In everyday life, the word "prophet" denotes the personality of a person who predicts the future. But in the Orthodox faith, these people performed a more serious and important function. We will learn about the purpose of God's messengers, and also find out who the prophet Malachi is, whose prayer is also read.
Prophetic Activities in the Bible
With their speeches, the prophets informed the chosen people of Israel the will of the Almighty, and also proclaimed the coming of the Messiah (Savior). Their activities are described in the largest part of the Bible, that is, in the Old Testament. The role played by the prophets in the confessional development of Israel was great. The Old Testament assumed a two-way relationship between man and God. Prophets are the sources who conveyed the revelations of the Lord to God's chosen people, that is, the Israelites. The teaching that the prophets brought to us, as a rule, consists of three elements characteristic of the Old Testament:
- faith in one God;
- moral conduct;
- waiting for rescue.
Prophetic activity unfolds in Israel and Judea from the 8th to 4th centuries BCera, although there are some prophets who lived earlier, such as Samuel and Moses. The Old Testament included only 12 works of the minor prophets, as well as four works of the great prophets, although there were more of them. The 12 minor prophets included Amos, Jonah, Avdey, Zechariah, Malachi and others. Today you will find out who the prophet Malachi is and why he was called the "seal of the prophets".
Quick reference
Prophet Malachi refers to the 12 minor biblical prophets. If you believe the Holy Scriptures, then it says that Malachi comes from the tribe of Zebulun. Passed away at a young age. His prophetic activity was at a time when the temple of Jerusalem was rebuilt after the capture. This is around 400 BC. The Holy Prophet Malachi severely reproved people for their lack of diligence in sacrifices. He rebuked the priests for deviating from the faith, threatened them with God's Judgment for blasphemy and various vices, and also clearly predicted the coming of the Savior, the appearance of John the Baptist and the imminent Judgment of God. The memory of the prophet in the Orthodox Church takes place on January 3, according to the old style, or January 16, according to the Gregorian calendar.
Life of a Saint
Prophet Malachi lived godly. He brought people into admiration and surprise that his life was pure, like an angel of God. His name from the Hebrew language means "angel of the Lord." Since Malachi was called to minister prophetically, he became a zealous champion of faith, piety, and the law. When the Jews returned from captivity, they had many moral and religious problems, which became even more due tocarelessness of the priests. Looking at this picture, the prophet Malachi was indignant and upset, after which he had to speak menacingly and denounce the people.
His speech was that they do not treat God with due reverence and reverence, they bring insufficient sacrifices. He told the priests that because of their wrong activities, people deviate from God's way, because they do not keep the commandments and are hypocrites. Thus they dishonor God and succumb to temptations. He blamed the people for treacherously violating the covenants of their fathers and ancestors, that husbands treat their spouses unfairly, reject their lawful wife and live with foreign women. In his speeches, God's messenger threatened all people with the judgment of the Almighty for various vices, including adultery, witchcraft and sorcery, for taking false oaths, for offending and oppressing orphans and widows, for violating and not fulfill the law of offering in temples.
His words touched the Jews because they spoke bold and bad words. As if serving God is vain and useless, as if there is no point in keeping the commandments. It was said that the wicked who do iniquity live better and do not have any troubles. In his activities, Malachi denounced people's sins, and at the same time saw the coming of the Savior, and before that, the appearance of the Forerunner and God's speedy judgment for the wicked. He died at a young age, and was buried with his ancestors in his native village of Sufa. In Orthodoxy, it is called the "seal of the prophet" because it was the last of the Old Testamentprophets.
Interpretation of the prophet Malachi
The theological writings of the saint have survived to this day. This book has four chapters, which set out his prophetic speech, instructions to the people and priests. It contains words of denunciation of the moral and ethical shortcomings of the Jewish people, as well as the threat of punishment by God.
The essence of his book is that he protests against the careless attitude to liturgical affairs. He especially scolds the priests and the Israelites, who were not afraid of God and abandoned their legitimate wives. Malachi wanted his speeches to contribute to the restoration and strengthening of morality among the people of Israel. He believed that his main goal was to prepare people for the coming of the Most High, but there were impatient Jews among the Jews who began to question the prophecies that the Lord would come. Malachi proved otherwise, that He would soon be with the people.
What else did the prophet say?
The saint always repeated that the Lord loves every person, that our Almighty requires reverence for himself. He cited comparisons that as a son honors his father, so a slave should respect and fear his master. Malachi very often asked a rhetorical question: is not the Father of mankind the same? Isn't the Lord God alone who created each of us?
His words contain the thought that God is a judge and a deliverer at the same time for each of us. Humanity must comply with his laws, for this he will bless us and accept us into his kingdom. When a person comes to the temple, he must offer something as a sacrifice. It can be in the form of a candle purchased and lit near the image of the Saint, in the form of money that you donated to help the temple or a beggar, in the form of time donated to God - this is also a kind of sacrifice that must be made with a pure, clear mind and heart.
Prayer to the saint
They say that the prophet Malachi helps from corruption. This is partly true. In the life of any person, various troubles are very often encountered. A person, by his own superstition, which is also a sin, begins to look for means and prayers from removing the evil eye and damage. The priests in churches say that a real Christian, who correctly believes in God, who observes all church canons, will not be taken by any magical conspiracy. This is explained as follows: if a person prays regularly, goes to confession, and then takes communion, then his soul becomes so pure and bright that the dark forces are not able to take possession of it, and hence the human body itself.
An akathist to the prophet Malachi is sung standing, as well as to the rest of the saints of the Orthodox Church. It consists of kontakia, which contain the biography of the saint. Like any other saint, the prophet Malachi protects the believer. Prayer for corruption was invented by the Orthodox, not the saints. To help your soul be cleansed, you need to read:
- kontakion 1, tone 4;
- kondak 2;
- troparion, tone 2;
- troparion, tone 4.
Also in the Orthodox prayer book there is a prayer in which a personrefers to the saint. It begins with the words: "Oh, praiseworthy and wonderful, the prophet of God Malachi …"
In addition to magic protection
If you suffer from witchcraft spells, then during the day you need to read the prayers "Our Father", "Our Lady of the Virgin, rejoice", "The Symbol of Faith", as well as Psalm 90 as often as possible. Start the day with morning prayers, then, on an empty stomach, take holy water with the words reserved for it. End the day with similar evening prayers.
The book "The Prayer Shield of an Orthodox Christian" should not be used, despite the fact that its release is approved by the priest. Such a book contains pseudo-Orthodox prayers with elements of conspiracies (and this is witchcraft), which are elements of magic forbidden by the Orthodox faith.
Conclusion
Prophet Malachi was right in his words. Prayer to this saint should be in the arsenal of every Orthodox Christian. Words addressed to God or his helpers should contain requests for the salvation of the soul, not the body. It's not for nothing that they say that a he althy mind lives in a he althy body.
