John the Baptist speaks to a multitude:
Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin 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. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.-Luke 3:7-14***Zechariah (Zacharias) the priest and his wife Elizabeth (Elisabeth) were elderly and childless when an angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah and spoke to him about the son that would be born to Zechariah and Elizabeth. The angel told Zechariah to name the child John, and the angel said that the birth of John was going to cause rejoicing and gladness. The angel said John would be great in the eyes of the Lord, and would be filled with the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) from birth, and would bring many Israelites back to the Lord, and prepare people for the Lord. During the 6th month that Elizabeth was carrying John the Baptist in her womb, the Lord God sent the angel Gabriel to speak to Elizabeth's relative Mary, a virgin. Gabriel told Mary that a son would be conceived in Mary's womb and Mary was to name the son Jesus. Gabriel answered Mary's question and explained that Jesus would be conceived of the Holy Spirit and Jesus will be called the Son of God. Moreover, Gabriel told Mary that Elizabeth had conceived a son. Shortly thereafter, Mary visited Elizabeth, and Elizabeth heard Mary's voice, and John the Baptist leaped in Elizabeth's womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Meanwhile, an angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph, the craftsman to whom Mary was pledged to wed. The angel told Joseph not to fear receiving Mary as his wife, for the child in Mary's womb was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and Joseph was to name the child Jesus, and Jesus will save his people from their sins. Months after John the Baptist was born into the tribe of Levi to Zechariah and Elizabeth, Jesus, the Christ, was born into the tribe of Judah to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin. The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that John the Baptist preached a message of repentance and the nearness of the kingdom of heaven, and prepared the way for Jesus, fulfilling the prophecy proclaimed centuries earlier by Isaiah the prophet. Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, John the Baptist, and most of those who came to listen to John the Baptist, including the Pharisees, Sadducees, and tax collectors (publicans), were Israelites, descendants of Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah (Sarai), Isaac and Rebekah, and Isaac and Rebekah's youngest fraternal twin son Jacob (Israel).-Genesis 11:26-35:29, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 6:1-81, Isaiah 1:1-31, 40:1-11, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26
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