Returning today to John chapter 1, John's Gospel chapter 1, short reading here today from this portion of God's Word, John chapter 1, and we'll read from the opening verse of the chapter. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them give he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Amen, and we'll end our reading at the end of verse 13. Let's unite in prayer, please. Our loving Father, we thank thee for thy word. We rejoice, O God, for thy goodness to us. even to find us again here in thy house today. Bless our waiting souls. May there be a word and season for every heart. Help this preacher in all that he has to say. Give us help and authority and power, the anointing of thy spirit, and be magnified and glorified in all things. For we pray these are petitions in and through Jesus precious and worthy and wonderful name. Amen. An echo, he was not. For an echo is only the repetition and the duplication of what another has said. He was instead a voice. And what a voice he was. The divinely commissioned voice brought to an end four centuries in which God had said nothing to the world. The person that I am speaking of was the herald and the forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ. His name was John the Baptist. Over the summer months, we want to consider this rugged prophet who appeared on the stage of Israel's history just six months prior to the coming of the Savior into the world. And as we do so, I want us to learn some lessons, some things that we can learn from him, from that short but influential ministry that he exercised in the time of Christ. Now I must admit that in my own experience, I've never heard a series of messages preached on the life and the ministry of this firebrand prophet. Yes, I've heard biographical messages on men like Joseph and Samson and David and Peter and Paul, but never on the Baptist, and so I'm depending on the Lord and those that have gone before me to help as I come to prepare the messages as God would have me to preach them. One can only imagine the stir and the curiosity that must have been aroused When this camel-haired clothed prophet appeared on the banks of the river Jordan, claiming to be the witness of the true light, he was soon to be manifested onto Israel. Before we even come to consider John the Baptist's public ministry, we need to go back to his beginnings. In actual fact, we need to go even back further than that. We need to go back into the Old Testament to glean what we can from there. about this eccentric evangelist that was about to turn the entire teaching of the entire religious system of the Jews on its head, just like the one he came to speak of, the Lord Jesus Christ. John the Baptist coming into the world was foretold in the Old Testament scriptures. Now, that is unique. Because we do not read in the Old Testament scriptures of the coming of men like Peter or James or John or Paul into the world, although these men were very important to the early New Testament church. But it is the case that prior to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, into the world, it was foretold by the Old Testament prophets that a preceding messenger would herald the coming of the Messiah. For example, seven centuries before the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the prophet Isaiah spoke these words in Isaiah chapter 40 and the verse number 3 and 4. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. While many commentators find in these particular verses a prediction of the immediate return of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity, the New Testament writer sees in it an ultimate fulfillment of the preparatory work of John the Baptist. And that can be seen in portions such as Matthew 3, verse 3, Mark 1, 2 to 3, Luke 3, verse 4 and 6, and John 1, verse 23. Let me read that verse. And he said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Elias. Fast forward 300 years from Isaiah. 400 years prior to the incarnation of the Son of God, Malachi spoke of one who would come and prepare the way of the Lord. There in Malachi 3, verse 1, behold, I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant on whom you delight in. Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord. of hosts. The Holy Spirit makes a distinction within that verse between the messenger who prepares the way and the messenger of the covenant. The former is a reference to this man, John the Baptist. The latter is a reference to none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. What kind of world was John the Baptist born into? Well, today, I want us to examine the conditions of the world at the time of John the Baptist's birth. And to do so, we want to focus on three particular areas. I want us to think about the political conditions that existed. I want to think about the priestly conditions that existed. And I want to think about the parental conditions that existed and prevailed in the world when John stepped onto the stage of human history. And as we do so, I believe that it'll give us a glimpse into three spheres. It'll give us a glimpse into the nation, it'll give us a glimpse into the church, and it'll give us a glimpse into the home of John's day, and give us a good picture of