According to the Hebrew Bible, the God of Israel personally came down from heaven during the time of Moses in order lead his people out of Egypt, through the desert, and subsequently into the promised land:

“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Lo, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you for ever.’ Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments,and be ready by the third day; for on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.And you shall set bounds for the people round about, saying, “Take heed that you do not go up into the mountain or touch the border of it; whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death;no hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.” When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.’So Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments.And he said to the people, ‘Be ready by the third day; do not go near a woman.’ On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God; and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to gaze and many of them perish.And also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out upon them.’And Moses said to the Lord, ‘The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for thou thyself didst charge us, saying, “Set bounds about the mountain, and consecrate it.”’And the Lord said to him, ‘Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest he break out against them.’So Moses went down to the people and told them.” Exodus 19:9-25

“And God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.’… Now when all the people perceived the thunderings and the lightnings and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled; and they stood afar off, and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will hear; but let not God speak to us, lest we die.’And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear; for God has come to prove you, and that the fear of him may be before your eyes, that you may not sin.’ And the people stood afar off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the people of Israel: “You have seen for yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven.”’” Exodus 20:1-3, 18-22

“Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abi′hu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank. The Lord said to Moses, ‘Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tables of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.’So Moses rose with his servant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God.And he said to the elders, ‘Tarry here for us, until we come to you again; and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever has a cause, let him go to them.’ Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.And Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.” Exodus 24:9-18

“Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp; and he called it the tent of meeting. And every one who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose up, and every man stood at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he had gone into the tent.When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the door of the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses. And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the door of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, every man at his tent door. Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tent.” Exodus 33:7-11

“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud abode upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would go onward;but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not go onward till the day that it was taken up.For throughout all their journeys the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.” Exodus 40:34-38

“And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, ‘Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.’ And the three of them came out.And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud, and stood at the door of the tent, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forward.And he said, ‘Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream.Not so with my servant Moses; he is entrusted with all my house.With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in dark speech; and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?’ And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed; and when the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. And Aaron turned towards Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.” Numbers 12:4-10

“This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.He said, ‘The Lord came from Sinai, and dawned from Se′ir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran, he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand. Yea, he loved his people; all those consecrated to him were in his hand; so they followed in thy steps, receiving direction from thee, when Moses commanded us a law, as a possession for the assembly of Jacob. Thus the Lord became king in Jesh′urun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together.” Deuteronomy 33:1-5

“O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan; O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan! Why look you with envy, O many-peaked mountain, at the mount which God desired for his abode, yea, where the Lord will dwell for ever? With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands, the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place. Thou didst ascend the high mount, leading captives in thy train, and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.” Psalm 68:15-18

Shockingly, the [N]ew [T]estament teaches that it was Christ in his prehuman existence who was in the cloud guiding Moses and the Israelites during the Exodus!

“I want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,and all ate the same supernatural foodand all drank the same supernatural drink. For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock WAS CHRIST.” 1 Corinthians 10:1-4

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.” Hebrews 11:24-27 New International Version (NIV)

“Now I desire to remind you, though you are fully informed, once and for all, that JESUS, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.” New Revised Standard Version Updates Edition (NRSVUE)

With the foregoing in view, I will now show that the prophetic message, the revelation which God inspired the prophets to announce, is that of God returning to the earth to reign and judge the world in righteousness.

I will demonstrate that the prophets envisioned a day when YHWH would descend into the world he made to once again dwell with mankind. More specifically, I will prove that the [O]ld [T]estament proclaims that YHWH would descend to reign over the whole world from Jerusalem.

The readers will see that the prophets foresaw YHWH doing so in a physical, corporeal body, that YHWH would appear on earth as an embodied Being where people would actually be able to behold their God in a physical shape.  

PSALMS

“But the Lord sits enthroned for ever, he has established his throne for judgment; and he judges the world with righteousness, he judges the peoples with equity.” Psalm 9:7-8

“Say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns! Yea, the world is established, it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.’ Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.” Psalm 96:10-13

“Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! Let the floods clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.” Psalm 98:7-9

MAJOR PROPHETS

“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocusit shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Holy Way; the unclean shall not pass over it, and fools shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it; they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isaiah 35:1-10

“A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’… The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand for ever. Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God!’ Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arms, he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” Isaiah 40:3-5, 8-11

“Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.’ And they shall be called The holy people, The redeemed of the Lord; and you shall be called Sought out, a city not forsaken.’” Isaiah 62:11-12

“O that thou wouldst rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at thy presence—” Isaiah 64:1

“And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says the Lord, they shall no more say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ It shall not come to mind, or be remembered, or missed; it shall not be made again.At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart.” Jeremiah 3:16-17

“Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate facing east.And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the east; and the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with his glory.And the vision I saw was like the vision which I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and like the vision which I had seen by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face.As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. While the man was standing beside me, I heard one speaking to me out of the temple;and he said to me, ‘Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel for ever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their harlotry, and by the dead bodies of their kings,by setting their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them. They have defiled my holy name by their abominations which they have committed, so I have consumed them in my anger.Now let them put away their idolatry and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in their midst for ever.’” Ezekiel 43:1-9

“The circumference of the city shall be eighteen thousand cubits. And the name of the city henceforth shall be, The Lord is there.” Ezekiel 48:35

MINOR PROPHETS

“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit. And I will give portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.And it shall come to pass that all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.” Joel 2:26-29

