John the Baptist is the forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ, and son of Zacharias and Elisabeth, was born about six months before Jesus Christ. His birth, name and office for foretold to his father Zacharias, when he was performing his functions as a priest in the temple of Jerusalem. Zacharias was a priest of the course of Abia (1 Chr. 24:10), and his mother, Elisabeth, was of the Daughters of Aaron (Luke 1:5). Because of this descent, John held the priesthood of Aaron, giving him the authority to perform baptisms of God.