MALACHI, Sylvester Hassell Malachi, the last prophet of the Old Testament, is believed to have lived at the same time with or just after Nehemiah; and his prophecy was probably composed about 420 B.C. Its canonicity is established by several New Testament quotations (Matt. 11:10; 17:12, Mark 1:2, 9:11,12; Luke 1:17, Romans 9:13). Like Nehemiah, Malachi censured the profane and mercenary spirit of the priests, the people’s marriages with foreigners, the non-payment of the tithes, and the rich men’s want of sympathy towards the poor. He predicts the coming of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, under the name of Elijah, the prophet, and also the coming of Christ, as the Lord coming suddenly to his temple. He points to the great separating time between the righteous who serve God and the wicked who serve him not; and he represents God as the merciful and unchangeable Father of all that fear him and think upon his name, arising upon them as the Sun of Righteousness with healing in his wings, keeping their name in his book of remembrance, and finally gathering them as his jewels to himself; while he represents God as the righteous and terrible Judge of the proud and wicked, whom he will smite with a curse, and forever destroy with burning.
From the close of Nehemiah’s rule over Judea and the end of Malachi’s prophecy to the birth of our Savior, was about four hundred years; and the account of God’s chosen people during this long period must be gained from profane history, and a few items from the apocryphal writings of the Jews. These latter writings are, to a great extent, inconsistent and unreliable; and the history of the Jews by Josephus is, to some extent, unreliable during this and former periods. Events that came under the notice of Josephus during his life, including the last war with Rome, the destruction of the temple, and the city of Jerusalem, etc., are regarded as quite authentic.” (Hassell’s History ppg 158, 159)