Jesus replies that he must "be in his father's house" (). The Synoptic accounts of Jesus' baptism are all preceded by information about John the Baptist. They show John preaching penance and repentance for the remission of sins and encouraging the giving of alms to the poor () as he baptizes people in the area of the Jordan River around Perea and foretells () the arrival of someone "more powerful" than he. Later, Jesus identifies John as "the Elijah who was to come" (, ), the prophet who was expected to arrive before the "great and terrible day of the Lord"
Baptist successionism Baptist successionism Baptist successionism (or Baptist perpetuity) is one of several theories on the origin and continuation of Baptist churches. The theory postulates an unbroken lineage of churches (since the days of John the Baptist, who baptized Christ) which have held beliefs similar to those of current Baptists. Groups often included in this lineage include the Montanists, Paulicians, Cathari, Waldenses, Albigenses, and Anabaptists. The perpetuity view is often identified with "The Trail of Blood", a pamphlet by James Milton Carroll published in 1931. Other Baptist writers who held the perpetuity view are John T. Christian, Thomas Crosby, G. H. Orchard,