CHAPTER 28     (b)  

From Malachi.

That the Almighty God calls the Angel of the Covenant Christ, and the same Being Lord.

[Passage quoted, Mal. iii. 1-2.]

THIS, too, is like the former prophecies. For the Lord God (c) Himself, the Almighty, says that a Lord will come in His own temple, speaking of another: And He surely means God the Word. And after this also He names Him "the Angel of the Covenant" of Whom, too, Almighty God teaches that He will Him send forth before His face, saying, "Behold, I send forth my angel before my face." And this same Being, Whom He has called "My angel," He calls Lord directly after, and adds, "The Lord shall suddenly come, and the Angel of the Covenant." Thus having (d) referred to one and the same Being, He proceeds, "Behold he comes, and who will abide the day of his coming?" meaning His Second and Glorious Coming. And the Lord who makes this prophecy is God, the Sovereign of the Universe.