A question about John the Baptist:

Luke 7:26 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.

  27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

  28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

A popular teaching seems to be that John the Baptist is part of the old testament economy, and not part of the kingdom of God.

But are there not a few possibilities regarding this?

1) That the kingdom state, after the return of Jesus, will be so much greater, that to be there & even to be the least in that kingdom, will be so much greater than it was to even have been a prophet greater than all the other prophets in Israel.

2) That ministries of Jesus and John the Baptist were apex - the conclusion - the climax - the fulfillment of the old testament prophesies; where Jesus himself fulfilled all the law - as well as all the types/pictures/shadows in the old testament; thereby Jesus thus came to confirm the first covenant and to then also to make the new covenant; and that covenant's testament, as you said, that new testament was enacted by the death of the testator; and after rose from the dead and ascended back to heaven, he has become the great High Priest of the new testament.

3) The kingdom of God is eternal, as well the heavenly part, but the earthly part, was manifest under David and Solomon, was then in conflict with the heavenly part up to the captivity, was then during the captivity hidden only revealing the heavenly part at times as shown in Daniel  was partially restored only partially manifesting the heavenly part on earth, then the King came from the heavenly part manifesting the righteousness/holiness/power of the heavenly part on earth, was then for a time put aside after the earthly part completely rejected the heavenly part, was then a mystery manifestation of the heavenly part on earth by the church, to the soon return of the King to the earth for a full manifesting on earth of the heavenly aspect of the kingdom, to the eventual heavenly and earthly parts together in the New Jerusalem
   and for that 3) description, John the Baptist was in the latter part of one section, in the very beginning of the next, and will yet be part of the last two sections.

So, are any of these possible?

How about all three being possible?