Where are the “John the Baptist’s”?

Dec 31, 2020
Preface – Personal Reflection

There has been, for some time now, a strong sense from the Lord that He is about to raise up and release a company of prophets and priest in the nature and likeness of John the Baptist/Elijah. I started writing this up on Dec 13^th. The next day I had a ‘download’ from the Spirit of the Lord that we are beginning a 40 day ‘sign of Jonah’ countdown that will culminate on Jan 23^rd! This was a very strong word and warning.  So I pulled off writing this and wrote that up and posted it on the 17^th of Dec You can find it here:  http://www.surefoundint.org/2020/12/17/the-sign-of-jonah-2nd-corona-virus-word/

Back in the mid to late 90’s I had written up a short paper and titled it, “Where are the John the Baptist’s” based off the encounter with the Lord that I describe below, the title is still appropriate! I thought I had transferred it with other articles that I had written up, yet somehow, I did not find it, so that one got lost in the numerous computer transfers over the years. So, I had to go back to the beginning, and spend time at the feet of the Lord and in the word to bring back both memories and revelations He had showed me back then.  I am so glad that He did that. This has been one of the most explosive and dynamic revelations from the Lord I have received from His Spirit and His word in some time and possibly ever! It just kept going (and still is) and I finally had to cut it off feeling led to get it out before the New Year. And I’m quite sure that this word is for now.
Blessings and grace, ‘Holbert Marie’

Dec 31, 2020

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A Rude Awakening

At around 3:00 AM on a Tuesday morning, once again I was suddenly awoken out of a deep sleep. This had happened several times before during this season. I shot up out of bed, sat up and looked around the dark room and listened. Hearing and seeing nothing, I said quietly, “What Lord!? Why are you waking me up?”

The Set Up

A few hours earlier on Monday evening in the mid/late 90’s; I had met with our International small group of primarily brilliant, post grad students in the International student lounge at Kyoto University. I don’t remember the exact subject that was taught on that night, but I do remember that John the Baptist somehow came up as part of the post conversation. I remember, as I was driving home on my 50CC scooter, thinking about how the time together went. — This was my custom, to ponder and to talk to the Lord about how things went, was He pleased or did I screw up (often did) and need to make some correction or talk to anyone personally that may have had a hard time understanding, during the 20 minutes or so that it took me to get home. —  Somehow, though John was not the main point of the teaching or discussion, I found myself thinking about John the Baptist.  So now here I am wide awake in my room, sitting there quietly, wife sleeping soundly beside me, going, “Hey OK what’s the deal?” —Nothing, though I did kind of feel His presence in the room and I was like “Dad why are you meddling with me?” As I said, I had had a number of these 3 AM “WAKE UP” rendezvous during this period while in Japan. Each one was a bit different, but the Lord always had something to say or some question to ask and they were rarely of the ‘feel good’, ‘lovey dovey’ variety! That’s just not how our relationship works! It has grown into more of a Master/servant, Commander/soldier type of deal. I am not insecure in my relationship with my Father as a son, but have come to realize that He will bless and talk with those WHO SERVES HIM! (Mal 3:17)

A Question and an Invitation

Finally, as I was getting ready to lay back down and try to go back to sleep, out of the dark I heard Him say in my Spirit, “Son what if I made you like John the Baptist?”  My response was quick and to the point. “Well Dad/Lord seems to me like John the Baptist lost his head and ended his life doubting who you were!” His response was quick, prickly, clear and to the point spoken straightly in my native Texas dialect. He was a ‘tad’ irritated at my answer. It was clear that His opinion of John, was considerably different than mine.  “Boy, you don’t know “nuthing” about John the Baptist, but tomorrow that is about to change, I am going to teach ya about John!”  I was like, ‘Uoooh’, there was some heat on that fast ball. He then said, “You can go back to sleep now, training begins in the morning! Oh, by the way, John the Baptist was my best friend. You need to be careful about your judgements and opinions of my best friend!”  I sheepishly with a bit of shame said, “Yes sir.” And he was gone, I didn’t really sleep so well.

“Let’s Go to My words”

The next morning, true to His word, when my feet hit the floor, the Lord, through the Spirit, was there, “It’s time, let’s go to MY words”. 

(He had done this before with me concerning Zerubbabel, which led to a major revelation that was not comfortable and flew in the face of conventional thinking about Kings and Priest the secular/natural in partnership with the fivefold Ephesians 4 church governmental ‘gifts’. There are several articles up on this subject, “A Tale of Two Kings”, “The Biblical Foundations of ‘Business as Ministry’”, “The Four Legged Stool”, on this link http://www.surefoundint.org/articles-newsletters/ – towards the back, there are some 20+ titles there) – from the mid 90’s.

I immediately understood what the Lord was saying, when He said “MY words”. Jesus had quite a bit to say about John the Baptist personally.  In fact, John the Baptist is the most talked about individual person by the Lord and is a major character in all the gospels, second only to the Lord Himself. Let’s take a look.

What Jesus Had to Say about John the Baptist

Matt 11:1-17 (All scripture is from the New King James Version, NKJV, Thomas Nelson Publisher, 1981, Unless stated otherwise)

Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities. 2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”  (This is an important and appropriate question. The answer to which is as equally important.)

4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

7 As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?  8 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.  9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more (far more, superabundantly) than a prophet.  10 For this is he of whom it is written:

“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’

11 “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater (meizon—root word—mega– larger, elder, greater) than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.  12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.  13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.  14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.  15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

16 “But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, 17 and saying: ‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’  19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”  

Here is the account from Luke:

Luke 7:20-36

When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?'” 21 And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. 22 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.  23 And blessed is he who is not offended because of me.”

24 When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?  25 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’ courts.  26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.  27 This is he of whom it is written:

‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’

28 For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

29 And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. 31 And the Lord said, “To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like?  32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying:

‘We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.’

33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’  34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’  35 But wisdom is justified by all her children.”  

A Few Important Points

An exhaustive book would not be enough to fully break down and present all that Jesus said in these passages, not just about John but about what John said, did and represented!  So, let’s just touch on some clear points from the Lord’s words about John.

“Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” 

We have to understand John’s mandate and message to understand the question he asked. We are going to go through this thoroughly as we proceed and when we do, the reason for the question will become abundantly clear, AND IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH WAVERING DOUBT OR UNBELIEF. John knew and prophesied that Jesus personally was “the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world”.  He was not doubting that.  It was something else he was having questions about, and as we will see the questions are justifiable. It is dealing with ‘impatience’ and timing, understanding of SPIRITUAL “GAME THEORY!” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory)

A quick answer is that John’s message is capsulized in five parts:

1.) We will see that John is operating under some clear prophetic mandates from at least one highly reputable ‘prophet!’

2.) In Matt 3:1, As he cried out, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand” , he will go on to say that when the Lord comes, he will have His “winnowing fan in His hand and will thoroughly purge His threshing floor”.

