Journey on the Ancient Path – The Way of the Shepherd

Chapter 7 – The Spirit of Elijah

In this chapter,Elizabeth, wife of the Temple priest Zechariah, gives birth to a son and his name is called John. The angel who prophesied his birth said John would came ‘in the Spirit of Elijah’. He grew up to become John the Baptist, the one ‘crying in the wilderness’, preparing the way for Jesus to come. Recent translations of the Dead Sea Scrolls, seem to indicate the John the Baptist was, in fact, a member of the Essenes. The Essenes were the religious scribes who created the scrolls found at the Dead Sea. They lived during the time of Jesus and for several hundred years before Jesus was born. The Essenes recognized the Zadok priests as the legitimate priests of Israel. The writings found in the Dead Sea Scrolls state that the Essenes removed the historic and ancient scrolls from the Temple Library, and hid them in the caves at Qumran. Some of this information is just now being discovered as more scrolls are translated and shared around the world.

Thought Provoking Journey:

• If John the Baptist (as he was called as an adult) was born during Passover, this would be a partial fulfillment, of an ancient prophecy, about a forerunner before the Messiah appeared.
• A second, complete fulfillment will happen at the end of time, just before the Messiah’s second return, when another ‘Elijah’ will appear. 
• If John was born during Passover, this would mean Mary’s baby would be born in the fall, because John was six months older than Yeshua (Jesus).
• Today, the Jewish people still reserve a place for Elijah, at their Passover table.
• The Zadok priestly lineage had several men with the name of John. Did this name have a hidden meaning for this baby which was born to Elizabeth? Is it possible that John the Baptist was born of the Zadok priestly lineage?