John The Baptist and Jesus Christ
“for this is he having been spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, “A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD, Make His paths straight.” (Matthew 3:3)
“A beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, Son of God. As it has been written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your Way before You. A voice of one calling in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD, Make His paths straight.” (Mark 1:1-3)
“as it has been written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD, Make His paths straight; Every valley will be filled, And every mountain and hill will be made low, And the crooked will become straightness, And the rough become smooth ways; And all flesh will see the Salvation of God.” (Luke 3:4-6)
“He said, “I [am] a voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the LORD, as Isaiah the prophet said… John answered them, saying, “I immerse in water, but in the midst of you has stood He whom you have not known, it is this One who is coming after me, Who has been before me, of whom I am not worthy that I may loose the strap of His sandal.” These things came to pass in Bethabara, beyond the Jordan, where John was immersing. On the next day John sees Jesus coming to him and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, Who is taking away the sin of the world; this is He concerning whom I said, After me comes a Man Who has come before me, because He was before me” (John 1:23, 26-30)
There is no doubt in these four Accounts in the Gospel’s, that each Writer is speaking of the First Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The all quote directly from The Prophet Isaiah, who Prophesised some eight hundred years before the Birth of Jesus Christ:
“A voice is crying in a wilderness: “Prepare The Way of YHWH, Make straight in a desert a highway for our God. Every valley is raised up, And every mountain and hill become low, And the crooked place has become a plain, And the entangled places a valley. And the glory of YHWH has been revealed, And all flesh have seen [it] together, For the mouth of YHWH has spoken” (Isaiah 40:3-5)
It is abundantly clear from this passage in Isaiah, and its quotation in the Four Gospels, that the “voice is crying in a wilderness”, is that of John the Baptist. He was the Forerunner of The First Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The actual words in Isaiah, shows that their fulfilment, are for the Coming of YHWH Himself. “The Way of YHWH”, in Isaiah, is The Way of Jesus Christ, as they are fulfilled in His Coming.
It is spiritual blindness for those who read these Passages in the Bible, and yet believe that Jesus Christ is inferior to God the Father, and refuse to accept that the Bible is very clear, Jesus Christ is Himself YHWH. Other then the wresting of these passages of their Biblical Teaching, there is not other way to understand what is Prophesied by The Prophet Isaiah, and the fulfilment of this passage, in the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, as YHWH, as taught by the Four Gospel Writers.
In Mark’s Gospel, we have the additional reference to the Coming of Jesus Christ, as in The Prophet Malachi, about 500 years before the Birth of Jesus Christ:
“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; and the Messenger of the Covenant, whom you desire, behold, He comes!” says YHWH of Armies” (Malachi 3:1)
In this passage in Malachi, the Speaker is “Yahweh of Armies”. He says that He is sending His messenger, who, “will prepare the Way before Me”. We are then told of Another Person, Who is identified as “the Lord”, and “the Messenger of the Covenant”, Who is also Coming. Here, as in the passage in Isaiah, we have the clear Teaching, of The Coming of YHWH, which is The First Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is not way to try to make any distinction between this.
In addition to what Luke writes in chapter 3 of his Gospel, we have an earlier account in the first chapter:
“But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. You will have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God. He will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.” (verses 13-17)
The Birth of John the Baptist, is the fulfilment of the Prophecies in the Old Testament, of the “messenger” who is to go before YHWH, to prepare His Way for His Coming. Note what Luke says here, “He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God. He will go before Him”. The “He” here is John the Baptist. The “Him” is “YHWH their God”, as in the Prophecies in Isaiah and Malachi. This passage in Luke is concerning The First Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 76 of this same chapter in Luke, we read, “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways”. Which is also referring to the passages in Isaiah and Malachi.
Nothing can be clearer, that The Coming of YHWH, as Prophesied in Old Testament, are actually fulfilled in The First Coming of The Lord Jesus Christ. It is impossible to conclude from all of this clear evidence from the Holy Bible, that Jesus Christ is YHWH, the Eternal, uncreated, Almighty God, Who said of Himself, “I am The First and The Last” (Revelation 1:17; 2:8; 22:13). The Unitarian Greek scholar, Dr Joseph Thayer says of the words, " ὁ πρῶτος καί ὁ ἔσχατος, i.e. the eternal One" (Greek Lexicon; page, 554). Jesus Christ is The Eternal One, as even acknowledged by those who believed that He is not GOD. To be ETERNAL, can only mean, that Jesus Christ is YHWH, as the Hebrew root for this Name, means, “Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel...the one bringing into being, life-giver, giver of existence, creator, he who brings to pass...he who causes...the one who is: i.e. the absolute and unchangeable one, the existing, ever-living" (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Hebrew Lexicon. pages 217-218).
