John the Baptist: The Last Prophet - by John MacArthur

Found here. Our comments in bold.

-----------------

Dr. MacArthur is a respected Bible teacher, so we are surprised at the errors and even bad doctrine often contained in his postings. Since he represents himself as an authoritative voice, we feel justified to hold his feet to the fire.

Today he discusses John the Baptist, and in doing so makes several errant comments, not the least of which is contained in the title, "The Last Prophet." But by no measure was John the Baptist the last prophet. Dr. MacArthur will not mention anything about him being the last prophet in this article, but he will provide a single-sentence mention of this in his subsequent article:

Though his story is told in the gospels, John was the last of the Old Testament prophets.

Oh. So he wasn't the last prophet, he was the last OT prophet. But how does Dr. MacArthur know this? The Bible doesn't say so. Jesus does identify him as a prophet, and more [Lk. 7:26]. And we do have some of John's prophecies [Lk. 3:16-17 and Jn. 1:33 for example], so there is no doubt he was a prophet, and no one was greater [Mt. 11:11].

There were numerous NT prophets [Ac. 11:27, Ac. 13:1, Ac. 15:32, Ac. 21:9]. There is the prophetic office [Ep. 4:11] and the spiritual gift of prophecy [Ro. 12:6]. However, Dr. MacArthur, being a cessationist, wants John the Baptist to be the last prophet because he doesn't believe in contemporary prophecy.

But at least he quotes Scripture. This is relatively rare among these Bible teachers.

-----------------------

This blog was originally posted in March, 2016. —ed.

What does God mean when He designates someone as great? In popular culture, greatness is usually defined in terms of privilege, accomplishment, money, and power leading to some means of fame. A truer view of greatness, albeit less popular, centers on someone’s lasting significance for providing far-reaching benefits to people, not just personal celebrity status; it elevates those who impact the world in significant and positive ways. But whether we measure greatness from the standpoint of popularity or from the standpoint of human achievement, both definitions fall woefully short of God’s perspective.

Using either of those criteria for greatness, John the Baptist would not be deemed great. He was not born into a wealthy or powerful family. His parents, Zacharias and Elizabeth, were both from the priestly tribe of Levi. But there were many Levites in Israel at the time—so many that John’s family did not have any special social status.

While still a teenager, (The Bible does not tell us John's age when he started his ministry.

**UPDATE**

Dr. MacArthur claims in his subsequent article on John the Baptist that he started his ministry when he was about thirty years old, citing Luke 3:2:

Lk. 3:2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.

Hmmm. 30 years old is quite different than being a teenager. So which is it?

According to Wikipedia, Anna served as high priest from AD 6 to AD 15, and Caiaphas from AD 18 to AD 36. Further, Luke 3:1 tells us it was the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. His reign was from AD 14 until 37.

We know that John the Baptist is about 6 months older than Jesus [Lk. 1:36], who was probably born between 6 and 4 BC.  So John the Baptist was probably in his mid thirties, and thus the Word of the Lord came to him just prior to Jesus' ministry.

But the Word of the Lord coming to him does not mean that's when he began his ministry. He could have been preaching for years before this revelation came to him.

**UPDATE ENDED**)

John abandoned the comforts and conveniences of civilized society and moved out into the Judean wilderness, (There is no indication in the Bible that John lived in the wilderness, only that he preached there.)

becoming a hermit-like, homeless, wilderness preacher. According to Matthew 3:4, “John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.” Nothing about his lineage, his contrary social behavior, his external appearance, or his diet suggested that he should be considered anything but odd.

He was cut off from formal education, (There is no indication in the Bible as to John's education.

It's claims like these that trouble us. Dr. MacArthur is waxing eloquent about the low estate of John the Baptist, but the more he writes, the farther afield he goes.)

living in isolation in the desert. Though he came from a priestly line, he wasn’t associated with the priesthood. He was linked to neither wealth nor royalty. He instigated no permanent social, political, or religious movement. (John the Baptist did have social, political, and religious impact:

• He had much to say to the Pharisees, who were the political leaders of the day [Mt. 3:7]
• The effects of his ministry lasted well into the book of Acts, so that would be years or even decades after his death [Ac. 19:3]
• He even drew the attention of Herod [Mt. 14:3]

Now, we admit that these are trivial errors [at least to this point in his article...], but if we cannot trust him in little matters, we would be reluctant to trust him in large matters.)

Though the populace was drawn to his message of the Messiah’s arrival, the authorities (such as the Pharisees and scribes) resented him fiercely. In turn, he rebuked them and warned them of divine judgment, like a brood of snakes caught in a raging brushfire. Only a small band of disciples continued to follow him briefly.

His ministry was relatively short; (The Bible does not tell us how long he ministered. However, if accept Dr. MacArthur's statement that John the Baptist began ministering in his teens, and he and Jesus were born 6 months apart as we mentioned above, and Jesus began his ministry when He was in his mid 30s, then John the Baptist could actually have ministered for nearly 20 years. 

