John was born to the priest Zacharias and Elisabeth (of the tribe of Levi) very late in their life. The time of the birth of Jesus was the determining factor for John to be born as a child to this righteous, God-fearing, and blameless couple. John was filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb. He was to turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord. And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. – Luke 1:17.

God is perfect in time. He knows when to give a married couple a child as He considers many factors around where and when a child would be born that would lead to the fulfillment of His purpose. The birth of Isaac and Jacob (Israel) and Joseph are other evidence of God’s perfect time.

It is God who gifts children to parents (Ps 127:3) and it is God who shuts the womb of a woman to keep her barren as well (Gen 30:2). While God has set a biological law in place that when a man knows a woman, the union will result in one or more offspring, there are exceptions to the law depending on the time and the nature of this union and other personal fertility factors that does not end in conception. A promiscuous union would also produce children as per the law, but such “bastards” could still come under the purpose of God in due course as would other normal children; God is gracious. In fact, the Son of God identified Himself with one such unholy union in His genealogy – Tamar gave birth to Phares by Judah, her father-in-law. (Read more about this elsewhere in ABHOT). The reprobate nature of the parties concerned who wilfully commit this grievous act (a sexual union of a man and a woman outside marriage is prohibited by God and He condemns this act as sin even today as ever) results in such miserable children – God is not to blame. Single mothers result more by consensus than by forced union! As you sow, so you reap. If they repent of their sin, God and the church would receive them with open hands. Single mothers by accident, abuse, or rape are to be received, sheltered, and supported by the community and must be rehabilitated.

However, there are barren women in the purpose of God who are called “blessed” because they would have the privilege of mothering more children in the spiritual sense. Rejoice, thou barren that bears not; break forth and cry, thou that travails not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. – Gal 4:27; Isa 54:1.

John grew up to be “the voice in the wilderness” calling people to repentance and telling them about the imminence of the Kingdom of God. A prophet in a priestly family! He baptized those who came to him at the Jordan River – the very reason he is nicknamed “the Baptist”. The Jewish priests and Levites came to verify his identity as to why he baptized people. The Jews had known from their scriptures (Thora / Old Testament) that the Messiah would arrive at a certain point in history to deliver them from oppression and bondage. They wanted to know if John was this Christ, the anointed One. They put this question to him in different forms but received the same answer every time – “I am not the Christ”.

John’s view of the nature of the kingdom was probably quite at variance with that of his hearers. Instead of the expected day of deliverance from the foreign oppressor, it was to be a day of judgment for Israel. It meant good for the penitent, but destruction for the unrepentant. "He will gather His wheat into the garner, but the chaff He will burn up with .... fire" (Matt 3:12). "The axe also lies at the root of the trees: every tree therefore that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire" (Lu 3:9). –Russell Benjamin Miller, ISBE (1915).

There was a specific reason why John kept baptizing at this time in history. He was playing a vital role in His-story. He was the one who brought the message of the ushering in of the new dispensation and establishment of God’s Kingdom.

John said, “I baptize with water: but there stands One among you, Whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, Whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. – John 1:26. In fact, even John didn’t know who the Christ was. “And I knew Him not: but that He should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water”. John 1: 31. How did John know Jesus is the Christ? John continued, “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 baptizes with the Holy Ghost” – John 1:33.
John saw Jesus coming to him to be baptized. John also saw the Holy Spirit descend on Him like a dove. This sign indicated to Him clearly that this Jesus is the Messiah. So, he immediately introduced Him to the public around him “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the World”. – John 1:29. It is this Lamb who is referred to by Apostle John as “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”. – Rev 13:8.
Why would Jesus require baptism in water? The Sin offering had to be ceremonially cleansed according to the law of Moses. Jesus, as the sin offering for the entire mankind, had to fulfill the law. Jesus said unto him, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness”. – Matt 3: 15. The baptism was also a preparation of the Son of Man for His ministry.

