ProlepsisOpen in the graph →

Prophecy

The messenger who prepares the way (Malachi 3:1; Isaiah 40:3)

The Sermon of Saint John the Baptist, artist’s impression by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1566, Budapest): the crowd that has come into the wilderness.
Artist’s impression The Sermon of Saint John the Baptist, artist’s impression by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1566, Budapest): the crowd that has come into the wilderness. — Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Wikimedia Commons · Domaine public

◆ Written before: a dated manuscript proves it

Written c. 460–430 BC according to tradition; c. 500–400 BC according to historians. Event: 28–29 AD.

See the full entry: sources, objections, answers

In short

The announcement. The prophet Malachi, around 460–430 BC, announces a messenger sent to prepare the way before the Lord. The book of Isaiah, in chapter 40 (around 550–539 BC according to scholars), speaks of a voice calling to prepare the way in the wilderness.

What happened. Around AD 28–29, John the Baptist preaches and baptizes in the wilderness, shortly before Jesus. The Jewish historian Josephus confirms his existence and his execution by Herod Antipas. It is the Gospels that make him the announced messenger.

What is still debated. other Jewish groups read these texts differently, and Josephus never presents John as the one who prepares for Jesus's coming.

Why it is striking

The texts come centuries before John; for Isaiah, a dated manuscript proves it. Malachi assumes a standing Temple, and John preaches forty years before its destruction. Seeing him as “the messenger” remains one Christian reading among others.

Main objection (in French for now)

La communauté de Qumrân lisait Es 40:3 comme l’ordre d’étudier la Loi au désert (Règle de la communauté, 1QS 8) : le verset servait de charte à plusieurs groupes juifs ; l’appliquer à Jean est une interprétation parmi d’autres.

The text (World English Bible)

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me! The Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple. Behold, the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, is coming!” says the LORD of Armies.

Mal 3:1

The voice of one who calls out, “Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God.

Isa 40:3

Sources