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pagans; and, finally, when I examine and behold the effect
of the two ways of preaching upon the hearers and the
final result, I understand the magnitude of the contrast
between them, and of the significance of the words “He is
more powerful than I!”

When I contemplate the seizure and imprisonment
of the helpless Baptist by Herod Antipas [1] and his cruel
decapitation -or when I peruse the confused but tragical
accounts of the flagellation of Jesus (pbuh) (or Judah Ishariot)
by Pilate, his coronation with a crown of thorns by Herod,
and the catastrophe upon the Calvary- and then turn my
eyes upon the triumphal entry of the greatAdon - the Sultan
of the John Prophets - into Makkah, the total destruction
of all the ancient idols and the purification of the Holy
Ka’ba; upon the thrilling scene of the vanquished deadly
enemy headed by Abu Sufyan at the feet of the victorious
Shilohah- the Apostle of Allah –begging his clemency
and making the profession of faith; and upon the glorious
worship, devotion, and the final sermon of the Seal of the
John Prophets in these solemn Divine words: “Alyauma
akmaltu lakum dinakum” (“To-day I have completed
for you your religion”), etc., then I fully understand the
weight and value of the Baptist’s confession, “He is more
powerful than I!”

3. “The Coming Wrath.” Have you ever met with
a sensible, judicious, and convincing interpretation of
this phrase in any of the commentaries numerous on the
Gospels? What does John mean, or wish his audience to
understand, by his expression: “Behold the axe is already
set at the root of the tree” or his remark “He holds the van
in his hand to purge out his threshing-floor” Or when he
reduced the title “Children of Abraham (pbuh) ” to nothing?

[1] There is anachronism in the account of John’s martyrdom concerning the family
of Herod the Great in the Gospels (Matt. xiv, etc.); the reader can consult the
Antiquities of Joseph Flavius. (The author).