The Lamb of God

 Jesus Was Presented as a King

Book of Matthew Chapter 3

We should understand that the Gospels are not intended to give us a day by day, account of the life of Jesus.

The intent of the Gospels are to teach us how the Church was to begin.

The intent of the Gospels are to teach us God's plan of salvation.

The intent of the Gospels are to teach the Jews the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies.

We will find a thirty year gap between chapter 2 and chapter 3 of Matthew's Gospel.

This chapter begins with the forerunner, John the Baptist.

A fulfillment of prophecy.

Isa 40:3  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 

Isa 40:4  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 

Isa 40:5  And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 

Chapter 3 Verse 1

*****Mat 3:1  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 

Mat 3:2  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 

"In those days" means the days the Lord Jesus Christ walked upon this earth.

This wilderness was a true wilderness. It was a wild, barren and desolate place and it was in this same area where we will find that the Lord was tempted of Satan.

In general, when the Bible speaks of a wilderness in the New Testament it means a less cultivated place opposed to pastureland that is plowed regularly.

John lived in the true wilderness.

John was the forerunner for Jesus Christ, and he had begun his own ministry.

Mal 3:1  Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.  

God had sent many prophets and many true priests and many messengers to the Jews and yet they had rebelled against them all, killing many of them.

We know that John the Baptist would also be murdered for taking a stand against a wicked government but not before his ministry was complete and the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ had begun.

What was his message?

Repent, for the kingdom of God was at hand.

To repent is not just to feel sorrow and regret but it is a complete change in lifestyle, a complete change in your heart, and a complete change in your way of thinking!

Daniel best describes the kingdom of God:

Dan 7:13  I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 

Dan 7:14  And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. 

The Lord's kingdom is not of this earth.

Joh 18:36  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. 

Joh 18:37  Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. 

Though the Lord will rule this earth as King for 1000 years, His true Kingdom will be in the New Jerusalem where all the saints of God will join Him to be with Him forever and forever.

*****Mat 3:3  For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 

We already have seen this prophecy but let us see it again.

Isa 40:3  The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 

Isa 40:4  Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 

Isa 40:5  And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 

What is "make His paths straight"?

The image of making His paths straight is as building a highway leveling the mountains, filling in the valleys making a sure path to God's future kingdom, even though that road would be a narrow one.

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 

Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 

The Lord Jesus Christ provides that only pathway to God's rebuilt Heaven. Not many ways but one way and that way by the Lord Jesus Christ!

It is the job of every Christian to prepare the way of the Lord to the lost!

The ways of John remind us of that Old Testament prophet Elijah.

*****Mat 3:4  And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

You cannot be a prophet of God without spending a lot of time alone with God!

John chose the wilderness of Judah.

2Ki 1:7  And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words? 

2Ki 1:8  And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite. 

The raiment of Elijah was made of camel's hair or the skin of a hairy animal.

That raiment sounds like it would be rough but in fact camel's hair was a good material for clothing, keeping out the heat, the cold, and the rain.

A prophet of God would never wear clothing that could deceive a person.

The Christian is told to wear modest clothing:

1Ti_2:9  In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;

Jesus asked the religious leaders this question:

Mat 11:7  And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 

Mat 11:8  But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 

Mat 11:9  But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 

Mat 11:10  For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 

Jesus loves and respects all those who prepare the way before Him:

Mat 11:11  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 

John the Baptist brought baptism by immersion to a reality.

*****Mat 3:5  Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, 

Mat 3:6  And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. 

The preaching of John was real.

The preaching of John was about the truth.

The preaching of John was about repentance.

John had the same message to the poor, the rich, to the religious elders, and to the government!

There was no baptism without first confessing your sins and confessing repentance.

What is our first confession? We must confess we are a sinner.

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

1Jn 1:10  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 

Our next confession is the need of a Savior, and there is only One Savior.

2Jn 1:9  Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 

1Jn 2:22  Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 

1Jn 2:23  Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. 

