Verse 2
2. However, they will be disappointed when he appears, for he will come to execute a terrible judgment (compare Amos 5:18-20).
Who may abide… who shall stand The moral and spiritual condition of the contemporaries of Malachi was such that it would be difficult for any one to endure the manifestation of Jehovah, for it meant death and destruction to everything impure.
Day of his coming… when he appeareth As announced in Malachi 3:1. This is the day of Jehovah (see on Joel 1:15).
Refiner’s fire Which burns up all the impure ingredients that are mixed with the precious metal (compare Zechariah 13:9).
Fullers’ soap The process of fulling “seems to have consisted in washing the material with some preparation of lye, beating or rubbing it, and exposing it to the rays of the sun.” This preparation of lye, which was intended to remove all impurity, is here called soap (compare Jeremiah 2:22). That the day of Jehovah is a day of purging and purification is an idea frequently expressed in the Old Testament (Isaiah 4:2-4; Zechariah 13:9; compare Matthew 3:12).
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