Journey on the Ancient Path – The Way of the Shepherd

Chapter 3 – The Forerunner

In this chapter, the reader will learn about the forerunner, which was prophesied to come before the Messiah. He would come in the Spirit of Elijah, to ‘prepare the way of the Lord’.

Thought Provoking Journey:

• Zechariah was born into the family of Abijah, the 8th division of the Levites. This division was one of 24 similar, family lines which were descendants of the Jewish priestly line of Aaron, who was a descendent of Levi. Many centuries earlier, King David had arranged for each division to send representatives, twice a year, to Jerusalem to serve in the temple for one week. The other divisions worked in various support roles in the area surrounding Jerusalem. The priests would also work the weeks of the three, major Jewish feasts (Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot), when all Jewish men were required to come to Jerusalem. This schedule provided for enough priests to work all of the 51 weeks of the annual Jewish calendar. The priestly schedule started over each year, in early spring with the month of Nisan, the first month on the Jewish religious calendar. 
• In the Bible, in Ezekiel 44:15-16, the scriptures state that only the descendants of Zadok, the High Priest during King David’s reign, were allowed to enter the Temple and minister before God.  
• In scripture, there are different types of angels. Some angels are the messengers of God. They are sent to earth, to bring a message from God, to a man or a woman. Other angels are sent to earth to wage war as directed by God. A third type of  angels are seraphim and they are angels of fire. They also surround God’s throne and worship him continually.
• If needed, angels can take on the appearance of a man. But, if seen in their natural state, they are terrifying for humans to see.
• The story of Zechariah and Elizabeth is in the Bible, in Luke 1:5-25.