A Voice Crying in the Wilderness

Presentation by Terry Cooper

Terry Cooper: So today, I’m going to open the Word and look at the person and the role of John the Baptist regarding the role and the purpose of the Church in the Last Days. Why John the Baptist? Because he was a prophet who had foreknowledge of the first coming of the Messiah. And what gave him that foreknowledge? The spirit of God was in John, giving him foreknowledge.

Is it possible that the Church of the Last Days will also have foreknowledge regarding the Second Coming of the Messiah? Why? Why would I say that? Because the spirit of God, the same spirit of God is in the Church today, like it was in John. Is there a connection between John preparing the way for Jesus’s First Coming and the church’s role to prepare a way for Jesus’s Second Coming? I’m not going to give you my opinion, just truth from the Word of God about what God is clearly speaking to the Church of the Last Days.

I’ve always believed that the overriding purpose of the Church, if you could melt it all down, and why are we here, it was to prepare a people to meet God. It’s to prepare people to meet God. We’re all going to meet God one day. And for 2,000 years, the Church has been preparing people to meet God. Either through the grave or through the clouds, one way or the other, we’re going to meet Him. And when I look at the life and purpose of John the Baptist, it is the same as the Church in many ways, to prepare a people to meet God.

Isaiah said Emmanuel was coming. John said the Messiah was coming. Prepare the way. Prepare for His arrival. The story of John the Baptist actually begins with that prophet, Isaiah, who told Emmanuel was coming. Remember the Amos scripture I read at the beginning? “Indeed, the sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants, the prophets.” Isaiah’s prophecy was foreknowledge regarding John the Baptist’s birth and purpose. It was given. Isaiah’s prophecy was given about 700 years before John the Baptist was born.

So let’s go to Isaiah chapter 40. “Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, ‘Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord. Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God. Fill in the valleys. Level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves. Smooth out the rough places. And then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!'” What is that? It’s called foreknowledge. God gave Isaiah foreknowledge. For the Lord does nothing without first revealing it to His servants, the prophets.

And John did come. Some 700 years after Isaiah’s foreknowledge, he is born of supernatural birth by elderly parents. And this is what Angel Gabriel reveals to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, while he’s serving in the Jerusalem Temple. Let’s just label it foreknowledge. Luke 1:17, the angel speaking to John’s father. “He will be a man with the spirit and the power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of their fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”

Gabriel is telling Zechariah that his son will fulfill not just Isaiah’s prophecy, but he will also fulfill Malachi’s prophecy, who also had foreknowledge. God didn’t just give John foreknowledge; he also revealed that he was the fulfillment. John knew that he was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s 700-year-old prophecy. Rear knowledge, if that’s a word. He knew it. He knew that he was the manifestation of the prophecy of Isaiah 700 years in advance.

How do I know that he knew? John 1:19. “This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leader sent priests and temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John, ‘Who are you?’ He came right out and said, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ ‘Well then, who are you?’ they asked. ‘Are you Elijah?’ ‘No,’ he replied. ‘Are you the Prophet we are expecting?’ ‘No.’ ‘Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?'” And John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah. He knew. “I am a voice shouting in the wilderness. Clear the way for the Lord’s coming.” God gave John foreknowledge regarding the Messiah. This is important. Past, present, and future, all three.

Now all of that background was to get to the main point today. What if, I love “what if” questions. Makes us think. What if God has given us, the Church of the Last Days, foreknowledge regarding the Second Coming of Christ? And what if the Church of the Last Days is going to have a similar role to John in the early days? “I am a voice shouting in the wilderness. Clear the way for the Lord’s coming.” Preparing the people to meet God. Why? Because He’s coming.

And if that’s true, what would that voice shouting in the wilderness be shouting today? And if this “what if” is real, what would the voice shouting in the wilderness in the Church in the Last Days, what would he be shouting? What would the message be? Let’s look at what John said. The Bible says that John was filled with the Holy Spirit from birth. So I think he would be an excellent pattern for the Holy Spirit-led church today, for we claim the same Holy Spirit.

Matthew 3:1. “In those days, John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was,” listen carefully, “‘Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said,” 700 years before, “‘He is a voice shouting in the wilderness. Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming. Clear the road for him.'” It started with preaching. If you look at the story of John, it started with preaching. It almost always starts with preaching.

Noah was a preacher of righteousness. They won’t always listen to the preaching, but it almost always starts with preaching. The foreknowledge and calling of God usually requires preaching. Like Jonah walking through the streets of Nineveh, sharing the foreknowledge with others, God was not wanting to sneak up on them. He sent someone with foreknowledge to preach a message. And what was John preaching? “Repent of your sins and turn to God. For the kingdom of heaven is near.”