3.) He, the Lord, will come to baptize us with the Holy Spirit and with fire!  ( Matt 3:11-12)

4.) He will also put an ax to the root of the tree,

5.) In a nutshell John was looking for the one who would basically wreak havoc on Satan and the wicked and the usurpers (like Herod) , and take authority as the true and rightful King and restore the Kingdom of God on the earth as  Mal 3:1-5, the ‘messenger passage’ says — (which Jesus Himself directly calls John) — that states clearly that He would come as “a refiners fire and fullers soap” and “purify the son’s of Levi“ — (the priest- Levites, Pharisees and Sadducees—“Brood of snakes”. JOHN HIMSELF WAS A LEVITE, His father was of the Abijah division and his mother was a ‘daughter of Aaron’ – Luke 1:5 ) — and cleanse the Temple and restore THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

And John didn’t see any of that happening! In fact, he was under arrest by order of the wicked human ‘ruler of the age’ –‘prince of Tyre’ — (Ezk 28:1-11) Herod, by whom he would eventually be put to death. I can understand some of John’s confusion. And guess what, so did the Lord which can be seen in His answer back.

Matt 11:4-6 “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

Jesus’s answer basically deals with telling John that His primary purpose at this time, is to touch and heal the oppressed and to PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR, something that is very dear to John’s heart, and to do the first 2 verses of Isa 61:1-2. Which John is aware of.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord… NKJV

Jesus quotes this in Luke 4:18 reading in the synagogue. However, He does NOT say, “the opening of the prison to those who are bound.” (John is in prison). He says, “Proclaim liberty to the captives” and to “Set free those who are oppressed”. He is speaking in spiritual terms not necessarily physical. AT LEAST NOT YET! So, the answer to John’s question is “Yes, I am the Coming One”, and “Yes, I am also the One to Come!”  Like everyone else at that time, John did not have the revelation that the Lord would come first as a Lamb to die and then come again as King to execute the “Day of Vengeance of our God” Is 61:2. Which the Lord did not quote in Luke 4:18. These are separate advents or comings of the Lord, first as the Lamb, then as the Lion!  And this is part of the Lord’s game strategy! God basically tricked Satan into killing Him, thinking that he would win the war when he did so!

1 Cor 2:7-8 : But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Paul goes on to say:

1 Cor 2:9-12

But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows (ginosko) the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know (ginosko) the things that have been freely given to us by God.  NKJV

John did not have the same understanding and view point as we now have available to us through the Spirit! It’s pretty easy to make calls and judgements about someone’s decisions using hindsight, and having the help of the revelation of the Spirit of God that those who went before did not have — that does not mean it is wise to do so!

So now let us break down what Jesus had to say about John after his messengers left.

• “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

Jesus immediately deals with the idea that John is a wavering doubter. By saying to the multitudes, after John’s messengers had left, exactly who John was and it is clear that he was not a REED SHAKING IN THE WIND!

• But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses

This is a far cry from the vast majority of today’s prophets and priest, many of which did as I did and accused John of being a ‘weak doubter!‘ Many of whom “dress to the ‘nines’” and have both many fine suits of clothing and (some) multiple houses that kings of the times of Jesus would have been envious of. John had no home, no wife, lived in the wilderness, and lived off the land and his message was to the poor and oppressed, showed no favoritism to the rich and powerful, and he totally did what he was commissioned to do all the way through to the end, surrendering his very life! Let’s just say when we stand in heaven to receive our judgment and rewards, I do not want to be next in line behind John!

• But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.  10 For this is he of whom it is written: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’

Please take some time on this and really look at what the Lord is saying about John. He actually says that JOHN IS MORE (GREATER larger, older, wiser) THAN A PROPHET, Jesus then says that John is specifically THAT GUY, His messenger, and quotes from Malachi 3:1. Let’s look at he whole ‘messenger’ passage!

Mal 3:1-3

“Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger (not John) of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts. 2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the Lord An offering in righteousness. NKJV       

But wait there is more!                                                                                          

• For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater PROPHET than John the Baptist …Matthew says this: “Assuredly, I say to you, AMONG THOSE BORN OF WOMEN there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist

The Lord goes on to say that John is not only “more than a prophet”, He declares him to be the greatest prophet or person ever born up to that point!  Stop and think about what the Lord is saying here for a minute!  He is saying that John was greater than a long list of distinguished and noted prophets, and Holy men including Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and on and on!

And yet there is STILL MORE!

• And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 HE WHO HAS EARS TO HEAR, LET HIM HEAR!

Here is what Jesus said directly to the apostles immediately after the ‘Transfiguration’ – Jesus, Moses and Elijah —  and He told them to “tell the vision to no one.”  

Matt 17:10-13

And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is COMING FIRST and will restore all things.  12 But I say to you that Elijah has COME ALREADY, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise, the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.”  13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.  

Let us look carefully at this seeking to ‘have ears to hear’, as He told us to have! I think it is important to note that the Lord says that he, John was both His messenger (Mal 3:1) and also “he is ELIJAH who is to come” (Matt 11:14). Then in Matt 17:11 Right after the transfiguration, He says, that Elijah “is to come first to RESTORE ALL THINGS” and then He goes on to say that John was the Elijah who had “come already!” vs 12.   So, who is Elijah to come who will restore all things? Well here is what the very last word in the old testament says!

Mal 4:5-6
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
 6 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” 

OUR GOD IS A FATHER < HE IS A FAMILY GOD>. IT’S ALL ABOUT FAMILY FOR HIM: SON, HOLY SPIRIT AND US with the angels as SERVANTS, AND HAS BEEN FROM THE BEGINNING! He created us to be family, one with Him and each other, (Mark 12:29 -the great commandment and Jesus’s only prayer for us John 17:20-24). Everything Satan and his minions do is to exalt himself (Is 14:14) and to do things that seeks to divide and destroy family and relationships, beginning with severing us from God!

Three Elijah’s
So basically, what we can clearly see if we open our ears and eyes, is that we have the appearance of three “Elijah’s” The first being Elijah himself (1 Kings 17:1) who the Lord raises up to oppose Ahab (Baal) and Jezebel (Asherah/Innana) who brought Baal and Asherah worship into Israel.— (We definitely have Baal and Asherah/Inanna, worship in the US, WEST, BIG TIME in spades. Even worse, promoted and sanctioned homosexual marriage and are seeking to sanction, transgenderism and pedophilia as “normal and acceptable!” As a nation, we have offered over 60 million babies to him! Our divorce rate is no different than the worlds! Sex slavery and trafficking, etc. Corruption at the highest levels of governments and the courts. Even in our highest courts!) —  Elijah destroyed the prophets of Baal (though he did run for his life away from Jezebel/Asherah/Inanna) and was whisked away to Heaven without dying and Ahab never caught or imprisoned him!  
This ‘first’ Elijah has power to call down fire from heaven and to call for droughts (The same as the ‘two witnesses’ of Rev 11 ‘the two anointed ones’ — Zech 4:11-14!) and I believe the third coming of Elijah/John the Baptist (which maybe a ‘company/more than one’), will be able to do the same against the wicked kings, rulers and authorities who have, like Pharaoh hardened their heart and have refused to release God’s people and ordered the death of their children.

