{"id":269,"date":"2021-12-12T01:54:26","date_gmt":"2021-12-12T01:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deadmannotwalking.org\/?p=269"},"modified":"2021-12-12T01:54:31","modified_gmt":"2021-12-12T01:54:31","slug":"prophecy-iv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deadmannotwalking.org\/?p=269","title":{"rendered":"Prophecy IV"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cComfort, O comfort My people,\u201d says your God.  \u201cSpeak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the Lord\u2019s hand Double for all her sins.\u201d  A voice is calling, \u201cClear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.  Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley . . . ”  (Isaiah 40:1-4, NASB)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he [John the Baptist] came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, \u201cThe voice of one crying in the wilderness, \u2018Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight.  Every ravine will be filled, And every mountain and hill will be brought low; The crooked will become straight, And the rough roads smooth; And all flesh will see the salvation of God.\u2019\u2009\u201d  (Luke 3:3-6, NASB)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another prediction of the coming of Messiah, from Prophet Isaiah.\u00a0 This particular prophecy was fulfilled by a relative of Jesus in John the Baptist.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The Bible tells us that John’s mother, Elizabeth, was a “relative” of Jesus’ mother, Mary.\u00a0 Does that make John and Jesus cousins?\u00a0 I don’t know, but I refer to John as Jesus’ cousin.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The Bible describes John as a rough man who lived in the wilderness.\u00a0 As predicted, his job was to “clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.”\u00a0 According to Dr. Luke (the second passage above), John did exactly what he was supposed to do.\u00a0 He prepared the hearts of the people for the arrival of Jesus before the beginning of His public ministry.\u00a0 Many people thought John was the Messiah, but John corrected them, and explained that he was not worthy to untie the sandals of the Expected One.\u00a0\u00a0
“The Preaching of St. John the Baptist,”<\/em>\u00a0by\u00a0Pieter Bruegel the Elder<\/a>, 1566.\u00a0 Found at Wikipedia,\u00a0en.wikipedia.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As John was baptizing people one day, he saw Jesus approaching.\u00a0 God revealed to him that this was the Christ.\u00a0 He said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!\u00a0 This is He on behalf of whom I said, \u2018After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'”\u00a0 (John 1:29-30)\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John the Baptist recognized that Jesus was the Christ; the Lamb of God; the Savior promised by God through His prophets; God’s most precious Christmas gift.\u00a0 John prepared the people’s hearts for Jesus’ arrival.\u00a0 This Advent season, are you preparing your heart for Jesus?\u00a0 He’s coming back for His people.\u00a0 Have you accepted God’s Christmas present?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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