Upvote:1
Actually I don't see the need to try and eliminate various interpretations. How about using some "reasoning" skills/logic to figure out what the Bible says are the messengers.
Isaiah 40:3, "A voice is calling , Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God." Mark 1:1-4, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. vs2, As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold I send My messenger before your face, Who will prepare Your way;
Verse 3, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight." Vs 4, "John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." So we know for a fact the first messenger is John the Baptist. You can also read Luke 3:1-6.
Notice from Isaiah 40:3, "Make smooth a highway for our God." The messenger of the covenant is the preincarnate Jesus Christ known in the Old Testament as "the angel of the Lord." He appears "physically" to the OT saints.
He is also identified as God at various places, "Genesis 16:13, Genesis 22, where He swears to Abraham that He will bless his descendants. And most notably is at Exodus 3 when he appears in the burning bush.
So to sum up the first messenger is John the Baptist. The second messenger is the Lord Jesus Christ who is equated with God and the one who came to "HIS" temple and fulfilled this prophecy.