250 



LIEUT.-COL. G. MACKINLAY^ E.A.^ ON 



Examination of texts referring to the Baptist as the Morning Star. 



We now proceed to examine the passages in the Gospels 

 referring to the Baptist as the morniiig star in more detail ; see 

 diagram. 



(a) At the very beginning of his ministry the Baptist 

 referred to the prophecy in Mai. iii, 1, when he was likened to 

 the morning star, when he said " He that cometh after me is 

 mightier than I," Matt, iii, 11, Mark i, 7, John i, 15 ; see also 

 Luke iii, 16, John i, 27, 30, Acts xiii, 25. According to the 

 principle we are adopting of figures from things actually 

 present, the morning star was shining when the Baptist began 

 his ministry, and thus the witness in the sky and the human 

 messenger each gave a prolonged heralding of the One who was 

 to come. 



If we refer to Matt, iii, 8, 10, 12, we find the Baptist using 

 three figures of speech at the beginning of his ministry. 



1. " Bring forth fruit." 



2. " The axe is laid unto the root of the trees." Presum- 



ably marking the unfruitful trees for cutting down. 



3. "Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly 



cleanse His threshing floor : and He will gather His 

 wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn up 

 with unquenchable fire." 

 These three figures all refer to the time of harvest, which 

 must have taken place within the month after the Passover, 

 as the place where John began his ministry was tlie deep 

 depression " round about Jordan," Luke iii, 3, where the harvest 

 is far earlier than on the Judiean hills. 



If we refer to the diagram we see that the morning star was 

 shining during the month after Passover (say April) only in 

 the years a.d. 24, 25 and 27. Hence we conclude that John 

 began his ministry on one of those three years. 



(b) John bare a similar witness at the beginning of the Lord's 

 ministry, and cried, saying, ' This was He of whom I said, 

 He that cometh after me is become before me," Jolui i, 15, 

 2mrce gu'il est plus gravid que moi (FiQuch translation), repeating 

 the phrase on the morrow, John i, 30 ; again Ijearing out the 

 simile of the morning star and the rising sun. 



At what time of year was this? It was, of course, a good 

 deal later than the beginning of John's own ministry, probably 

 at least four or five months, to allow time for the ]>aptist to be 

 known and to attract great ])ublic attention. It could not 

 therefore have been earlier than the latter part of August ; it 