what sort of world John the Baptist entered. I said we'll focus on three. Well, truth be told, we'll only consider the first two today and, God willing, return next Lord's Day to the third. So consider with me, firstly, the political conditions into which John the Baptist, the messenger of the Messiah, the forerunner of Christ, was born into. And we can consider the state of politics in the days of John the Baptist from two vantage points. We can consider it from an international vantage point. During its history, Israel felt the powerful influences of several neighboring kingdoms and empires, especially the successive empires of Assyria, that was then followed by Babylon, that was followed by Persia, then Greece, and then eventually Rome. Each of those great powers and pressed upon the nation of Israel its own kind of morality, pressed in upon them, invading them, conquering, and exerted its own influence on the culture and on the institutions of Israel, affecting its political and social structure, testing its fortitude and its obedience. One writer put it, much of the fate of Israel was due to the position of its lands at the crossroads of the ancient world. Bordered by the west by the great sea, the Mediterranean, and on the east by the Syrian Arabian deserts, it lay directly on a virtual land bridge between Egypt and the lands of Mesopotamia and Asia. Not always a target for invasion itself, The land and its people were often the victims of armies passing through, marching in pursuit of the riches of Egypt. In 555 BC, the Persian kings, Cyrus the Great, united the Persians and the Medes, and over the years As his power and his influence grew, he expanded his empire until finally, in 539 BC, he took Babylon in a bloodless coup and established Persia as the dominant force within the Near East. It was this man, Cyrus, that decreed, and whose decree allowed the returning exiles of Judah back to their homeland to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. His son, would take Egypt in 525 BC, making the Persian Empire the largest in the world at that particular time. But that empire was to soon pass away during the intertestamental period, that time period between the Old Testament that ends with Malachi and the New Testament that begins with the Gospel of Mark and the advent of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It was in 66 to 63 BC that the Roman Emperor Pompey conquered much of the Near East. And this was going to set the stage in which, of all that was to follow, An ancient world of ever larger empires in succession. There was going to be no empire like the Roman Empire, covering much of the territory of the known world. There would never be more commerce and more contact among the nations of the old world as it was in the days of the Roman Empire. Rome was going to rule for 500 years after the coming of Pompey. And it would be therefore into this very shifting and into this very turbulent international political atmosphere that the forerunner of the Messiah would appear. And he was going to announce that the Prince of Peace was going to arrive. The Prince of Peace was on his way. Into this turbulent political situation there came a message of hope, a message of deliverance, a message to comfort the hearts of God's people. The Prince of Peace is on the way. Now there are lessons I believe for us to learn from the international politics and political conditions of John's day. The first lesson being that even the greatest of kingdoms Even the mightiest of empires rise and fall. They come and go. In stark contrast to those kingdoms, whether it be the Babylonian, the Grecian, the Persian, the Roman Empire, in stark contrast to these kingdoms is Christ's kingdom, which has an enduring, and it is an enduring, and it is an everlasting kingdom. Today we look out internationally into our world. Because our hearts at times, our hearts are caused to fear. Consider the rise of the great empire, the great nation of China. Think about the nuclear threat that comes from North Korea and Iran. We see the political turmoil that exists within nations like Syria and Iraq. Internationally, the political world of our day is no different than the political world of John the Baptist's day. And yet, brethren and sisters, we're not to fear, and we're not to despair, because those that belong to Christ, they belong to the kingdom of God, a kingdom that can never be shaken, and a kingdom that can never be destroyed. Let me ask you today, are you part of that kingdom? Do you belong to the kingdom of God? Lord Jesus Christ, he said in Mark 10 verse 15, verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And so today that verse reminds us for us to belong to the kingdom of God, then we must become savingly acquainted with the king of that kingdom. I pray that you are. I pray you know the savior. I pray that you know the king of kings. But there is another lesson I believe that we can learn from the international political upheaval in the days of John the Baptist, namely that it is God who causes kingdoms and empires to rise and fall. It is God who causes kingdoms and empires to rise and fall. The psalmist Asaph, he said as much in Psalm 75 verse 7. He says that it is God who putteth