Next comes baptism:

Baptism was not new because baptism was practiced in all ancient religions.

For John, baptism was an outward sign or repentance and a changed life. To be baptized was also to promise the Lord we would have that faith in His cleansing of our sins.

The full immersion baptism must represent the death the burial and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The full immersion baptism must be done in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost!

Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 

Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 

Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. 

Baptism cannot save, it is only an admission that Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved from a Devil's Hell!

If you cannot believe all these things, then you are only taking a bath and a hundred baptisms will never get you closer to the Lord and a sprinkling can only get you wet!

John preached hard against religious deceivers:

Mat 3:7  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 

Mat 3:8  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 

Mat 3:9  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 

Mat 3:10  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 

If we refuse to repent, then we cannot receive the Holy Spirit.

If we do not show the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives, then we are not saved.

What is the fruit of the Holy Spirit?

Gal 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 

Gal 5:23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 

Gal 5:24  And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 

Gal 5:25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 

Eph 5:9  (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 

Eph 5:10  Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 

These Pharisee and Sadducee were not going to repent, and they did not bear the fruit of the Spirit.

We should understand the meaning of being called a "viper".

A viper is full of deadly poison and venom. The doctrine of false religion is full of malice against the truth and is deadly in that it will separate you from the love and the presence of God!

We live in a world today where the truth is rejected, and the poison is received.

Notice John was a true preacher and not afraid of organize religion.

Both John and the Lord Jesus Christ would not be welcome in the Church of today!

It is not baptism with water that saves!

It is being washed in the blood of Jesus and then baptized with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit will not live in a false house.

*****Mat 3:11  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 

Mat 3:12  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. 

You see until you accept that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one and the only way to remain in the presence of God, then you cannot be a home for the Holy Spirit.

1Co_3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

1Co_6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

You cannot be a Living Temple of God until you are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ.

1Co_6:11  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Heb_9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

1Pe 1:18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 

1Pe 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 

Do not be fooled by organized religion!

Jesus will thoroughly cleanse this earth from all sin, and none will be allowed in Heaven!

We are not as worthy as John and though he was the forerunner, a great prophet, who even made Herod tremble, said he was unworthy to be even a slave to the Lord Jesus Christ.

We must be washed with the water of the Holy Spirit which means surrounded, immersed, inside and outside by and with the Holy Spirit.

It means a new birth!

Joh_3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Joh_3:7  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

The fan of Christ Jesus is the "Gospel"!

His floor is the "Church" which is covered in a mixture of wheat and chaff.

Jesus will gather the wheat, those who are washed in the Spirit, to take to Heaven, and He will purge all who reject Him for a lifetime of torment!

Even Jesus was baptized to show us all that repentance is real even though He had no sin to repent of.

*****Mat 3:13  Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 

Mat 3:14  But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 

Mat 3:15  And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. 

Jesus teaches us that we must set our life apart unto our Heavenly Father in a renewed spirit of dedication.

Jesus always did the will of our Heavenly Father and we must do our best to do the same!

Joh_5:30  I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

The One and Only Living Example we have is the Lord Jesus Christ who teaches us by example.

Being 100% man but truly 100% God, Jesus made sure his human side did never exalt Himself above other humans.

He was and is higher than the highest but showed himself as a humble human being who lived in the will of His Heavenly Father.

Jesus needed to be baptized but he needed to be baptized by John specifically.

Jesus had traveled by foot from Nazareth of Galilee to where John was on the River Jordan which was a long walk.

It is on this day of His baptism that the Lord Jesus Christ began His earthly ministry!

It was John who had been preparing the way for Him.

The Lord Jesus identified Himself with the ministry of John the Baptist.

What was John's message? "Repent and be baptized for the Kingdom of God was at hand".

The Lord Jesus Christ is the door, not the doorway, but the door to the Kingdom of Heaven!

He is the founder of Christianity.

He is the Head of the Church, which is the Body of Christ.

