In the time of John the Baptist, most of the people were not getting the point. There was political corruption with Herod, religious corruption with Annas and Caiaphas, the high priests, and confusion among the general populace. It was the time right before the Messiah would appear, so John the Baptist and a small remnant of followers echoed prophetic words at the Jordan River. To the superficially interested who heard his preaching, John warned, "You brood of vipers (Luke 3:7, J B Phillips)." "You snakes, who told you that you could escape from the punishment that God is about to send (Luke 3:7, TEV)?" Interestingly, from this "hell, fire and damnation" preaching of John the Baptist, "the peoples' hopes began to rise" (Luke 3:15, TEY) or as the Jerusalem Bible puts it, "a feeling of expec…