down one and setteth up another. Daniel was reminded of God's hand in history when he would declare in Daniel 2 verse 21 that it is God who removeth kings and setteth up kings. And Daniel was going to witness that even in the life of the king under whom he served, King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was humbled for a season, a period of time, made to live like an animal out in the fields. And in Daniel he saw it before his very eyes that it is in God's power to remove kings and to set up kings. Now there are many of God's people, and they fret. And they fret to the point of anxious care. as they scan the political world. While it is true that we're not to be indifferent about these things, yet we're not to fret, we're not to be worried about these things because our God is in the heavens and he hath done whatsoever he pleased. Our God will deal with rulers and with kings that take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed. We are reminded that it is He that sits in the heavens and that He will laugh and that the Lord shall have them in derision. And so God will dispose of those who defy and who reject Him. Child of God, be in no doubt about that. Our God is in the heavens. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. When John appeared on to the stage of human history, the shadow of the Roman eagle hung large over international affairs. But coming a little closer to home, we want to consider the political conditions in the days of John the Baptist from a national vantage point. We've looked at it internationally, the empire that reigned the Roman Empire, but notice now the national, from a national vantage point, the political realm and the political conditions of John the Baptist's day. In Luke chapter one, in the verse number five, we read a statement that we could very easily skip over. Luke chapter 1 verse 5 reveals to us a little of what the national state of the land was like politically. Because we read there, Luke chapter 1 verse 5, there was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias. In the days of Herod, the king of Judea. These words, they describe for us very succinctly the dark political situation in the nation of Israel when John was born. Herod the Great, he ruled over the whole land of Palestine, not just, although he was called the King of Judea, Herod's rule had covered more than the province of Judea. It took in places like Galilee and Samaria, considerable territory on the east side of the River Jordan. And thus is King Herod the Great. He ruled over all the land of Israel. But maybe a truer statement would be this. He oppressed all the land of Israel. You see, Herod was crafty. Herod was cruel, sensual, authoritative. No time really for the Christ of God or the things of God. I was reading John Butler, and this is what he said about the days, about the one who ruled in the days of John the Baptist. He said, Herod was a moral cesspool. It said that he had 10 wives. It says that he was terribly brutal and bloody. It says that he did not hesitate to kill whenever it served his purpose. He killed his competitors, he killed his enemies, he killed a number of wealthy Jews and confiscated their wealth for his own coffers. He even executed a number of his own family through stabbing, forced drowning, strangulation, poisoning, and even other violent means, he executed people. The most famous brutal act that Herod committed is recorded for us in Scripture. For we find that in his days it was through Herod the Great that all the children under the age of two were butchered to death because of the coming Messiah within Bethlehem and the surrounding areas to wipe out the Messiah or in the hope to wipe out the Messiah. And yet, brethren and sisters, Yet with even a wicked and a ruthless keen as Herod the Great on the throne of Israel, it did not impede God working or bringing his chosen vessel to the fore. As terrible and as wicked and as sinful as the days were, it was still in the days of Herod that God sent the Baptist into the world the forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ. And brethren, sisters, I believe again that is for our encouragement and our comfort today, because in the darkest of days God has his servants to make Jesus Christ known. In the darkest of days. When things are in turmoil, politically, socially, morally, God always has his servants to make Jesus Christ known. Now success, as we would view success, may not accompany their labors, but God always, always has a faithful witness in every successive generation. Not only that, but God delights to show us power in the most difficult of days. And we should not therefore then be surprised that in the darkest of times God does of times His greatest work. Our God is not restricted or restrained by circumstances. He's not inhibited by dark times or by great difficulties that exist within the land. God is not restrained or restricted to work in days when sin abounds in every hand. Herod's Do not inhibit God from working. The most wicked despot, the most sinful dictator could be on the throne and yet not even that can hinder our God from working. As Butler put it, when we are in the days of Herod's situation, we need not give up. cease to expect