I told you I wasn’t going to give opinions. I’m just going to read to you the Scriptures. That’s his message. And do you think John knew the exact day or the hour? No. But he knew it was near. I find it interesting that the first recorded sermon of John the Baptist was repent of your sins and turn to God for the kingdom of heaven is near. And why would I say that’s interesting? Because it’s the same two things that the modern Church doesn’t want to preach. Repent. Jesus is coming.

Do you find the parallel? The same two things that he came speaking, “repent of your sins, the kingdom is near,” are the same two things there is a reluctance to say out loud today in the Church. Let’s keep going in John’s sermon, which is based on God’s calling and foreknowledge given in the power and authority of the Holy Spirit, the same spirit we today claim to have in us.

Verse four. “John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair. He wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locust and wild honey. And people from Jerusalem, from all of Judea, and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins,” listen. “And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.” That preaching about repentance and the coming kingdom brought the people to confession, and repentance, and baptism.

I’ve been preaching here for some 26 years now and I’ve noticed the same thing. Preach repentance and the coming kingdom and people will confess their sins, they will repent and get baptized. What a coincidence. Let’s go on. This is my favorite part, by the way.

Verse seven. “But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. ‘You brood of snakes.'” How’s that for a positive message? “‘You brood of snakes,’ he exclaimed. ‘Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you’ve repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, “We’re safe, for we’re descendants of Abraham.” That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones.'”

Do you know why that’s my favorite part? Because I know John was a holy man full of the Holy Spirit, even from birth, and it was okay for him to call religious pretenders snakes. After John stirs them up with the brute of snake statement, he says something that forever stirs and convicts me. And I hope it stirs and convicts you as well. “Prove by the way you live that you’ve repented of your sins and turned to God.” Your life should declare clearly the transformation of your heart. A repentant life will always bear the fruit of that repentance.

And listen carefully now. I believe that some of those snakes became believers. And I find that to be marvelous. We know Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, we don’t know other names, but there were snakes that became followers of Christ. Why? Because He preached a simple message, a message that was empowered by the Holy Spirit. I don’t think John hated those men when he called them snakes. No, he loved them enough to reveal the truth to them.

And what’s the truth then? What’s the truth now? The kingdom of heaven was coming. The Messiah is coming. And that would require repentance from their life of sin and rebellion. And John preached with the Holy Spirit and John preached with foreknowledge. About what? About what? Next verse, next verse, verse 10. “Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the root of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.” John knew. This is that foreknowledge. John knew the ax was at the root of the tree. It was at the root of the tree of the righteous pretenders. He was confronted by the righteous pretenders.

And he knew, he had this knowledge, that the ax is at the root of the tree of the righteous pretenders. And John knew that those trees that didn’t bear the fruit of God’s spirit were going to be cut down and thrown into the fire. He had foreknowledge. He knew it. That truth, that spirit, that foreknowledge, required John to preach repentance unto salvation, the very two things that the modern American church is reluctant to preach today. Repentance unto salvation. Repent of your sins and turn to God. Why? For the kingdom of Heaven is near.

It’s at this point in John’s wilderness sermon that he clearly reveals the Messiah. Not he’s coming, he’s here now. Verse 11. “I baptize with water those who repent.” “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am, so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be His slave or to carry His sandals. And He, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with His winnowing fork. And then He will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into His barn, burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”

So here’s my summary. This John sermon is heavy. Did you hear his sermon? Wheat is going to the barns. That’s the believers going to Heaven. And chaff is going to a never-ending fire. And there’s only two options. I can see why some people love John and I can see why some people hated John. It’s a heavy message. It’s a heavy message today. It was a heavy message at the First Coming. It will be a heavy message at the Second Coming.

“Indeed, the sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants, the prophet.” But what was John’s message really communicating? What was this voice crying in the wilderness really communicating? God doesn’t want you to perish. That’s why He sent John, the messenger, to cry out in the wilderness. And God doesn’t find pleasure in the death of anyone. God calls people and gives them foreknowledge of that which He, God, is planning to do.

Read the Bible. It’s over and over and over and over again. He calls people. He gives them foreknowledge to reveal, “This is what I’m about to do. Prepare the way. You’re the voice crying in the wilderness. Go tell someone.” This has been God’s way since the beginning. John came, announcing the arrival of Messiah Jesus, and what then? I want to read Hebrews. What I read earlier, I want to read it again.

