In my previous study I observed that John the Baptizer knew nothing of Jesus’ ministry in the Gospel. In fact, John was so confused over what Jesus taught and did during his public ministry that he wondered, if he had erred in pointing out that Jesus was the Messiah (cp. Luke 7:18-20). In fact, John’s confusion over Jesus’ ministry goes back even further. John was sent to prepare the way for Jesus (Isaiah 40:3-5), but when John offered Jesus the reins of his (John’s) ministry, Jesus refused, telling John their ministries should remain separate in order to fulfill righteousness (Matthew 3:13-15). Therefore, from the very beginning, John was confused over Jesus. All John really knew was that he was sent to prepare for Jesus’s coming. So, if John wasn’t sent to prepare folks for the Gospel, in what way did John prepare for Jesus?
In order to fully understand why John was sent before Jesus, we need to go back to the prophesies that foretold John’s ministry. Consider that Isaiah foretold that John would come and prepare for the Lord’s coming (Isaiah 40:3-5). According to Isaiah John was to be a voice crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of Jehovah, make straight a highway in the desert for our God” (Isaiah 40:3), and just as the prophet foretold, John came crying out in the wilderness (Matthew 3:1-3; Mark 1:2; Luke 3:2-4). So, what are we missing? Notice what Isaiah says about the coming of the Lord, before whom the Lord’s messenger was sent, and for which he was to prepare the people:
“Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him” (Isaiah 40:10)!
In other words, John’s message concerned coming wrath (Matthew 3:7) and a Messiah who already held the winnowing fork in his hand. A winnowing fork was used to separate the grain from the chaff (Matthew 3:12). John spoke of the harvest (or the end of the age), vis-à-vis judgment, when the grain would be put safely in the barn and the chaff would be burned up (Matthew 13:36-43). John’s message pointed to a specific part of Jesus’ work. John was sent to prepare the people for judgment! The highway in the desert, which John was sent to herald for the coming of Jesus concerned Jesus’ rule and the reward he had with him. In other words, John was sent to prepare the way for Jesus’ so-called Second Coming, as Judge. Moreover, John’s coming was also prophesied by another prophet:
“Behold, I will send My messenger, and He will clear the way before Me. And Jehovah, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the Covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He comes, says Jehovah of Hosts” (Malachi 3:1).
Once again, we find that the messenger was to be sent to prepare for judgment. Notice that the coming of the Lord is described as refiner’s fire and fuller’s soap, but who would be able to endure the day of his coming, because the Lord was coming in judgment against his people (Malachi 3:2-5). Furthermore, this messenger of the Lord would be sent in the spirit and power of Elijah, the prophet, before the great and terrible Day of the Lord, in order to bring God’s people to repentance. That is to say, so that the Lord doesn’t curse his people altogether (Malachi 4:1-6).
Jesus confirmed that John was Elijah who was to come (Matthew 11:10-15; 17:10-13). And, it was in this context that Jesus questioned the people concerning him. Jesus asked them who they went out into the wilderness to see (Matthew 11:7-9). He replied to his own question saying John was more than a prophet, and among all the prophets, none were more excellent than he. The fact is, John had a much wider ministry than is at first assumed by the casual reader of the scriptures. It actually extended internationally to the Jews of the Diaspora (cp. Acts 18:24-26; 19:1-5). Therefore, John’s ministry wasn’t what is usually supposed, namely, of some wild man in a desert who wore strange clothes and had a weird diet. No, John was the final prophet of the Old Covenant (Matthew 11:13), coming in the end of the age (Deuteronomy 31:29; Hebrews 1:2; 8:13), a time when the Messiah was to come (Malachi 3:1-5) and judge his people. John was sent to call for repentance, and in doing so, save many of God’s people, the Jews, from total annihilation (Malachi 4:1-6).
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4 responses to “The End of the Age and John the Baptizer”
John the Baptist wrote the first version of the Apocalypse.
Greetings A2, and thanks for reading and for your comment. Of course you’re welcome to believe anything you wish. However, I don’t believe even a casual observer would believe such a thing. Where’s the evidence? John was dead before the 2nd Passover in Jesus’ public ministry. Authorship requires great spiritual insight, but John had none. He even wondered if his pointing out that Jesus was the Messiah was a mistake.
Have a good day.
A careful reading of Eusebius shows that he mentions six of the seven churches but never associates them with the Apocalypse which suggests that the original version didn’t have the churches and were added by the Apostle. The lamb is mentioned 27 times.
Greetings A2, and thank you for reading and for your comment, but I don’t follow your reasoning. What does Eusebius have to do with the content of God’s word? If the 7 churches weren’t in the original version of the Apocalypse, how could the “Apostle” add them later? …and how are you applying the mention of the Lamb 27 times to all of this?