God's help or deny our faith. No, we should instead look for and expect God to demonstrate His power. As church history has shown down through the ages, corruption in high places, wickedness in the corridors of power does not impede God when He decides to work Days of great wickedness, days of great corruption, days of great sin have often been the days of greatest reformation and days of greatest revival. Such was the case in the 16th century in Europe when God shook that continent during the time of the Protestant Reformation. In the 18th century, on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, under the ministries of men like Zindedorf and Wesley and Whitefield and Edwards. In the 19th century, here in our own beloved province of Ulster. In the 20th century, in places like Wales and the Isle of Lewis and in China. Days of extremity have always become days of God's opportunity. And brothers and sisters, as we look at our nation and all that has happened in a week that has passed and in the lead up to this week and even back before then, as we look at the wickedness in our nation, we are not to despair, we are not to give up in prayer, we are not to lose our heart and we are not to lose faith, but we must pray. pray for God to come again, for God to send messengers into the nation, voices that will declare His truth without fear, without fever, men who will declare the whole counsel of His Word, calling sin for what it is, as that which is extremely and exceeding sinful in God's eyes. And yet, brethren, at the same time we are, and sisters, we are to pray for kings and for those that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and a peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. The day was dark, but the Baptist was coming. God's messenger was coming to herald the daybreak. The Son of Righteousness was about to arise with healing in His wings. If you hadn't looked at it politically, You'd have thought, how on earth is this ever going to be reversed? How is this ever going to change? But Jesus Christ was going to step into the situation. So we can learn from this, brethren and sisters. Don't be despairing. Don't be losing heart. Our God is in the heavens. He will dispose kings, rulers. He'll set them aside. But he will always work and is always working in accordance to his counsel, an immutable counsel that cannot be changed. Let us rest on that truth. But having thought about the prevalent political conditions in the time of John the Baptist's birth, I want you to think about the priestly conditions at the time of the Baptist's birth. And we want to consider that, we would say, in a broad scope, want to look at the broad state of affairs and the state of religion when John the Baptist was born. Now Herod the Great, though he really had no time for the Lord Jesus Christ, that was proven by the butchering off the children. Though he had no time yet, Herod was, he was a man who was crafty. He was a political genius. He decided that in the 18th year of his reign, in order to curry favor with the Jews, he was going to rebuild for them the destroyed temple at Jerusalem. You'll know that the temple was destroyed. The first temple was destroyed, Zerubbabel built. Then a second temple, that second temple was destroyed. And now Herod comes in and he gives to them all that they need to build the temple at Jerusalem. This old temple that was built by Zerubbabel was now replaced with a magnificent structure. with a magnificent structure at the expense of Herod the Great. The Jewish historian Josephus, now he wasn't a Christian, but Josephus describes how incredible that temple looked. He said, The sanctuary had everything that could amaze either mind or eyes. Overlayed all around with stout plates of gold, the first rays of the sun, it reflected so fierce a blaze of fire that those who endeavored to look at it were forced to turn away as if they looked straight at the sun. The strangers, as they approached it, seemed at a distance like a mountain covered with snow, for any part not covered with gold was dazzling white with marble. Outwardly, the physical structures of religion were in place, but it missed the vital spark. Outwardly, the physical structures of religion were all in place, but it missed the vital spark. A deadness, a stifling formality pervaded over the worship of God. Men and women were really just going through the mechanics of worship, but their hearts were left untouched. Eppie Meyer details the state of religion in the days of John the Baptist. He said, the great national feasts of the Passover, the Tabernacles, and of Pentecost, they were celebrated with solemn pomp and attracted vast crowds from all over the world. In every part of the land, synagogues were maintained with care. Crowds of scribes were perpetually engaged in the microscopic study of the law and the instruction of the people in revenue and popular attention and apparent devoutness, that period had not been excelled in the most palmy days of Solomon or Hezekiah. But beneath the decorious surface, the rankest, foulest, most desperate corruption throve, F.B. Now is it not the case in our land, even among us, there are many, and they're happy to go through the mechanics of worship. But the heart