He is the purchaser of all Righteousness, which He did on the Cross.

He is the Ideal Man our true Example!

John already had stated that the Messiah was much greater than he and said to the Lord "I need to be baptized of thee".

John was not one to humble himself before anyone. He boldly preached the truth of God, but we must all humble ourselves before our righteous God!

All manner of people had come to John to be baptized but John knew he was nothing compared to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Neither are any of us!

There is no disgrace in humbling yourself before the Master!

**Jesus came to fulfill every law written by Moses and He did, He was the perfect man, to become the perfect High Priest.

Exo 29:4  And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water. 

Exo 29:5  And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod: 

Exo 29:6  And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre. 

Exo 29:7  Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. 

** Jesus came to pay "every man's" penalty for breaking those same laws, there 613 laws given by Moses.

** Jesus demonstrated to the fullest extent His humiliation in becoming a man.

Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 

Php 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 

Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 

Php 2:8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 

**Jesus identified Himself with all those He came to save!

**Jesus became the pattern for every human being!

**Jesus began His ministry, as the High Priest always entered his ministry in such a ceremony.

When Jesus came up out of the water, our Heavenly Father recognized His Only Begotten Son.

*****Mat 3:16  And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 

Mat 3:17  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 

The Heavens opened. We will get to see this one day soon.

The Holy Spirit descended like a dove.

Remember this was a sign given to John the Baptist to verify the Messiah.

Joh 1:32  And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 

Joh 1:33  And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 

The voice of a Holy God spoke about His Son.

"Noticed God said, "my beloved Son".

One day when we get to Heaven our Heavenly Father will say welcome home son or welcome home daughter.

Amen

God Keeps His Promises

Promised Rewards

Book of Malachi Chapters 3-4

Have you ever noticed that the Lord comes right to the point, He does not beat around the bush as some say, I praise the Lord that He does this!

This also a great example for every Pastor.

Right is always right and wrong is always wrong and wrong is sin!

Jas_4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

We cannot fool God and it is a terrible sin just to attempt to fool God.

God proves this to us with all these examples in the Old Testament.

God's ears are always open to what we say.

God's eyes are always open to see what we do.

God does not look upon the outside of us to judge us, He simply looks into the heart to see if we are real Christians!

When we think we can tell God what to do, we tread on dangerous ground!

We must understand, God is very strict on our behavior!

*****Mal 3:13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?

Mal 3:14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?

Mal 3:15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

Mal 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.

Starting at verse 13 we can see, that these are the ways we can tell that the course of this world is not following the will of God.

It is obvious today that our own government has taken the stand that anything spoken in the Word of God is evil because it does not fit into their agenda.

This is the battle our President faces, and we all must stand on the Word of God.

It is not vain to serve the Lord the benefits are immense!

Psa 116:8 For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.

Psa 116:9 I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.

Psa 116:10 I believed, therefore have I spoken: I was greatly afflicted:

Psa 116:11 I said in my haste, All men are liars.

Psa 116:12 What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me?

We should ask ourselves, how are those so full of pride happy. They are only happy when they are persecuting the people of God!

They tempt God but He is quiet.

They provoke God and God is still silent.

They resist God yet they are still safe.

We should never forget that those that do these things are already sentenced to eternal death so they are not improving their relationship with the Lord at all and why should God say anything when He has already judged them?

God only pays attention to what His children are doing and to what His children are saying because it is God's children who can put a smile on God's face, and it is these things that are written in God's Book of Remembrance.

You see when we speak to one another of our salvation and of the promises of God and that we are only visitors here, because our home is in Heaven and how much we love the Lord, these are the things God wants to hear!

These are the things that are of delight to our God!

*****Mal 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

How precious are God's people to Him, we are all like precious jewels! We can serve God alone, but we need each and every child of God to serve with us for the Church to do its work!

It is the fear of the Lord that binds, that fear being reverence for our Creator who decided He would save all those who wanted to be with Him and to trust Him.

