Scripture: Malachi 4 v 5 - 6: (Luke 1 v 17) "Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the Earth with a curse.
Matthew 11 v 13 -14: "For all the prophets and the law prophesied till John, and if you will receive it, this was Elias (Elijah) for to come."
After the passage of scripture in Malachi, Israel did not hear from God for 400 years. The anger of God was leading Him to smite the Earth with a curse. He does not like being ignored so He showed the Israelites what it felt like. There were no more prophets, just silence from Heaven. The Lord was creating a hunger in the hearts of His people, who had played hot and cold with Him over the preceding time since the garden of Eden.
To those who respected His Word, God promised that the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings would come. He also told them that He would send Elijah before the day of reckoning. Elijah was one of the most powerful prophets of the Old Testament. He never saw death, being taken to Heaven in the chariots of fire as witnessed by Elisha.
Jesus reveals in Matthew that John the Baptist was Elijah. He is a member of the Order of Melchisedech described in Hebrews 7 who have "multiple entry visas" to Earth. So was Moses. And both of them appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration and will be with us in the first half of the Tribulation as the two prophets of Revelation 11.
So the first words Israel heard after 400 years of silence from God was "His name shall be John" from the mouth of Zachariah his father, who had been struck dumb for the entire pregnancy. Zachariah was the High Priest of Israel that year and while he was alone in the Temple the angel Gabriel appeared to him.
Gabriel told him that he would have a son whose name must be John. Zachariah did not believe this as he and his wife were now old. For his unbelief he was struck dumb until the baby was born. His silence was broken when he said "His name shall be John."
The next words from God were through the mouth of the pregnant Elisabeth, wife of Zachariah, when her pregnant cousin Mary came for a visit.
Luke 1 v 40 - 42: "And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb."
Eight days after the birth of Jesus He was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem for circumcision. Simeon the Prophet was drawn by the Holy Spirit to come into the Temple at the same time.
Luke 2 v 26 - 32: "And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel."
John the Baptist himself: "Repent" and "Behold the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of the world." Our God knows how to set the scene for maximum impact. He used His silence to prepare Israel for the blessing of the coming of Jesus.
And the Israelites repented and were baptised for the remission of sins, and Jesus lived among them - the Son of Righteousness with healing in His hands. He came to save the world from an eternity in the fires of Hell and to bring them to being born again as a new creation of being, those who are forgiven and cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb. Those who worship the Father and the Lamb and have no other gods.
Many cling to Mary and have elevated her to godlike status not realising she was also in the Upper Room (Acts 1 v 13-14) and received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues. So she was born again just like all of us need to be. Its the only way to have your name written in the Lamb's Book of Life, which is your entry to Heaven.
So if you are not hearing from God; if you don't hear the voice of Jesus guiding you; if the Holy Spirit is not flowing through you to bring people to the Cross, where you confess your sins to God, not man, to be forgiven for all eternity, you need to examine your heart and make some changes.
Another desire and even command of God is to restore Fathers and Childrens relationships. The Lord saw that the enemy was unleashing terrible attacks to divide family units through divorce and remove the head of the family to destabilize this vital structure in the growth of children into mature adulthood. So if there is silence between you and your children pray to our Father to make a way to restore love and communication with them.
In the Old Testament God revealed through Jeremiah that the land He had given Israel would be forsaken but after many years, actually 1900 years, the Jews would be back in their own land. It happened in 1948 after the Holocaust, or Shoah, of the Second World War. The newly formed United Nations voted to allow the Israelites to go back to their homeland.
It was called Palestine but that soon changed back to Israel. It caused the Arabs who had lived there for hundreds of years to suddenly unite and call themselves Palestinians, they were actually from Jordan. They rallied the old enemies of Israel, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt to declare Israel a false occupier of Palestine which must be rejected. They declared war upon God's people and said they must be exterminated from their land. From then till now they have beaten this same drum.
In 1967 came the 6 Days War, where tiny Israel was completely surrounded and outnumbered by enemy armies. During the next 6 Days our God did multiple miracles which saw Israel wipe out the air force of Egypt and Syria and treble the size of the land they were given by God. Ever since then they reclaimed the Old City of Jerusalem, the Wailing Wall of the Temple, and the right to pray and worship God in the Holy Land.
The whole world believes Israel should give back the land they conquered in the 6 Days War, and go back to the way it was before then. There is no way on this planet they will give up the Old City. This is what the Arabs and their allies demand before any peace treaty is signed with Israel. The Lord is protecting her and His promises are real and unbreakable. He has broken His silence, and declared Himself a force to be reckoned with.
Have you seen what the nations that fight against Israel have become? Gaza, Syria, are a broken heap of stones. Iran always under pressure. Egypt wisely made peace with Israel, the memory of the Exodus and God's hand against Egypt, and His miracles for the Hebrews is still fresh in their minds.
The people alive today are the generation that will see Jesus return to Earth, and have opportunity to be Raptured if they follow Him. We can look back over all of history as well as see the end time prophecies being fulfilled before our eyes. God is no longer silent, He is shouting out The End is Nigh, Get Ready!
Prayer: Heavenly Father silence from You is a wake up call that big changes are needed in our lives as we prepare for the coming of Jesus, first when He raptures the church and second when He rescues Israel from the destruction from the rest of the world in the battle of Armageddon. Help us to help others who don't hear from You. In Jesus' name. Amen.