John had boldly preached the truth to Herod Antipas and Herodias, with the result being imprisonment in the dungeon of the fortress Machearus. Herod Antipas does not kill him; but allows him to languish there while he determines what to do. Perhaps he thought that by imprisoning John he would no longer be a problem. It is obvious that he at first was angry at his preaching, but the more he listened, the more he was afraid of John because he came to believe that he was a prophet from God.

But things sometimes have a tendency to get out of control, and forces behind the scenes cause Herod to have to make the final decision about John. It was Herod's birthday, and he had called many of his counselors and other dignitaries around him to celebrate. He was used to ostentatious display of honor, and in the midst of this Salome, another one of his niece's (Herod Philip and Herodias' daughter) came and danced before Herod and all of his guests. Imagine, if possible, the scene -- a bunch of drunken men who would love nothing better than to be entertained by a young woman dancing in a provocative dance to incite their lusts and passions. That she, a princess, would so degrade herself is amazing to us, yet this young woman does just that (she is, after all, of Herod's family tree). And due to her suggestive dance, Herod "loses his head" and swears to give her anything up to half of the kingdom. At the instigation of Herodias, she goes back and asks for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. (Obviously they were close to Machaerus to have John beheaded, and brought back to Salome that same evening in the sight of all). So, the results of this dance is that two men lost their heads.

Years ago we would hear many sermons and warnings to our young people about the dangers of the modern dance, and such was soundly condemned. The word "lasciviousness" (six times in the KJV) means " inclined to lustfulness, wanton, lewd; arousing sexual desire; indicating sexual interest or expressive of lewdness or lust. As an adjective the term lascivious means "reflecting or producing sexual desire or behavior esp. considered indecent or obscene behavior." (Dictionary.com) The NKJV translates the word lewdness, which obviously is a synonym for lasciviousness. One cannot look at these definitions without seeing the fact that any act that would incite or produce sexual desire would be included in the term, and the dance that Salome obviously performed had to fall into that category. Talking to the Christians in Rome Paul wrote, "Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy." (Romans 13:13 NKJV). Christians should not be marked by such behavior.

Due to jealousy, hatred, animosity and the final results of an indecent dance, John the Baptist lost his head. But this was not the end of the story. This continually haunted Herod, and when he heard about Jesus he believed that Jesus was John the Baptist reincarnated (Matthew 14).

The ambition of Herodias showed itself again when the emperor Caligula bestowed honor on Herod Agrippa I, and she incited her husband to go to Rome to seek the title "king" instead of tetrarch. Agrippa, upon hearing of this, sent his freedman Fortunatus to Rome, and accused Herod Antipas of treasonable designs. Because he could not defend himself adequately, Antipas was exiled to Lugdunum (probably Gaul) where he and Herodias died in obscurity and dishonor. Salome also disappears from history, and tradition says she met with an early, violent and hideous death.

Thus ends the story of one of God's prophets -- a man who truly honored God in his life and death! May we so live as to do the same -- in life or in death!