Prophet
Prophet Prophet Malachi
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Also known as: «печать пророков» — последний пророк Ветхого Завета
Prophet Malachi — last of the Twelve Minor Prophets and the final prophet of the entire Old Testament, who foretold the appearance of John the Baptist and the coming of Christ under the name of the "Sun of Righteousness."
Malachi, whose name means "My messenger" or "angel of the Lord" in Hebrew, belonged, by church tradition, to the tribe of Zebulun and lived in the 5th century BC, after the Jews' return from Babylonian captivity and the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple, as a contemporary of the righteous Ezra and Nehemiah.
He was the last of the Twelve Minor Prophets and the last prophet of the entire Old Testament, for which the Church Fathers call him "the seal of the prophets." In his book he denounced the priests for neglecting proper worship and offering blemished sacrifices to the Lord, and rebuked the people for unfaithfulness in marriage and divorce, foretelling the coming judgment of God.
Malachi clearly prophesied the appearance of the Lord's forerunner sent to prepare His way ("Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me" — Malachi 3:1), identified by the Church with John the Baptist, as well as the coming of Christ under the name of the "Sun of Righteousness" (Malachi 4:2), and the return of the Prophet Elijah before the great and terrible Day of the Lord. He died at a young age.