Every Christian will be saved from the wrath of God.

When we think upon the Lord in the way that He approves, we will be with Him in Glory and this day may not be that far off!

God has promised He will gather all His jewels before He begins to deal again with the children of Israel, and He will gather all those jewels so we will all be together in the New Heaven and the New Jerusalem!

When the children of Israel think upon these same things, then they will return from their backsliding ways to serve the Lord!

*****Mal 3:18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

Those who speak and act against the Lord will not be gathered but will suffer through out eternity.

We must be able to discern between evil and the good.

We must be able to discern between the righteous and the wicked.

We must be able to discern between the Christian and those who are lost.

When we see just how evil this world is, we will certainly know that the Word of God speaks the truth, and this will increase our faith!

There is coming a day of "judgment", and we should feel a relief that we have already been judged!

Rom 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Rom 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

There is a judgment day coming, for those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ!

*****Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

It amazes me that so many who are lost continue to say that a Loving God would never send anyone to Hell, when it is plainly written in the Word of God, so many times!

It also amazes me that so many who preach the Word of God leave these Scriptures out or never preach on these things when it is so plainly written in the Word of God!

What do we know about the Day of Judgment?

It will be a fiery day that burns as hot as the hottest furnaces!

Look what Malachi says.

Remember a true prophet of God must be exact in his prophecies!

We can just imagine a fiery furnace that is so hot, it will burn even those who come close to it.

Dan 3:22 Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Dan 3:23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Dan 3:24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.

Dan 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Dan 3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.

We should notice this superhot furnace cannot burn the child of God, but only the proud who reject God, and the wicked who go against the Word of God!

If we cannot love our families enough to try to show them these facts of the Bible, then shame on us!

We need to pray with all our heart to our Father in Heaven that He will send Holy Ghost conviction to all our family, all our friends, and anyone else we know that are lost in this dying world. Time will run out when the patience of God runs out.

There is so much difference for those who love the Lord!

*****Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

There is only one sun in our solar system though there may be many suns in God's creation.

The vastness of our sun is enormous, and we can feel more than its heat and its powerful light that removes all darkness.

We know that there is only one Mediator between God and man and He is the Lord of all God's creation and our sun is just a spec in the path of the Son of God!

You see if we have that reverent fear of God, and a certain fear of His enormous power, then when we cry out to God for His mercy and His "GRACE", He will hear us.

Remember "GRACE" is God's Riches At Christ Expense!

What does the phrase, calves in a stall mean?

Psa 92:12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

Psa 92:13 Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.

Psa 92:14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;

Psa 92:15 To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

What do calves in a stall mean? They just eat grain and drink water and have no worries of what is happening outside the barn.

*****Mal 4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

We can tread down the wicked because having "faith" in the promises of God, then our "faith" can overcome the world.

1Jn_4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

When God burns all the wicked and evil, they will be only ashes under the soles of our feet!

When we by faith overcome the world, when we suppress our corrupt appetites and passions, and when the God of peace bruises Satan under their feet, then we can indeed tread down the wicked.

We will walk with the Lord after we have returned with Him, as He spreads His wrath all around this world!

1Th_4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus "will God bring with him".

There is only one way to be part of this group and this is to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior before the death of your body on this earth. Those who will return with Christ Jesus are all those whose name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life!

Rev_21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Now most people do not want to hear about "judgment" but God's judgment is just as true as God's salvation! plan!

In fact most people do not consider themselves to be a part of God's judgment, but God has already judged each of us!

Rom 6:20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

Rom 6:21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Once I was saved, I was still a sinner, but I am no longer a servant of sin, I serve Jesus Christ!

God has made another promise to the Jews.

*****Mal 4:4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

Mal 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

What did the prophet Malachi teach these Jews to do until it was time for the Messiah to come, which would happen after the Prophet Elijah returned!

It was easy. Remember the law of Moses and do them!