remains unmoved, the heart remains untouched by the truths preached. The vital spark is often missing. We come and go from the house of God without hearing from God, not because that there isn't a word from God, but more because our hearts are so full of the world. that we can't hear from God. Outwardly, we appear righteous to others, but inwardly, corruption and sin reigns within. Brethren and sisters, what we need to happen is what happened when Christ began His public ministry and when He ended His public ministry. We need Him to enter the temple of our hearts with a scourge and to drive out that which offends Him and that which defiles us. or less we find ourselves just like the religious situation in the days of John the Baptist. We have our outward physical structures, but there's no spark in the work of God. There's no spark in religion. There's no heart worship that is rendered to our God. We just end up like being like the days of John the Baptist. Unfortunately, that's where we are. Too often in our land and in our nation and in our own church, Now in the Old Testament, the nation's health was determined by the state of the Jewish priesthood. When the priesthood was pure and holy, the nation prospered. But when the priesthood was corrupt and sinful, then the land and the nation languished. And we can find a very quick example of that in the days of Eli. The days of Eli the priest, as a father Eli failed to restrain his two sons. These were men who were part of the ministry, part of the priesthood. And it caused them, this unrestraining by a father, it caused these men to improperly use the power that was their part because of their belonging to the priesthood. And as a consequence of their mishandling the Ark of the Covenant, that said piece of temple furniture where tabernacle furniture was seized upon by the Philistines in battle and carried away as part of the battle's spoil. And as a result, the nation mourned. Echabod, Echabod, the glory is departed. Because of corruption within the priesthood, within the religious world, the nation went as the church, because as the church is, so goes the world. And as the family, as so goes the church. Brethren and sisters, it was certainly the case, or that was the case in the days of John the Baptist. When John came on to the stage of history, the religious life of Israel was corrupted because the priesthood was corrupted. And one reason the priesthood was so corrupted was that it was considerably influenced and controlled by this King Herod. It was Herod who chose the high priest. And so the high priest was really a political appointment, enabling Herod to choose the high priest. That enabled that high priest, or enabled Herod at least, to have someone in place that would overlook his excesses and remain silent about his sin. You certainly don't want to rock the boat if you were the high priests in the days of Herod, because it was Herod that put you in place. That sounds so very familiar. Did you know that the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is the leader of the established church in England, is a political appointment? The Crown Nominations Commission, they submit a name of a preferred candidate to fulfill the role of Archbishop to the Prime Minister who is then constitutionally responsible for tendering advice then to Her Majesty the Queen. Let me say, brethren and sisters, whenever the political world interferes with the religious world, one of two things happens. Either the church is muzzled by the state, she becomes ineffective in her witness for truth and righteousness or there is a persecution of the church because she chooses to remain faithful in her witness for Jesus Christ and remain faithful to her soul, head, and King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Brethren and sisters, may God preserve us from the first and give us grace to bear the second. In other words, may God help us from being silenced by higher powers when it comes to calling sin for what it is. And if we're persecuted for holding the truth to the teaching of scripture, may we be given the grace that is required to happily bear the reproach because there's coming a stage in our nation when the mushy middle is going to be put out of the church. The mushy middle. In other words, men and women that really have no convictions whatsoever. because the pressure is going to come on to the church to conform to the teachings of state. In other words, brethren and sisters, the days of the Covenanters are coming back. They're coming back. Will you stand faithful on that day? Will you stand faithful on the day whenever your minister because of something that he says in this pulpit and is maybe recorded and then sent to the legal profession, that this minister is imprisoned. Will you stand faithful with him on that day? The mushy middle is going to be squeezed out. There's either going to be compromise or conviction. What side will you be on? Who, who is on the Lord's side? Let him come on to me. Let him come on to me. Today we live in a day whenever Christians are barely out of the headlines. We think of Asher's Baking Company. They're being sued by the equality quango. for taking a stand on traditional marriage. Ofsted inspectors are