At the beginning of the Christian period traditional Jewish Biblical scrolls were collected in a codex, the ancestor to a book. Christians ordered what we call the Old Testament with the books of the prophets at the end, showing continuity between the words of the prophets and their fulfillment in Jesus. Doing so made Malachi the last book of the Old Testament with the last words being: Lest I come and strike the land with doom. The monks copying these manuscripts were not comfortable with “doom” being the last word so they would frequently add a verse to end on an upbeat note. We should have a similar attitude in these days which bode ill but “doom” does not get the last word with God!
