Discovery. He also hosts a YouTube channel that shows the unity of the Bible and how science and Scripture fit together. Ryan also has an honorary Masters of Ministry in Creation Science from Phoenix University of Theology.
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