The Second Elijah

We then have the Messenger/’Elijah’ of John the Baptist, who does two things, prepare the way for the Lord, preaching “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Matt 3:1) and introducing the ‘baptism of repentance’ through water. — (Acts 19:4: Paul clearly states what John’s ministry was about!) — Something that the early apostles and church continued even after the ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit!’, if it was useless or outdated, they would not have kept doing it, even Paul did it (1 Cor 1:14-16). Nor would Peter have made it part of the salvation process in the first sermon after the Spirit fell.  
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

John then, put on his ‘Elijah hat’ (but without the power or signs) and went and confronted the same spirits/principalities of Baal (Ahab) and Asherah/Inanna (Jezebel) that Elijah confronted, when he went and took on Herod (Baal) and Herodias (Asherah/Innana) John was actually put to death by the spirit of (Jezebel, Inanna, Asherah) the same principality (fallen angel) that Elijah ran from (Ezk 28:12-19)! We need to remember that John preached the gospel of repentance to Herod before Herod was seduced and made a rash promise in a drunken lustful stupor, where Herodias’s daughter, Salome, requested the head of John! (Matt 14:1-12) Yet Herod knew John was of God and when he heard about Jesus, he was keen to meet him to see some sort of ‘sign’ (Luke 9:9, Luke 23:6-12) When Herod finally meets Jesus, the Lord totally ignored him (Good thing for Herod, because the sign of Elijah is fire coming down and consuming the wicked). When the Lord totally ignores you, you are in big trouble, the Holy Spirit is no longer even attempting to convict you anymore, like Pharaoh, and you have been turned over to a reprobate (debased mind — Rom 1:18-32), and a spirit of delusion (2 Thes 2:7-12).  It will not go well with Herod or any of the ‘Herods’, including all the ‘Herodiass’ and her daughter ‘Salomes’ that came after them (even now), when they stand before the true King! Isn’t it interesting that Herod and Pilate became friends at that time? In any case, It is not a good idea to behead one of the Lord’s best friends! The day of vengeance is coming and it is coming soon! If you are a ‘son of Issachar’ (1 Chron 12:32) and “have eyes to see and ears to hear”, you can discern the seasons and it is not difficult to discern that the Lord is smoldering/brooding, “as in the days of Noah“, to release His wrath upon the wicked and to bring forth the “day of vengeance of our God”, to release His Holy consuming Mal 3:2-5 fire and “who can abide it?” This is what is coming on those who are NOT abiding in Him!

Luke 12:49-59
“I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished! 51 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. 52 For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53 Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.“

54 Then He also said to the multitudes, “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. 55 And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. 56 Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?

“Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? 58 When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.”

What many focus on when they form opinions about John:

Yet, despite all this, today, we have far too many that only focus on what Jesus said to John’s messengers saying “…And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” and right after declaring John the Baptist as the greatest man and prophet to have ever been born of woman up to that point in time  … but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

Really!? IF we only ‘hear’ these two statements, we will end up not only making a wrong judgment, but totally passing over, ignoring or discounting what He said before this and then we will miss out on what Jesus is saying after this as well! That’s not a good idea I mean really, THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA!  The Lord has much to say here in this discourse on John. Yet, I cannot think of anyone else who has used John’s words or prophecies or referred to Him much at all, (Except to do what I originally did, judge him as a wavering doubter, who lost his head to Herod.) EVEN THOUGH JESUS NOT ONLY SPEAKS WELL OF JOHN, HE REFERS TO HIM, OFTEN. Even sighting him as one of his witnesses (John 5:32-33). John is quite a ‘big deal’ in Jesus’s day (Matt 16:14), everyone in Judea knew him; the King, Priest, Roman soldiers (Luke 3:14) and paupers! The Lord also used Him as a defense/shield against the plans of the corrupt and wicked ‘Priest, Scribes and Lawyers’. (Matt 21:23-27)

Beware of spiritual arrogance and thinking of yourself too highly (Prov 3:6)
Many use this statement that Jesus made about the ‘least in the kingdom being greater’, to exalt themselves subtly thinking, “Well I am a son, born of the Kingdom of God, through the blood of the Lamb, and I am filled with the Holy Spirit and are therefore ‘in the Kingdom of God’ and thus I am ‘greater’ than John and all the prophets that went before him!” When one does this, you are discounting the entire old covenant, the law and the prophets and you are exalting yourself! Again, not a good idea,
especially when Jesus Himself said this:

Matt 5:17-19 17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.  18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.  19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Honor and respect of fathers, those who have gone before!

When one does this, they are subtly discounting or lowering, those who have gone before us, who are actually our fathers in the faith and the 5^th commandment tells us to honor our fathers and mothers that we may have a long and prosperous life! This again is just not a good idea! It is not humility and is exactly the opposite, it is a form of arrogance and arrogance of the worse kind, spiritual arrogance, something that caused Satan to fall!

To the most part we are not properly discerning or ‘hearing’ what Jesus was trying to say here not only about John, but to us, if we only see the ‘rebuke’. It really has nothing to do with any competition or comparison — which God hates, it is a form of ENVY and SELFISH AMBITION: James 3:14-17: But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. —- to John or any other old testament prophet or us being ‘greater’ or better than John and the saints of the old covenant. It has everything to do with Jesus telling us that when the Holy Spirit comes that we will have the Spirit of God (the Kingdom) taking up residence in us and that this will give us something that John and any of the old testament prophets of old did not have, but longed to have, direct access to the Lord without any intermediary or ‘prophet’!  THE HOLY SPIRIT< the KINGDOM OF GOD< NOW TAKING UP RESIDENCE IN US THEREFORE WE CAN NOW HAVE A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER THROUGH THE SPIRIT OF GOD LIVING IN US BECAUSE OF JESUS THE SON MAKING THAT POSSIBLE. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN THAT RELATIONSHIP THAT WOULD EVER CAUSE ONE TO SEE HIMSELF AS GREATER THAN AN ANOTHER, ESPECIALLY ONE THAT JESUS HIMSELF CALLED THE GREATEST MAN EVER BORN OF WOMAN!