What is the truth for the Christian? We do not give it much thought, but all the doctrine of God can be found in the first 11 chapters of the Book of Genesis. By adding all the 5 books of Moses, it would just as good for us to follow those.

I know the Laws of Moses were given to the Jews but besides the Law of the Sabbath that we do not observe, As we serve the Day of the Lord, which is Sunday, the remaining laws are good guidelines for everyone!

We should understand that if the Pentateuch fails then all the New Testament will fail!

The writings of the Apostle Paul are based upon the Laws of Moses.

Gal_3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Gal_3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

The Lord Jesus referred to the Laws of Moses many times.

If we reject Moses, then we must reject the Lord Jesus Christ!

Deu 4:10 Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.

Luk 1:50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

As far as the Church is concerned there is the great possibility that the Church will be in Heaven before the return of Elijah.

The return of Elijah is a sign for the Jews!

Elijah will come to reconcile the families of the world after the rapture of the Church.

This prophecy is not linked to chapter 3:1 which speaks of John the Baptist preparing the way for the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Prophecy of the return of Elijah is true because he will be one of the two witnesses who will come before the Lord returns.

The other I believe to be Enoch.

Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

Rev 11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

Rev 11:6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

Rev 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

Rev 11:9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.

Rev 11:10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

Rev 11:11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

Rev 11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

If this man is not Elijah, he will be in the power and might of Elijah.

Men like Elijah and John the Baptist would be hard to miss, because they possess what most Christians lack today, "BACKBONES". They know what job they had to do and came to do those jobs loudly.

To be a forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ they must be perfectly fearless in this wicked world!

What is the job of this Elijah? To turn the heart of the fathers to the children. In today's world there are so many families who are without fathers and many of the rest are too occupied with getting an income.

Many children do not know what to do and they fall in the clutches of Satan who will in the end, will destroy them!

If these things do not go as the Lord demands, He will come with a curse.

Now we can accept what the Lord says is true, or we can go on doing as we do now!

God has already told us what He is going to do, and He will not waver until it is done, and He will be King Jesus for 1000 years.

The one thing is certain. There will not be as many as could have been in Heaven!

Isa 24:6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

We should understand, at the close of Malachi there at least 400 years where Judah and Benjamin were back in Judah and Jerusalem most always under the rule of a foreign power even though they tried their best to remain free.

Many were still dispersed throughout the Persian Empire including the other 10 tribes as the Old Testament closes out and God did not speak to His people for those 400 years.

Part of the prophecy of Daniel was fulfilled then the Lord came the first time and the remaining to be fulfilled when the Lord returns for the second time!

Dan 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

Dan 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

God will do just exactly what He says, when He is ready to do it!

Amen

Let’s pray!

The Forerunner, John the Baptist

The Witness of John the Baptist

Book of John Chapter 1:15-36

In last week’s lesson we saw that John introduced the Jews to the Holy Trinity, the Triune God. The Jews laid claim to God. The Jews were familiar with the Spirit of God. The Spirit can be found 224 times in the Old Testament. It was time for the world to meet the Messiah, God the Son.

Last week we saw these words Joh 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Last week we saw these words Joh 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

John the Baptist preached to all who came to hear him that this man named Jesus was indeed the Messiah sent from God.

This is the same job we have today, "to witness that Jesus is "the Christ", "the true Messiah" come from God, the God-Man!

We believe that John was only 6 months older than the Man/Jesus, so we know that John the Baptist preached the coming of the Messiah before Jesus made His presence known to him.

You see it is important for the world to know that God certainly manifested Himself in the flesh and that Jesus was that person.

Jesus' last name is not Christ, He is the Christ, the Messiah!

*****Joh 1:15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

There can be no doubt that God had sent His Spirit to dwell in John the Baptist.

God's answer to the sin of Adam was making Himself known to the world. We would have never known Jehovah God if He had not introduced Himself to us!

When John realized by the Holy Spirit that it was this Jesus, the son of Mary his cousin, he could say that Jesus was born of Mary after his own birth.