“for this is he having been spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, “A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD, Make His paths straight.” (Matthew 3:3)
“A beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, Son of God. As it has been written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your Way before You. A voice of one calling in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD, Make His paths straight.” (Mark 1:1-3)
“as it has been written in the scroll of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the LORD, Make His paths straight; Every valley will be filled, And every mountain and hill will be made low, And the crooked will become straightness, And the rough become smooth ways; And all flesh will see the Salvation of God.” (Luke 3:4-6)
“He said, “I [am] a voice of one crying in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the LORD, as Isaiah the prophet said… John answered them, saying, “I immerse in water, but in the midst of you has stood He whom you have not known, it is this One who is coming after me, Who has been before me, of whom I am not worthy that I may loose the strap of His sandal.” These things came to pass in Bethabara, beyond the Jordan, where John was immersing. On the next day John sees Jesus coming to him and says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, Who is taking away the sin of the world; this is He concerning whom I said, After me comes a Man Who has come before me, because He was before me” (John 1:23, 26-30)
There is no doubt in these four Accounts in the Gospel’s, that each Writer is speaking of the First Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The all quote directly from The Prophet Isaiah, who Prophesised some eight hundred years before the Birth of Jesus Christ:
“A voice is crying in a wilderness: “Prepare The Way of YHWH, Make straight in a desert a highway for our God. Every valley is raised up, And every mountain and hill become low, And the crooked place has become a plain, And the entangled places a valley. And the glory of YHWH has been revealed, And all flesh have seen [it] together, For the mouth of YHWH has spoken” (Isaiah 40:3-5)
It is abundantly clear from this passage in Isaiah, and its quotation in the Four Gospels, that the “voice is crying in a wilderness”, is that of John the Baptist. He was the Forerunner of The First Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The actual words in Isaiah, shows that their fulfilment, are for the Coming of YHWH Himself. “The Way of YHWH”, in Isaiah, is The Way of Jesus Christ, as they are fulfilled in His Coming.
It is spiritual blindness for those who read these Passages in the Bible, and yet believe that Jesus Christ is inferior to God the Father, and refuse to accept that the Bible is very clear, Jesus Christ is Himself YHWH. Other then the wresting of these passages of their Biblical Teaching, there is not other way to understand what is Prophesied by The Prophet Isaiah, and the fulfilment of this passage, in the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, as YHWH, as taught by the Four Gospel Writers.
In Mark’s Gospel, we have the additional reference to the Coming of Jesus Christ, as in The Prophet Malachi, about 500 years before the Birth of Jesus Christ:
“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; and the Messenger of the Covenant, whom you desire, behold, He comes!” says YHWH of Armies” (Malachi 3:1)
In this passage in Malachi, the Speaker is “Yahweh of Armies”. He says that He is sending His messenger, who, “will prepare the Way before Me”. We are then told of Another Person, Who is identified as “the Lord”, and “the Messenger of the Covenant”, Who is also Coming. Here, as in the passage in Isaiah, we have the clear Teaching, of The Coming of YHWH, which is The First Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is not way to try to make any distinction between this.
In addition to what Luke writes in chapter 3 of his Gospel, we have an earlier account in the first chapter:
“But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. You will have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God. He will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.” (verses 13-17)
The Birth of John the Baptist, is the fulfilment of the Prophecies in the Old Testament, of the “messenger” who is to go before YHWH, to prepare His Way for His Coming. Note what Luke says here, “He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God. He will go before Him”. The “He” here is John the Baptist. The “Him” is “YHWH their God”, as in the Prophecies in Isaiah and Malachi. This passage in Luke is concerning The First Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 76 of this same chapter in Luke, we read, “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways”. Which is also referring to the passages in Isaiah and Malachi.
Nothing can be clearer, that The Coming of YHWH, as Prophesied in Old Testament, are actually fulfilled in The First Coming of The Lord Jesus Christ. It is impossible to conclude from all of this clear evidence from the Holy Bible, that Jesus Christ is YHWH, the Eternal, uncreated, Almighty God, Who said of Himself, “I am The First and The Last” (Revelation 1:17; 2:8; 22:13). The Unitarian Greek scholar, Dr Joseph Thayer says of the words, " ὁ πρῶτος καί ὁ ἔσχατος, i.e. the eternal One" (Greek Lexicon; page, 554). Jesus Christ is The Eternal One, as even acknowledged by those who believed that He is not GOD. To be ETERNAL, can only mean, that Jesus Christ is YHWH, as the Hebrew root for this Name, means, “Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel...the one bringing into being, life-giver, giver of existence, creator, he who brings to pass...he who causes...the one who is: i.e. the absolute and unchangeable one, the existing, ever-living" (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Hebrew Lexicon. pages 217-218).
