Dear Brethren,
St. John the Baptist was preaching the four last things which was : Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell. These are the things that must befall every single human being ever born. He was bringing to the consciousness of the individual, his personal relationship with his Maker, how he stands before God. St John was preaching about sin and the consequences of sin, that whatever one sows, that he will reap; that a man's action during this early life determines whether he is saved or lost eternally.
- Also, St John was reminding his listeners that God is supreme and that man is totally dependent oh Him. It is God who determines the eternal condition of a person based on his behaviour. Man should therefore livehis life in such a way that he will neither offend nor oppress his fellow human being. As this world is a temporal abode, whatever man has or is in this life does not really matter. What is important is a person's behaviour towards God and his fellow men. God will therefore judge man's thoughts, words, deeds, omissions, desires and intentions.
John also preached Hell fire. He calls it unquenchable fire. The human chaff are burnt there for all eternity. The saints sometimes divide human beings into two categories - the good seed and the chaff. When one pours water into a plate of beans, nuts or maize, the healthy ones will remain unmoved under the water while the chaff will rise and float on the surface. Similarly, when seeds are threshed, the mass of husks seperated from the seeds are referred to as chaff. When subjected to the wind, the chaff are easily blown away while the seeds remain unmoved. The good seed are therefore those that will withstand pressure and distress while the chaff are those easily influenced by every changing circumstances.
In conclusion :
- Applying this to human beings, the chaff that will be burnt in the unquenchable fire are the daily excited; those whose lives are unregulated and without other; those who can not control their body ( eyes, mouth, hands and legs) those who can not pray, who can not forgive, who can not endure; those who are selfish; who choose to please men rather than God; volatile and temperamental people; those who live for immediate satisfaction and so do not care for the consequences of thier actions; those who change churches like clothes, who are influenced by every preacher and travesty of doctrine; in short, those who can sell Our Lord Jesus for a mess of pottage. Psalm One calls sinners " chaff, which the wind driveth from the face of the earth" (PS. 1: 4). The chaff are the wicked sinners who shall leave this world empty handed, heading to hell.
- John the Baptist also preached Heaven, the barn where the good wheat are stored. The wheat are the well behaved, the stable, mature, men and women of integrity, those whose lives are ordered . The wheat are the good who for the sake of the eternal life promised them, decide to endure temporal hardships and inconvenience, fully aware that much good will come from such endurance. Heaven is a home of unending bliss where those who forgive receive their eternal reward. Heaven is the only place where a wise purchaser may choose to sell and forgo every other things else to buy.
Deeply moved by Johns preaching, the people asked him: WHAT MUST WE DO ? John demanded they should behave in such a way to show that they love and fear God, and also love their neighbour. The only way we can prove that we love God is by loving our neighbour. God loves human beings more than everything He created and nothing pleases God more than to show love to what He loves most. There is very little merit in loving trees, animals, ozone layer, environment. Etc. But there is great merit in loving human and working for their eternal and temporal welfare.
So John the Baptist preached a social Gospel to the multitude he said:
a. He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none.
b. He who has food, let him do likewise.
Here, St John addressed two of man's basic needs- Food and clothing. To the tax collectors he said: collect no more that you should honestly charge. To the soldiers he said: Do not intimidate people and violently confiscate their goods. Be satisfied with your salary. You cannot love Gd and hate your neighbour. Our Lord Jesus Christ als preached that no can gk t heaven unless he shows charity to neighbour