However, if John's ministry commenced when the Word of the Lord came to him, then he only ministered a few years, and Dr. MacArthur is correct.

The Bible tells us:

Mt. 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea...

In what days? In the days the child Jesus was living in Nazareth [Mt. 2:23]. So any time during those days John the Baptist could have began his ministry.

This is not "relatively short."

However, John's message was to prepare the way [Mt. 3:3] for Jesus. This means his commission as Jesus' forerunner began right before Jesus, even though he may have been preaching for many years before that.)

he died ignominiously at the hands of a petty ruler named Herod who was seduced by a lewd young girl’s dance. When Herod told her he would give her anything she wanted, she commiserated with her mother, Herod’s wife, who wanted her to ask for John’s head on a silver platter. (Sigh. John the Baptist vexed Herod [Mt. 14:5], so much so that he lost his head. Clearly he was politically, religiously, and culturally influential.

Having made all his previous assertions about John, Dr. MacArthur nevertheless mentions instances where he did have influence. This almost seems clueless to us.)

Nothing in his life fit the model associated with greatness.

In spite of all that, he was what the angel Gabriel said he would be: “great in the sight of the Lord” (Luke 1:15). Incredibly, the Lord not only declared him to be a great man, but the greatest man who had ever lived. (The Bible nowhere says he was the greatest man who ever lived.)

That declaration came from the lips of Jesus Christ Himself: “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). (Dr. MacArthur misrepresents Jesus' words. He did not say John was the greatest who had ever lived; rather, only that no one was greater.)

“Born of women” was a common expression referring to humanness in general. (Maybe so, but the phrase is only used by Jesus, and only about John the Baptist [Mt. 11:11, Lk. 7:28].)

Thus, Jesus was saying, in essence, “No greater human being has ever lived.” (Well, yeah. But Dr. MacArthur contradicts his previous statement.)

The Messiah Himself declared that John the Baptist was greater than any other Old Testament saint! (No He did not! Jesus' statement was, ...there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist. These other saints could have been as great. There is a difference. "No one greater" does not equal "the greatest."

Dr. MacArthur persists in misrepresenting Jesus' words.)

He was greater than Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Samson, David, or any of the prophets. (The Bible does NOT say this.)

He was greater than all those listed in Hebrews 11 as the monumental heroes of the faith. (Nope.)

No king, military commander, or philosopher was greater than John. (Ahh, finally. He fixes his phrasing which makes the statement correct...)

He was the greatest person who had ever lived up to that time, (...but then reverses it back, making it incorrect.)

both in terms of task and privilege. That was clear from the start of his story.

Breaking the Silence

Before John the Baptist, there had been no prophet in Israel for over four centuries. (The Bible does not tell us this. Yes, there is no biblical record of a prophet, but that does not mean there wasn't one.)

Since the days of Malachi, no new word of revelation had come from heaven. (This is categorically false. We will discuss this below.)

Nor had an angel appeared to men since the time of the prophet Zechariah, (Um, no again.

• Joseph, Mary's husband [Mt. 1:20]
• Mary, mother of Jesus [Lk. 1:26]
• The Shepherds [Lk. 2:9]
• The angel that stirred the water [Jn. 5:4]

Again, these may be trivial mistakes, but they are really beginning to add up.)

five hundred years earlier. But that long silence was about to be broken. (No! We don't know there was a long silence.

Dr. MacArthur is arguing from what is not written and what is not recorded. This is an Argument From Silence.)

(...)

A Frightening Encounter

(...)

 As the angel explained to the astonished priest:

You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, “to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children,” and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. (Luke 1:14-17)

After four hundred silent years, this prophet would announce the arrival of the Messiah. Zacharias’s son was to be the Messiah’s herald! (Remember Dr. MacArthur's previous claim:

Since the days of Malachi, no new word of revelation had come from heaven.

So this prophetic silence was broken by the advent of John the Baptist, according to Dr. MacArthur. But this is clearly false, because there were several recorded prophecies prior to John the Baptist, and other angelic encounters besides Zechariah. We mentioned four angelic encounters above, three of which included prophetic content [Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds]. 

This means there are four recorded instances of angels delivering the Word of the Lord between Malachi and John the Baptist. 

But there's even more: 

• Simeon received a prophetic word about the coming messiah:

Lk. 2:25-35 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” 

• Anna was a prophetess for 84 years:

Lk. 2:36-38 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

This makes six prophetic revelations prior to John the Baptist. Dr. MacArthur is wrong. So wrong in fact that we've decided to label this article with a bad Bible teaching tag.

In conclusion:

• John the Baptist did not break a 400 year prophetic silence. 
• We can't even know if there was a 400 year prophetic silence. 
• If there was a silence, it was not 400 years.
• Zechariah was not the only person to receive angelic visitation. 
• We can't even say that he was the first one to receive an angelic visitation.

This is why we question Dr. MacArthur's teaching. He's careless at best, or in error at worst.)

(...)