Hebrews 1:1. “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us.” How? “Through his son.” Today, please listen carefully. Today, the Bible is your foreknowledge. And the Spirit is your calling. The Bible is your foreknowledge. In this book is prophecy, announcing that which is surely to come. And everything written is going to happen exactly as it has been announced. And the Spirit is your calling.

We are the John the Baptist of this generation, the Church of the Last Days. The Bible is our foreknowledge. I know what’s coming. 1 Thessalonians 5:1. This is foreknowledge. You know what’s coming. “Therefore, concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we really don’t need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return,” that’s the topic here, right? You know quite well, don’t you?

“You know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, ‘Everything is peaceful and secure,’ then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.” That’s the chaff going into the fire. There will be no escape. And then He talks to the Church that has foreknowledge. And they have the Spirit, so that they understand what the Word of God is speaking in these days.

“But you aren’t in the dark about these things, brothers and sisters. You won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day.” We don’t belong to the darkness. We don’t belong to the night. “So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert. Be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence, the confidence of our salvation.”

Jesus is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with His winnowing fork. And then He’s going to clean up the threshing area, gather the wheat to His barn, and burning the chaff in a never-ending fire. And you have foreknowledge. You knew in advance what He was going to do. We are here to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ; it’s the purpose of the Church. We are to prepare people to meet God. The Church does a million things and sometimes forgets the main thing.

You have foreknowledge. We have foreknowledge about what’s coming. Either through the grave or through the clouds, we will also meet God. We are here, the Church, to prepare other people to meet God. The foreknowledge is not just for you. So if you’re in the room today, and you have this foreknowledge, and you’re keeping it to yourself, it’s wrong. The foreknowledge was for you to share with those who don’t know yet what’s coming.

John didn’t hate the religious pretenders, even though he called them snakes. He loved them enough to tell them the truth. I believe some of them believed John’s message and came later to follow Jesus. But let’s make something perfectly clear. And this is the heavy part today. They killed John. We all need to count the cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. They killed John. And they killed Peter. And they killed Andrew and Paul. We are in a spiritual war for the souls of men. And it’s heavy. So I close with this last thought.

In 1988, I had an encounter with God. It was 38 years ago. I can tell you God still speaks. The Holy Spirit revealed that night this simple truth. Either you believe it all or you believe none of it. And that night changed my life. And shortly after that, God gave me foreknowledge about the soon return of Christ. I could see that which I could never see before, but I could see. I don’t know the day, I don’t know the hour, I don’t know the year. But He’s coming.

I quit my job; took this church with 27 people. Had three kids under 16 and a stay at home wife. And I’ve been preaching John the Baptist’s sermons for 26 years now. I change them around a little bit. And the fundamental concept of John’s sermon has not changed. Repent of your sins and turn to God for the kingdom of heaven is near. And just like in the time of John, some have embraced this Gospel and some have rejected it. But the truth of John’s message remains the same.

Jesus is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with His winnowing fork. And then He will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into His barn, but burning the chaff with never-ending fire. And Jesus told us to count the cost before we become disciples. I declare a truth to you today. It’s hard to carry this foreknowledge. It’s always been hard to carry this foreknowledge. Look at the heroes of our faith.

Knowing that people all around you who still don’t know about the coming judgment of God, we’re surrounded by people who don’t know. John was surrounded by people who didn’t know. They had practiced religion without knowing God. I often think about Noah. Jesus says it’s going to be like it was in the days of Noah again. And Noah had foreknowledge. And the Bible said he preached about the coming judgment and the flood, and only eight people were saved. That’s sobering. That’s heavy.

John the Baptist had Jesus standing with him in Judea. Jesus was on the earth at the same time as John the Baptist, and they still killed John. That’s sobering. They weren’t there at different times. They were there at the same time. They were on the earth at the same time and they still killed John. John is not here today. This is our time. Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Paul, they’re not here today. This is our time. This is our time.

Jesus never said this calling, the spirit, and the foreknowledge of truth would be easy. He never said that. He just said it would be worth it in the end. So today, we are the voice crying in the wilderness. Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming.

Resource

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Closing

Nathan Jones: To watch Terry’s entire sermon, visit our Christ in Prophecy YouTube channel. And I would encourage you all to join Terry by asking your pastors to host a Lamb & Lion Ministries Regional Bible Prophecy Conference at your church. People ask us all the time if we would come to their area and bring God’s prophetic Word. And we always tell them you only have to ask us.

Tim Moore: Absolutely. Well, folks, next week, I will close the final episode of this 4-part series, Taking God at His Word, with my sermon titled “Pilfered Promises.”

We hope to see you here, there, or in the air! Godspeed!

End of Program