JOHN THE BAPTIST

“Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.” Matt.11:11

     As John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ’s 1st Advent, so “the remnant…which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev.14:12) will pave the way for Christ’s 2nd Advent.

Of the 1st Advent it was prophesied:

“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.” Mal.3:1-4.

Of Christ’s 2nd Advent it was prophesied:

“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.” Mal.4:5,6.

     Those who receive the spirit of Elijah the prophet should understand the characters of both Elijah and John the Baptist and the similarities of their ministries that GOD had called them to. Elijah was raised up to face the onslaught of paganized Judaism. All the customs of pagan idolatry were united with the once pure and holy religion of the Jews. And once the evil infiltrated the priesthood, Satan's miracles were seen and the false prophets prospered as they deceived the people "that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." II Thess.2:12. When Elijah was placed in this quagmire of devilish religion masquerading as loyalty to GOD, he had to face 450 false prophets and 400 priests of Baal: all of whom worshipped the traditions of sun worship, serving the created more than the Creator.

The following passage from Elijah's life is among the most powerful testimonies in the Bible:

“And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.” I Ki.18:25-39.

     It should be noted that only one man stood against 850 apostates. And the very same sins committed then are still done today, everything from defiling GOD’S Holy Sabbath Day to the physical abuse of self-flagellation. The most revered pope, John Paul II is said to have whipped himself in his private chamber. It seems he never learned the lesson from Martin Luther. But then, how could he? For he rejected how "the just shall live by faith" and "the law of liberty" (Rom.1:17; Ja.2;12). None of these abuses the LORD commanded, and yet, men still turn their hearts “after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.” I Sam.12:21.

As Elijah faced an apostate religion in his day, John the Baptist faced an apostate religion in his day:

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.” Matt.3:7,8.

In the testimony of John the Baptist we see precious counsel given to those whose hearts were pricked by the Spirit of GOD to make simple reforms in their spiritual lives and inquired of John what they should do:

“And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages. And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.” Lu.3:9-18.

In John’s heaven-led wisdom we see how the counsel he gave is being disobeyed today, both in and out of the church. And in each of these times of history where GOD raised up a voice declaring His Righteousness we see a corrupt religion ruling over the common people who were deceived into trusting those whose rule over religious practice betrayed their trust as GOD'S stewards.—And yet, they each claimed fidelity to GOD. We also see in every case that when reproof comes to the church the persecution of the LORD’S messengers always follows. Jesus forewarned His disciples of this ugly tradition of sinful men who claim to serve GOD:

“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matt.24:9-14.

As it was then, so it will be repeated today as “the remnant” prepare the way for the LORD’S 2nd Advent. “The holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (II Tim.3;15) provide every insight to educate the saints in all that we are to face together as a people. It is called the time of Jacob's trouble (Jer.30:6,7). But in the end a great compliment will be paid to this last generation, who by sin’s standard are the weakest of the weak, but the Glory of the LORD will lift them from their poverty and from their oppressors of both demons and men:

“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.” “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast [Rome], neither his image [Protestant America], neither had received his mark [sin against the 4th Commandment] upon their foreheads [their intellect (Ps.94:20,21; Jer.3:3)], or in their hands [their actions (Ex.32:1,2; I Sam.15:23,24; Matt.16:25)]; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years [in the mansions of heaven (Jn.14:2) and not on the Earth (Isa.24)].” Rev.14:1-5; 20:4