As we approach Christmas, there is so much noise that it becomes very easy to miss the meaning of the season. Christ is the reason for the season.
Dr. Joe Onesimus of Swahili Chapel looks at the period between the book of Malachi in the OT and Matthew in the NT. A time when God remained silent. God did not speak to and through the prophets. What was going on in the heavens and on earth?
According to the Bible, God was silent for 400 years between the ministry of Malachi in the Old Testament and the appearance of John the Baptist in the New Testament.
This period is known as the “400 Silent Years” in the Protestant community. During this time, it is believed that God did not speak and no new prophets were raised.
However, many books were written during this period, including the deuterocanonical books, the Biblical apocrypha, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Some say that God waited 400 years to send Jesus to ensure that conditions were in place to spread the gospel after the atoning sacrifice was made.
Others say that God is sometimes silent because he is waiting for the right time to speak
