The History and Significance of John the Baptist

John was
- preach or herald or preaching or to an official messenger bringing news

- the theme of his God given message was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near".  In other words to accept the kingdom of heaven one must let go of something else.

- he preached from the wilderness of Judea.  People from hundreds of miles ranging from Jerusalem, all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan came to him for ministry.  John was a ministry with national attraction. It appears John the Baptist held his ministry in a stationary location and people were drawn to him.  In contract Jesus traveled hundreds of mile.  The primary purpose of John the Baptist was God calling the people to repentance.  Therefore most everyone that came to John for ministry had to take a long journey away from their homes which is a reflection of the primary spiritual journey God required of the region before Jesus was to come to Earth.

- a big credit to the arrival of Jesus has to be given to the people that agreed with John and they were hungry.  They went out of there way to aggressively ask God into their lives    

- Isaiah prophesied about John purpose some 800 years before John was born when he said “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”  John is the voice of one who calls in the wilderness

- John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.  In other words John made a lifestyle of practical yet high quality product.

- John the Baptist was a man of humility and order.  His statement to Jesus in letting him know he was not worthy to baptize was an act of humility.  It was true Jesus is John's and everyone else's superior in every way and the baptism for repentance which Jesus did not require.  But to keep in line with Seder Jesus submitted himself to God's plan for every person.  Our Lord Jesus and our great elder John the Baptist are men of humility and order

- John was given therefore the great privilege of anointing Christ Jesus to the highest role that has or ever will be given to any being from God.  God the Father said the first and last statement written in the New Testament saying “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

- John and his disciples were a team that fast together.  We are also to fast since the bridegroom is not with us in body

- According to Jesus John was strong in heart full of conviction, as expressed earlier a man who dressed modestly in practical measure.  John came in the spirit of Elijah who had greatness that exceeded that of the standard spirit of prophet.  John had the prophet plus anointing on him.  He came in the spirit of Elijah.

-  John came neither eating much food nor drinking wine.  John's diet was very clean, light, and efficient.  He was most like very slim due to his diet and fasting.  Meaning his physical body lived much by Spirit

- "John was a lamp that burned and gave light" John 5:35

- Jesus places significance on character of heart and the willingness to help others shape their character of heart than he does the performance of miracles  John 5:36; John 10:40-42

- for he will be great in the sight of the Lord Luke 1

- ever to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born

- He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God

- he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah

- to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous
—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord

The only sermon on record for John the Baptist the High Word of the entire Bible from Old Testament to til his death:

 “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.”

31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

All the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.
John the Baptist is the Elijah who was to come
And from the days of John the Baptist until Jesus, the city of BHM had been subjected to violence.
Violent people had been raiding BHM.



All the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John the Elijah.
And from the days of John the Elijah until Jesus, heaven had been subjected to violence.  Violent people had been raiding heaven.

Interpretation
perhaps from the time John was born to the moment of Jesus statement here violent people violently raided heaven   Mt 11

Matthew 11:11-12; Luke 16:16-17

Sorcerers the Practice of Magic Arts

According to the following Biblical scriptures sorcerers are those that practice magic arts.  They stand in opposition to the will of God and the practice has the worse consequence associated with those acts.

Babylon...By your magic spell all the nations were led astray 

- Revelation 18:23

...the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts (sorcerers), the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death

- Revelation 21:8 

“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts (sorcerers), the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood 

- Revelation 22:14-15

From my understanding the biblical definition of a sorcerer or person engaged in the practice of magic art is one who seeks and channels supernatural force outside of the name and will of Jesus Christ.  Magic is the opposite of prayer.  Prayer transfers the will and power of Christ Jesus from heaven to earth.  Conversely magic is the transfer of the will and power of the kingdom of darkness to the sorcerers of the earth.   

A spell, charm or hex is a set of words, spoken or unspoken, which are considered by its user to invoke some magical effect

A curse tablet or binding spell is a type of curse found throughout the Greco-Roman world, in which someone would ask the gods, place spirits, or the deceased to perform an action on a person or object, or otherwise compel the subject of the curse.

The Hellenistic period (roughly the last three centuries BCE) is characterized by an avid interest in magic, though this may simply be because from this period a greater abundance of texts, both literary and some from actual practitioners, in Greek and in Latin remains. In fact many of the magical papyri that are extant were written in the 1st centuries of the Current Era, but their concepts, formulas and rituals reflect the earlier Hellenistic period, that is, a time when the systematization of magic in the Greco-Roman world seems to have taken place—particularly in the ‘melting pot’ of varying cultures that was Egypt under the Ptolemies and under Rome.[original research?]

Acts 19:18-20 New International Version (NIV)

18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.

According to Revelation 18:23 Babylon The Great, anti-Holy Spirit, speaks magic spells that lead all the nations astray.  One prayer, John's Prayer, breaks her curse  When spoken it provides immunity from all evil spoke against us and aligns us with the divine purposes of God.  

The is the John's Prayer otherwise know as the Lord's Prayer:

Scripture Mix from 
Matthew 5:1-2; Luke 11:1-4; Matthew 6:5-15;

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down to pray in a certain place.  When he finished his disciples came to him, and one of them said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” he began to teach them.

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
 And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one.

Matthew 5:1-2; Luke 11:1-4; Matthew 6:5-15;