“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehosh′aphat, and I will enter into judgment with them there, on account of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations, and have divided up my land, and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a harlot, and have sold a girl for wine, and have drunk it… Hasten and come, all you nations round about, gather yourselves there. Bring down thy warriors, O Lord. Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehosh′aphat; for there I will sit to judge all the nations round about. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the wine press is full. The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. And the Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel. So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwell in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy and strangers shall never again pass through it. And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the stream beds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the valley of Shittim. Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall be inhabited for ever, and Jerusalem to all generations. I will avenge their blood, and I will not clear the guilty, for the Lord dwells in Zion.” Joel 3:1-3, 11-21

“Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you, he has cast out your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall fear evil no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. ‘I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you together; yea, I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,’ says the Lord.” Zephaniah 3:14-20

“‘For I will be to her a wall of fire round about, says the Lord, and I will be the glory within her.Ho! ho! Flee from the land of the north, says the Lord; ‘for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens,’ says the Lord. Ho! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.For thus said the Lord of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye: ‘Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the Lord.And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.And the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.’ Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord; for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.” Zechariah 2:5-13

This next prophecy is truly remarkable:

“Behold, a day of the Lord is coming, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in the midst of you.For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women ravished; half of the city shall go into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day HIS FEET shall stand on the Mount of Olives which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley; so that one half of the Mount shall withdraw northward, and the other half southward. And the valley of my mountains shall be stopped up, for the valley of the mountains shall touch the side of it; and you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzzi′ah king of Judah. Then the Lord your God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there shall be neither cold nor frost. And there shall be continuous day (it is known to the Lord), not day and not night, for at evening time there shall be light. On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea; it shall continue in summer as in winter. And the Lord will become king over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one and his name one… Then every one that survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of booths.And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain upon them.” Zechariah 14:1-9, 16-17

Zechariah foresees YHWH’S literal feet descending upon the Mount of Olives, thereby physically splitting it in half. YHWH then begins ruling the earth from Jerusalem, which is why representatives of the nations will be required to visit there for the express purpose of worshiping YHWH whom they will behold in bodily form.⁽¹⁾

And now to our final prophetic text:

“Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord (ha Adon) whom you seek will suddenly come to HIS temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 3:1

The prophet foretells God sending a messenger to prepare Israel for the coming of the Lord Almighty to his temple in Jerusalem.

That it is the Lord YHWH who is coming is made evident by the fact that the words ha Adon are only used for YHWH in all its other instances:

“Therefore the Lord (ha Adon) says, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: ‘Ah, I will vent my wrath on my enemies, and avenge myself on my foes.” Isaiah 1:24

“For, behold, the Lord (ha Adon), the Lord of hosts, is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water;” Isaiah 3:1

“Therefore thus says the Lord (ha Adon), the Lord of hosts: ‘O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they smite with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did.’” Isaiah 10:24

This is further confirmed by Malachi’s statement that the Lord shall come to HIS temple.

The OT is emphatic that the temple was built for God, and not for a man or any other creature:      

“And David the king said to all the assembly, ‘Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great; for the palace will not be for man but for the Lord God.’” 1 Chronicles 29:1

“And the angel of the Lord enjoined Joshua, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.” Zechariah 3:6-7

These texts make it abundantly clear that the One to come is none other than YHWH God Almighty himself. There’s simply no way around this.⁽²⁾   

The aforementioned OT citations show that the inspired prophetic message is centered on the eager anticipation of God’s returning to the earth in visible glory in order to dwell with mankind forever and ever:

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband;and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the fountain of the water of life without payment.He who conquers shall have this heritage, and I will be his God and he shall be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.’” Revelation 21:1-8

Unless noted otherwise, scriptural references taken from the Revised Standard Version (RSV).

ENDNOTES

(1) Remarkably, the NT proclaims that it is Jesus who will return to the Mount of Olives with all his holy ones:

“And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come IN THE SAME WAY as you saw him go into heaven.’ Then they returned to Jerusalem FROM THE MOUNT CALLED OLIVET, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away;” Acts 1:9-12  

“so that he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.” 1 Thessalonians 3:13

“This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be made worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering—since indeed God deems it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant rest with us to you who are afflicted, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance upon those who do not know God and upon those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at in all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his call, and may fulfil every good resolve and work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12  

This means that the risen Christ is being described as that YHWH God whom Zechariah saw descending upon the Mount of Olives, and whose blessed physical feet the prophet beheld splitting the Mount in half!

(2) As the case with Zechariah’s prophecy, the NT writers apply Malachi’s proclamation to the coming of Christ. The NT authors identify John the Baptist as that messenger whom the prophet said would be sent to announce the coming of the Lord to his very own temple:

“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight—’ John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, ‘After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’” Mark 1:1-8  

“This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.’ Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Matthew 11:10-11

And yet the Lord whom John prepared the way for is none other than Jesus Christ:

“John answered them, ‘I baptize with water; but among you stands one whom you do not know, even he who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.’ This took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me.” I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John bore witness, ‘I saw the Spirit descend as a dove from heaven, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him; but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.’ The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples; and he looked at Jesus as he walked, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’” John 1:26-36

“And Paul said, ‘John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.’” Acts 19:4

This again shows that the NT writers believed that Jesus is none other than YHWH God Almighty and, therefore, the Lord of the temple!

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