John also knew by the Holy Spirit that this same Jesus was before Him, in fact so far before him that He was God in the flesh!

Isa 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

God alone is eternity.

God has always existed.

God is the cause of John's existence and also our own existence.

Jesus the Christ is to be first in importance much more than any human being that has ever lived.

The entire world has changed and is still changing since the First Coming of our Lord to this earth and this cannot be denied.

BUT, We must all be aware of the Second Coming of the Messiah, still in the same flesh He wore at His departure.

Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

Rev 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

There is no human who can lay such a claim to themselves other than Jesus the Messiah.

Christ is not Jesus' last name it is who He is! It is only Jesus Christ who has revealed God the Father to us!

All that we are capable of knowing about God the Father is revealed to us through His Son!

*****Joh 1:16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

Joh 1:17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist had a great following, but he had to make sure that the Light of the Messiah did not shine upon him, John was only the "Voice" and not the "Foundation" of the Church.

His job was to lead as many people as he could to the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is only Christ Jesus who can reveal to us the "Grace" of God!

There would be no "Gospel" (Good News) for us if, Jesus was a mere man like so many who lay claim to be of God!

Col 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Col 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

We can be complete in no other but Jesus Christ.

Jesus has given us "Grace" upon "Grace", Grace enough to meet every need we could ever have, no matter the circumstances!

Jesus Christ does not only have the answers but He in His Deity is the answer to all life's problems!

It is a fact that Moses revealed the written Law to the Jews but, is also a fact that "Grace" came by Jesus Christ!

What is "Grace"? Grace is the unmerited favor of God!

The word "Grace" can be found 39 times in the Old Testament and 131 times in the New Testament. God's Grace is very important to us!

Rom_5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Law made us realize that we are all sinners.

It is only by the "Grace" of God that we can be saved from our sin!

Righteousness cannot come by the Law for no one can keep all the Law, but Jesus Christ.

Therefore righteousness can come only by Jesus Christ, who in His person is the "Grace" of God!

Moses was no more than a servant just as we are to be. Jesus Christ is the Master!

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Again it is only by Jesus Christ that we can know the true God!

*****Joh 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Had the Lord Jesus Christ not come to this earth we would have never known the truth of God. He would just have been someone who just moved on after He created us like so many believe.

There is but one God and this is very true!

There is no such thing as a God of Evil and a God of Good who are fighting to see who wins.

There is One God and He is very involved in every action upon this earth.

This does not mean God does bad things because He cannot do such a thing, but He can allow them to happen when He could have certainly stopped them from happening. God will not necessarily stop anything that does not alter His plan of salvation or His plans for this world.

This is why our prayers are so important. God has to power to alter anything that does not change His salvation plan and He is willing to do so. Sometimes He just wants to know if we love those we say we love!

God will never deviate from what He says but God will heal where healing is needed and comfort where comfort is needed if we fall down on our knees and pray!

We must not forget that we are His children and Jesus is working on our Mansions now.

Christianity is in fact the fulfillment of the Old Testament because Jehovah God designed it that way.

If we had seen God in all His Majesty before we have become Christians, we would have perished!

Exo 33:20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

When the Lord does return, this time in all His glory, those who reject Him will be just as this Scripture. They cannot see Him and live!

*****Joh 1:19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

Joh 1:20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

We must not be fooled, those that were questioning John the Baptist, many of them students of the Scriptures, knew the prophecies of Daniel and he had said when a period of time would come, and the Messiah would appear. Maybe not the exact day but at least in that generation. Just as it is today when the Lord will return.

Dan 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

Dan 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

They understood that Daniel was writing of years.

When will the Lord return?

Luk_17:26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.

How was it in the days of Noah?

Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

We cannot deny that we live in a replica of the days of Noah today!

We can just imagine how great a preacher was John the Baptist if the elders of the Scribes and Pharisees thought he might be the Messiah!

But they had not yet heard our Savior preach!

