Malachi was the last of the prophets. The message of the prophets would have been incomplete without Malachi’s universalistic dictum: "Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us?" Posterity has considered these verses as the very epitome of goodwill, even though the context in which they were written is rather particularistic.

The moral status of Israel was his constant concern. The Jewish people had returned from Babylonian exile and the Temple had been rebuilt. However, religious enthusiasm began to wane. Because of the sins of divorce and intermarriage, the altar of the Temple was covered "with tears, with weeping and with sighing." However, the Day of Judgment is at hand. It is depicted by a refiner's fire and laundryman's soap. Just as the refiner removes the dross from precious metal and the cleaner washes away the stain from the clothes, so will God remove wickedness from amongst His people.

While the wicked would be punished, the righteous would be rewarded. The winged solar disk represents this idea and leaping calves. The word, "hagadol," "the great" appears on the window as a summary of his prophecy: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord." Elijah, the harbinger of the Messiah, who is so intimately connected with the Passover, symbolizes the promise of salvation and ultimate peace for all humanity.