However, when I saw the Coliseum, I thought of the amazing victories that took place there – not the horrible deaths. Just think of how many of our brothers and sisters in Christ went directly from the dirt of Rome to the bosom of Abraham! What was intended for evil certainly was used for good! God is ever faithful, and His word never fails!
Today, I’m thinking of His word that was spoken through the prophet Malachi hundreds of years before the events of the New Testament began to unfold.
“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. (Malachi 3:1)
This prophecy was perfectly fulfilled when John the Baptist came as the messenger to announce the arrival of the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” He was the messenger, and Jesus was (and is) the Lord. Jesus came to His temple, and announced the new covenant, sealing it in His Precious Blood.
We should always pray for understanding of His prophecies – both past and future! Since we know that His prophecies are always fulfilled completely and perfectly, how should we respond when we read something like the following in Peter’s 2nd epistle?
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. (2 Peter 3:10-11)