Ultimately, It has nothing to do with your having the Holy Spirit it has everything to do with the Holy Spirit having you!  And anyone who truly has the Holy Spirit as the ruler of their life, will have the ‘fear of the Lord’ and will be humble, and will seek to do what John the Baptist did, POINT PEOPLE TO JESUS AND NOT THEMSELVES IN ANY WAY! They are not cocky or competing or comparing themselves with others (2 Cor 10:12).  They will not be about ‘self’ or ‘me’ or ‘my ministry’ or ‘my anointing’ or ‘wise in their own eyes’ (Prov 3:6) AT ALL. They will not love money or the world or the things of the world. They will be all about the ‘testimony of Jesus’ the true Spirit of prophecy, LIKE JOHN! Jesus didn’t call many specific people great. John is on a very short list! Along with the Centurion of Luke 7, the woman with an issue of blood (Matt 15:28) that’s about it.  Jesus says that those who wish to be called great should be the least.

Luke 9:46-48

Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. 47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, 48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.”

And this is what John the Baptist EXCELLED AT MORE THAN ALL, AND BECAUSE OF THIS HE IS CALLED THE GREATEST OF ALL!

John 3:26-36

… they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified — behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!”

27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. 34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. 35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

This entire quote is from John the Baptist – (Some interpreters cut the quote at the end of verse 30 but they have no reason to do so. This would make the following verses 31-35, the apostle John’s added narrative with no delineation made at all between his addition and John the Baptist’s statement. We need to remember John the Baptist was the Lord’s witness! He was the last of the old testament prophets. There was an expectation that the ‘Messiah’, would be a man who was God’s Son in the flesh – “Unto us a ‘Son’ is given” – Is 9:6). – He is the Lord’s “Best man” at the coming ‘marriage super of the lamb!’ John was not jealous of the bridegroom for His bride! He did nothing to draw the affections of the bride to himself! (It maybe a good idea to stop and think about this thought for a bit!) We would do well to spend some time to absorb them! They are THE WORD OF GOD!

John perfectly represents the true prophetic as clearly stated in Rev 19:10:

And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” NKJV

And this is where we see why Jesus called John the Baptist the greatest of all prophets. Everything he did, every word he spoke, pointed people to Jesus, the Bridegroom. John never did anything to bring glory or attention to himself. In fact, he did the exact opposite.  (I would not be at all surprised to find out that the ‘fellow servant and of your brethren’ that spoke to the apostle John in Rev 19, is in fact John the Baptist resurrected! No one declared the ‘testimony of Jesus’, while drawing attention away from himself, more than John the Baptist!)  

The gospel accounts of John the Baptist

Matthew’s gospel is the first gospel in the canon New Testament and therefore the first one to talk of John the Baptist. However, as Matthew is a later addition as an apostle, he more than likely received his account of John through either John the apostle or Andrew, Peter’s brother, as they were both with John the Baptist.The same could be said of Luke’s and Mark’s– which may have been the first gospel written — accounts. However, Luke’s gospel is an accounting of interviews and he surely interviewed Mary the mother of Jesus (who was living with John the apostle on the orders of Jesus on the cross. John 19:26) So Luke has quite a detailed account of John the Baptist’s conception and birth, which he surely received from Mary and an accounting of John the B’s ministry from John and possibly Andrew the apostles. John’s gospel is the last one written and takes a different approach than the other gospels and therefore John does not cover the same words and details about John the B. In this article we will use primarily Matthew, Luke and John’s accounts. We will not deal much with John’s birth which, in its own right, is miraculous and divine in nature, other than to draw some prophetic words spoken over and about him.

From the moment of John’s birth, the priesthood, which his father was, and many others, knew about John. I don’t know of anyone else who had an angel show up and tell them that they were 1.) going to have God’s messenger who “comes in the spirit and power of Elijah” born to them and then 2.) struck dumb for 9 months because he doubted Gabriel’s word! I also do not see any other child in the womb, leap for joy, while being filled with the Holy Spirit being yet in Elizabeth’s womb! And yet many look down on and discount John the Baptist as some kind of weak and flawed prophet?! (Luke 1:5-23, Luke 1:35-39, Luke 1:57-80) –Really, why is that?  It probably has to do with John not working in signs or wonders! We too often judge a prophet or a ‘man of God’ by the wonders they perform. This will eventually get you deceived! We are not to judge anyone by miracles done but by their fruit and the truth of the message they bear! We will go into this in more depth later, it’s important.

Who Is John and what is his message?

1.) Matt 3:1-3
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.'” (Is 40:3)

In Matthew 3:1-3 we see that John is preaching a gospel of repentance: Humble yourself before the Living God, confess your sin and change your ways. The Kingdom of God is coming to judge all unrighteousness.
HOWEVER, the first time Jesus came not to judge, but rather to die and take the judgment for all unrighteousness – (this is the baptism He, the Lord, spoke of in Luke 12:50) – so that we would not have to, giving us the opportunity to be saved!  
John the Baptist did not know how this was going to work. He did know what scripture said about Him, and he also knew he was the one to come before Him to prepare the way. He did not go to the cities, he went to the wilderness of Judea, and people came to him. He was calling for repentance among the many who came to him. Interestingly John had no signs or miracles unlike the first Elijah. So one could ask, why did John have such a well known ministry and why did people both come out to hear him and follow him?

John 10:40-42
40 And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. 41 Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke (testified)  about this Man were true.” 42 And many believed in Him there. — (because of John’s testimony about Jesus, this is: “wisdom is known by its children!” – Luke 7:35)

2.) Matt 3:4-6: Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

Matthew 3:4 – 6 describes John’s physical appearance. John wore the scratchy, course camel hair garment, (not the soft, expensive variety worn by celebrities today) with a leather belt. His prophet’s attire (Zech 13:4) was similar to Elijah (2 Kings 1:8).

Many went for baptism from all over Israel and Judea (including Jerusalem). John did not start baptism; rather baptism was a washing ritual ceremony for those foreigners who left their gods and culture to embrace the God of Israel. Baptism represented the need to be washed from worldly filth and wickedness. Baptism was an act of humility, brokenness, representing death to the old and the water is a form of the abyss, hell (Deut 30:13, Rom 10:7). So, when you go down into the water it is symbol of dying and going to hell (WHICH WE DESERVE) and when you are raised out of it, it is symbol of coming into new life in Christ. However, like every symbolic action, the actual baptism does not save you or cleanse you from sin. It is an outward sign or witness, to an inward action. The humbling of oneself and acknowledging your need to be washed and cleansed of sin, and today baptism is for those who have already received Jesus and are obeying the commandment of being baptized and thus making an absolute declaration for all to see, that you are now a follower of Jesus Christ and will no longer follow or obey your former gods, lust and self-centered passions. Baptism without bearing ‘the fruit of repentance’ is not just useless, it adds to the judgement one receives if they fall away from the Lord – (Heb 6:1-7, 2 Pet 3:20-22) and “the fear of the Lord” is the beginning and ending of wisdom – (Prov 1:7, Eccl 12:13-14). This understanding of the ‘fear of the Lord’ is a key foundational component of real faith and it is often ignored in many if not most of today’s evangelical/charismatic church movements!