Luk_7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

It would have been rather easy for John to say he was the real Messiah, at least for a while but, he confessed he was not the Christ!

John the Baptist knew what he was sent to do, and he concentrated on those things!

John knew he was not the Messiah and John also knew he was not the Prophet Elijah.

Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

Mal 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

The Lord Jesus said that John was Elijah in the spirit but not in his person.

Mar 9:12 And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought.

Elijah will return from the dead to be the forerunner of the Lord when He returns, at least this is what I believe because there were two, Elijah and Enoch who do not have a recorded death on earth!

Heb_9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

John the Baptist was well aware that he was not the Messiah.

In fact John knew very well that he was only a sinner unworthy to serve the Lord just like the rest of the world!

*****Joh 1:21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

Joh 1:22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

Joh 1:23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

The Scriptures only subtlety show the great impression John the Baptist made on the Jewish elders of that day, including the Sanhedrin Court.

It is obvious that these Bible Scholars had missed the Church Age and the Messiah the Redeemer in their studies.

John was certainly not Elijah even though in many ways he was like Elijah in his boldness.

John was not just another prophet who I believe to be Enoch the two prophets who would show up before the Second Coming of the Lord.

Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

Rev 11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

Rev 11:6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

Rev 11:7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

John the Baptist said he was just a poor desert preacher, one who was doing his best to lead people to the Lord.

John said he was nothing more than a voice and really this is the same job we have today. We are God's voice and God's legs to take the "Gospel" of the Lord Jesus Christ to all parts of this world!

Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

It is only Jesus Christ who could meet all the requirements written in the Scriptures of the Messiah the God-Man!

We are never to claim to be the Messiah.

We are never to claim to be some great man or woman.

We are not even to seek recognition.

We are never to assume some power that only the Lord has.

We are never to allow God's Mercy and God's Grace to turn our heads toward "Pride", thinking more of ourselves than we should.

We are simply to obey the Lord Jesus Christ, the God of the Bible, in everything He tells us to do!

These people who were the Bible Scholars of that day when seeking for a Messiah were looking for some man to show up and by His works determine that the Messiah had arrived.

It is the same for many today. Most of this world are ignoring the fact that Jesus was God in the flesh.

The message of John the Baptist was that the Kingdom of God was among them in His person, not in His majesty!

These Jews saw the Messiah as being someone along the line of King David who would set them free from the tyranny of Rome!

These Jews missed the fact that the Messiah came to save them and not them alone but also the Gentiles.

These Jews believed they were the only ones acceptable to the Lord and not the Gentiles.

These Jews had allowed their beliefs to be tainted by formality and just a form of godliness denying the Power of God!

John the Baptist would burst their perfect bubble, just like the Lord does every day!

*****Joh 1:24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

Joh 1:25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

The truth of the Pharisees in that day is that they had made themselves the interpreters of the Scriptures. They were well aware of the Old Testament prophesies of the Messiah, but they had missed His coming and rejected that Christ was among the people.

1) A Pharisee had to set apart all the sacred tithes of the produce of the land.

2) A Pharisee had to observe the essential laws of purity which affected the eating of food and family affairs.

We know that the Mosaic Laws contained not just 10 laws, but 613 laws and it was impossible for any Jew to keep all those laws all the time, but the Pharisees would argue that they did.

The Pharisee would immerse his whole body in purified water before they partook of holy sacrifices.

The Pharisees had so many laws involving impurity they were in a book named the Mishna, which were only the many interpretations of Scripture and many placed these laws above the Mosaic laws.

It is during this time that the Pharisees and the Sadducees had become corrupt in their thinking on the Word of God and were no more than legalists and liberals, who could not themselves keep the laws that they claimed for everyone else to keep!

These things began with good intentions when the Jews returned from Babylon after their captivity by Nebuchadnezzar.

It’s as if today we placed the words of commentaries above the Word of God.