ignoring government guidance in asking children in Christian schools about sodomite lifestyles. The Scottish government is intent in introducing proposals that will sideline the rights of parents. The government is planning to introduce an extremism disruption order, which are aimed at, and I quote, harmful activities of extremist individuals who spread hate but do not break the laws. The orders, they say, will be issued by a high court where it is persuaded that someone, and I quote, participating in activities that spread insight, promote or justify hatred against a person or group of persons on the grounds of that person's or group of persons' disability, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, and or transgender identity. anyone receiving an EDO will be banned from working with children for life. As I said, the days of the Covenanters are returning. The days of the Covenanters are returning. means that if I call someone who's living a life of a sodomite, that they're living in a life of sin, that means that I could be brought to the court and served an extreme disruption order, and it would mean that I would no longer be able to work with children within this church. These are the days, brethren and sisters, that we're living in. These are the days that we live in, and we must speak And we do speak. We do try and get our voices heard. Letters have been sent, have been sent by the Morals and Government Committee. Letters sent this week have been sent, voices of trying to be raised, but they do not want to hear and they do not want to publish such things. But we must be faithful. But we also must be wise. we must also be wise. You see, John the Baptist was a voice, and we need to have a voice again in the land, and we need you as God's people to pray, pray for us. However, among the corrupt ranks of the priesthood, God found a man. He actually found a godly couple who were faithful to him, Though the general character of the priesthood was deeply tainted by the corruption of the times, there were still some within the priesthood who were true and genuine in their godliness, and Zacharias was one such priest. It would be into the home of Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth that John the Baptist was going to be born. But that is for us to consider next week, the parental conditions. the home into which Jesus Christ's forerunner was born. But what have we learned today from this introductory message? I trust that we have learned that although times can be bleak politically and religiously, God always has a faithful remnant, a faithful remnant who remain loyal to him in such times. And I trust that we've also learned that God is never at a loss. He's never at a loss to work, even when things are so bleak within a nation. The answer is the gospel. It always has been, it always will be. It is better for us to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man or princess. And so we must seek the Lord. We must become men and women of prayer. And if God be merciful and gracious to us, he will raise up a voice. We may be that voice. It may be some other voice. But God will raise up a voice. that will remain faithful to him. May God help me. May God help you to remain faithful to our God. And may God make us part of that faithful remnant. And may God send us men who have the spirit of John the Baptist about them. May God help us in our consideration of this man in coming weeks. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Let's seek the Lord. Our loving Father, we do thank Thee for all Thy mercy and grace. We thank Thee for Thy goodness. We praise Thee for the Word of God. We are aware, O God of our nation, the sin that abounds. We realize, O Father, that this pulpit is not a place for political statements to be made, but Lord, we must declare the truth of thy word, we must be faithful to thee, we must call sin for what it is. But we thank thee, dear Father, that our confidence is not to be found in the political realm. Our confidence is to be found upon thee and upon thy word and upon the God of heaven. And we pray, Father, that thou will be pleased to give us men with the spirit of John the Baptist about them. Help, dear God, in all of our endeavors as we try to be light and salt in this world. We know that the world wants to silence, wants to ignore any sort of protest or any sort of voice in order to convince the public at large that the church is silent about these matters. And yet, Father, we cry to Thee that Thou would be pleased to have our voice heard again in our nation. We pleased Heavenly Father not our voice, but thy name and thy voice to be exalted. We look to thee. The times are bleak, but Lord, they were in the days of John the Baptist. Be pleased, O God, to send us one who will herald a better day for thy church. Be pleased, heavenly Father, to bless thy word to our hearts. And may we think about even this man who was but, O Father, as it were, the moon as it is to the sun, so John the Baptist was to the Christ. He was only but the forerunner, only but one who declared that the light was soon to dawn. And so answer prayer. and continue to be with us, and bless every family and home represented. We pray this in Jesus' precious name. Amen.