Phil 2:9-13

11Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear— (phobos: to be put in fear, alarm or fright)—and trembling; — (tremos- quaking in fear)–for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

3.) Matthew 3:7-12 are SO FULL. Examining this carefully, we will discover exactly why John sent messengers to Jesus to ask Him, ‘Are you the one to come or should we look for another?’
Let’s break it down sequentially:

• 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

This dialogue occurs after John sees many of corrupt priests ‘coming to his baptism.‘ John calls them to their face, a “brood of snakes” (the offspring of Satan) and ask them by which spirit are they led to come out. It appears that maybe even some of them were going for baptism.
To which John challenges them with this statement:

• 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,

John is saying to to the “religious” who give weight to the physical sacrament, that the act of ‘baptism of repentance’, of itself is worth nothing without the resulting ‘fruit of repentance.’ I have seen many get baptized as kind of an ‘insurance policy’. They believe the act of getting baptized will guarantee salvation. IT DOES NOT! As disciples of the Lord, we should be careful to educate anyone being baptized that the ritual or sacrament DOES NOT guarantee salvation. Rather that the real sign of salvation is evidence of repentance, a changed life, and the fruit of the spirit (Gal 5:21-22) and a continual confession before men of Christ as Lord. (Matt 10:33)

• 9 and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

This important statement applies as much to us today as it did for John’s audience who believed because they were ‘special’ and belonged to God BECAUSE they came from the lineage of Abraham. They had great pride over their heritage, spiritual pride, that would lead them to destruction. The same can be said for those of us who claim to be ‘Sons of God through Christ’ but do not show any fruit of repentance and believe that we are God’s special ‘generation’ new covenant people. Paul goes to great lengths warning us about this mentality in Romans 9-12. We must ever be diligent to walk in humility, thanksgiving and obedience to the Lord. Hebrew 4 warns us lest we too be “cut off of the branch” and be rejected as the children of Israel of Moses’s generation were.

• 10a And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.

In Mark 11 the day of the ‘triumphant entry’, where everyone was putting branches and clothes in front of Him hailing Him as Hosanna and King, expecting Him to bring the’ fire of God’ to destroy the Romans and the corrupt “Jewish” authorities, and then restore the Kingdom of David and Solomon (Israel) to its glory days again, (Make Israel Great Again) with them being part of it. This was the day, “Jesus went into Jerusalem and into the temple. So, when He had looked around at all things, as the hour was already late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve” (Mark 11:11). Leaving a huge throng of excited, expectant folk going, “That’s it?!” The next day He headed back to Jerusalem, (no fanfare this time) He is ‘hungry’–but probably just ate breakfast before leaving so this is not a physical hunger—and spots a fig tree, goes to it and finding only leaves proceeds to curse it, declaring “let know one eat fruit from you again” and His disciples heard it —Mark 11:.12,13. He then immediately goes into the temple to clean it out of the ‘den of thieves and vipers’ (Mark 11:15-17). The next mourning again as He returns with the twelve from Bethany to Jerusalem. Peter remembers as they pass by and points out the tree which is found withered from the ROOTS UP.  – (Adam and Eve covered themselves with fig leaves, trying to cover their sin! – Gen3:7 and then sought to hide from God amongst the other trees – Gen 3:8) –  Symbolically Jesus cursed the ‘tree of knowledge of good and evil.’ This fulfilled John’s prophetic declaration that the “ax is at the root of the tree.” And it has to do with the ‘tree of knowledge’, as well as the old covenant, ‘law based’ system of covering one’s sins by the fig leaves of man’s attempt to be righteous and the Levitical rituals of offering animal sacrifices instead of the proper sacrifice of a “broken and contrite heart” of repentance (Ps 34:18, Ps 51:16,17, Is 57:15,16)!

• 10b Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Every single living person has eaten of the tree of ‘knowledge of good and evil” (Gen 2, 3) and thus, we are all condemned. Hope is given only to those who have eaten of the tree of life, (Jesus Christ, the way the truth and THE LIFE — John 14:6). Jesus says that we should make the tree good or bad – (Matt 12:33-37), the bad trees — false prophets — are cut down and thrown in the fire – (Matt 7:15-19). The fruitless fig of Mark 11 was cursed, withered and what it represented, the mountain of sin, was cast in to the sea – (the abyss).

Mark 11:20-26
20 Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look!
The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”

22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 
23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”
While adding this caveat!
25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.  26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

• 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 

John says that he is not worthy of being the lowest of slaves to the Lord! That is the worse job that any servant can have, carrying sandals, washing feet. Those days there was no paved road, no modern bathroom facilities, no garbage pickup. Streets were very nasty. John was looking for the one who baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire. John did not see this happening with the Lord. Thus, John asks whether Jesus is the one or should he look for another. Remember Jesus did not send the Holy Spirit and fire until – AFTER DYING (His Baptism) AND THEN RISING INTO HEAVEN – in Acts 2.

• 12 His winnowing fan (the fan/wind that blows away the chaff) is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” – (Parable of the Tares, Matt 13:24-30 –36-43).

As mentioned before Jesus calls John ‘His Messenger’ and quotes Mal 3:1. Now let us consider the entire “messenger” passage from John’s (the Baptist) perspective in order to recognize his expectations.

Mal 3:1-5 NKJV
1“Behold, I send My messenger – (this is John, and he knew it) – and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger (not John, but Christ) of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming, “Says the Lord of hosts.
2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderers’ soap.
3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the Lord An offering in righteousness.
4 “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem Will be pleasant to the Lord, As in the days of old, as in former years. 5 And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, And against those who turn away an alien
— Because they do not fear Me, “Says the Lord of hosts.

Jesus eventually does some of this in Mark 11 as mentioned above, and also in John 2. but even than it is just a precursor of what is to come, when Jesus cleans His threshing floor for good and rules and reigns, reestablishing the Kingdom of God on the earth, in Jerusalem! We are about to see the realization of versus 2-5! (Selah– think on that, read verse 5 carefully. Does it not fit perfectly what we are facing today!? Let us allow the Lord to purify us as gold and silver that we may offer to the Lord an OFFERING –our selves, a living sacrifice to the Lord so that He can then DO verse 5!)

All of these verses Matthew 3:7-12, were spoken, by John the Baptist, to the priest, the pastors, the prophets and the teachers of the Lord’s day. I think we should heed them today! We should carefully consider our ways and humbly repent when He convicts and corrects us and not despise His discipline!

Prov 3:11-12
11 My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction;  
12 For whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.

John was a disciple of John the Baptist before becoming an Apostle of the Lord!

Interestingly, John the apostle – (and Andrew, Peter’s brother) – was first a disciple of John the Baptist. John the Baptist SENT HIM to Jesus pointing Jesus out and saying “BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD” – (John 1:35). John the Baptist pointed the very best of his followers to leave him (the bride grooms friend) and follow Jesus (the bridegroom). It is from John the Apostle that we have the greater, personal record of John’s words and ministry. It is also interesting to note that the Apostle John brings John the Baptist into a prominent place very early in his gospel.

