1. Malachi 1:11 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

When and how did the Lord fulfil this prophecy?

Malachi 1:11 (ESV)

11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.

This prophecy found fulfilment in the new dispensation. Formerly, the Gentile nations could only gaze upon the glory of Israel as outsiders, for they did not belong to “Israel after the flesh” (1 Corinthians 10:18, NKJV). They glorified the name of the God of Israel, but he was not their god. But our text refers to the new dispensation when Gentiles would be incorporated into the gloriously restored “Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16). Gentiles who came to faith in the risen and ascended Redeemer King, Jesus Christ, would be incorporated into the glorious kingdom of David’s son which is no longer confined to an earthly nation (John 18:36). This is clear from Acts 15:16–17, where the prophecy of the restoration of Israel in Amos 9:11 is fulfilled by the inclusion of the Gentiles into the worldwide church and kingdom of God. Since the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, people from the east (the rising of the sun) to the west (the setting of the sun) have glorified the name of the Lord, who has become their God and Saviour in Jesus Christ.