So they asked John since you are not a Pharisee but only a Levite and you are not the Messiah and you are not Elijah nor any other prophet what right do you have to baptize any person?

They used this same line of thinking upon the Lord Jesus Christ!

Mat 21:23 And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

Mat 21:24 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.

Mat 21:25 The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?

Mat 21:26 But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.

Mat 21:27 And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

How did John answer these corrupt men?

*****Joh 1:26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

Joh 1:27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

We should understand that everything John did was to prepare the people for the Messiah and John's baptism was just an example of the break from Judaism to the coming Christianity who would bring total purity with His blood.

The Lord Jesus Christ was so pure and so trustworthy and so different from the way these people had been taught that those who were corrupt sought to have Him destroyed.

The Jews of that day needed to know this man called Jesus was the One who was mentioned throughout the Old Testament Scriptures who was sent from God.

This was the job of John the Baptist to teach these things!

Act 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

Act 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

What was the importance of Betha bara?

*****Joh 1:28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Joh 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Betha bara means the house of confidence or the house of crossing or simply ferry house.

It was a place on the River Jordan where you could safely cross over to the other side!

This was the place where we got that wonderful phrase "Behold the Lamb of God".

1Co_5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us":

Jesus Christ is our Passover!

And we are Saved because Jesus shed His "Blood" on Mount Calvary!

Heb_9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

Jesus Christ was certainly , God's perfect Lamb who was sacrificed to save all the people of this world and He did so for all that love Him!

Jesus Christ was our own blood Substitute!

1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

By the blood of Jesus Christ, God has paid the debt for all the sin in this world past, present, and future!

If we will pay attention we will see that Christ Jesus willingly gave His life for me and for you and for everyone who would put their trust in Him!

What did John continue to say?

*****Joh 1:30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

Joh 1:31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

We all know that Jesus was at the most only 6 months in age younger than John the Baptist, yet John says He was before him.

The Messiah was not only before John the Baptist, but He was before us all!

The son of Elizabeth must have known the Son of Mary. John means that he did not know Him as the Messiah.

We can believe that John knew Jesus, but he did not know He was the Messiah, The Christ.

God knew that He would not be recognized as a man of God until He reached the age of 30 in earth years. Up until this time He had been feeling all the emotions of the human body.

Heb_4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

We should notice that John the Baptist was a man of strong faith!

Certainly God spoke to John just as He did with other prophets in dreams and visions and God had given him a sign to watch for to know the truth.

*****Joh 1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

Joh 1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

Joh 1:34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

John said this is the One that is taught in the Old Testament Scriptures!

Again we see the proof of the Triune God. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

A dove was a sacred bird to the Jews and a symbol of purity, innocence, and gentleness.

The dove was often identified with the Spirit of God!

We should understand that the Holy Spirit did not take the shape of a dove but descended from Heaven as a dove flies in to land.

They land like no other bird in a fluttering motion.

In fact a dove can represent the Church sustained by the "Loving Grace of God", justified in the "righteousness" of Jesus Christ.

Psa 68:13 Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold.

The dove of Palestine is white with gold upon it's wings!

Tit 3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

Tit 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

John saw as the Holy Spirit descended from Heaven and remained on God's Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ!

This became the message of John the rest of his days!

What is the evidence of the Holy Spirit on the life of those who have accepted the Lord as their Savior?

There will be a change in that life!

What are Baptisms mentioned in the Scriptures?

The Baptism of water, in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost(Spirit). As an introduction into the Church.

The Baptism of repentance. Turning away from the world and toward Jesus Christ.

The Baptism of the Holy Ghost(Spirit). At salvation and asked for continually all our days.

The Baptism by fire. We should know that God revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush and God lead the Jews through the wilderness by fire so to be Baptized by fire to me seems to be baptized by the presence of the Lord! Fire is one the physical manifestations of God's presence! Fire can also represent "Judgment" and "Purification"!

Turn to Jesus and know the truth of God.

Amen

Let's Pray!