John 1:6-9
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness (testify) of that Light.
9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

We see the influence of John the Baptist all over John the apostle, in his gospel, teachings and mannerisms and yes even Revelation. John the apostle also keeps a low profile and completely disappears out of scripture after Acts 8 until the end of the book where we see him pop up as the last living apostle and writes the gospel of John, 1,2 and 3 John and Revelation. We already touched on how he is taking care of Mary, the Lord’s mother, by assignment from the Lord. John’s gospel is the last written, and we see John continue with John the B’s prophetic testimony of Jesus and record his encounter with “the brood of vipers” – the priest and scribes.

John 1:15-19-38 NKJV
15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'”…

… 19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem
to ask him, “Who are you?”  
20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
And he answered, “No.”

22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”

23 He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,”‘ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27 It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.“

28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.‘ 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”

32 And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.”

35 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples. 36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, “What do you seek?”….

I want to specifically focus on the conversation John the Baptist has with the “priests and Levites” who were sent by the Pharisees to ask about who John was in verses 20 and 21. As we saw earlier, from Matt 14, Luke 7 and Matt 17 that Jesus Himself calls John:

 1.) His personal messenger, quoting from Mal 3:1

 2.) “A prophet and more than a prophet.“

3.) For those who can receive it and have ears to here, “Elijah who is to come.“

4.) “Elijah who has already come.“

5.) The greatest man/prophet who had ever been “born of woman” up to that time.

Now contrast that with what John says about himself when questioned by ‘the authorities”!

19 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”  
20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,”‘ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

When asked who he is, he first clearly and categorically states WHO HE IS NOT. He is NOT the Christ! Every time there is an attempt to get John to claim to be something that might focus attention on him away from the Lord, he rebuts it and says ‘I am not’, or ‘no’!

They ask him if he is Elijah he says straightly, I AM NOT! Yet Jesus clearly said that he was!  Hmm (Selah – stop and think about that.)

They then ask him if he is ‘The Prophet?’ Again he says “no”, when Jesus clearly said He was the greatest of all prophets up to that time!  Hmmmm (Selah again)

So, when they finally say, ‘Well, then who are you, and why are you baptizing people if you are not the Christ, Elijah or the Prophet?’  – (They questioned his authority to do what he was doing. A few years later, Jesus throws this back at them, when they asked Him the same question about ‘authority’ as He contends with them in the temple shortly before He goes to the cross! – Luke 20:1-8)

John simply establishes his authority based on Isaiah 40:3 and quotes it. Here is that full passage:

Isa 40:3-5: 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; 5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Look at the entirety of the message, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE LORD, no focus at all on the one ‘crying in the wilderness’. This is what John did and He did it from the wilderness. The point is everything John the Baptist did pointed back to ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world”, the Lord.

So, what if John would have answered, “I am” or “Yes” to the Pharisees and Levite’s queries? The focus now would have been on John and they would have assailed him to prove that by doing the ‘signs of Elijah’ (which once again would not have gone well for them!) This is is not what he came to do, THIS TIME! The conversation would have centered around him. John did not take the bait. He kept his message to the point, it’s all about Jesus Christ, the one who is to come, that he did not consider himself worthy of carrying or untying His dirty, filthy sandals! Oh that we all would have that sort of heart, to be a prophet and servant with the nature of John the Baptist. That we would understand what a great privilege it is to be the Lord’s slave or be in His service at all! That He would choose to use us, speak through us, or move through us in any capacity is the greatest privilege that one can have! (Luke 17:5-10). That we can understand that He is truly worth the selling of all to obtain the pearl, HIM, the King of the Kingdom of God! (Matt 13:45,46)

So, this encounter raised another question. Did John not really know who he was? — (Just like Jesus when asked if He was ‘the one’ He often gave vague answers or said, “You say that I am.”) — I don’t think so! The truth is John was not going to allow the sons of Satan, the brood of vipers to control or manipulate the conversation! So, let’s see what was said about John by the angel Gabriel! (The ‘reputable prophet’ mentioned at the beginning of this writing)

Luke 1:12-17: 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will also go before him in THE SPIRIT AND POWER OF ELIJAH, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ (Mal 4:6) and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Here is John’s fathers prophecy over John after he was un-muted.
Luke 1:67-80 “Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, 71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: 74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

76 “And you child shall be called THE PROPHET OF THE HIGHEST; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

So, the angel Gabriel, the one that muted Zacharias for not believing him, said that He would be great in the sight of the Lord and would come IN THE SPIRIT AND POWER OF ELIJAH to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children! Hello, do we have ears to hear!? His father, speaking under the unction of the Holy Spirit directly called him, THE PROPHET of the Highest! Ultimately JOHN KNEW WHO HE WAS at least when it comes to being, “Elijah” and “The Prophet” and “The Messenger”.  And Jesus confirmed this in both Matt 14 and 17. Yet we did not see John fulfill either of those prophetic words completely! He surely did not see the manifestation of, the “being delivered from the hand of our enemies, that we might serve Him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.“
Nor did John come in the manifest POWER of Elijah. (As mentioned, no signs or miracles at all! – John 10:40-42)

Now knowing all this, we should clearly be able to understand and even empathize with John’s confusion and reasoning for the question that he sent messengers to ask of the Lord. He had been prophesied over by GABRIEL that He would come in both the spirit and POWER of Elijah. Elijah called down fire from heaven twice, consuming his enemies. (2 Kings 1:9-12) There were many signs and wonders around Elijah. We see fire again as the prophets of Baal were soundly defeated on Mount Carmel.

John’s father, through the Holy Spirit, prophesied that he would be the forerunner of the one who would “DELIVER US FROM ALL OUR ENEMIES” that we might serve Him WITHOUT FEAR IN HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS BEFORE HIM ALL THE DAYS OF OUR LIFE.
John was seeing none of that as he was in prison under Herod to whom He would eventually lose his head and life to! John was doing his job FULLY! He was holding on to the promise, that like every other old testament prophet and holy one, would not see in his lifetime. John is the epitome of Heb 11:35-39

Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented — 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise.

John was totally obedient to his calling, so maybe, just maybe, we should cut John a little slack for the question he asked the Lord. —Could it be that John, was a key piece in the ‘game theory’ that the Lord used to defeat Satan?? As the rulers of this aged killed John (Elijah) before he fulfilled all that was prophesied over him, (and Satan, the real ruler of the age, also knew those prophesies) he may have believed the same would be true for Jesus and the Lord may give us a clue of this in Matt 17. — Of course, Satan was WRONG, as we saw the Lord outsmarted, the rulers of this age.– Even then the Lord’s response when hearing the news of John’s death is telling!

Matt 14:12-13…Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself.

