Who was John the Baptist who Appeared at the First Coming?
📰The Bible is one of the best-selling and most widely distributed books in history, yet it is also considered to be among the least understood. The Bible, which is referred to as the New Covenant and Promise of God, in which 'the way to heaven and salvation' is presented, differs in theologians' interpretations that make it difficult to understand. These differing interpretations have been the cause of the rise of denominations with each one establishing their own doctrine. With the increase in online church services and gatherings resulting from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, there has been growing interest in the comparison of various church doctrine. This paper, therefore, attempts to provide readers with the opportunity to compare differing Biblical teachings without interpretation. Among a host of online sermons and Bible-based teachings, the contrasting doctrine between the established Church and Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which has drawn public interest throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, is hereby compared and summarised. Best efforts have been made to provide a summary of Shincheonji Church of Jesus' understanding of the Bible. Judgment as to what is right or wrong is left to the reader’s discernment.
"John the Baptist was a messenger who prepared the way, but betrayed and failed to fulfil his duty to God"
Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony
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Do you know the old Korean proverb, 'In a fight between whales, the shrimp's back gets broken'? Even within the Bible, there is a person who was killed for having meddled in others' personal affairs. This person was John the Baptist.
In brief, John the Baptist was a messenger who prepared the way but betrayed and failed to fulfil his duty to God. John the Baptist's father was Zechariah, a priest in his day, and Elizabeth was his mother. John was born six months before Jesus, and was his relative (Luke 1, 2).
What was John the Baptist's duty? John the Baptist was a pastor who came as a messenger to prepare the way, as promised in Malachi 3 and 4 (Matthew 17:10-13). In John 1:23, John referred to himself as the voice of one crying out in the wilderness to straighten the way for the Lord. Jesus said that John the Baptist had the duty of a lamp, lighting up the darkness before the true light would come (John 1:6-9), and in John 5:35 said that 'John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light'. John's duty, as one entrusted to prepare the way for the true light Jesus Christ, should have been completed and come to an end when Jesus came.
What is most important to consider here is whether John the Baptist obediently carried out his duty.
At first, John the Baptist fulfilled his duty well. He also referred to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and even baptised Jesus in order to fulfil the words of the Bible (Mal 3:1, Matthew 3:13-16), as well as the false pastors of that time including the scribes and Pharisees. John the Baptist testified against them, calling them a brood of snakes and vipers (Matthew 3:7). However, he later walked a different path straying from and denying Jesus, and gradually becoming one with the Pharisees. John the Baptist died thereafter.
In Matthew 9:14, after Jesus began his ministry, John the Baptist did not go to Jesus, and John the Baptist's disciples were still under his command. Moreover, John the Baptist's disciples had become one with the snake-like pastors of that time, asking Jesus, 'Why don't your disciples fast like we and the Pharisees do?' Also, in Matthew 11:2-3, John the Baptist was imprisoned and doubted whether Jesus was truly the Messiah, instilling doubt in the hearts and minds of John the Baptist's disciples.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:11-13 that from the days of John the Baptist until that point, the kingdom of heaven had been made subject to violence by violent people, and that all the prophets and the law prophesied until the time of John the Baptist. Eventually, the chosen physical Israelites, born of the lineage of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all came to an end due to the betrayal of John the Baptist (Matthew 11:12-13, Luke 16:16).
The fact that the messenger entrusted to prepare the way for Jesus had become a member of the scribes and Pharisees who persecuted Jesus, proves that, ultimately, John the Baptist betrayed.
John the Baptist was the messenger entrusted to prepare the way at the time of Jesus' first coming (Matthew 11:10-15). At the Lord's Second Coming, the seven stars and seven messengers began their work as lampstands and preparers of the way, like John the Baptist at the first coming. Both John the Baptist, who prepared the way at the time of the first coming, and the seven stars and seven messengers today, betrayed and deserted their flock (John 10, Revelation 12). Whether at the time of the first or the second coming, because they were hired shepherds (pastors), they abandoned the flock fled when they saw the wolf coming. Jesus said that he had come to lay down his life for his sheep, which is why Jesus was the true shepherd and true pastor of the first coming.
The enemy that had to be fought was the violent pastor belonging to Satan. However, the hired shepherd abandoned the flock and ran away, so the only shepherd who had to fight Satan's pastor was the pastor of promise (promised pastor).
Why must the messenger who prepares the way come first? If Satan could be eliminated only through him witnessing the work of the preparer of the way, the work of God would flourish. Moreover, how can one discern who Satan is? That is why the reality and organisation of Satan could become known when Satan entered the tabernacle (temple) of the preparers of the way and was harmed because that became a snare to capture Satan (Jeremiah 50:24). Satan and the false pastor's identity was then revealed, as evidenced in Revelation 2-3 and 12. This becomes proof that the words of prophecy have already been fulfilled.
By knowing this truth, one could fight and overcome without being deceived by Satan. Satan entered the tabernacle that prepare the way, exposing the identity of the false pastors. This work began with the preparers of the way, leading to the invasion of the enemy destroyers. The chosen first tabernacle was put to an end through the war of the mark of the beast being given and subsequent worship of the beast, resulting in betrayal and the one who devoured the chosen first tabernacle becoming the destroyer. At that time, as recorded in Revelation 12, the kingdom of God and His power and salvation were established after fighting and defeating Satan's pastors with the blood of the Lamb and the word of testimony.
"Martyred after being caught in the crossfire of Herod's love affair. John the Baptist lived a bold life for the sake of the truth!"
Korean Church
Pastor A of the Korean Presbyterian Church
"John the Baptist never carried out any miracles. There was no such thing as John the Baptist healing, exorcising or carrying out any such miracles. He was just caught up in King Herod's love affair and was martyred."
Pastor B of the Korean Presbyterian Church
"When we live by faith in Christ, persecution and trials that John the Baptist had to endure can come to anyone. It doesn't end there. The reign of Herod's kingdom seemed prosperous, but it didn't last long. Only the kingdom ruled over by God is eternal. Evil cannot prosper forever, neither will the suffering of the righteous. The cowardly Herod was in stark contrast to the bold life of John the Baptist for the sake of the truth."
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4 comments
John the Baptist did not endure, rather doubted.
ReplyDeleteand doubt = betrayal?
DeleteI'm taught that John the baptist was only martyrs in my church, but It isn't said like that in Bible
DeleteYes, we can know the ture meaning about Johan the baptist
ReplyDelete