Apart from manifesting the Messiah to the Jewish public, it was John who had to make straight the way for Him – preparing the path for the Messiah to launch His ministry. John already had disciples and he introduced Jesus to two of them again as “the Lamb of God”. They started following the Lord. John was not jealous as he knew that it was for this reason he had come. Andrew was one such disciple. He brought his brother Peter to the Lord. The Lord then called Philip who in turn brought Nathanael to the Lord. The circle of disciples started expanding.

Here is Nathanael’s confession: “You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel”. Jesus answered, “You shall see greater things than these”. Apart from more miracles and prophecies, this should have included the revelation that Jesus is not only the King of the Jews, but He is also the King of the Gentiles as well. In fact, He is the King. He was establishing His Kingdom in the hearts of the His believers to rule in their lives – and He continues to do so even today. His Kingdom is not of this world, He stated with no ambiguity. Pontius Pilate failed to grasp this truth and kept asking Him “Are you the King of the Jews?” and, to top it all, he put a signboard on the cross which read “Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews” – “INRI”.

John was uncompromising when it came to a righteous lifestyle. “Do good; be honest; refrain from extortion; be content with your wages”, was the content of His preaching. This vigor, strictness, and fearlessness in his preaching, which enraged people to say, “he has a devil”, also lead him to his ultimate death at the hands of King Herod who was committing adultery with his sister-in-law. Herod ordered the beheading of John on Herod’s birthday!

John the Baptist lived a minimalistic lifestyle. His dress and habits were strikingly suggestive of Elijah, the old testament prophet. In fact, Jesus said the same about John. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?” And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that He spoke unto them of John the Baptist. Matt 17:10-13.

There is no mention in the scripture of Elijah coming again in these last days – he is not one of the two witnesses who would do their powerful ministry in the last days and die as martyrs because of their testimony. While these two witnesses would perform miracles as did Elijah (stopping rain or bringing down fire from heaven), this is more spiritual than literal. And they are already doing it now as the two olive branches and two candlesticks representing the believing Jews and the believing Gentiles of Rom 11:17:2 and the two anointed ones of Zac 4:14.

The two witnesses were murdered for their testimony. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them and shall overcome them, and kill them. – Rev 11:7. Until the death of the two, white robes were given unto every one of them (that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held); and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. – Rev 6:11. And they loved not their lives unto the death. – Rev 12:11. And it was given unto him (the beast) to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. 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 13:7, 8.

The two witnesses that died as martyrs were raised. And after three days and a 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.

The two witnesses were caught up. 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. – Rev 11:11, 12 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever. – Rev 11:15.

After the rapture of the two witnesses, the raptured were rewarded but lo, the left-behind were judged soon afterward – the third woe cometh quickly after the second. And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. – Rev 11:18.

John the Baptist, late in his life, while in prison, sent two of his disciples to Jesus to enquire if Jesus was the One to come or if they should look for another. John would have assumed that Jesus, as the Messiah, would establish His political kingdom during his lifetime (and probably a political one, as did Jesus’ disciples and which was the general assumption of the Jews of Jesus’ time). Were all those efforts put in by him going futile? Did He commit a grievous mistake that undermined his entire ministry? Jesus sent these encouraging words to John: “Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me”. Matt 11:4-6. These were the very indicators of the Messiah as prophesied by Isaiah the prophet. The offense that Jesus mentioned might have been the “serious doubt” that crept into the mind of John. The answer should have convinced John that what he had been doing all his life was indeed the right thing, that his ministry has been fulfilled, and that the purpose of God in his life has been accomplished.

Jesus said: 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. – Matt 11:11. Why was this so? He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy, therefore, is fulfilled. – John 3:29. Allegorically, John might stand as the best-man at the wedding of the Lamb alongside the Church, the bride – What a privilege!

Would there be social discrimination in heaven? No. Every chosen believer of the New Testament Church would be treated the same. Definitely, the Lord is not biased – He shed His same precious blood for all believers and redeemed them all equally. However, John the Baptist and the believers of the old covenant times (the least) were at a serious disadvantage; they could not keep the law however much they tried (and taught); Jesus is the end of the law; the Church, post the establishment of His kingdom at the advent of the Holy Spirit, is under His grace; She is His bride (the greater). The OT saints (the great) are the marriage party and the wise virgins!