He not only withdrew Himself to go pray, as was His custom (Luke 5:16). He got in a boat, by Himself, and withdrew to a deserted place, alone to have a conversation with His Father about John! I think we need to be reminded that Jesus did not know everything. He does not know when He is coming back (Mark 13:32), He did not know who specifically touched Him when the woman with the issue of blood got healed (Luke 8:43 -48). He only knew, spoke and did what the Father showed Him, and I believe He did not know that John had died until the messengers came. I am also sure He was upset about it and He needed to have time alone with His Father and discuss it. I could easily imagine Jesus asking the Father for permission to go raise Him from the dead! Now wouldn’t that have been quite a sign!?

Jesus Was ‘the Son of Man” as Well as ‘Son of God‘

We would also do well to remember the Lord didn’t get everything He wanted either (Matt 23:36-46) and neither does the Father, He did NOT want us to choose death and rebellion. Let us not forget, HE WAS FULLY MAN AS WELL AS GOD, AND HE WAS TESTED AND TEMPTED IN EVERY WAY AS WE ARE. (Heb 2:17-18) It is the only way that He can truly relate with us in our fallen humanity. If He knew everything and exercised His nature as GOD, then He would not of been able to relate with ‘this body of sin’. Jesus’s flesh was of the same cursed ground that ours is made up of and therefore had some of the same limitations and ‘weaknesses.’ He was not able to do any power or miracles until after He was baptized by John and the Holy Spirit came upon Him. He knows what it is to be an ordinary man. So much so that His own brothers and community had a hard time accepting Him as the Son of God! (John 7:3-5, Mark 6:1-6)

Did the Lord Deceive John?

So here is a final question did God deceive John? No, He did not, it is all about ‘game theory’ and timing. (The greatest difficulty of discerning the ‘prophetic’ is always timing!)  And as there are two ‘comings’ of Christ, there will be another coming of Elijah! Yet even if God did ‘deceive’ John the Baptist, Paul in Romans 9 makes it absolutely clear that He has every right to do so. He can make a clay vessel for what purpose that He so chooses and the clay vessel has no right to complain, especially after we broke our part of the covenant in Gen 2 and 3.

The Third Elijah

So it is now clear after we have unwrapped all of these scripture and bring them into the mix that there is another Elijah/John the Baptist to come, one that will RESTORE ALL THINGS as Jesus said in Matt 17. 

We need to remember, the Lord’s words will never return void and He will keep His promises though things seem to be delayed! I am a firm believer the fulfillment of what He prophesied over John, is what I believe the Lord is preparing even now to release into the world! The ‘Third Elijah’ — who is to come and restore all things! To once again be His forerunner sent before Him to prepare the way for the return of the Lord, this time before ‘the great and terrible day of the Lord”, the day of “vengeance of our God” (Is 61:2). They will turn the hearts of the fathers to the sons and the hearts of the sons to the Father, lest He strike the land with a curse (Mal 4:6) as Gabriel declared, and we are about as close to being cursed as one can get! If the Lord does not intervene with mercy and ‘strong discipline’, we are going to enter into the Matt 24:9 portion of the “great tribulation” immediately. He will intervene because He is faithful to His word, but that does not mean that we, individually, are to be part of it or like what that looks like! Each one of us must examine ourselves and give an account to Him for not just our beliefs, but our actions and ‘fruits.

The Coming Company of John the Baptist/Elijah

This company will come in the spirit and power of Elijah and Moses. According to Mal 4:5,6 with the same message, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand” and this time they will have the authority of the two witnesses of Rev 11:3-14

And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees (Zech 4:11-14) and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. (Is this literally fire breathing death to our enemies or could there be a different type of fire!?) 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.

7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. 13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.

The next woe, the third one, is the Lord returning to, pour out His wrath on the wicked to set up His Kingdom rule on the Earth, and the coming final day when those who do not have their names written in His book of life are cast into the fire with the devil and His angels!

The Two Swords

Now there are lot of things I still do not understand about the above verses. like the twelve hundred plus days of prophesying which equals 42 months. I have no clue what that means as far as literal days or time! I have a feeling it is not the ‘popular opinion’ of what most think it is. I do not know if these two are singular individuals or a company of prophets who go out in the Spirit and Power of Elijah. Jesus seems to indicate this is a company when in Matt 22:35, He reminds His disciples of the time He sent 70 of them (Luke 10) – (a significant number used often Gen 10, Numbers 11) – out with nothing and then tells them to now take money and provision and then ‘sell his garment and by a sword‘, which is clearly the Sword of the Spirit (Rhema) the Holy Spirit (Eph 6:18) and the Sword of Truth (Logos) the Son (John 1:1, Heb 4:12,13). They see two swords and Jesus says “it is enough“, and indeed it is!

Unlike Elijah and John who came before, this company has the “double edged” -(Logos – Heb 4:12 and Rhema – Eph 6:17,18) – sword (word) of the Lord and authority in His name over all the forces of darkness (Luke 10:19) and the power of the ‘forces of darkness’ can not harm them either! The Lord is ready, willing and able to go to war against the forces of darkness, as He said earlier in Luke 12 and He is also ready to punish all disobedience when our obedience is made complete (2 Cor 10:3-6). He is burning to do so, and it is clear that the time is close at hand to release His army of both angels and men (and women, in their proper domain).  

The Moses and Elijah to Come

I do know that the coming company does represent Moses and Elijah as that is what the two witnesses represent in Rev 11 and Kings and Priest in Zech 4. It is also what Mal 4:4-6 says and also who Jesus met with on the mountain, probably Mt Hermon, where Enoch says ‘the Watchers”– (the fallen angels that left their proper domain that the half-brother of Jesus– Jude 6,7 spoke of) –descended. And I believe this ‘company of John The Baptist/Elijah’ type prophets represent the ‘standard’ that the Lord will raise up against the enemy’s flood of wickedness (Is 59:15-20 and will be the IS 60/Philadelphia (Rev 3:7-14) remnant army that will finish taking the gospel with power and authority to the uttermost parts of the earth. They RESTORE ALL THINGS and will intercede as Moses did, turning the heart of the Father, back to the children. When they have finished their testimony and are then overcome by the beast and slain, in Jerusalem, but are raised up to heaven and then the Lord returns.

The Summary Conclusion

So, to bring this home and land the plane. There are some very key fundamental protocols for prophets, priest and ministers, that we need to see operating for them to be part of this last days, John the Baptist/ Elijah remnant company. So that we can once again DISCERN BETWEEN a true, corrupt and false prophet, teacher, pastor, etc. (Mal 3:18) And we are going to need that as we go forward, because the Lord himself tells us that many will claim to either be ‘the Christ’ or to represent Him,

Matt 24:3-14

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.  5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.  6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.  10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” 

So here are some of the characteristics that will be seen in this coming company of new wineskin – Is 60, Philadelphia (Rev 3:7-14) – apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors and teachers. The last days witnesses. If these ‘fruits’ are not seen, flee from and expose them!

• They will come in the humility, heart and obedience of John the Baptist, and with the power of Elijah and Elisha. They will, like John, have, the “Testimony of Jesus”, which is the true “Spirit of prophecy”. The “fire from Heaven”, God’s words, the two edged sword, will come out of their mouth! They will love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength! What this looks like is that everything they do or say will point the bride or the lost to the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ and the Father, and to love one another! They will speak the truth, even if it offends, in love and with the authority of the Lord behind them!

• They will have absolutely no love of money or the things of this world and will tremble at the thought of exalting their name, ministry or selling the Word of God or the gifts that He manifest though them. They will love the ‘fear of the Lord’ and it will be upon them. They will not touch His bride or His glory! Conversely, they will have no fear of man, nor will they bow or be manipulated by the sons of Satan, nor worry about what men can do to them, and they have no fear of losing their life. They have already lost their life. For them death on this earth for His name sake is great gain!

• They will walk in holiness and purity, yet with great compassion for the poor, the oppressed, the deceived, the broken. However, against the rich (who hoard treasure in the last days and hold back wages from the workers — James 5:3-4), the kings, the false or corrupt apostles, priest. evangelist and prophets, and teachers; they will be an instrument of God’s discipline and judgements and will only need to speak the word as Paul did in Acts 13 or as Elijah did, when fire came to consume those who would oppose or take him prisoner. They will once again teach the 10 commandments (Mr Horeb) and statutes and judgements of Moses so that the lost can be convicted of their sin, and they then will lead those convicted into the saving grace of Christ crucified for them. (Mal 4:5,6, Rev 11:3-14) They will preach and lay hands and pray for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2, Acts 8) And they will lay hands on the sick and infirm and they will recover, again taking no glory or attention for themselves!

• They will have power to pronounce judgement against sexual immorality and of all kinds of wickedness, and will seek to restore the family and honor of marriage, turning the hearts of the fathers to the sons and the heart of the sons to the fathers. Divorce will no longer be casually tolerated or justified! They will be cursing specific websites, or technology or even medical based wickedness, causing specific failures and black outs and calling forth fire from heaven to delay and destroy the plans of the evil ones and to protect the preaching of the gospel to the unreached and against those who would do them harm (Is 59:18,19, Rev 11). They will only do what the Lord, through the Spirit leads them to do and say. They will be servants and slaves to their Master and will thank and praise Him for the privilege! (Luke 17:5-10)

• The evangelist will preach the true gospel, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand” so that the lost can turn around and ‘flee the wrath that is to come!’  They will not preach a false gospel of peace and comfort without repentance! They will not be concerned about how this message offends or makes people feel at the moment. They will not worry about the size of the crowds that are drawn. They will be much more concerned about how these people will feel when the flames of the lake of fire encompass them if they do not repent of their selfishness, sin and rebellion, sexual immorality and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ; the way the truth and the life (John 14:6) and the only name by which anyone can be saved (Acts 4:12). Any signs, wonders and healings done through them will be to glorify the name of the Lord ONLY! (Matt 7:21-23)

• The true prophets will operate in the spirit of Elisha and will warn or inform Gods people about specific impending events, judgement, or consequences. They will distribute either words of encouragement, exhortation, correction or confrontation. They will do so in humility looking for no payment or acknowledgement as Agabus did. They will be God’s messenger to kings, leaders, stewards, a nation or people group, again without seeking fame, rewards or acknowledgement from men. They will be moved to where God wants them to be, supernaturally if necessary.

• The pastors and elders will shepherd the flock in the fear of the Lord and will lay down their lives for them and will protect and warn them about the wolves! They will not live above the means of the flock that they serve. They will have a ‘storehouse’ (where the first fruits should go —Mal 3:6-12) for the flock that there might be bread for His people in the day of calamity or if anyone has need! They will seek to teach and train up disciples in the fear of the Lord and sound doctrine for Christ, not themselves. They will joyfully look to send and support their best into the service of the Lord as John the Baptist did, to do the great commission. They will not take a title or position that exalts themselves above the flock. They will do the opposite, they will go low and serve the flock, pointing them to Jesus, they will greatly fear taking a position that places them between Jesus and His bride or the Father and His children! They will not promote or market their ‘church’ or ministry.

• Teachers will teach in the fear of the Lord, knowing that they have a stricter judgement. They will teach sound doctrine that equips the flock to do the work of the ministry that they are called to do. And they will teach them to endure hardship and persecution and that this is not OUR HOME! They will not teach doctrine that ‘itch ears’ or gives false promises of care free, no troubles and ‘prosperous’, comfort filled life here on the earth (2 Tim 4:2)! They will not teach for money, nor sell the revelations the Lord has given them. They will not seek to be famous or well known, they will seek to make the Lord famous and well known!

As we know Jesus told us to take heed as many false prophets and teachers, apostles, pastors and yes evangelist, with a false gospel, will come and will deceive many.

Matt 24:21-28

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.  24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  25 See, I have told you beforehand.

26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.  27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

Jesus also says this:  Matt 7:15-20

 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

We should be very careful about judging anyone by the miracles that maybe done through them or their ability to speak with passionate, fiery, clever or smooth speech or even manifest the gifts or miracles of healing, There can be ‘legitimate’ healing and miracles come through anyone, Even Balaam’s word was true. “Son’s of God” can and will be raised up from rocks, by HIM! Manifestations of healing or miracles are of the Spirit of God and Satan can and will soon be allowed to counterfeit them, (demonic miracles) even bringing  fire from heaven (Rev 13:13—probably technology generated) to deceive if possible, even the elect (Matt 24:24. Mark 13:22)! (Be ready for the “UFO/ALIEN deception!)

Beware of anyone using miracles as a way to promote their name, ministry or anointing, even promoting the signs and wonders themselves. Remember the true spirit of prophecy or manifestation of miracles is to point them to Jesus Christ, never themselves or even to the miracles. And He does not share His glory with anyone, at least while on the earth! Remember John had no signs or miracles and yet Jesus called him the greatest of all the prophets even over those who had great signs and wonders done through them!  A person can be miraculously healed and still not be saved and end up having a greater judgement! Everything Jesus did, He did out of compassion and to demonstrate His authority that He indeed was the Christ. He never ran a ‘miracle crusade’, never promoted healing. His message was the same as John’s, “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Ultimately the Lord clearly tells us that the key to salvation is KNOWING HIM, Matt 7:21-23

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never KNEW (ginosko) you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ 

We are told to judge the fruit, the character, the nature and the motivation of any one claiming to be His apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher — representative. Do they ask for money? How do they live? Who is promoted and glorified?

The Lord’s sheep, those who fear Him, who hear His voice, will know who their real shepherd is (John 10) they will be able to discern between the true and the false (Mal 3:15- 4:3).  And the Lord will know and protect and keep those who are HIS! It is His promise.

Jude 24-25

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever.

Amen.